Las Vegas – Skype, the Internet telephone service, on
Tuesday announced partnerships with consumer electronics firms Panasonic and
LG, to integrate voice and video calling via Skype into the companies’
respective Internet-connected HDTV sets. Set to become available in the spring,
the setup will require a new TV-ready webcam with a microphone designed to
"easily pick up sound from couch-distance."
Related Links:
http://share.skype.com/sites/en/2010/01/skype_on_your_tv.html
The only problem with having Skype on the LG Infinia TV is that you have to buy an LG web cam valued at about $180 AUD if you want it to work…No other web cam will work (at this time). I tried to use my Logitech web cam and it does not work…I rang LG and they told me that I would have to buy an LG web cam for it to work. Now, I am not sure how anyone else feels but I have had many TVs over the years and I have been able to use any brand of DVD player or VCR on any brand of TV and they have always worked, so you can imagine my surprise when the web cam that works on my computer with Skype does not work on my LG Infinia TV with Skype….I am not impressed with LG basically forcing me to buy their web cam to be able to Skype on my 55″ LG Infinia TV…after all I have just spent around $3000.00 Australian to get the TV and now they expect me to shell out about $180.00 more just to use Skype…is anyone else unimpressed with this issue??. LG says that it has to be a special web cam that can work from being clipped on top of the TV, I say that is silly as I can clip it to something close to me on my lounge so that I am within a half a meter or so of my cam so I say that their statement that does not hold water. What do you think??. Regards Peter Gordon in Australia.