SPIRIT DSP Comments on Microsoft’s Incompatibilities for In-Browser Communications

SPIRIT DSP, the world’s #1 voice and video over IP (VVoIP) software engines provider, today commented on Microsoft’s August announcement of its own CU-RTC-Web recommendation for the W3C WebRTC working group, which is focusing on a common API to unify real-time P2P communications for web browsers. As experts expected, Microsoft’s recommendation for VVoIP (Voice and Video over IP) is not compatible with Google’s products for browsers nor to the corresponding WebRTC specification offered by Google.Big players in the market continue to fight for becoming the unanimous and undisputed VVoIP standard. Microsoft and Google today develop non-standard VVoIP protocol stack software, offering solutions that work with their own systems, and never with others. For example, it is impossible to make an HD call from Skype to Google Voice & Video Chat or Hangouts without downgrading quality to PSTN. Microsoft has surprisingly not made its Lync engine compatible with the lately acquired Skype. Promotion of the CU-RTC-Web specification by Microsoft might indicate the goal to make Skype the global internet communications standard, working both in PC browsers and on smart-phones for LTE cellular networks that telcos now quickly rollout worldwide.

“The fundamental conflict between Microsoft and Google strengthens Apple’s proprietary and incompatible FaceTime VVoIP platform, as well as SPIRIT DSP’s standards-based HD-voice and video software engines that are being licensed to telcos, video softphone application developers and mobile OEMs,” said SPIRIT’s Chairman Andrew Sviridenko. “Telcos now strive to develop their own VVoIP services and are not interested in domination of Microsoft or Google VVoIP technologies on their native grounds.”

With nearly 800 of the world’s mobile operators spanning more than 200 countries, the future seems to be a bit muddled in exclusivity and not interoperability. Mobile World Congress 2012 held last February in Barcelona, saw telcos confirm a commitment to the common cross-carrier RCS-e specifications for VVoIP, SPIRIT DSP wheelhouse. Telecom operators prefer to provide their own VoIP and videoconferencing services to prevent losing subscribers to Skype or Google, and to maintain their own brands as voice and video communications migrate to IP networks in OTT models.

Until there becomes a unified HD standard, developers of VoIP and videoconferencing software using open source components will release their products with capabilities limited only to certain browsers (like Google Chrome and Firefox) or OSs (including the many versions of Android operating systems), making it extremely difficult to create cross-platform. VVoIP HD communications are still looking at an uphill battle, with products working without transcoding to Apple and Microsoft VoIP products and browsers.

Telecom providers clearly want their services to work on all popular smartphones and tablets, OSs and browsers, and SPIRIT is the only vendor providing such full compatibility in any HD quality, including support for common GSMA-driven RCS-e specifications and VoLTE. SPIRIT engines and its VideoMost web-video-conferencing software support all browsers, including Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Apple Safari, Firefox, and all popular OSs, like Windows, Mac OS, iOS, Android.