iChat AV - No Longer Beta

[MacRumors]

With the release of Panther... Apple has shipped the final version of iChat AV with Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther).

Apple's iChat AV page (http://www.apple.com/ichat/) now reflects that iChat AV comes bundled with Panther and has pulled the Beta download for Jaguar.

As previously promised, iChat AV Final for Jaguar will be a $29.95 purchase option for Jaguar users.

[Jack White]

has anything really changed between beta and panther versions? (other than the number?)

[agentmouthwash]

why can't they add tabs? I can't stand all those open chat windows. Looks like I'm gonna have to stick to using ADIUM a little bit longer.

[dricci]

Still not ready for prime time, IMHO... we need real groups, real buddy icons (the proper size w/ animation support), voice chat with AIM users, info/profile support, etc etc etc...

For now, my ad-less hax0red up version of AIM works great :D

http://www.dricci.com/adlessaim.png

[yamadataro]

Speaking of the difference between the beta and the final, here's the issues I have encountered in the beta version:

- When voice chat is in progress, the sound quality goes bad. I imagine this is the bandwidth adjustment issue. Beta doesn't automatically adjust to the current highest available bandwidth? When the connection goes low, beta will lower the sound quality, but doesn't restore it to the higher bandwidth?

- DV camcorder image doesn't appear with the right screen aspect ratio.

I haven't checked these yet with the final, but I hope they've fixed it.

[zaphoyd]

when holding your mouse over a name in the buddy list, the away messages now wrap the window, rather than extending it far past the edge of your screen. Not really a big deal, but a major convience.

[aethier]

Not to mention it still does not support the MSN network...:(

aethier

[zaphoyd]

no that anyone really uses ICQ. Everybody I know uses AIM so its not really a problem here.

[Stella]

A lot of people use ICQ. This shouldn't be a problem for too much longer since ICQ users will be able to talk to AOL users and vice versa.

MSN is just an insult, you have to get a 'passport' account. I refuse to do that. Shame for the people who use MSN tho - can't use iChat for it.
Originally posted by zaphoyd
no that anyone really uses ICQ. Everybody I know uses AIM so its not really a problem here.

[restiffbard]

Has anyone had any difficulty chatting from Panther to someone using the beta on Jaguar?

Anytime I try to strike an audio chat to my still Panther/iChat AV beta friend it fails with a "did not repond". This happens in both directions, him calling me or me calling him.

Update:

Its working again. Nevermind. I do believe that Steve said at WWDC that ichat beta would expire at the end of the year, meaning december.

[jouster]

Given the amount of free apps out there, there is no way iChat is worth $30 until:

AIM users can video chat (not Apple's fault, but so what?)

Cam support is greatly extended

MSN is supported.

They may have stopped calling Beta, but that doesn't mean it isn't one.

[j_maddison]

I guess I dont understand why anyone would pay $29.99 to use a chat programe when you can gert free alternatives

I mostly use yahoo chat, and as far as im aware that isnt supported at all.

I just dont understand the phychology behind charging for a new piece of software, which lacks functinoality. its just plain stupid.

jay

[zaphoyd]

Regular iChat (text only) is free. Also remember it comes free with panther, so most people will not be paying. You certainly dont have to use it as well.. Nobody is forcing anyone to buy it...

[Lepton]

A very serious and astounding omission is the ability to adjust the video input settings. Adjusting them makes a world of difference, especially if you are using a cam like iSight in a low light situation. The astounding part is that it takes virtually zero effort to add this to any video application, as just one QuickTime call brings up the full settings dialog. Try any other video program (almost all have the ability to change video settings) and see the huge improvement you can get...

[Mr.Hey]

Originally posted by jouster
Given the amount of free apps out there, there is no way iChat is worth $30 until:

AIM users can video chat (not Apple's fault, but so what?)

Cam support is greatly extended

MSN is supported.

They may have stopped calling Beta, but that doesn't mean it isn't one.

Are you comparing AOL IM to iChat?. Does the AOL client have the same quality in video and audio chat?. iChat has a beautiful and clean UI when compared to AOL's ad ridden spam client, no thanks!. You can use iChat with any firewire or DV cam (thats not enough?) and iSight works with many IM apps. Support for MSN?, like you said there are many alternatives out there so use one of them and leave iChat the way it is. One of MS major flaws is that it crams its apps with to many features, making it bloated and worthless. I think Apple should add just a few more features but thats it.

[Macco]

Does anyone know if the beta is still available for download for Jaguar? I'm trying to convince my friend to upgrade to Panther, so it would be helpful if he thought that the permanent version of iChat AV was worth the upgrade.

[edStar]

Doesn't look like its still available. It has been pulled off the website. I have the beta and I'm using Jaguar - if it does support ICQ that'd be great. One less applicaiton I have running.

[ennerseed]

Originally posted by agentmouthwash
why can't they add tabs? I can't stand all those open chat windows. Looks like I'm gonna have to stick to using ADIUM a little bit longer.

Exactly! man if i am talking to three people, even two is bad, a 1/4 of my screen is taken. Highly annoying!

