Skype working on 3D calls

Skype has confirmed rumors it has been working on 3D video conferencing. But the company says it could take many years’ work before it becomes viable.

Speaking to the BBC, Skype chief (and Microsoft vice-president) Mark Gillett said the company had indeed been carrying out lab work to explore 3D calls, something he said was based on the fact that 3D screens are becoming less rare.

Gillett noted that at the moment such services aren’t possible because of the need to not only have at least two cameras, but to “precisely calibrate them” at the correct angles. He said that although Skype’s testing shows such a set-up can work in principle, the challenge is in ensuring compatibility with different 3D screens.

Although Gillett didn’t go into further detail, it may be that simply manufacturing (or licensing manufacturing rights) 3D camera sets for Skype wouldn’t be sufficient because of the awkwardness of where to place them. For example, attaching them to the edge of a screen might require the user to be sat at a particular distance, which might not be convenient in all set-ups.

According to Gillett, the chances are that 3D Skype probably wouldn’t drive the video technology forward in itself: he believes its more likely that it will take glasses-free 3D displays becoming more widespread before its viable to start producing cameras for video calls.

In the same interview, marking Skype’s 10th anniversary, Gillett noted the company is working on bringing 1080p calls to more platforms (it’s currently only confirmed to be available for the Xbox One), even though it will require some serious processing power. He also refused to answer questions about what access the National Security Agency has to Skype video calls.