How Does FaceTime Work? • Hacker News Board

Re: How Does FaceTime Work?

#21

Post by the-dude » Fri, Aug 20, 2021, 1:58 PM UTC

lqet wrote: post #16

> For those of you old enough to remember landlines, it reminds me of those [...] When we all switched to cell service audio quality took a huge hit I don't understand - are landline phones not in use anymore? I only use a landline phone to communicate with the family, because I simply cannot stand the audio quality of cellphones for calls which last longer than a few minutes. Edit: In Germany, there are about 40 M a…

Landlines have been digitized too, a distinct difference to what an analog landline offered.

It was more intimate, you could hear breathing for example.

Re: How Does FaceTime Work?

#22

Post by notwhereyouare » Fri, Aug 20, 2021, 1:59 PM UTC

yohannparis wrote: post #14

EForEndeavour wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FaceTime is a free part of Apple's software offerings, but you can't start a FaceTime call if you aren't an Apple user.

I don't understand your point, you can't start a Telegram call if you aren't a Telegram user as well.

a telegram account is free, a facetime account requires an apple device.

Re: How Does FaceTime Work?

#23

Post by plater » Fri, Aug 20, 2021, 2:05 PM UTC

yohannparis wrote: post #14

EForEndeavour wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FaceTime is a free part of Apple's software offerings, but you can't start a FaceTime call if you aren't an Apple user.

I don't understand your point, you can't start a Telegram call if you aren't a Telegram user as well.

He means that you need Apple hardware to start a Facetime call.

Re: How Does FaceTime Work?

#24

Post by cassianoleal » Fri, Aug 20, 2021, 2:06 PM UTC

nojito wrote: post #11

imagine99 wrote: post #10

Can anyone recommend a similar service that provides true high-quality video chat functionality on par with FaceTime but not requiring Apple hardware (but still easily usable on mobile)? We're looking for such a service for use in developing countries where iPhones are rare and connectivity is often mediocre at best. Tests with the like of Telegram, Duo and others have been okay-ish for voice-only calls but pretty ba…

You can join Facetime calls without apple devices in iOS 15

Join, but not start if I recall the announcement correctly.

Re: How Does FaceTime Work?

#25

Post by cassianoleal » Fri, Aug 20, 2021, 2:07 PM UTC

2rsf wrote: post #13

imagine99 wrote: post #10

Can anyone recommend a similar service that provides true high-quality video chat functionality on par with FaceTime but not requiring Apple hardware (but still easily usable on mobile)? We're looking for such a service for use in developing countries where iPhones are rare and connectivity is often mediocre at best. Tests with the like of Telegram, Duo and others have been okay-ish for voice-only calls but pretty ba…

WhatsApp does a decent job

WhatsApp is usable but nowhere near the video and audio quality of FaceTime. It's also only on mobile where the screen is rather small and audio quality is never great - not very important since they seem to use very high audio compression anyway.

Re: How Does FaceTime Work?

#26

Post by airstrike » Fri, Aug 20, 2021, 2:07 PM UTC

mosselman wrote: post #15

We used to use Skype with my wife's parents and it sucked: there were delays, freezes, low quality video, etc. It worked great with my mother, but she had far better internet than my wife's parents. The alternatives were even worse: Telegram, whatsapp, jitsi. Then we tried FaceTime: the difference was night and day. Everything was smooth, the sound was better, no stuttering, we could actually read things they held to…

I literally can't even type phone numbers into Skype on my iPhone without a massive input delay that actually makes the digits appear all at once, with their tones coming out like a musical chord.

In the 21st century, this is unacceptable. The app is so clunky I loathe using it but it's unfortunately still a good (the best?) solution for dialing landlines and mobile phones abroad for extended periods of time.

Re: How Does FaceTime Work?

#27

Post by randomdata » Fri, Aug 20, 2021, 2:09 PM UTC

sgt wrote: post #3

FaceTime is amazing. I keep in touch with my entire family using FaceTime video, often across thousands of kilometers. It's also such an equalizer, allowing even the non-computer literate to use it and focus on the actual conversations. In fact, my 103 year old grandmother is able to do video calls with me, which is great because I rarely see her in person these days. I don't think there exists an alternative she wou…

Unfortunately, calls with more than two people seem to fall apart quickly if the network connection isn't perfect, even where Meets, Zoom, etc. work flawlessly.

Re: How Does FaceTime Work?

#28

Post by breakfastduck » Fri, Aug 20, 2021, 2:11 PM UTC

comandillos wrote: post #4

Telegram also provides this service quality, its available on all platforms and its free.

I mean its a complete misnomer to state that the quality is remotely comparable.

Re: How Does FaceTime Work?

#29

Post by m4rtink » Fri, Aug 20, 2021, 2:12 PM UTC

imagine99 wrote: post #10

Can anyone recommend a similar service that provides true high-quality video chat functionality on par with FaceTime but not requiring Apple hardware (but still easily usable on mobile)? We're looking for such a service for use in developing countries where iPhones are rare and connectivity is often mediocre at best. Tests with the like of Telegram, Duo and others have been okay-ish for voice-only calls but pretty ba…

Jitsi works fine as well.

Re: How Does FaceTime Work?

#30

Post by acdha » Fri, Aug 20, 2021, 2:13 PM UTC

randomdata wrote: post #27

sgt wrote: post #3

FaceTime is amazing. I keep in touch with my entire family using FaceTime video, often across thousands of kilometers. It's also such an equalizer, allowing even the non-computer literate to use it and focus on the actual conversations. In fact, my 103 year old grandmother is able to do video calls with me, which is great because I rarely see her in person these days. I don't think there exists an alternative she wou…

Unfortunately, calls with more than two people seem to fall apart quickly if the network connection isn't perfect, even where Meets, Zoom, etc. work flawlessly.

This substantially the opposite of my experience so I’d bet there is some factor for proximity to CDNs or traffic shaping done by your ISP. FaceTime is rock-solid; Zoom is also good but has noticeably lower video quality (but good noise handling). Meet’s native apps are good but their browser UI is coded to break Firefox so I don’t use it much.