The quality of the image is immediately apparent, with no need to download any additional software. At first, all I could hear was a muffled, barrel-like sound. The Skype conversation partner could not hear a thing. I was going to take it back to the shop and get a refund because of the defect in the product, but then I decided to check the manufacturer's website and found the driver and application I needed to run the Webcam C270 on Windows XP there. There was a big bang for everything. This camera is, in my opinion, the best choice for our environment.