Skype Developing 3D Video Calls
Skype has said that it has developed a method for making 3-D video calls–but is being held back by the tech found in consumer devices.
Microsoft’s corporate vice-president for Skype, Mark Gillett, told the BBC this week that the company had recently achieved the futuristic-sounding scenario in a lab, although it could be many years before the technology is rolled out to businesses.
“We’ve done work in the labs looking at the capability of 3D-screens and 3D-capture,” Gillet said.
“We’ve seen a lot of progress in screens and a lot of people now buy TVs and computer monitors that are capable of delivering a 3D image, but the capture devices are not yet there. As we work with that kind of technology you have to add multiple cameras to your computer, precisely calibrate them and point them at the right angle.
“We have it in the lab, we know how to make it work and we’re looking at the ecosystem of devices and their capability to support it in order to make a decision when we might think about bringing something like that to market.”
That might even be a barrier to ever seeing 3D video over Skype, as technology manufacturers might decide that there is not enough interest in the format.
Gillett also told BBC that Skype will likely offer 1080p ”super-high definition” video call resolution to devices other than the upcoming Xbox One.