[ennerseed]

When does my Jaguar Beta iChat start going "Sorry the beta period has expired".

[hermes369]

Much to the chagrin of the good people at the Panther release at the Apple Store in Lenox Mall, in Atlanta, the iChat demo repeatedly failed with ("iSight in use by other application"). I did buy an iSight, because I wanted a toy and because I couldn't get the education price on Panther in the store. It would be very nice to have video settings in iChat. It's a little frustrating to watch a mirror image of oneself. I understand the logic of it: most might be confused by holding up a right and and seeing it on the left on screen. I would like the ability to flip the image. Also, I'd like to be able to flip the image upside down so the I could better place the camera. I suspect all of these issues will be released in an update as BRAND NEW FEATURE!!!
Perhaps the iSight will gain Windows interoperability like the iPod. One hopes, as I've been unable to Switch all of my Windows brethren.

[ryanw]

Originally posted by yamadataro
- When voice chat is in progress, the sound quality goes bad. I imagine this is the bandwidth adjustment issue. Beta doesn't automatically adjust to the current highest available bandwidth? When the connection goes low, beta will lower the sound quality, but doesn't restore it to the higher bandwidth?

- DV camcorder image doesn't appear with the right screen aspect ratio.

I've found that sound quality would slowly go bad with a chat for every version since first release. My work around is just to hit the mute button when I'm not talking every once in awhile. Kinda' annoying, but it resets whatever it needs to to make my voice to the other person clear again. The other party has to do the same thing to make it clear for you again. So it requires a little training. ;)

As for the DV cam corder, i used to be able to use iChat with my regular sony camcorder, but not it doesn't work on my panther iChat a/v iBook. Kinda weird. Anyone else find this issue?

[xDANx]

what bothers me most of all is that ichat a/v is not included with the isight. so you spend $220 (CDN) only to find out that you have to spend another $40 (roughly) so you can use the damn thing. i know its a ploy to get people to buy panther but it comes off as being really cheap. i work at an authorized mac dealer and this is pissing customers off left, right, and centre.

[MacsRgr8]

Yep.
The iSight only has one purpose really.... to A+V chat.
So getting this Apple branded iSight (love it, though!) should give you the right to be able to use it. So you should get iChat AV for free with it, as it is not cheap for "another" webcam.

Oh well, I got my Panther and iSight anyways... :D

[arkmannj]

For those that would like to see added features (video controlls, Tabbed chattings etc...) try providing Apple feedback
#1 with iChat open click iChat on the menu bar
#2 about the 4th option down is "Provide iChat feedback"

maybe they just don't know that enough people want these features. this would be a great place to let them know. Apple likes to be on-top of the game and I'm sure they do read the feedback.

I just did (I'm a big fan of the tabbed chatting windows idea)

anyhow just a thought,

[Aeolius]

ack...I just had my first iChat AV session with a friend the other day. He is on a budget and may not be upgrading to 10.3 anytime soon. Oh well.

Granted, he works for a college, he can get Panther for $69 (edu discount), so I'm hoping that helps entice him to upgrade.

Another friend who uses iChat will NOT be upgrading to 10.3, until Digidesign releases a ProTools LE patch for 10.3 (mid-November, according to their site).

[zaphoyd]

As for the DV cam corder, i used to be able to use iChat with my regular sony camcorder, but not it doesn't work on my panther iChat a/v iBook. Kinda weird. Anyone else find this issue?

DV camcorders only work with G4/G5 processors. Your iBook probably has a G3. Kinda sucks doesnt it..

I seem to recall there was a hack to fix it.


http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/20203

there is the hack, only works with beta + jag w/o quicktime 6.4 tho so you might need to wait for an update.

[supercres]

Just did that feedback thing. Not sure if it'll make a difference. Here's what I asked for... I'm sure it'd help if a lot of people ask for the same things:

-- AIM audio/video, as well as compatibility with the other IM networks
-- Better network support, like an auto-proxy server option if the connection fails.
-- Profile editing and more icon support (animation)
-- Tabbed chat browsing

I think that was it. iChat would be fatastic with a few fixes, IMO.

Edit: Also asked for better away messages, like the option to auto-send it to anyone who sends you a message (I hate that AIM always auto-responds).

[hermes369]

You can use the iSight with Quicktime Broadcaster to webcast, or use it with any video application for that matter. I wholeheartedly agree that charging extra for iChat is a little excessive. Honestly, I bought mine for reasons of pure sex appeal. I am hoping to convince my clients to purchase an iSight as well, so I can cut down on the phone bill, while providing more personal attention.

[arkmannj]

supercres-

I agree, with a few little additions/tweaks ichat would be an even better app.
(I believe it is a great app, but thoes few things would put it over the top)

and yup, hopefully alot of people will provide feedback, that's what they put the feedback option there for, to know what we want our Apple apps to do.
the guys in the lab can only think of/do so much without hearing from the actual users (us)

here's a side thought. the company I work for: even if our programmers think of some great ideas, they don't have the business power to decide to put it in, the company just doesn't want to spend lots of man hours and resources on all kinds of ideas. (not to mention push back deadlines) so they do the "Core" of what they believe people want/need and wait for user input. at that point when enough users say what they want, the programmers have the backing they need to say, we need to add these features in.
and it gets put in.
I'm sure a certain amount of the same thing happens all over

[alset]

Not that it affects me, as I bought Panther, but I still think buying an iSight should entitle us to iChat AV.

