Webcams come in many different qualities and prices. Buying a good webcam will benefit the person you are talking to, but if the person you are talking to has a low quality webcam you will still see a low quality image.

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You or the person you are talking to may be experiencing problems with video due to a slow internet connection. You should both try closing applications that use the internet (especially those that might be playing music or video) and cancel any file downloads.

Make sure that both you and the person you are talking to have the minimum bandwidth required to make a video call.

If you are using a wireless internet connection, ensure that the network signal is strong. If it isn’t, it may be better to connect directly.

Do you or the person you are talking to have a lot of programs open? Try closing some of them and see if that makes a difference to your video.

If you’re using a laptop, you may have problems with video calls when it’s in power saving mode. Change your computer to AC power or switch your computer to maximum performance.

Make sure that both you and the person you are calling are using computers that have the minimum system requirements to run Skype.

If the room you’re talking from is quite dark, you’re probably not sending great picture quality to the person you’re on a video call with. Try turning on more lights or opening the curtains. Also, try not to sit with your back to a sun-lit window or bright lamp. This will cause your face to be in shadow and result in a poor picture. For best results the light source should be shining on your face from behind the webcam.

You may not be sending great video because you’re using other USB devices. Try disconnecting them or try connecting your webcam to an alternative USB port. If your webcam is plugged into a USB hub, try plugging it into a USB port on your computer instead and see if that helps.

Make sure your connection is not relayed. Skype is designed to work with any network configuration; however, in the case of a restrictive firewall between two connecting computers, the connection will be routed through a relay. In that case bandwidth will be limited by the relay and the quality of your video will be affected.

Your firewall or virus scanner may be causing connection problems. Try disabling all local firewalls and virus scanners for the duration of the call.

Make sure that both you and the person you are calling are using the latest version of Skype. If you’re not sure, it’s easy to find out what version of Skype you are using.

If you or the person you are talking to have updated your system, for example if you have installed or uninstalled any programs, you may need to restart your computer.