Video Chat Pc to Mac

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timj

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#8292 18-Jun-2006 11:35

Grandparents wish to videochat with grandchilden. We have PC Dell 700m laptop running XP - they have an eMAC with MAC OS X.

Can anyone suggest the combination of hardware & software which will give us the best steup? We both use Xtra broadband.

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#38881 18-Jun-2006 14:02

i have no mac exp sorry, but Skype is a nice peice of software that has clients for XP and Mac... (and video capability).

cokemaster

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#38884 18-Jun-2006 14:33

Ichat also has voice/video capabilities... and it uses the AIM network.

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timj

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#38896 18-Jun-2006 17:19

thanks apparently skype does not yet have video mac compatibility

Aloha

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#38918 18-Jun-2006 22:16

That's true, this is one of the reasons why we sold my wife's Apple Powerbook and bought a Sony laptop.
She uses Messenger all the time and she couldnt use video as Mac's have lack of video messaging capability at the moment.
Only ichat can use webcam, but the webcam for the Apple's are extremely expensive (iSight) I was not able to attach any other webcam. They tell that some Logitech webcam would do, I dont know.

Even if you have the latest Mac, which can run Windows, the built in webcam doesnt work under Win XP... :(

I am not a Mac expert as well, maybe someone knows a better solution. We've been using Mac for 5 months only.

I is a kollege stoodent. Bee nice.

tonyhughes

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#38921 18-Jun-2006 22:27

sorry, didnt know...

alasta

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#38935 19-Jun-2006 07:16

Aloha: That's true, this is one of the reasons why we sold my wife's Apple Powerbook and bought a Sony laptop.
She uses Messenger all the time and she couldnt use video as Mac's have lack of video messaging capability at the moment.
Only ichat can use webcam, but the webcam for the Apple's are extremely expensive (iSight) I was not able to attach any other webcam. They tell that some Logitech webcam would do, I dont know.

Macally make a cheap alternative to the iSight. It has only basic specifications, but it's about $200 than the standalone iSight.

barf

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#39223 21-Jun-2006 17:50

Xten make a multi-platform SIP video & audio 'softphone' http://www.xten.com

it would definately work but it requires a SIP PABX to operate, Asterisk@home is a free SIP PABX.

I can't think of an easier solution sorry

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JAMMAN2110

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#39224 21-Jun-2006 17:59

Easier: ditch the mac?

gehenna

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#39302 22-Jun-2006 13:20

JAMMAN2110: Easier: ditch the mac?

blasphemy

tonyhughes

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#39317 22-Jun-2006 14:03

gehenna:

JAMMAN2110: Easier: ditch the mac?

blasphemy

Dont mind JAMMAN2110, he suffered a severe head injury recently... (or is about to....)

To the OP.... you can buy Vialta Beamer videophones quite cheaply now ($200 for a pair). They use the phone line directly, no computer required at all.

Upside, very easy to use, no PC required, still use normal phone for voice.
Downside, potential toll call.

When using video calling for an extended period, i sometimes resort to PSTN or Cell for the voice part, probably due to the terrible ADSL upload speeds most users in NZ have.

timj

4 posts

Wannabe Geek

#39537 24-Jun-2006 17:47

Thanks for comments. Looks like we can use an IceCam (think that's the name?) for both the PC and the MAC and the sotware is AIM 5.9 PC and ichat MAC. Testing this out next week

Up4It

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#40031 28-Jun-2006 23:24

I use a fairly generic $20 webcam and also a (Cisco branded) logitech cam happily with iChat and iChatUSBCam.... tho with the state of NZ ADSL upstream, i'd be surprized if you get any video through...

I hop up on the roof and use the local (2 km away) CafeNet node if i need video upstream -- or else use something like an audio chat with a webcam -- such as EvoCam.

The Mac solution is the better one... IMHO :P

Up4It

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#40032 28-Jun-2006 23:50

timj:
We both use Xtra broadband.

I'm new here... but just a quick offtopic point. Xtra ain't "Broadband"

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#40033 29-Jun-2006 00:11

Hmmm. People will have different views on this. Xtra does offer faster plans, that are certainly broadband. Some are way faster than the old 128Kbps upstream.

But, yes... Not everyone in New Zealand is lucky to be in the TelstraClear coverage area... Yes, 10Mbps down/2Mbps up is a breeze. But we are OT now, and this was discussed before - with no conclusions. But feel free to open a new thread in the Broadband forum...

tonyhughes

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#40043 29-Jun-2006 08:31

Up4It: I'm new here... but just a quick offtopic point. Xtra ain't "Broadband"

Whats "aint Broadband" about 500kbps up and faster than that down?????????

Have you managed to redefine the global standards for broadband? Id like access to that kind of power for some changes of my own...

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