Category Archives for Announcements

Call Quality Improvements

We are excited to announce an update to Gruveo that introduces significant improvements to the call picture quality. These improvements have been made possible by dumping the old Sorenson Spark codec used for compressing video and replacing it with the newer H.264.

H.264 is a state of the art codec that offers better video at drastically lower bitrates. Using H.264 allowed us to slash Gruveo’s bandwidth requirements almost in half while offering better picture quality. These quality improvements will be even more pronounced on slower connections.

H.264 is more CPU intensive than the old codec, which may become noticeable on older computers. However, most computers these days have no problem processing H.264, and we feel that the gains in call quality are well worth the switch.

Finally, H.264 encoding is supported by Flash version 11.0 and later, so Gruveo’s required minimum Flash version has been bumped from 10.3 to 11.0. That shouldn’t be an issue for most of our users because less than 1% of them have older versions of the Flash plugin installed. If you have an old version of Flash, please upgrade – it’s totally free.

Try the new Gruveo today and let us know what you think in the comments below!

Gruveo August Update

We have just rolled out an important update to Gruveo that focuses on improving call stability and quality. You will automatically enjoy this latest version of Gruveo the next time you log on to www.gruveo.com. However, if that doesn't happen and you start experiencing issues establishing calls, just clear your browser's cache and restart your browser.

Linux Love!

Some of our users have been reporting connection problems on Linux. When making a call, Gruveo would say “Connecting…” and then return to the home screen. Further investigation showed that this was caused by a pesky bug in Flash Player for Linux that prevented Gruveo from establishing a secure connection.

This past week, our team has coded around the bug so now you can make instant, secure video calls with Gruveo on Linux, too. All you have to do is clear your browser’s cache and reload the Gruveo homepage.

Even Quicker Calls with Gruveo-Generated Random Numbers

One way of using Gruveo to establish a quick video call is to type in some random number, start the call and then pass the direct link to the other party. If that’s how you do it and you don’t care about the particular number used, you can make the whole process even quicker.

Here’s the secret: If you leave the “Number” field empty, Gruveo will generate a random 7-digit number for you. So all you really have to do is go to www.gruveo.com, click “Video call” or “Voice call”, and give the other person the direct link to connect. Now, can it get easier than that?

Announcing Gruveo

After months of hard work, we are happy to announce Gruveo – a simple way to establish instant video calls right in your browser, no software or registration required.

As probably most people out there, we love video calling our friends and loved ones. However, sometimes there are just too many hoops to jump through to make a simple video call. You have to install software, register for an account and add the other person to your contact list. Only then can the coveted video call take place.

Gruveo eliminates all of these hurdles. Instead of asking you to install software, Gruveo runs in your browser using what is most probably already there – Adobe Flash. And instead of registering and adding each other to your contact lists, you simply agree with the other person on some number and then both enter it on www.gruveo.com to connect. That’s it!

Gruveo calls are not just super-easy to make, they are also private and secure. To begin with, there are no registrations, so your identity remains completely anonymous – even to the other party if you so choose. Then there’s the complete, end-to-end, industry-standard encryption of all calls taking place on Gruveo. And finally, after a call has been established, it’s sealed: nobody else can connect to it even if they enter the same number.

Oh, and you can also make voice-only calls on Gruveo as well as exchange text messages during your call.

So try Gruveo today and let us know what you think!