Skype or Hype?

[Onward]

I just signed up for Skype, with Skype-to-phone calling and an inbound phone #. Anything in particular I should watch out for or look forward to?

 

[Khan]

There will be spam, though not huge amounts.

 

[FIREd]

You can limit the spam by going to tools>options>privacy and allowing only calls/messages from people on your contact list.

Do you use "pay as you go" or did you get a subscription?

I find that Skype works well in general. I signed up for the unlimited world subscription a couple of years ago and have been using it several hours a week for long-distance and international calls. The quality of the calls varies, but it is generally good.

 

[Onward]

I got a subscription. I'm planning to use it when I travel (from Internet cafes). I want to use it at home too as a replacement for my current VOIP service.

 

[Alan]

I've been using Skype for this last year and find it excellent. All my international calls are to England and the clarity of the calls Skype to phone could not be better. I am on pay as you go, $10 auto refill when the balance drops below $2. The cost to the UK is 2.1c/minute so $10 lasts a long time.

 

[Onward]

Nice. I did't know there was auto-refill of pay-as-you-go.

 

[kcowan]

I have MagicJack now but I use Skype for video calls to other Skype users. My $10 paygo credit keeps threatening to expire but they warn you and a one minute call renews the minutes for 90 days.

When it was my only service, it was very good.

 

[Alan]

Nice. I did't know there was auto-refill of pay-as-you-go.

It's a nice feature, and you can see it happen in real time if you are talking on the phone watching the amount remaining slide down then once it dips below $2 it jumps back up and you can expect a $10 charge on your credit card.

 

[Trek]

Been using it since 2006 to call the US. Never a problem, never had spam either. I bought a US phone number and like it comes with voicemail.

 

[Onward]

Any problems using a headset, but having incoming calls ring on speakers?

 

[Alan]

Any problems using a headset, but having incoming calls ring on speakers?

I don't have a number - use it for outgoing only, but I'm interested in hearing the responses

 

[walkinwood]

I have been using Skype (Skype in & Skype Out) for a couple of months and am very pleased with the quality. I use it a lot for business conference calls & have never had a problem with clarity. For business calls, I always use a head-set. For personal calls, I sometimes use the notebook microphone & speaker and it works just fine, though sometimes, people say I sound "far away" or like I'm on a speaker phone (which, in essence, I am). Speaking into my headset microphone while using the notebook speakers solves the 'far away' problem.

My frustration has been with the Skype Client. Examples:
- You cannot store a phone number + wait + pin-code that I need for a conference call.
- A phone contact (as opposed to skype contacts) needs a separate entry for each type of phone (office, home, cell). I've heard that they have a good skype tool-bar for Outlook, but I haven't used it.
- I wanted to use google voice as a single phone number for my cell phone & my skype phone. But if I am logged off skype the call to skype goes straight to voicemail. It doesn't matter if you disable skype voicemail on the client - it will still go to voicemail.

 

[brewer12345]

I have MagicJack now but I use Skype for video calls to other Skype users. My $10 paygo credit keeps threatening to expire but they warn you and a one minute call renews the minutes for 90 days.

When it was my only service, it was very good.

Any tips on improving video call quality? Seems to vary and sometimes the picture repeatedly freezes up.

 

[kcowan]

Any tips on improving video call quality? Seems to vary and sometimes the picture repeatedly freezes up.

I make sure that both the computer and the internet connection are not busy with downloads. I stop playing MP3s or Youtubes. Other than that, I try to call at times of day when the whole net is not busy. (Calling from Vancouver to Mazatlan is better than calling from PV to Mazatlan.)

 

[walkinwood]

Any tips on improving video call quality? Seems to vary and sometimes the picture repeatedly freezes up.

The newer home routers have a feature called QoS (Quality of Service) where you can reserve bandwidth for an application - Skype in this case.

However, this solves the issue on your end, but does nothing for issues at the remote end or in the network itself.

Is there a way to reduce the resolution & frame rate for your web-cam? That would help if the bandwidth bottleneck is on your end.

 

[Onward]

I went to buy a headset today, but the Skype-recommended one doesn't mention Win7 as a supported OS. I'm going to keep looking.