Need a webcam that works with PPC 10.4.11 and USB 1.1

[RMT25]

Hey everyone,

I need a cheap video web cam that works with 700 mhz eMac PowerPC G4 running Tiger 10.4.11 (512 MB RAM) and has only USB 1.1 ports

it also can't have any CD software as my CD player drive is broken/unreadable

so which web cam would work?

also what software would i need for it? an older version of Skype or what?

Thanks!

 

[eyoungren]

Macally has the Icecam that will do what you want. About the only one I could find when I was looking.

The downsides to the Icecam though. Any use will peg your processor to 100%. The drivers (which you can download) suck and to be useable you need a lot of light. There are 3rd party drivers out there, but it's only marginally better.

Skype 2.8.whatever it is, is the last version for PowerPC Mac. No idea if that will work with your eMac or not, but it worked with my old TiBook/400 just using audio. Bear in mind though that Skype only got video somewhere around 2.7 or so. Also, when your processor is pegged at 100% your video will become jerky and the person on the other end will start losing your audio. Frequently, my Icecam stopped sending video and was frozen on one frame, so there's that.

If you have a firewire port I would strongly suggest an iSight. I went and found one on eBay for about $50. It pulls a minimal amount of CPU when used and you don't need a lot of light. You can also use iGlasses with it which gives it more features.

 

[Goftrey]

I would forget USB and go with the iSight. It's a bit steep price wise but it's a really decent camera. Autofocus, awesome mic. 30fps, 1/4 inch CCD @ 480p, it works really well under low lighting and as eyoungren said it's really light on the CPU.

A no brainer in my opinion - external iSight.

 

[mabaker]

The Hue Cam has USB 1.1 support. At least earlier versions of it had it, I'm using it on the PowerMac G4 with no issues.

 

[Nameci]

iSight, it's a no-brainer.