Paltalk Express (beta)

 

Paltalk Express (beta)

Paltalk, the highly flexible Internet-voice and video-chat ecosystem, can host thousands of global users at once in a single group video session. But its downloadable client, Paltalk Scene, is Windows-only, and that has left users of other operating systems out in the cold. The new Web-based Paltalk Express (currently in beta), is starting to change that. It makes many elements of Paltalk Scene, including group video chat, available on any computer with a browser that can support both Flash and Java. The cheapest version of the service is free, but chances are, if you like the service, you'll want to upgrade to one of the much more useful paid versions.

The voice conferencing and video-chat service hosts thousands of categorized, video-enabled chat rooms created by users. You'll find discussions on technology, sports, music, politics, religion, and much more, since users who have Paltalk Scene can easily create and moderate their own categories. Paltalk employees moderate the site as a whole, enforcing its terms and conditions. Paltalk Express doesn't currently let you create or moderate chat rooms, but a spokesperson for the company told me that functionality will be rolled into the next iteration of Paltalk Express.

A queue system organizes voice chat, giving everyone a chance to make a point. Users make comment requests during chat sessions and are allowed to take the floor in the order that their requests were received. Users can also interact with each other one-on-one via chat and video. The chat-room owner or admin has some control of the chats, however, and can, for example, disable a participant's mic.

In fact, the video-chat function is similar to that of the Web-based service Stickam, in which groups of individuals video chat in one room. Paltalk, however, works on a much larger scale—group video sessions reach into the thousands, as opposed to the low double digits at which Stickam maxes out. All users in a Paltalk group can display video from other users' webcams, with certain restrictions according to account type.

Specifications

Type

    Personal

Free

    Yes

OS Compatibility

    Windows Vista, Windows XP, Linux, Mac OS

Paltalk Express Basic (the default option) is free, but limits your viewing of an individual's webcam to just 10 seconds per chat session (at 5 frames per second). After that, you can still hear but not see the person. The two fee-based plans take away that restriction and provide colored nicknames (those of Basic members show up in black). Plus members, who pay $8.95 per month, show up in blue, can stream up to six of their own webcams at a time, and view videos at 5 fps. Green (Extreme) members pay $14.95 monthly and can stream as many cams as they want, viewing each at a respectable 15 fps. For $60 annually, though, you get all the benefits of Extreme (including the frame rate), saving a fortune over the month-to-month plans. All versions of Express are completely banner free (Paltalk Scene isn't).

Once registered, you see a clean, responsive interface much like that of Paltalk Scene, with categorized groups that branch off into different topics. But Paltalk Express has a fresher appearance, thanks to its Flash underpinning, which allows subtle, smooth effects for buttons, menus, and tabs when you click on them. You can create a profile (via Paltalk People, a social-networking site à la Facebook) that others can see when they click on your username in Paltalk Express.

On my tests of the Basic and Extreme versions, the audio-video chat worked remarkably well (though of course, Extreme, at 15 fps, produces far better video than Basic and Plus, at 5 fps). In the group "PC Tech," I was able to view the moderators live on video as they displayed how to upgrade components in an aging PC. Members of the room could type or speak their queries as the sessions progressed. Bloggers, MySpace members, and Facebook users can easily embed a widget into their pages, enabling Paltalk Express chats.

Original programming plays a major role in Paltalk Express. Hosted shows feature live video chat sessions with celebrities, bringing interactive chat to an entirely new plateau. I tuned in to a live interview with William Shatner. Video and audio quality were good, and I was also able to view video from over 1,500 member webcams in the session. Other big-name chatters on Paltalk Scene have included Leonard Nimoy, David Duchovny, Stephen King, and JoJo.

Of course, since this is a beta release, there's still some work to be done. Right now, the features in Express are a subset of those you get with Scene. Unlike Scene, for example, Express doesn't allow private subgroup video chats within a chat session, nor does it let you create or moderate a chat room. You won't find the Skype-like PC-to-phone calling system, either. There's none of the interoperability with AIM, ICQ, and Yahoo! IM users that Paltalk Scene offers, either, though the company tells us it's coming soon.

Despite receiving these restrictions, but Paltalk Express lets you access the chat bigger the contents of the userand the content of interest itself, such as chats with celebrities live video Voice - chat capability is very good. And even though it is based on that you can participate in chats celeb True if you want video of any one person for more than 10 seconds at a time, you'll have to upgrade to plus or Extreme, but if you subscribe tothe plan. One year, $ 60 price tag is not outrageous subscription PLUS the people who want to try video chatfor a cheap way to make in a month. And for voice chat as a group, the basic version priced at $ 0, a good deal