[Loert]

Does anyone know of any webcams that are both PC and Mac compatible that would allow the two different platforms to video conference with no problems? My wife's parents live in England and use a PC and we just bought a new Imac DV. We want to be able to video conference over the internet. What is the best Camera to buy for both platforms and most important, can they talk to each other despite being on different platforms? Thanks.

I too have a problem with this. My buddy has a PC & is using Netmeeting to video conference while I am using a Mac w/ CU-Seeme. Many times I have tried to video-conference with him, I could not. I'm thinking that the Netmeeting & CU-Seeme are not compatible. Anyone know how a Mac and a PC can video conference?

iVisit software is crossplatform (www.ivisit.com) and is free to use so far as I can see. It comes bundled with the Logitech range of cameras and also the USB Kritter Cam from iRez (sorry cant remember URL) This is a sexy looking beast and has had good reviews I've been waiting for one to be shipped over here in the UK for a month or so though I've heard they're finally shipping in the US
HTH
John....

[JoshFofer]

Well, it's less about the hardware than it is about the software you use. You don't need to have the same camera. Kensington makes a USB VideoCAM that happens to come with software for both platforms. I have a "WeeCam" from a company called Alaris that does the same. (It came free as part of an Earthlink promotion.) I'd venture to hope that most USB videocam manufacturers would be smart enough to include Mac drivers.

In the end, just get a camerathat works on the Mac and get one that works on the PC. If they are the same that might help with troubleshooting, but they don't have to be identical to get a videoconference going.

On the software side of things, though, you should use either White Pine's CU-SeeMe or iVisit. These are cross platform and work with most cameras. (Note to palvil -- why not just get your buddy CU-SeeMe? That should allow you two to videoconference.) There is also another one called ClearPhone, but it's interface is cluttered and not as easy to use. Whichever you choose, install it on both machines and give it a go.

If you use CU-SeeMe and OS 9 (on the Mac) then make sure you use the beta at (http://beta.wpine.com/bbs3/) as it's supposed to be address OS 9 compatibility. The version that comes bundled with the Kensington will not work.

Hope this helps!

I have a Gateway 3110 running CUSEEME PRO 4.0 with an old connectix b/w cam. Next to it (and on the same LAN) I have a G4 with MacOS 9 running the new kensington VideoCam using CUSEEME 3.1.3 (which is a beta version necessary for macos9). I called my other computer and had a fine conversation with myself ... and so far I haven't had problems talking/seeing with other PC users across the internet .... but I have only had the Kensington VideoCam a short while.

Try
http://www.ariston.com

and look at the ad for the iSee-U2 It is a pair of cams and software for use with Mac Or Windows for 99$

i've had some cross platform problems with cu-seeme. the latest commerical version for windows is cu-seeme PRO 4.01. the latest commercial version for mac is 3.1.2 (there is also a 3.1.3 beta out now). i was never able to get a conference going with more than 2 people using the two different versions. hopefully they have fixed it in 3.1.3 (haven't tried the beta yet).

so i use ivisit. it's pretty easy to use...though the interface is a little quirky. it's constantly in beta (currently version 2.3b6), but is reasonably stable. my girlfriend uses it on my mac every weekend for an hour or more to chat with her parents in germany and sisters in michigan (who all use pc's).

another cool thing about ivisit is it works behind ip-nat (ip masquerading) machines (for those of us with multiple computers, a dsl connection, and one ip address this is very nice!).

one thing to remember is the quality of your video conferencing will improve drastically with a faster connection. 28.8k modem is painful but doable. 56k modem is tolerable but still leaves something to be desired. dsl and cable modems make the whole experience so much nicer.

[Loert]

Thank you everyone for your input. To add some complication, I realized that Mum and Pops in the UK have an older Pentium 166 w/o USB. However, Logitech does have a camera (Quickcam VC) than will connect through serial ports. So I went ahead and purchased that camera for them at CompUSA and for my IMac I bought a Phillips webcam. Not sure if I bought the right thing for my Imac. I haven't opened it yet b/c I'm still not sold on it. I was also looking at the Kensington camera but I wasn't impressed with it. All the cameras look about the same though - crappy! Any ideas?

If you want a camera to look different check out the Kritter cam from iRez it comes in a couple of different colours

First post on this forum, but I have been a silent reader for a while.

My question:
Is it possible to use a DV camcorder instead of a webcam (in combination with a iMac DV SE and a software program like iVisit) ?

Thanx,
Luk

I bought the philips vesta pro camera for my ibook because of the built in microphone. The CD only comes with mac drivers and no software. I cannot recommend this camera because philips support is dropping all Mac support stating the Mac market is too small.
The mic only works with Apple Simplesound. Other programs I've tried boost the gain so high that it buzzes(saturated) at anything above a wisper.
Videoshop 4.5 - Video records but no preview an error messages pop up and state the camera is not working.
Apple Video Player - No video or audio, only errors.
ivisit- locks up the computer or just shows snow.
Oculus- video works- turning on sound activation locks up the computer.

If anyone has any other experience with camera please email me as I would hate to think I'm giving someone a bum steer if my camera is just defective.
[email protected]

I have used sucessfully a sony DV camera (trv-11 to be exact) with ISPQ video conferencing software as well as CoolCam. Most developers for mac have incorporated the new DV/firewire compatible camera as part of the latest and greatest updates..
Chill

Originally posted by lukrombauts:
First post on this forum, but I have been a silent reader for a while.

My question:
Is it possible to use a DV camcorder instead of a webcam (in combination with a iMac DV SE and a software program like iVisit) ?

Thanx,
Luk