Skype video bandwidth vs. limited LTE bandwidth

[scottt732]

Skype video chatting is a big selling point for me on this phone... even if it's not ready at launch. But if unlimited LTE is more than $30, I'm either passing on the phone or going with a limited amount of bandwidth.

So if the front-facing camera is 1.3MP (~1280x1024), any idea how much bandwidth we can expect a bi-directional Skype video chat to consume? Do you think they'll downsample to 640x480? Any idea how many KB/sec or anything like that?

If VZW does go over $30/month for unlimited LTE, I'd like to be able to anticipate how many minutes of video chat per GB I would get so I can figure out what I need to allow myself (based on my current browsing/Pandora/YouTube/etc. data usage on my Droid).

Any ideas? Estimates? I couldn't find any decent info on the Skype site and I don't know if/how the mobile client compares to the desktop client bandwidth-wise. Here was the best I could find:

Megapixel Calculator: 1.3 Megapixel camera | web.forret.com
How much bandwidth does a skype video call use? - Yahoo!7 Answers

 

[realitydigg]

Skype video chatting is a big selling point for me on this phone... even if it's not ready at launch. But if unlimited LTE is more than $30, I'm either passing on the phone or going with a limited amount of bandwidth.

So if the front-facing camera is 1.3MP (~1280x1024), any idea how much bandwidth we can expect a bi-directional Skype video chat to consume? Do you think they'll downsample to 640x480? Any idea how many KB/sec or anything like that?

If VZW does go over $30/month for unlimited LTE, I'd like to be able to anticipate how many minutes of video chat per GB I would get so I can figure out what I need to allow myself (based on my current browsing/Pandora/YouTube/etc. data usage on my Droid).

Any ideas? Estimates? I couldn't find any decent info on the Skype site and I don't know if/how the mobile client compares to the desktop client bandwidth-wise. Here was the best I could find:

Megapixel Calculator: 1.3 Megapixel camera | web.forret.com
How much bandwidth does a skype video call use? - Yahoo!7 Answers

You would need to know what video codec they are using, and what settings for that codec. I don;t think you can guess. I think you will have to measure once it is available. Audio codecs too... Also, how much video chatting would be WiFi, so not touching your data cap?

 

[flashpiti]

I use skype video on my verizon iphone 4 and it works quite well, with good quality and no lag on my 3G network, so I can't imagine it would take up much bandwith, especially if they scaled down the resolution to vga over lte. Screens on our smartphones can't even take advantage of the 1.3mp FFC so I don't really see that as being a necessity.

 

[sabindaman]

I have used skype with no degradation of quality using a tethered storm. Skype uses a surprisingly little amount of bandwidth. The report I had for a 2 hour skype call plus other browsing including some youtube had it around 200mb. Skype doesn't allow HD calls unless the camera has an integrated chip for encoding (stupid with today's computers but w/e) so the max resolution that you will get on a skype call is 480p anyways.

People worry too much about the mp of cameras. 1.3 is plenty for skype and what nearly everyone already uses anyways. The quality of the sensor and having enough horsepower to encode are the issues. While I can't say anything about the sensor the processor will be more than enough to handle having the same quality call you currently enjoy on your computer(although on a smaller screen).