Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

AIM video chat with PC

M

macsue

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 9, 2009
2
0
Unable to utilize webcam with others on PC webcams...continue to get error message that says "connection timed out" . Tried having PC member change firewall settings.... Is it something on MacBook side?

I know there is a simple answer to this that I am missing...
 
i get the same problem, i can't video chat with pc users using ichat.. so i just deleted it and downloaded adium.. also oovoo is good
 
Sounds like their PCs then, and it's going to be really hard to troubleshoot when we don't know anything about them.
 
Whenever I have problems with some of my PC friends, I use meebo.com. It works, but the interface is not as nice as iChat or Adium.
 
ive read somewhere that ichat cannot do video chat with the latest version of AIM for windows. Version 6.0 and higher i believe.
Your friend would need to try an older version of aim that supports video chat. (5.9 i think)

i just gave up. not worth convincing my windows buddies to install an older version of aim
 
Tested AIM to iChat myself and got the same thing as elfxmilhouse found: Older version of AIM worked but the latest version did not.

Having said that, even after getting video chat working between the two it was subpar quality-wise :( We both installed Skype (supports Windows, Mac, Linux) and got dramatically better video and sound quality out of it on the same hardware... For what it's worth.
 
I noticed this as well. My girlfriend uses AIM on a PC and we only have problems when she invites me to the video chat. But if I invite her, then it goes through and it works fine.
 
The recommended way to video chat between Mac and Windows currently is to use Skype. AIM does not support high resolution video to iChat even if your camera does and - as posted already - there are known issues when connecting between AIM and iChat. Yes, it can work with specific/compatible versions but, it is not recommended. Skype allows for higher resolution video using the built in camera and up to HD video using external cameras, it is cross compatible between Windows, Linux and Mac and has a better audio codec; so better audio fidelity. Skype is free just like AIM or iChat and will almost always provide better quality at the same bandwidth than AIM to iChat will.

There are tons of other 3rd party solutions such as Vid from Logitech, Meebo, Oovoo, etc, etc so try out a few and see what works best for you. To be blunt though, there are alot of sites out there that have already done extensive testing between video clients like these and none (of the free clients) have rated higher than Skype so far. Just FYI
 
davwin said:
The recommended way to video chat between Mac and Windows currently is to use Skype. AIM does not support high resolution video to iChat even if your camera does and - as posted already - there are known issues when connecting between AIM and iChat. Yes, it can work with specific/compatible versions but, it is not recommended. Skype allows for higher resolution video using the built in camera and up to HD video using external cameras, it is cross compatible between Windows, Linux and Mac and has a better audio codec; so better audio fidelity. Skype is free just like AIM or iChat and will almost always provide better quality at the same bandwidth than AIM to iChat will.

There are tons of other 3rd party solutions such as Vid from Logitech, Meebo, Oovoo, etc, etc so try out a few and see what works best for you. To be blunt though, there are alot of sites out there that have already done extensive testing between video clients like these and none (of the free clients) have rated higher than Skype so far. Just FYI
Click to expand...

That's great! But how do i use Skype to video call? I'm supposed to use iChat together with Skype right? I've logged in to an AOL account. What do i do next? :/
 
I like using skype for video chats but I still want to use ichat theater. Are there any 3rd party apps or sites that can do something similar?
 
misssunshine said:
That's great! But how do i use Skype to video call? I'm supposed to use iChat together with Skype right? I've logged in to an AOL account. What do i do next? :/
Click to expand...

You won't use Skype and iChat together, you will run Skype instead of iChat. Once Skype is running and you/your friend have created your free user accounts you add each other to your Buddy lists, click on the little camera icon next to their name in your list to start a Video Call. Thats it.

As far as integration between iChat and Skype or using the iChat theater and such, we all wish this would happen but so far it hasn't :( You'll need to run each app independantly for now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back