Dan

[shadowfax]

Originally posted by alset
Not that it affects me, as I bought Panther, but I still think buying an iSight should entitle us to iChat AV.

Dan it'd be nice, but i think that apple just wants to force people to stick with them, you know: they're kind of saying, hey, we're at panther now, you need to get it so you can have the apple experience. if you don't upgrade, they're going to make you pay, i guess. it makes sense, though it's admittedly not the friendliest strategy. personally, i am OK with it. i think it's important to stay up to date with an OS.

[jcontonio]

Still no away mesage for AIM users. For iChat users the auto-reponse shows up but not for anyone using AIM. At least they can see us as actually away now...

I want tabs, the window sizes to be able to go smaller, and to make the background of the window any color...I hate white.

I've provided this feedback since iChat was launched with Panther. Still nothing.

[alset]

Originally posted by shadowfax
it'd be nice, but i think that apple just wants to force people to stick with them, you know: they're kind of saying, hey, we're at panther now, you need to get it so you can have the apple experience. if you don't upgrade, they're going to make you pay, i guess. it makes sense, though it's admittedly not the friendliest strategy. personally, i am OK with it. i think it's important to stay up to date with an OS.

Agreed. I always jump on any update, but it's very restrictive when I pay $130 for an iSight and then have to pay for iChatAV or Panther. Granted, I would have bought Panther anyway, but if I wanted to stick with Jag it would negate my expensive iSight or cost me another $30. I really think that's a mistake. If I bumped into Steve on the street I would tell him and make him buy me some a bottle of water to make amends. :D

Dan

[rogueimage]

[i] and to make the background of the window any color...I hate white.[/B]

You can set a background image for the windows. It's in the view menu. I know that's not exactly what you want, but it's something.

As for me, audio chat now works among the computers on our home network, which is a giant step forward from the beta.

[froehle]

I kinda liked iChat. But it is horribly unusable in Panther. It crashes ("This Application has Unexpectedly Quit") all the time. I mean, most of the time I can't even get all the way logged in before it crashes. I've tried deleting the com.apple.iChat.*.plist files and reinstalling Panther to no avail.

Any Ideas?

[Phil Of Mac]

Originally posted by ennerseed
Exactly! man if i am talking to three people, even two is bad, a 1/4 of my screen is taken. Highly annoying!

Can you say...Exposé?

Originally posted by supercres
Just did that feedback thing. Not sure if it'll make a difference. Here's what I asked for... I'm sure it'd help if a lot of people ask for the same things:

-- AIM audio/video, as well as compatibility with the other IM networks

Apple and AOL already have partnerships over iChat and iTunes, so look for AIM to have compatibility with iChat video soon.

Originally posted by jcontonio
Still no away mesage for AIM users. For iChat users the auto-reponse shows up but not for anyone using AIM. At least they can see us as actually away now...

Sounds like all your friends are using old versions of AIM.

[The Ancients]

www.planetmirror.com/pub/apple/iChat/
:)

Originally posted by Macco
Does anyone know if the beta is still available for download for Jaguar? I'm trying to convince my friend to upgrade to Panther, so it would be helpful if he thought that the permanent version of iChat AV was worth the upgrade.

[ennerseed]

Originally posted by Phil Of Mac
Can you say...[B]Exposé?


Not very well, but i can say options.

But I will have to dream for now, can't you just picture it.....
http://www.re-fresh.com/iChatTabs.jpg

[supercres]

pretty decent render. That would be a killer feature.

[TheOne]

Originally posted by The Ancients
www.planetmirror.com/pub/apple/iChat/
:)

The Aussie Website still has the iChat AV Beta for download...

http://www.apple.com.au/ichat/download/

I downloaded after I picked up my iSight on firday. (I couldn't use my student discount in-store, so I have to wait for it to ship. :( )

[agentmouthwash]

Originally posted by Phil Of Mac
Can you say...Exposé?



um not really... although Exposé is great - it doesnt solve the problem of controlling many chat windows at the same time as tabs. Do you use Tabs with Safari? OR would you rather have a billion windows openend up and having to use Exposé everytime you want to find something.

[Phil Of Mac]

Originally posted by agentmouthwash
um not really... although Exposé is great - it doesnt solve the problem of controlling many chat windows at the same time as tabs. Do you use Tabs with Safari? OR would you rather have a billion windows openend up and having to use Exposé everytime you want to find something.

Good point.

I would welcome a tabbed iChat.

[lucab1982]

ive tried audio/video chatting with my bro's but it always quits there end and restarts again, when connnecting. anyone else had this problem?

have had audio chats fine with 56k modems. why not on broadband!

both on 10.2.8 and iChat Beta with iSight.

:confused:

[hermes369]

Click on the camera icon and adjust the bandwidth limit down. I seem to remember hearing that somewhere.
Hope that helps,
B.