Google+ Hangouts now supports HD video, as it switches from H.264 codec to VP8.
One of the main submissions to Google+ Hangouts is High-definition (HD) video, video calls have only been streamed at DVD-quality 480p. Today, the Google+ team have now added support for 720p HD video in Hangouts. Along with today's update, Hangouts is moving away from H.264 code to Google's VP8 web streaming standard.
Google is currently rolling out HD video support to Hangouts, as a push to match its main competitor Skype which has had HD video for a few years now. HD video is currently limited to 720p, but we could expect that to increased to 1080p in the coming months. HD Hangouts will require a HD-capable webcam, more bandwidth and more processing power than standard definition. Like before, your video quality can be altered in the video quality slider, where you will find the new HD option.
In addition today's Hangouts upgrade, a big change has been made towards open standards. Previously Hangouts used the closed H.264 standard which has been the main web streaming codec for many years which browsers have chosen to adopt. In addition, Google has required users to install a browser plugin to be able to correctly use Hangouts. With the move towards the open VP8 standard, Google can move Hangouts towards a more open, plugin-less future.
Google’s Vice President of Engineering Chee Chew was interviewed by Gigaom to discuss VP8 in Hangouts. He explained that H.264 will require too much processing power to be able to handle HD video with up to 10 participants. The VP8 standard makes it possible for Google to serve up better-looking streams at low bit rates, which is especially important when it comes to mobile video chats.
Browser support for VP8 and WebRTC doesn't stop at the desktops. Chrome for Android, Firefox Mobile and Opera Mobile all support these standards today.
HD Hangouts is rolling out today, initially to 'Hangouts on Air' with a full desktop rollout in the coming weeks. I believe we can expect HD support to arrive to mobile devices shortly since many Android devices, such as the Nexus 4 and HTC One, and the iPhone 5 have a front-facing HD camera.
Google is currently rolling out HD video support to Hangouts, as a push to match its main competitor Skype which has had HD video for a few years now. HD video is currently limited to 720p, but we could expect that to increased to 1080p in the coming months. HD Hangouts will require a HD-capable webcam, more bandwidth and more processing power than standard definition. Like before, your video quality can be altered in the video quality slider, where you will find the new HD option.
In addition today's Hangouts upgrade, a big change has been made towards open standards. Previously Hangouts used the closed H.264 standard which has been the main web streaming codec for many years which browsers have chosen to adopt. In addition, Google has required users to install a browser plugin to be able to correctly use Hangouts. With the move towards the open VP8 standard, Google can move Hangouts towards a more open, plugin-less future.
Google’s Vice President of Engineering Chee Chew was interviewed by Gigaom to discuss VP8 in Hangouts. He explained that H.264 will require too much processing power to be able to handle HD video with up to 10 participants. The VP8 standard makes it possible for Google to serve up better-looking streams at low bit rates, which is especially important when it comes to mobile video chats.
What is VP8?
VP8 is a video compression format owned by Google and created by On2 Technologies as a successor to VP7. VP8 is part of the WebM standard, with the aim to move the web away from closed standards such as Adobe Flash, Microsoft Silverlight and H.264.
Comparing VP8 to H.264, both provide similar levels of video and audio streaming quality. However, VP8 is far more efficient on processing and network usage.
YouTube is currently moving away from H.264 and Adoble Flash towards VP8 and HTML5.
WebRTC is the Future
VP8 is the first step towards letting users video chat via the browser without the use of plugins, the next step is WebRTC. Both Google and Mozilla have been big advocates of this new open standard which enables browser-to-browser applications for voice calling, video chat, and P2P file sharing without plugins. While VP8 can only provide video and audio functionality, WebRTC can provide the full Hangouts experience; such as providing those silly hats in Hangouts.
Browser Support
Today's announcement comes days after the Chrome team finally complete support for VP8 and WebRTC with the release of Google Chrome 29 last week. Both Opera and Mozilla Firefox also support these web media standards. Apple and Microsoft are still to implement these standards fully into their browsers.Browser support for VP8 and WebRTC doesn't stop at the desktops. Chrome for Android, Firefox Mobile and Opera Mobile all support these standards today.
HD Hangouts is rolling out today, initially to 'Hangouts on Air' with a full desktop rollout in the coming weeks. I believe we can expect HD support to arrive to mobile devices shortly since many Android devices, such as the Nexus 4 and HTC One, and the iPhone 5 have a front-facing HD camera.