Video Chatting Last week I helped a Bryn Mawr alum conduct a class long distance using iChat's video option. She taught a group of Japanese students in Portland via the internet. It was quite easy to set up and all in all, we have few hangups--maybe 3 during the whole week.

I've tested this option at home between macs and pcs and macs and macs. So what do you need to do this yourself? You need either a mac or pc, an internet connection (a broadband one [cable or dsl] is better), and a dv camera on both ends. You can do a one way video chat too, but it's not as fun. You then need either a .mac account or an AIM account.

All you need to then is to connect the camera to the computer using a firewire cable and turn it on. Sign into your AIM or iChat account. Open your buddy list to see who's available. On a mac, the buddy list can be found under the ichat icon in the upper right-hand corner of your screen. Buddies who can do a video chat will have a little video camera icon next to their screename. You can start a chat with a buddy by clicking that video icon. You will see a preview of your camera and once they're fully connected, you'll see them. You can make the video full screen by clicking the arrow icon.

The sound for the video chat can come through the video camera, but the quality is better if you use the computer for sound. On a pc, it's easy to connect a microphone. On a mac, you may need a usb-based microphone. Most laptops, both pc and mac have built-in microphones that work just fine for this purpose.

This is really an simple and inexpensive way to conduct a long-distance class or conference. If you don't need to do this often, it's the best way to go rather than investing in expensive video conferencing equipment.

For more information, see the iChat AV help page or AIM's help for windows. ¶ 10:00 AM, posted by Laura