ooVoo announces the results of a blind study conducted by a third party research firm to demonstrate how its product stacks up against category leader Skype.

The study results show that ooVoo is preferred by 8 out of 10 Skype users, who cited superior sound and video quality as some of the reasons why they favored ooVoo for a better video communication experience delivered anywhere, anytime.

In addition to quality, a number of factors contribute to users’ overall preference of ooVoo over Skype. For example, ooVoo offers 6-way multi-point chat, versus Skype which offers only 5-way, a feature that’s currently in a beta testing phase and has experienced a number of bugs1. ooVoo hosts video chat on dedicated servers that keep quality more consistent. Skype’s technology relies on users’ individual processors making service less reliable in situations with uncertain bandwidth.

About the study

Timing and methodology:

• The study was conducted on December 10, 2009 and January 18-22, 2010, and measured Skype users' opinions on video quality (no audio), audio quality (no video), conversational quality (both video and audio), telephone sound quality and telephone conversational quality of Skype and ooVoo.
• The study was conducted throughout 13 separate sessions, each with approximately 10 to 11 Skype users, with survey participants located in New York and a facilitator located in Berkeley, California. The study was designed so the users saw and heard Skype and ooVoo in comparable conditions.
• During the blind study, only the video windows of both Skype and ooVoo were exposed side-by-side in comparable sizes as to avoid any recognition on the part of the Skype user.

Findings:

• ◦68 percent of Skype users prefer ooVoo sound quality over Skype sound quality.
• 68 percent of Skype users prefer ooVoo video chat conversational quality over Skype video chat conversational quality.
• 80 percent of Skype users prefer ooVoo telephone sound quality over Skype telephone sound quality.
• 78 percent prefer ooVoo telephone conversational quality over Skype conversational quality.
• 84 percent of Skype users, when asked to consider all tests, prefer ooVoo over Skype.