Does Skype on HDTV mean a true videophone (finally)?
As we’ve reported, both LG and Panasonic have both partnered up with Skype to bring video telephone — that’s videophone in non-jargon — to HDTVs. For this first generation, you’ll have to clap an LG webcam with built-in microphones on top of your pretty panel, but everyone knows next year’s models — or maybe even the HDMI 1.4 3D models due later this year — will have the webcam/mic built-in, just like on a laptop PC. It’s this built-in webcam that may make this videophone a mainstream cultural phenomena. If everyone has a TV with a webcam (eventually), everyone will be able to videophone without any extra equipment. We got a closer look at the LG Skype system. You’ll need this year’s NetCast-equipped LG HDTVs, due this spring (40 percent of the company’s lineup), to make it work — the Skype video app will be included. You can either sign in to your existing Skype account or create on in the app — how you do this isn’t clear yet. The LG webcams (you can’t use an off-the-shelf mode
