SightSpeed Light Flash Video on MySpace

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SightSpeed Light Flash Video on MySpace

SightSpeedSightSpeed just launched a new “SightSpeed Light” widget for MySpace, which adds two-way voice and video to the popular social networking site. If you recall, I wrote the following about SightSpeed Light:

The obvious question that came to my mind when I was thinking about embedded Flash VoIP applets is "what about Flash video conferencing applets that do both voice & video?" Imagine simply visiting a website, and initiating an ad-hoc videoconference with other visitors to that same site. I should mention that there already exists tons of Flash video applications used by popular sites such as YouTube and LiveLeak. The video codecs at least exist within the Flash player. Though, YouTube uses buffering that isn't real-time, so Flash-based videoconferencing would most likely use a different codec that performs better during real-time communication.

In any event, I knew it wouldn't be long before someone took Flash VoIP to the next level and offered Flash videoconferencing. Apparently, SightSpeed is the first company to do so...

Now today its "no download" Flash-based video application, “SightSpeed Light” is available to MySpace users. You can access SightSpeed Light on MySpace here.

Features include video mail, public video posting and free video chat between members of MySpace. Also, SightSpeed Light captures and creates video messages as posts, creating extended video conversations that are face-to-face, but not necessarily in real time. These threaded conversations start with someone creating and posting a SightSpeed video of him- or herself about any topic. From there, anyone in that person’s MySpace friends group can respond and add his or her thoughts. SightSpeed Light organizes the thread automatically, thus creating a video conversation, all without leaving MySpace.

News release after the jump...
SightSpeed Offers First and Only V-Mail and V-Chat Widget on MySpace
With Easy-to-Use, No-Download Video Conversation Application

SightSpeed Inc., the leading provider of Internet video communications, has announced that a new easy-to-use, no-download version of its video application, “SightSpeed Light,” is now available to MySpace users.

SightSpeed is now the first company to offer integrated video mail, public video posting and free video chat between members of MySpace. SightSpeed Light works on any computer (PC or Mac) through any standards-based Web browser (e.g., Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari), with no downloads or installation required.

SightSpeed Light makes video conversations with MySpace friends livelier, whether they’re real-time, face-to-face chats or threaded posts created by friends recording and posting video messages.

SightSpeed Light captures and creates video messages as posts, creating extended video conversations that are face-to-face, but not necessarily in real time. These threaded conversations start with someone creating and posting a SightSpeed video of him- or herself about any topic. From there, anyone in that person’s MySpace friends group can respond and add his or her thoughts. SightSpeed Light organizes the thread automatically, thus creating a video conversation, all without leaving MySpace.

“As a result, MySpace users now have communications functionality currently not available in any other form on MySpace,” said Eric Quanstrom, SightSpeed VP–marketing. “SightSpeed Light allows MySpacers—especially those Gen Y-ers who grew up texting—to use video just as easily as they use text.”

SightSpeed Light also lets those video conversations happen spontaneously. Because MySpace users can see whom among their friends is also online, they can use SightSpeed Light to call them immediately, without download, installation, setup—or cost. These calls are free of charge to users.

When a MySpacer adds SightSpeed Light, all their friends are notified. Once their friends have added SightSpeed Light (by clicking “Add this App” from their MySpace profile), they can immediately see when their friends are online to call, video mail or post.

SightSpeed Light works best with a Web camera to provide the full effect of video chatting, conversations and messaging, although audio-only chats and voice mails are possible.

MySpace members can access SightSpeed Light here:

About SightSpeed:
SightSpeed Inc. is the award-winning provider of Internet video communications for both the consumer and business user. The company offers the broadest portfolio of industry-leading Internet video communications services, including SightSpeed Light, SightSpeed Free and SightSpeed PLUS, the most widely praised consumer-focused video chat services, which turn a PC or Mac into an easy-to-use video phone to communicate with friends and family around the world; and SightSpeed Business, the world’s first high-quality, cost-effective and hardware-free videoconferencing service for all businesses (including SMBs). SightSpeed's services are SIP-based and standards-compliant. The company’s revolutionary human perception-based technology is patented and based on more than ten years of research and development originating out of Cornell University.

