Skype and the Oprah Winfry Show HOW do they do that? at DVinfo.net

David Ruhland · September 10th, 2009, 10:33 AM

Can some one please tell me how SKYPE works so good on Oprah and not good for me? Is it the lighting? The camera what? I currently have a 10x10mb internet connection, I have the High Def camera from Skype/Logitech, a Dual Core processing computer...

I want my skype to look as good as on the oprah show!

Greg Paulson · September 14th, 2009, 01:37 PM

The connection is the key. While they might use the Skype software to compress the images, they have proper lighting on location, a good camera, good microphones and most importantly, a _very_ good and specially installed Internet connection.

Skype is not going to put their name on this segment and cross fingers the guest's P2-450 with common broadband won't freeze or otherwise make Skype look bad.

I wouldn't even put it past the producers to have a broadcast-based backup ready to go outside at a moment's notice. They could even do the whole thing as a normal live hit, then run the audio & video through Skype in the Oprah control room and still legitimately claim it's through a Skype connection. I know that is exactly what I would do. You got a few million people watching, with a big brand name on it.

It's all light and mirrors, snake oil, whatever. The average person is not going to have anywhere NEAR the same result.

A good car commercial shows the guy in the Mustang, open roads, going fast and pretty much being master of all. The reality is more like this: http://allworldcars.com/wordpress/wp...affic_jam1.jpg

Ervin Farkas · September 17th, 2009, 05:56 AM

Keep in mind, your internet connection is only half of the solution (or problem) - Skype measures the WHOLE line from you to your partner and adjusts the picture size/quality according to the overall bandwidth. You can have a 1Tbps connection, if you're connected to me via my lazy 768Kbps DSL, Skype will tune down the quality so I can watch you.

You can pump water from your lake into mine with your one foot diameter hose, but when connected to my one inch diameter hose, the throuput will only be one square inch... the analogy might not be perfect, but it illustrates the idea.

Mitchell Skurnik · September 19th, 2009, 10:52 PM

I am sure that skype throttles the bandwidth for the show giving them priority over anyone else.

Ervin Farkas · October 7th, 2009, 07:17 AM

Whatever they do, it's not bulletproof: this morning on NBC's Today Show Skype froze in the middle of a live viewer question. It came back in a few seconds, but it went black for a while, so they had to take it off the screen, then put it back.

September 10th, 2009, 10:33 AM	#1
David Ruhland Major Player Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Madison WI Posts: 340	Skype and the Oprah Winfry Show HOW do they do that? Can some one please tell me how SKYPE works so good on Oprah and not good for me? Is it the lighting? The camera what? I currently have a 10x10mb internet connection, I have the High Def camera from Skype/Logitech, a Dual Core processing computer... I want my skype to look as good as on the oprah show! __________________ Vegas 8.0c (Build 260)-(Upgraded to Sony Vegas 10 pro)Canon GL2, Canon HV30, HF200, HF20-Sony UWP Wirelesss Mic Kit, Intel Core 2 CPU-6600@2.40GHz-3.00GB Ram

September 17th, 2009, 05:56 AM	#3
Ervin Farkas Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Atlanta/USA Posts: 2,515	Keep in mind, your internet connection is only half of the solution (or problem) - Skype measures the WHOLE line from you to your partner and adjusts the picture size/quality according to the overall bandwidth. You can have a 1Tbps connection, if you're connected to me via my lazy 768Kbps DSL, Skype will tune down the quality so I can watch you. You can pump water from your lake into mine with your one foot diameter hose, but when connected to my one inch diameter hose, the throuput will only be one square inch... the analogy might not be perfect, but it illustrates the idea. __________________ Ervin Farkas www.AtlantaLegalVideo.com

September 19th, 2009, 10:52 PM	#4
Mitchell Skurnik Major Player Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Rancho Santa Margarita, California Posts: 201	I am sure that skype throttles the bandwidth for the show giving them priority over anyone else. __________________ Mitchell J. Skurnik http://www.mjcsstudios.com/ - EX1, 4x hoodman 16GB, Libec Tripod, Sony LAV

October 7th, 2009, 07:17 AM	#5
Ervin Farkas Inner Circle Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Atlanta/USA Posts: 2,515	Still, it can fail! Whatever they do, it's not bulletproof: this morning on NBC's Today Show Skype froze in the middle of a live viewer question. It came back in a few seconds, but it went black for a while, so they had to take it off the screen, then put it back. __________________ Ervin Farkas www.AtlantaLegalVideo.com

September 14th, 2009, 01:37 PM	#2
Greg Paulson Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Winnipeg , Manitoba, Canada Posts: 43	The connection is the key. While they might use the Skype software to compress the images, they have proper lighting on location, a good camera, good microphones and most importantly, a _very_ good and specially installed Internet connection. Skype is not going to put their name on this segment and cross fingers the guest's P2-450 with common broadband won't freeze or otherwise make Skype look bad. I wouldn't even put it past the producers to have a broadcast-based backup ready to go outside at a moment's notice. They could even do the whole thing as a normal live hit, then run the audio & video through Skype in the Oprah control room and still legitimately claim it's through a Skype connection. I know that is exactly what I would do. You got a few million people watching, with a big brand name on it. It's all light and mirrors, snake oil, whatever. The average person is not going to have anywhere NEAR the same result. A good car commercial shows the guy in the Mustang, open roads, going fast and pretty much being master of all. The reality is more like this: http://allworldcars.com/wordpress/wp...affic_jam1.jpg