or start a video chat face to face isn’t a big deal even if the
participants are located miles away from each other. But to organize a video
conference for a group of 5, 10 or 12 people can become a real challenge.
No matter what your goal is, you’ll need a good group video calling tool. Have
a look at top 5 free video chat programs we picked out for you.
1. SKYPE
Max number of video participants: 10
Price: free
Platforms: for
making video calls – Windows, Mac, Xbox One; for listening – Linux, iOS,
Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, Amazon Fire, Smart TV, PlayStation Vita.
With Skype you
can enjoy group voice calls with up to 25 people and video calls with up
to 10 people. No premium account needed. Still if you own a Business
subscription, you may start a video conference with 250 participants. Pricing
for Business starts from $2 per user monthly.
Skype recommends video group calls with up to
5 people, since it complies with their fair usage policy. Group video
calls are limited to 100 hours per month with no more
than 10 hours per day and 4 hours per individual video call. Once these limits
have been reached, the video will switch off and you’ll be turned to an audio
call.
You can’t start a group video call in Skype for
mobile devices, Linux, and TVs. However, you take part in it with audio
only.
Each person on a group
video call will need:
·
the latest version of
Skype;
·
a high-speed
broadband Internet connection;
·
a webcam;
·
a microphone and
speakers;
·
DirectX 9.0c
compatible video card on Windows OS.
To start a group video
call in Skype,
1. Make a group of all the participants
of your video call or just hold Ctrl and click
the contacts from your list you want to call.
2. Click the Video call button.
3. At the end of the call, click the End
call button.
4.
When you make a video call, Skype automatically determines the
quality of video call that your system is capable of supporting. In case you
have any issues with group video calls in Skype, see this troubleshooting guide.
5.
While having a group video call, you may start a screen
demonstration for all your participants, send files and contacts, and add other
members to the conference.
7. 2. GOOGLE HANGOUTS
Max number of video participants: 10
Price: free
Platforms: Windows,
Mac, Linux, iOS, Android.
Google Hangouts is
the easiest video chat option for up to 10 people since it’s totally
web-based. If you have a Google account, you may start and join from your
computer, smartphone or tablet.
To make a video
call in Google Hangouts on a PC,
1. Log in into Google Plus or Gmail.
2. If you’re using Internet Explorer, Firefox,
Safari, you need the Hangouts plugin. In
Chrome it’s automatically enabled.
3. Open Hangouts at hangouts.google.com or
in Gmail.
4. Allow Hangouts to access your computer’s
microphone and camera.
5. In the search box, type a name or email
address of each person you want to invite to your group video
call and check the box in front of their names.
6. Click the Video icon.
If you have the right
equipment, you can send and receive 720p HD video hangouts. You can send a
permanent link to share via email or Google Plus, so that people could
join your video hangout.
To start a video
hangout on an iOS or Android device, just intall the Google Hangouts app, pick
up contacts and make video calls.
You can also share screen with all video conference members,
add new members, edit documents all together from Google Drive, play games and
even broadcast your live video meeting to Google+ friends.
3. OOVOO
Max number of video participants: 12
Price: free
Platforms: Windows,
Mac, iOS, Android, Amazon Fire, Windows Phone
ooVoo offers group video call to up
to 12 people. This is free unless you want to remove ads, sync your ooVoo apps
between desktop and mobile or have cloud video storage space. The premium
account costs $29.99 per year.
How to use ooVoo for
video chatting:
1. Download and install the software.
2. Register an account or connect with Facebook
(ooVoo users are required to be 13 years old).
3. Select users from your contact list with
which you want to launch a video chat.
4. Click the Video Call button to
start a video conversation (or simply double-click on the contact).
While video chatting,
you can also record your video conversation or watch YouTube videos together.
4. ANYMEETING
Max number of participants: 6
Price: free for video
calls up to 4 people, $18/month for up to 6 people
Platforms: Windows,
Mac, iOS, Android
AnyMeeting lets
you share up to six webcams at once. The video quality automatically
resize to fill the available meeting space. No matter what devices the
attendees are using, the video call will be working on all supported models.
To start a video chat
using AnyMeeting,
1. Go to the website and sign up.
2. Download and
install AnyMeeting app.
3. Pick up contacts for your video call.
4. Click the Webcam button on
the upper panel to sttart video conference.
5.
While making a video call, you can share slides, play YouTube
videos, run a poll, invite more people and take notes which will be further
emailed to all other participants.
6. 5. GOTOMEETING
7.
Max number of video participants: 6
8.
Price: free for up to 3 people calls, $24/month for up
5 participants, $39/month for up to 25
9.
Platforms: Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Windows Phone
10.
GoToMeeting is one of the most powerful chat tools
for up to 100 people! However, only 6 people can broadcast their videos at
a time. So even if you choose PRO paln with up to 25 participants, only 6 of
them can share their webcams at once.
11.
It’s hard to find a suitable GoToMeeting alternative due to its
irreplaceable features including support of video chat for any supported
paltform users, screen sharing and powerful commenting options, video
conference recording for further uploading to YouTube or a website. Get details
how to use GotoMeeting for video conferencing and solve any problems with it here.
