iSight quality...

[Joeytpg]

ok, i'm on the verge of buying two iSight, one for me and one for my girlfriend, since i'll be leaving to spain in about a month, we need to keep in contact and maybe save some money in long distance calls.

So iSight was a great options as far as i know!..... my question is this:

1- how's the video conference quality with isight?....i've read reviews saying it's amazing.....it's has the most real-time video conference out of all the webcames in the market. is this true??

2- i'll be in spain and she'll be here in dominican Republic (Carebbean) so we'll be pretty much on the oposite side of the world. Can we video conference and TALK, using isight??, so that we can communicate as if it was a phone?.....is there much lag in the conversation? is it clear?

thanks for the responses.

 

[FuzzyBallz]

Use this as a reference.
http://www.apple.com/ichat/

 

[munkle]

2- i'll be in spain and she'll be here in dominican Republic (Carebbean) so we'll be pretty much on the oposite side of the world. Can we video conference and TALK, using isight??, so that we can communicate as if it was a phone?.....is there much lag in the conversation? is it clear?

thanks for the responses.

Just so you now, you can have an audio chat without an isight (and yes the isight does have a microphone built in), you just need aol or .mac accounts and ichat on both ends. The quality is great, a lot better than long distance calls most of the time, without any noticeable lag. I'm forced to travel a lot due to work and iChat has been a great way to keep in touch with my girlfriend and friends. Plus all you need is a dial up connection.

You don't mention what setups you have, so I'm assuming that you have iChat AV (comes bundled with Panther but not Jaguar) and that your computers have internal microphones.

And don't forget that for a good iSight experience you're going to need fast internet connections on both ends.

 

[Joeytpg]

Just so you now, you can have an audio chat without an isight (and yes the isight does have a microphone built in), you just need aol or .mac accounts and ichat on both ends. The quality is great, a lot better than long distance calls most of the time, without any noticeable lag. I'm forced to travel a lot due to work and iChat has been a great way to keep in touch with my girlfriend and friends. Plus all you need is a dial up connection.

You don't mention what setups you have, so I'm assuming that you have iChat AV (comes bundled with Panther but not Jaguar) and that your computers have internal microphones.

And don't forget that for a good iSight experience you're going to need fast internet connections on both ends.

yeah, we have ichat, and we both have fast internet connection.......a question tho........... i have .mac account, but my girl doesn't.................so that means she can't videoconference with me!??

 

[Darwin]

yeah, we have ichat, and we both have fast internet connection.......a question tho........... i have .mac account, but my girl doesn't.................so that means she can't videoconference with me!??

The .Mac Screen Name and iChat use AIM (AOL IM) so all your girlfriend will need is a free AOL Screen Name and that will work

 

[munkle]

yeah, we have ichat, and we both have fast internet connection.......a question tho........... i have .mac account, but my girl doesn't.................so that means she can't videoconference with me!??

Just sign her up for a free aol account.

 

[Joeytpg]

oh ok!...cool

thanks guys.........this iSight thing it's definitevely worth it!

 

[munkle]

It's possible to have one way video chats so maybe you can find somebody on the forum who's willing to give it a pop with you, then you'll be able to see what the quality is like

 

[Joeytpg]

hmm that's a great idea........anyone here mind giving me his ichat id so i can videoconference (one way) ?

 

[James_C]

yeah, we have ichat, and we both have fast internet connection.......a question tho........... i have .mac account, but my girl doesn't.................so that means she can't videoconference with me!??

Actually a little known fact is that your girl could register for a free trial for .mac, and use this name for an ichat video conference. You can still use this name (for ichat) even when the free trail period has expired.

 

[Joeytpg]

Actually a little known fact is that your girl could register for a free trial for .mac, and use this name for an ichat video conference. You can still use this name (for ichat) even when the free trail period has expired.

really??....and were can she sign up for free? at www.mac.com?

 

[sethypoo]

really??....and were can she sign up for free? at www.mac.com?

You can get a free .Mac account, but it only lasts for 90 days. Go to www.aim.com and sign her up for a free AOL Instant Messenger account. Have her go into her iChat AV program and click on iChat in the menu bar, then Preferences, then have her click on Accounts. She should then input her chosen AOL Instant Messenger name and password. She should then be logged on to the AIM network.

Next, you should get online on your computer, while she's logged in. Make sure she adds you to her buddy list, and you add her. As long as her iSight is plugged in, and yours, you'll be able ot video chat by clicking on the little camera symbol next to her name.

Get it yet?!?!
Have fun.

 

[James_C]

really??....and were can she sign up for free? at www.mac.com?

Yes if you go to www.mac.com. If you click the link "or click here to learn more" under the Join Now button will give you the option for a 60 day trial. I have a powerbook and a Mac at home. I have given my daughter a trail account so she can video chat while I am working abroad. I set her up some 9 months ago and the account is still working in iChat. I know you can use AOL as well, but I did not want to end up with a meaningless username like Susan123345, as many names are already taken on AOL. Just my preference I guess.

 

[Vanilla]

I live in London,UK and regularly videoconference with a friend in Atlanta,Georgia. We are both on Broadband using iSight,him via a G4 Powermac and myself via my 17" PowerBook.

The video quality is absolutely superb,though lighting IS important, to get the best picture. There IS latency on the audio side,with a noticeable, albeit small, delay,but I am used to corporate video conferencing and quickly adjusted my conversation to fit around the delay. It also may have something to do with our respective broadband connections so I cannot say for sure that you will experience the same. In any event the delay is negligable and more than outweighed by the benefit of being able to communicate in this way. The quality of the audio is also very good.

In summary I would thoroughly recommend using iSight in the way you suggest.The video and audio quality are superb, just be prepared to accomodate the possibility of a slight latency on the audio side,when communicating across long distances.

Vanilla

 

[AppleMatt]

Remember Tigers iChat will bring double data rate at same bandwidth...
...there's a picture showing the difference on Apple's Tiger pages.

AppleMatt