Back in April, Habré published the news that Mail.ru Group . It is positioned as a universal service that allows you to conduct online lessons, meetings, webinars or just talk with family and friends.
I couldn’t find any special details about it, so I tried to evaluate the performance and practicality of Video Calls on my own. I often have to hold video conferences for several people, so the interest in the new product is not idle.
The most important features
First, about the main characteristics and capabilities. Its main feature is that the service is available to all users, including "Mail for Domain" Mail.ru for business. Calls themselves are not a unique feature, they have long been available in Myteam, Mail.ru Agent, ICQ and other products of the group. But in conditions of self-isolation, it became obvious that a new service was needed for use by a wide range of users. It was also clear that the service should have the simplest possible interface.
As for the history of the creation of Calls, Mail.ru said that the project was launched simultaneously with the release of the decree on the quarantine regime. The service was developed in just a month, but without haste - during the development, the necessary balance between efficiency and perfectionism was observed. You can read about the technologies that underlie the service and about the history of the calls themselves in previously published articles on Habré - и . In short, in just one sentence, the new service is based on the technology of video calls from the Odnoklassniki social network.
What can the tool for making video and audio calls do?
Full functionality without registration. You do not need to register to participate in the conference. You just need to follow the link sent by the organizer. The latter is the administrator of the event - he can add and remove participants.
You can collect up to 100 participants per call. So there are no problems with large meetings - you can safely invite all the employees of your department of the company. True, the question is how 100 people can communicate normally all at the same time, but this is no longer a service problem, but an organizational task.
No time limit - in the same Zoom it is 40 minutes (in the business version), this time is not always enough. On the other hand, the half-hour limit encourages you to quickly discuss everything and not waste time in vain. But here's how it's more convenient for anyone.
You can share your screen with other conference participants - students, colleagues or participants of an online event.
No need to download an app — the organizer launches the conference directly online by sending out invitations. Participants, by clicking on them, are connected to the meeting. Calls are available both on the computer and on the phone, however, in the latter case, you need to install the Mail application from Mail.ru. Even if the host leaves the conference, other participants will be able to continue the conversation.
How to get started with the service?
Компьютер
In order to create a call, you need to start the service itself, log into your Mail.ru account and click the "Create a call" button. Then everything is standard - the camera and microphone are configured and the conference is launched. A special link is created for it, which you need to send to those people you need to call. The link is valid for two months.
Using the drop-down menu, you can select other devices if the default ones are not suitable for some reason.
You can send the link in any messenger or mail. When clicked, a menu opens where you need to enter your data and configure the camera and microphone. Both can be turned off if desired.
It is possible to share your screen with other participants. To do this, click the icon with additional functions ("more") and click "Share screen".
Мобильный телефон
Approximately the same actions must be performed on a mobile phone. First, open the Mail.ru Mail application, press "+", select "Create a call" and allow access to the camera and microphone of the device. Well, then a link to the call is sent to all participants.
Call invitations can be generated directly in Mail (select "Write a letter" and then "Call invitation") and Calendar (select "+Event", enter data and select "Create call link").
Personal impressions
The service is now in beta, but everything works fine. No problems were noticed either when working from a computer or when starting a call from a phone - lags, artifacts, etc. no, really, this may be due to the fact that my interlocutor and I have a good connection, either via Ethernet or WiFi. The equipment works as it should, video and audio functions perfectly.
A few words about comparison with other applications and services for communication. There are quite a lot of them now, including Skype, Zoom, and Google Hangouts Meet. As for Skype, unfortunately, it has become less convenient than it was many years ago - mainly because it consumes a lot of computer resources. On mobile, the situation is slightly better.
Zoom has a time limit, I honestly haven’t tried Google Hangouts Meet at work, so I can’t compare it with it.
I see the advantage of Video Calls from Mail.ru in the fact that, firstly, millions of Russian-speaking users have mail from Mail.ru. This applies to both ordinary and business users. Secondly, there is no need to download applications to a computer or an additional app to a mobile phone - if the smartphone has Mail.ru Mail, then everything works inside. Well, plus the service is completely Russian-speaking and as simple as possible.
All in all, it's good that there is another communication tool available that allows you to video conference with dozens of people.
Source: habr.com
