¶ Recently I’ve been playing around with the webcam & audio conversation features in Microsoft’s latest instant messenger client. I have to say I was impressed (maybe all too easily).
Over 600 Kbs broadband connections, the audio was flawless; better than telephone. It was certainly an improvement over any voice-over-IP that I’ve used before (to be fair I’ve only used VoIP long distance). And all you need is that 8 microphone you stuck in a drawer last time you bought a ‘multi-media PC’. The really clever bit is the audio feedback filtering. Both parties can talk and be heard at the same time (unlike telephone squawk boxes for example) and yet you never hear yourself. My fellow converser also tried playing music loudly through his computer speakers and I could hear him talking but not the music; he assures me it was not down to the sensitivity of his mic.
The webcam conversation was not quite so impressive. Picture quality was acceptable but the frame rate was little better than 1 fps. A webcam conversation between two PCs at work was much smoother, so I assume the slow frame rate was down to bandwidth limitations. Incidentally, Argos have a special offer on two USB webcams for 25 (in-store only).
Of course the real buzz is that you can run audio and webcam conversations at the same time – the video phone finally comes to fruition. And, after an initial spend of 20 on a mic and a webcam, it’s free.
We also tried out Eyeball, hoping to get an improvement in video quality but unfortunately it was no better. The audio had no feedback filtering either, so unless the other party used headphones, there was an irritating echo. Before I get bombarded with email, I suspect that iChat AV on a Mac is superior to Microsoft IM on a PC – except iChat AV is not free.
And yes, you can now view my webcam on this site, but I’m not convinced of its value (or my sanity) so catch it while you can. Alternatively there’s some very interesting paint drying over there.
Comments
1
I imagine Microsoft Instant Messenger and iChatAV are probably pretty similar in quality. It’s true that you’ll have to pay for the full version of iChatAV (although the beta is free) but if you upgrade to Panther when it comes out it’ll be bundled in.
Of course I think it’s a bit of a rip off having to pay full price to upgrade to Panther, rather than pay an upgrade price, but that’s another story.
2
Nothing is free.
3
Are you behind a firewall (on another machine) I am and the last time I tried to get a port forwarded for MSN video conferencing they didn’t exist (H323 port forwarding) all because MS asks you to open every port between 1024 and 65536 so I have to open AND port forward all of them, which I wasn’t willing to do. I’d love to know if it’s easier now. Someone told me the flashmx coms toolkit works over 80 but I’ve not tried. hmm interested to know anyway.. and … Hello, long time no see :-)
4
Tim – I’m behind a firewall at work and at home and there have been no problems. However I have tried webcam conversations with people in some other offices and their firewall has blocked it.
Mail me your IM account I we’ll see if it works for you now.
5
Which ports, if any, must be forwarded on my LinkSys (Upn compatible) Router to enable video conferencing using MSN Messenger 6.0 or 6.1? Please provide response to my email ID. Tnx.
6
Try VidMe. Better frame rate and resolution than anything out there. Crystal clear audio, low latency. Automatic firewall/NAT traversal. Fully adaptive to network conditions and CPU load. Real-time 256 bit AES encryption. It isn’t free, but for the price, you will buy: $6.95 per month…unlimited calling. Extensive collaboration tools offered at a premium price. 14-day free trial… check it out… let me know if it isn’t videocalling realized.
Add your comment
Comments are now closed on this post. If you have more to say please contact me directly.