why is iChat AV video so choppy?

[rozwell]

my setup...
Firewire Video Camera
1ghz Powerbook G4 with 1gb RAM
5mbs cable connection
theirs...
USB IceCam from macally
1.33ghz Powerbook G4 with 512mb RAM
7mbs cable connection

its so choppy, 2fps at most. im not expecting 30, but a little more than 2. am i doing something wrong? are there other AIM clients with better video support?

-rozwell

 

[yoman]

my setup...
Firewire Video Camera
1ghz Powerbook G4 with 1gb RAM
5mbs cable connection
theirs...
USB IceCam from macally
1.33ghz Powerbook G4 with 512mb RAM
7mbs cable connection

its so choppy, 2fps at most. im not expecting 30, but a little more than 2. am i doing something wrong? are there other AIM clients with better video support?

-rozwell

have you and your buddy put the bandwith limit of iChat to "None" found in iChat preferences Video section. ? That may be part of the problem.

 

[crazzyeddie]

When you both view your connections locally (video setup) do they both appear normally? I have a feeling it may have something to do with the USB cam...

 

[Bear]

my setup...
...
5mbs cable connection
theirs...
...
7mbs cable connection

its so choppy, 2fps at most. im not expecting 30, but a little more than 2. am i doing something wrong? are there other AIM clients with better video support?

-rozwell

Remember the download speed on your cable is not guaranteed. And more importantly remember that your upload speed is usally capped at a much lower value - somewhere between 256Kb and 512Kb. And upload speed is a cap, not a guarantee.

Also, other network activity you have going on could affect it as well.

 

[Westside guy]

It's probably the camera. I've got an iSight, while my friend has one of those old Logitech quickcams. The picture from his camera (he's using some piece of software that let's you use USB cams with iChat) is just terrible, even when we're both on our gigabit network at work.

He tried out a different USB 1.1 camera from Creative, and the picture was significantly better. Still nowhere near iSight quality though.

If you think about it, even USB 1.1 speeds should be more than enough - 11mbps is far higher than what most of us have up to the internet. So it comes down to how much money the manufacturer put into the camera itself.