Founded in 2001 and based in Berkeley, Calif., SightSpeed is a privately held company funded by The Roda Group, best known for launching Ask Jeeves and PolyServe. For more information about SightSpeed, visit www.sightspeed.com.

Backgrounder: SightSpeed Light for MySpace

Quotes about SightSpeed Light from SightSpeed CEO Peter Csathy:

“SightSpeed Light is unlike anything yet available on MySpace. For the first time, MySpace users can have a spontaneous real-time video chat with their friends while remaining within MySpace. But for this demographic that grew up in the not-always-real-time world of texting, we believe SightSpeed Light’s threaded video conversation capability will be even more appealing—enabling friends to maintain an ongoing conversation about their favorite topic of the moment.”

“In my opinion, video mail and video chat will be the next big movement in communications over the Internet. Why do I say this? Because webcams are embedded in nearly every device now, and social networkers are looking for the next best way to reach out to one another. That’s what puts SightSpeed Light ahead of the curve.”

Background
SightSpeed announced in January 2008 that it was developing SightSpeed Light to run on a variety of online social networks, including those based on Google’s forthcoming OpenSocial platform. SightSpeed chose MySpace as the first of these networks for which to develop its SightSpeed Light widget.

SightSpeed Light is currently in beta version, as are all approved applications available through MySpace.

SightSpeed Light enables both synchronous communications (e.g., face-to-face, real-time chat) as well as asynchronous communications that are face-to-face, but not necessarily in real time (e.g., threaded conversations).

Application Development
SightSpeed developers created the application using Adobe Flash, one of the most widely adopted multimedia viewing and creation tools, making SightSpeed Light simple to integrate on a variety of platforms and enhancing its accessibility and usability.

SightSpeed has offered an ActiveX plug-in that works with Internet Explorer since version 1.0 dating back to 2003, making SightSpeed the first clientless video conferencing application.
Now, SightSpeed developers have taken that same core technology and approach in developing SightSpeed Light. In this case, they are using Flash to enable SightSpeed to work easily inside a social community like MySpace. That’s because MySpace’s application programming interfaces (APIs) have been developed to work with Flash in such a way as to rapidly develop and deploy services like SightSpeed Light.


Safety and Security
No other plug-in for MySpace brings people together visually as easily and as safely as SightSpeed Light, enabling younger MySpace users to get face-to-face in a secure yet personal manner.

Video mail messages are kept securely within a thread on MySpace, on SightSpeed servers, and the owner (creator) of the thread can delete any message within, as they choose.


Future Developments

Although the application is currently limited to MySpace users, future developments will enable them to also connect with the rest of the SightSpeed community (e.g., those using SightSpeed Free, PLUS or Business).

In addition, SightSpeed has plans in the works for versions of SightSpeed Light for other social network sites.

Other SightSpeed Services
SightSpeed Light joins the full range of video communication services from industry leader SightSpeed. Offering additional capabilities, the full-featured SightSpeed PLUS and SightSpeed Free deliver best-in-class, 30-frames-per-second video calling and high-quality video mail with a virtual inbox. Also available are VoIP-based phone service with phone-in and phone-out capability, custom click-to-call-me buttons, video community access with privacy features, unlimited text messaging and up to four-party video conferencing.

For the business user, SightSpeed now offers SightSpeed Business—the company’s first business-focused videoconferencing service, providing a full suite of administrative and call-management options and collaboration tools that are essential for the business user. SightSpeed Business is the first high-quality, cost-effective and hardware-free videoconferencing solution accessible to every business.

All SightSpeed’s award-winning services are fully SIP-based and standards-compliant, which is essential for interoperability, security, stability and overall user flexibility and utility.


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