Has Skype jumped the shark with High-Def TV calls?

You’ve got to love CES. It’s like the global hub for digital-convergence fantasies. Nowhere are you more likely to see a combination microwave-radio-cellphone than at the Consumer Electronics Show. But one genuinely interesting hybrid caught my eye. Electronics manufacturers LG and Panasonic have gotten together with Skype, the worlds most popular VoIP client, to create a HDTV with Skype on-board.

What’s the dealio?

Skype is an incredibly useful service. Disruptively so, in fact, as was shown by the squabbling between VoIP and mobile operators last year. When I was away from home for two months last year, I made regular contact with home through Skype – being able to see your loved ones faces for free is a potent service.

But Skype pays attention to consumer requests, and people were requesting a more comfortable service. Typically Skype calls are made on your computer, over a low quality webcam that transmits blocky video. Skype users wanted better. Luckily, Panasonic and LG were there to provide.

Both companies do a good line in digital or Internet-enabled televisions. You can use the TVs for web-browsing and interactive features. The televisions that Skype is enabled on are both digital and HD. They’ve been set up with cameras and microphones that pick up high quality signals from a distance of more than a couple of feet. In other words, they’ve been designed specifically to allow you to make high quality Skype calls while sitting on your couch across the room from your TV.

A Skype spokesperson told ZDNet Asia “we are enabling users to enjoy these free, high-quality video calls not only on their PCs but also on Internet-enabled TVs that they may eventually have at home…. as more and more consumer electronic devices are becoming more powerful and [have] Internet connectivity, Skype is a logical application to be embedded into these devices.”

What we think?

I think it’s very important to note something the Skype spokesperson said: “internet-enabled TVs that they MAY EVENTUALLY have at home”. As with so many products at CES, this is about planning ahead and hoping that the consumers arrives at the same location you have. In this case, while the product is extremely cool, there’s no real guarantee that making HD Skype calls is something people are going to want. It has the same problems as the recently announced HD Voice calls from Orange. Who are these products really for? Who are you going to call on your HD Skype TV? Just because you’re displaying their image in HD doesn’t mean they’re broadcasting anything better than blocky webcam video. And even regular Skype calls can be pretty jumpy. You’d want a pretty solid web connection for this service is all I’m saying.

However…

Whether or not anyone uses this service, it’s still good publicity for Skype. It sounds cool, and since Panasonic and LG are building the actual TVs you can bet it hasn’t cost Skype all that much. The worlds premier VoIP service continues to be incredibly clever.