

Skype TX - jaboutboul
https://media.skype.com/skype-tx/

======
kayoone
They should fix their core business. I loathe skype. Instant messaging on
multiple devices is just dreadful as you get all conversations as unread again
on any device you log on to skype. The mobile client sucks your battery dry
and is super slow...i hate it with passion... Still i need to use it as most
of my clients do..

~~~
rlu
For what it's worth...the read/unread sync state has been fixed recently in
the last few months. With that also came the ability to IM someone who is
offline and have them be able to read the IM even if when they come back
online, you're offline (wow!! what sort of black magic is that??)

~~~
Houshalter
Is that a good feature though? It just means that microsoft is intercepting
your messages and storing them (you also can't tell when someone hasn't
received your message anymore.)

~~~
alandarev
They still were intercepting it anyway. But I completely join the train that
Skype is a virus needing to be killed.

------
rkuykendall-com
I keep reading Skype Texas.

~~~
danvoell
Same here. Poor choice of letters to use for naming.

~~~
nickloewen
'Tx' is the standard abbreviation for 'transmission.'
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmission_%28telecommunicati...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmission_%28telecommunications%29)

~~~
azth
Should have been 'Tx' then instead of 'TX' :)

------
qscripter
I have a small side business providing consulting and equipment services to
broadcasters using Skype/Google Hangouts/Spreecast/etc. as a cheap way to put
remote interview subjects on the air. While this could be exciting depending
on price, locking into Skype isn't ideal. In my experience letting the
interview subject select the platform they're most comfortable with yields
better results.

------
shmerl
The best contribution from Skype is freeing the Silk codec which became part
of Opus (luckily it happened before MS bought them). The rest is just a
proliferation of closed and non federated communication networks and
protocols.

------
michaelbuckbee
They don't list any pricing, I wonder if they provide it for free with the
caveat that you have to have a Skype logo and mentions.

Example, Oprah:
[http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/06/0604_oprah_tech_effe...](http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/06/0604_oprah_tech_effect/3.htm)

~~~
selectodude
>Video and audio are free from all notifications, signals, adverts or pop-ups.

I guess it depends on if you consider the Skype logo an advertisement.

------
fragmede
HD-SDI output? They ain't kidding around.

~~~
cdcarter
That's...bog standard for studio use these days.

~~~
fragmede
Inside a studio, absolutely. But when's the last time you saw anything
remotely consumer facing with HD-SDI?

This is Skype we're talking about, not AJA.

------
IvyMike
So this is not my industry, but it's interesting to think about the
requirements of a studio environment. I was recently handed a card by someone
who did voiceover work, and he was "The ISDN guy" or something.

I assumed that ISDN died in like 1996, but it turns out it's still considered
vital for some remote voice over work. [http://www.alisocreek.net/vo-
articles/ISDN-for-voice-over.ht...](http://www.alisocreek.net/vo-
articles/ISDN-for-voice-over.html)

~~~
ooobo
We're using ISDN for studio linkups in between radio stations, and for remote
location -> studio connections. Would love to use Skype in it's place, major
barrier is lack of fine-tuned control over gain, disabling AGC, etc. Video
broadcast does seem to be the focus here, but Skype could be incredibly useful
in radio broadcasting too.

I think the radio industry would definitely pay for an advanced software
client, especially considering so many potential guests have Skype setup at
home. Having control over guests gain and more detailed metering in the client
would be brilliant.

~~~
brc
Can you educate a know-nothing what 'gain' is in this context?

~~~
ooobo
Well I'm likely using the wrong technical term, but it's the one most often
used in my industry (in my experience). I'm referring to adjusting the
original strength of the signal. That is, the signal level at the point it
enters the audio mixer of the computer. I'd love to be able to control how
that signal level is amplified, or at least make it easy for guests to
manually.

I'm not great at explaining but if you search for 'gain in an audio context'
I'm certain there'll be better explainers!

------
dudus
At first I thought it was a Chromebox for meetings [1] competitor. But they
seem to have created a more enterprise product for broadcasts. I would imagine
this is a very niche product.

[1]
[https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/business/solutions/for...](https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/business/solutions/for-
meetings.html?utm_source=0214cfmlaunch&utm_medium=blog)

------
liotier
So, when is Skype RX coming ?

------
benwerd
They're demoing this at NAB this week; it's a pretty stale show, filled with
legacy tech, so this was one of the more interesting highlights (actual
exchange with a sales _engineer_ : "what kind of APIs do you have?" "what's an
API?"). The text is definitely written for broadcast professionals.

------
phren0logy
> Using our technology, you’ll be able to interact with Skype callers across
> the globe – this includes experts, interviewees, audiences and even big-name
> stars.

Wow, it even works for big-name stars! Who writes this stuff, and who are they
writing it for? It's just insulting.

~~~
Angostura
In this case 'Big name stars' is implying: "It's so simple and easy even
people with no technical knowledge, and even those with minimal interest in
making the effort to speak to you will be willing to use it". It isn't
discussing the technical aspects, outside of usability.

It's also suggesting that it is useful for glossy, premium-quality interviews
that would usually need dedicated kit and camera crew - not just in warzones,
ad hoc news interviews and vox pops.

It's quite cleverly written for the target audience.

~~~
mark212
I also read it as: "audio and video are good enough to satisfy the agents /
managers / PR people for the folks who get paid a lot of money to care about
how their image and voice is presented to the public."

------
dankoss
Interesting, this looks like it is intended to replace ISDN lines between
studios for high quality calls.

~~~
justizin
I think it goes much further than that, I know that some live news
organizations skype interviewees in.

~~~
exelius
HuffPo Live uses Google Hangouts -- but I can definitely see a need for a
simple to use client.

------
sokrates
They probably started development after the Skype fiasco at 30C3.

~~~
tjaerv
Link?

~~~
sokrates
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyA6NZ9C9pM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyA6NZ9C9pM)

~~~
dublinben
As a point of comparison, here's how the Free Software alternative looks:

[https://media.libreplanet.org/u/zakkai/m/free-software-
for-f...](https://media.libreplanet.org/u/zakkai/m/free-software-for-freedom-
surveillance-and-you/)

------
acd
Skype lacks a good API so that you can integrate it into your CRM, Customer
support etc.

~~~
ankuroberoi
A usable and rich API is important, but using standards to achieve
interoperability is probably just as important in my eyes. The fact that Skype
isn't embracing WebRTC while stating that they want to enable all these use
cases is far from ideal.

Lots of innovation is being done in the WebRTC API space: OpenTok (with a
specific customer service API), Vline, AddLive, etc.

(full disclosure: i'm a developer evangelist for TokBox, creators of OpenTok)

------
MetaCosm
As someone who listens to podcasts, this actually excites me a bit.

------
bitwize
Whoa, the Skype TX! That's got like WAY four more cylinders than the standard
Skype. Better Blue Book value too!

