Skype High Resolution Video

I found an article in the paper yesterday that may be of interest to those of you who use Skype.

You may know that Skype 2.5 for Mac is now available. You will want to pick this up if you are still using the original beta. See http://www.skype.com/intl/en/download/skype/macosx for the download. Skype 2.5 is prerequisite for the change to high res video that this post is all about.

With Skype 2.5 in place and working (start it up, sign in, sign out, quit BEFORE proceeding further) you can now change its default video size up to 640x480. This is the video you SEND, not the video you RECEIVE. You will need the folks you Skype with to do the same in order to receive 640x480 as well (i.e. they have to be sending 640x480 in order for you to receive it!). However, even if they don't make any changes, your end will work - the people you Skpe with will now see you in full glorious (?) 640x480 even if you cannot see them in the same size!

To make the change, you need to add two lines to the Skype config.xml file for your Skype username. To do this, follow the instructions in this link:

https://developer.skype.com/SkypeGa...head-614ba6c328ebfa62d382de84a9c029d0232dd84f

BEFORE you make the change, save off a copy of the original config.xml, so you can always revert if you believe the changes have caused problems. In my case, I just made a copy of config.xml and called it config.xml.orig, and left it in the Skype directory, so that it is readily at hand.

I have made the changes outlined in the above link myself and all seems well, although I won't be able to test it until tomorrow, when I have a weekly video call with family members. I have tested that Skype still starts up and signs in just fine with this change in place, so it looks non destructive.

Enjoy!

Thanks, that's a great tip. Unfortunately I think it's going to take me a while to get all my friends to make the change as well. I'll probably end up sitting at their MacBooks doing it myself.

Anyway, good to know, thanks again.

I've tried to open the xml file and it's default app is Final Cut Pro?!
What should i be opening it in to edit it?
Thanks in advance.

Simbad54 said:

I've tried to open the xml file and it's default app is Final Cut Pro?!
What should i be opening it in to edit it?
Thanks in advance.

Click to expand...

lol, the default app in my case was a game .... just ctrl/right-click and choose Get Info on the xml file and then in the Open With section click on the drop-down menu and choose an appropriate text editor ... or select Other and navigate to Text Edit.

For me the choice was simple as Text Wrangler was available straight up in the list, so I chose that.

Don't forget to save a copy of the original file like mac57 advises.

Thanks once again, Pulse-8

I suggest keeping Smultron in your App folder. It's a good editor for any markup file.

Well I think I've done it.... Fingers crossed

It's all done, i just need to check it with a friend. Will let you know how it goes.

Don't worry about that default app stuff. Just drag the file onto your Dock/Application icon for your favorite text editor. In my case (spot on, Yogi!) I used Smultron.

Ok, had a video chat with a friend in Amsterdam last night. When i started the video, skype crashed, so i restarted it, and it opened up as if i had just upgraded the software, accept the license, re-enter my skype name ,etc but it all ran fine after that. My friend claimed the video looked much better, so seems to work just fine. Any one else had a similar experience?

I have had similar issues Simbad54. I had my first video call with Skype 2.5 last night. I had several hard crashes of the application, requiring me to restart Skype and place the call again. I haven't tracked the issue down, but that is what I have experienced to date.

Mac57, I would guess that it was the Resolution increase causing it, no?
I'm gonna see how it performs for a while then consider reverting back to the old config.xml file to see if that fixes it. Lets keep this thread going though and see what happens.

Good idea Simbad54 - I am planning on the same thing. My next such call is Thursday. I will report back using this thread on Friday.

I've had no prob's so far I use a 3Mbit connection. I'll try again tommorow

I don't think the link speed is the issue. I have Verizon FiOS, running at 15 Mbps. It is either an issue with the new version of Skype, or it is the changes to allow larger video. I have undone the changes to upgrade the video quality. If the problems still remain, I will know it is the upgrade.

I know this thread is old, but anyway. I've removed the increased resolution config file, and reverted back. It kept crashing. Any one else had a similar experience?

Yup, me too. I removed the high res, but Skype keeps failing mid call. A quick restart of the app gets things back to normal alright, but it is annoying. Take heart however, I have Skype on my WinXP PC as well, and it is just as badly behaved. This appears to be a base Skype issue, not a Mac Skype implementation issues.