[closed] Problems with Vidblaster and Skype

[Vigile]

Hi, I purchased a full copy of Vidblaster last month but am having some problems with it and Skype.

Basically, the video coming from my vidblaster feed to Skype is VERY blocky, compressed and just bad looking in general. Here is my setup:

2 HV30s via Firewire (two cards) to the quad core system, latest Vidblaster Home, Skype (3.8 and 4.0 beta tested).

The video in the Vidblaster preview looks fine, smooth frame rate and quality. Even when I preview my video in Skype options, it looks fine. But the video for the other person is AWFUL, just really really bad. I have tested in on many different PCs and the results are all the same no matter the config and bandwidth.

However, using my built-in camera on the monitor or an external USB webcam the video works fine with Skype, even on the same system otherwise.

What is happening between Vidblaster, Skype and the Internet that is causing the issue? It is repeatable and quite dramatic...

Thanks for any help! Hopefully my investment in this software will not be for nothing!

[Vigile]

Just a note - I tried using Vidblaster with this same hardware config with Ustream.tv and it works much better as well.

What could be causing the issues with Skype?

[Mike]

The blocking you see is compression, which is done by skype. As you already noticed, the program video in VidBlaster looks fine (as does preview in skype) so the problem is not in VidBlaster. Compression is added by skype to get the signal over to the person at the other end, and adapts to the bandwidth available. If you are sure that under the exact same conditions (i.e. same bandwidth, same time of day, same person at the other end) skype does fine with a webcam, I'd say that the webcam outputs a less sharp image (requiring less bandwidth) and/or a much lower frame rate. Try setting VidBlaster's frame rate to 11 (keep resolution 320x240) and try again.

[Vigile]

Mike,

Yes, I am sure that my comparison testing is done with the exact same conditions. In fact, I could disable vidblaster, change the webcam setting in Skype, and do another call immediately with much better results. Doing the same and going BACK to the Canon HV30s with Vidblaster causes the same problems once again. Here is a screen shot of what I am seeing with Vidblaster:

Forgot to mention, I have tried all FPS settings including 11 as you suggested.

[Vigile]

Just to take this test another step forward: I tried using the webcam both through SKYPE directly and through Vidblaster. The results with vidblaster look very much the same (see vidblaster2.jpg).

The results with the webcam directly into Skype are seen in vidblaster3.jpg.

So there is something going on behind the scenes with Vidblaster and skype.

Thanks for helping Mike!

[Vigile]

Mike,

Maybe you can try to use Skype in this fashion and see if you see the same results with different cameras and configurations to at least verify for me?

Thanks!=

[Mike]

Sorry, but I have no time for that right now. Maybe someone as wants to confirm this is a bug in skype? You could also try upgrading skype to see if they fixed it.

[Vigile]

Mike,

I have tried the latest 3.8 version of Skype and the 4.0 beta and the issue persists on both versions.

Since I have already paid for the software, I am hoping you can help with this issue.

[Vigile]

Mike,

I just got finished doing some tests on this with some other people. I was running the ooovoo.com client, Skype and Stickam.com all at the same time being fed by VidBlaster. Oovoo and Stickam were working fine, with image quality quite good. Skype still had the same issue with te blockiness detailed above.

So it was definitely identical bandwidth and time of day, etc.

I also tried both Skype 3.8 and the Skype 4.0 beta 2.

What do you think could possibly be causing this issue with ONLY Skype?

[Mike]

A bug in skype. But I have no idea what that could be. I suggest asking their support, should be easy for them to figure out.

[Vigile]

Mike, I am sure they will only say it is an unsupported configuration.

[Mike]

I've tested this myself and can confirm the compression artifacts. No idea why skype's doing that as its preview window clearly shows excellent video. No doubt it's a bug. In VidBlaster Studio v0.41 there is the option to set the streamed resolution, I suggest trying 640*480 as that is what most webcams offer. Perhaps that's a work around for the bug. Didn't have time to check that myself. Let me know. Also, did you ask skype support yet?

[Mike]

I wonder if Skype reduces its quality when CPU usage is high? I noticed that was the case when I tried it (only had access to a laptop) as apparently Skype uses quite a lot of power in video mode. How was this at your end?

PS: attached screen shot of test.