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Video Recording on iPhone

R

Rhema

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 11, 2006
83
0
So, I know a bunch of people have been talking the possibility of having video conferencing on the iPhone. Obviosuly the problem is that you need a camera facing at you, but then for regular pictures, you need one on the back. Basically..it seems like you need one going both directions.

so, for the iPhone, what do you guys think are the solutions for this problem?, some sort of camera that can move on the phone? have 2 cameras? what do you guys think.

If you wanna make a visual, or just type it out, either way is good.
 
Maybe iChat AV on the iPhone could look something like this:

attachment.php


This might be the 2nd Generation iPhone...
 
It's quite possible Apple will include an iChat-type app in revision 2 but that would require 3G. In the keynote Jobs specifically says they're "looking forward to creating 3G phones", so I really wouldn't brush off the possibility of a 3G iPhone. To be completely honest, I'm surprised Apple didn't include 3G/video calling capabilities in this revision, my Nokia 6280 is 3G and includes some pretty nifty video calling abilities too.

EDIT: I'd guess that a video calling iPhone would have two cameras; a VGA face-mounted one and an "x" megapixel one on the back. That's how most phones are designed now.
 
I would agree that the best solution is to have two cameras. I know apple is super against having movable parts, so there is no way to have one camera do both. The only way for them to do that would be to put the camera on the front, and then have a small preview screen on the back. But having the preview screen just for taking pictures, to me would seem like a waste of time. But something I do wonder is why did apple no include a "self-portrait" mirror?
 
i think on-the-go videoconferencing seems kinda pointless and unnecessary. it's barely functional at a computer, plugged into super-fast ethernet... do we really need it in our pockets?

it's cool, but not worth it imho.
 
ero87 said:
i think on-the-go videoconferencing seems kinda pointless and unnecessary. it's barely functional at a computer, plugged into super-fast ethernet... do we really need it in our pockets?

it's cool, but not worth it imho.
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Nearly all my closest family and friends now own Mac's with iSights built in. I cant stress how important the video conf. has been in making communicating with them more enjoyable. Its nice to be able to see their reactions rather than gauge it by the tone of their voice. There are subtle cues that take place during conversation that can only be appreciated when you see the other person - video conf. makes this possible. Imagine that sort of rich communication ANYWHERE ANYTIME. That is why I am very much in favor of some sort of iChat AV for the iPhone.
 
aside from networking issues, How much horse power would this need. Their is no way the processor could handle all those video streams. And battery issue.
 
My Nokia 6280 can handle video streams easily and it's not the most powerful device ever. Looking at what iPhone already has and can do I'd say video conferencing would be a walk in the park for it. Only lacking is the necessary 3G.
 
The iPhone's screen is only 480x320. That means that each video stream in a four person video chat would be, what, 160x120 at most? Heck, iChat on the desktop supports 80x60 individual video feeds. I'm sure that since the iPhone can decode 640x480 H.264, it should be capable of three 80x60 streams. Then you just have to hope it has enough horsepower left to encode an 80x60 stream.

By contrast, the requirements to participate, but not host, a 4-way video chat on the desktop are a 1 GHz G4 and 100 kbps both-ways internet connection.

I don't know if the iPhone processor will be 1 GHz G4 equivalent or not (I would venture not,) but I know that EDGE won't support 100 kbps both ways.

But... H.263 (the video format used for video chat in Panther,) was less processor intensive, so it might be possible to do four-way H.263 with an iPhone. (Although iChat in Tiger only uses H.263 for single-person video chat on Panther, and always uses H.264 with other Tiger clients, including all multi-person video.)
 
Shaduu said:
A landscape screen orientation makes a lot more sense for a video app.
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Yes it is a better use of screen space.

I read somewhere that the processor is rumored to be an ARM 11, in comparison the the ARM 8 in Nintendos N gage, which handles the gaming enviroment
 
chatster18 said:
Yes it is a better use of screen space.

I read somewhere that the processor is rumored to be an ARM 11, in comparison the the ARM 8 in Nintendos N gage, which handles the gaming enviroment
Click to expand...

Nintendo's NGage? Don't you mean Nokia's NGage?
 
GFLPraxis said:
Nintendo's NGage? Don't you mean Nokia's NGage?
Click to expand...

Well, he either means the Nokia N-Gage, or the Nintendo DS, I assume.

N-Gage uses an ARM9E at about 100 MHz.

DS uses two ARM processors, one ARM9, one ARM7, at 66 and 33 MHz respectively.

But N-Gage only needs to run a 176x208 screen, and DS runs two 256x192 screens. (Of which, only one can do 'full speed' 3D.) By contrast, iPhone is 480x320. More than 50% more pixels than both of the DS' screens combined, and over 4 times as many pixels as the N-Gage.

So, unless the iPhone has dedicated 3D hardware, it likely won't be able to do very impressive full-screen gaming.
 
With no second camera this obviously won't be an option on the current phone. So the question is, will Apple release a different phone in the future? (the "true" video phone ;) And will we be willing to plunk down another $600 bucks when it comes out? Does Apple think we will?

I would wish for all the bells and whistles up front, but sadly I think I'm going to end up with gadget envy no matter what happens.
 
i RARELY am able to get one more than one video conference going on my G5, there's always a bandwidth restriction or something....

i just cna't imagine it working on a phone.
 
I think it only makes sense to place a camera on the front and back of the phone, that Meizu M8 "iPhone clone" has a camera on both sides. I do agree that without 3G, it would probably be a pretty choppy video feed for chatting.
 
buymeaniphone said:
I think it only makes sense to place a camera on the front and back of the phone, that Meizu M8 "iPhone clone" has a camera on both sides. I do agree that without 3G, it would probably be a pretty choppy video feed for chatting.
Click to expand...

Also by putting the camera on both sides, it eliminates the need for moving parts, and no moving parts=less mechanical errors!
 
Brandonsc said:
Maybe a few years from now we can say the same about you when someone invents a way to connect a floppy drive to an iPhone.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry to tease you, I hope you understand its all in good fun. I'm finished making jokes. Have a good day.
 
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