Skype schematic sharing won't work

Gack! That's awfully slow. What are you on, DSL? ...Jim Thompson

ISP: Wells-Fargo ?

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

I assume that you are trying to use the "share screens" function, yes?

It always works for me and my partner but we both have a much higher speed than you indicate. We occasionally get some jerky pics and that may be a function of the loading on the Skype thingy. I think Skype is carrying on multiple videos when you share, but I'm not sure. Maybe ask them.

I'm sorry this doesn't address your problem. I feel your frustration.

John S

Yep. AT&T touts the very fast "UVerse" service where you can watch TV via Internet but every time I ask they say not in our neigborhood yet :-(

Asking them has never resulted in any meaningful hints, so far. I don't know what protocol they are using but it is obviously a lot less efficient than the competiton. This was actually the reason why we ditched the service for our start-up, in favor of GoToMeeting.

The speeds you tout actually sound like dial-up.

I'm showing 3.3Mbit/sec Up and 10Mbit/sec Down, and this location isn't even one that Cox touts as "high speed". ...Jim Thompson

Dial-up won't go past 56k.

That is probably cable TV Internet.

Yep. ...Jim Thompson

What's the up-time of that over the years? Got a back-up in case it goes down? Out here they often just slobber the cables across the flower beds. Occasionally some four-legged folks come and chomp down on that.

Linux? Windoze? Mac? Android?

I don't know of any trick. Methinks the first step is to determine which end of the connection is the problem. Find a 3rd location, preferably with a much higher speed connection, and try "screen sharing" from your location and from the location in Southern Calif. If one works, but the other does not, then problem is located at the end that doesn't work. If nothing works, then it's something odd with Skype or possibly the limited bandwidth. I can help, but only after Saturday, when I will be caught up, dead from overwork, or both.

My guess(tm) is that something is screwed up with DirectX on one end. Try: Start -> Run -> dxdiag and see if it finds a problem. Also, run some video benchmark tests to see if something is slowing the video.

Skype adjusts the protocol and server topology depending on connection speed. To the best of my limited knowledge, Skype is still transitioning between topologies:

Also, you might want to grab some connection statistics from Skype, which might produce some useful information. Skype => Tools => Options => Advanced => Connection Click on the "Display technical call info during calls" and Save. During a call, drag thy mouse unto the "blank" area in the Skype box and the connection quality statistics will be displayed. Oops. Never mind. I forgot that this is now Microsoft, where you don't really need to know such things. The feature was dumbed down in version 5.5 and removed in 6.x. However, you might be able to extract something out of the log files: but as I vaguely recall, they don't include connection quality information.

As Jeff L. has pointed out here more than once, you SHOULD be on DSL for VOIP.

We lose the TV occasional when a dust storm kills the satellite down-link.

But Internet? Seconds while they swapped an amplifier.

No.

Around here we have real streets and the cable is buried, 18" minimum. ...Jim Thompson

That's good. Who needs TV?

Wow. I'd get at least a dial-up number for them or see if a smart phone can be used as backup. I've used the dial-up during a power outage.

We also have real street and cable is buried. But not the cable-TV. I've seen them "trench and stuff" right here at our street. AFAICT the coax is less then 2" under the road surface and then droops off into the ditches on the sides. _No_ conduit whatsoever. All it takes is a truck parking with a wheel off the pavement and ... squuuish ... no signal.

Windoze XP.

The problem persists if the San Diego engineer works from home where he has a 5M+ Internet link. It's probably my upload speed of 256k that hampers things. But why are all other services happy with it?

The other services don't even blink if I send off an email while in the conference and while sharing my screen. Sometimes I have to do that, for example, if someone could only dial in from the road but wants a screen shot emailed for later.

Says "No problems found".

Microsoft installing Linux boxes? Wow! How did that get past Gates and Ballmer?

Yeah, that's so customary these days. All you get is a check engine light with next to nothing in terms of information.

Oh well, we'll just sign into GoToMeeting then for any hardcore tech discussions. I always have to go in with user name, password, formally set up a meeting, send the link to the other engineer, then he can log in. That process is clumsy but I'd rather take that than an unreliable link.

Our Cable internet is 30 MBPS down and I think 4 MBPS up, that is their LOWEST tier of service.

Jon

In the big city that is similar here but we live out in the hills. However, people have other amenties instead if they want to, for example a runway in the middle of town from where they can taxi their Cessna right into their driveway.

How is that any different than DSL? My only reasonable Internet option is DSL, too. It's expensive ($50/mo) and slow (3Mb). I'd love to have cable so I could ditch both DSL and satellite TV.

My backup is 4G (but it isn't at all reliable here, either).

DSL has a much more professional infrastructure.

DSL: 4ft under ground, goes to a very professional looking stainless steel cabinet which is securely locked, always clean, even has a maintained defensible space around it so fires won't lick right up to it.

Cable TV: Coaxes slobbering across flower beds and soil, rocks. Boxes often have their lid off kilter, no locks attached, one got crushed quite a bit in an accident a few months ago and they left it that way. Many boxes in tall dry grass and weeds. Cables under road surfaces are often 2" below surfcae or less. Often exposed in the ditch.

To me this is a day and night difference. A new neighbor learned this as well. The cable guys couldn't get his Internet going for over a month so he took the slower DSL.

$38 here but only 1.2Mbit/sec.

I don't have a smart phone yet. Maybe some day.

The oldest profession has a "professional infrastructure", too. Hmm, there is a similarity.

Wrong. Mine was less than 4" underground. My shovel found it while I was putting in brick edging around the flower bed.

DSL/phone is no different anymore.

There isn't a difference in residential installation.

I only got .7Mb in my other house - $30.

Now that I have one, I wouldn't be without it. I use it at work all the time (so I don't use their infrastructure for personal business). It turns out that it's useful for getting my work done, too, when IT screws things up (so much for "professional infrastructure").