Webcam and video chat?
 

one of my best friends moved to Japan (well, is leaving friday), and i know i'll keep in contact with her through emails and such all the time, but you know, sometimes you want just a little bit more, right? well i was just curious, how hard (and expensive!) would it be to set up an easy to use and easy to understand webcam, that i could give her one and i might get one and we could use that to chat over the internet, is that something worth thinking about? if so, please explain

Re: Webcam and video chat?
 

£20 will get you a half-decent webcam, so £40 for two. if you spend a little more you mght get a better qualty one (ccd rather than cmos).

then you can use msn messenger, netmeeting etc to set up video calls. msnm works pretty well for me...

Re: Webcam and video chat?
 

how 'bout ease of use and setup? (because she's not that great with computers)

Re: Webcam and video chat?
 

Buy one get one free in PC World at the mo, it's a logitech one... 30 quid for the pair- good value.

Re: Webcam and video chat?
 

A lot of cameras are a case of install software from CD (and follow on screen instructions with logitechs), reboot, plug in webcam, windows finds and loads drivers.

Re: Webcam and video chat?
 

Are you able to show her how to install it on your PC... ;)

Re: Webcam and video chat?
 

not really, i was planning to (if it was a viable option) send it to her on her birthday for a birthday/christmas present, and that's not till fall/winter, and i'm not gonna see her today (she leaves tomorrow) anyways

Re: Webcam and video chat?
 

If you buy this Creative

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=147807

Like I have it comes with a details installation manual which is in plain english, and also a simple cd which installs the driver and simply you just install msn messenger from http://messenger.msn.com sign in with your Hotmail id, ( or make one with the link provided ) click webcam follow the final steps which is basically move cam to desired position, then hit webcam to her and she can view your cam and vica versa.

Also these cams double us as basic digital cameras.

Enjoy :tu:

Re: Webcam and video chat?
 

Think about a webcam with built in microphone if you haven't already got a mic. :)

Re: Webcam and video chat?
 

BARGAIN ALERT! There is a special offer on at Argos. £14.99 for two USB webcams. I bought them for a gift, tried them out and they work very nice indeed. The bundled software is cool too.
http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/st...lickfrom=image
The offer is available in store or on their webshop.

Colour VGA CMOS sensor.
640 x 480 maximum resolution.
USB 1.1 interface.
Adjustable focus from 30mm.
15fps frame rate at VGA mode and 30fps frame rate at CIF mode.
Auto white balance.
Auto electronic exposure.
Auto gain compensation.
Bundled software package, comprising Cam driver, Smart Cam application software (video mail and video monitor), Ulead Photo Express, Ulead Photo Explorer and Ulead Cool 360.
Compatible with Windows 98SE, ME, 2000 and XP (I tried it on plain Windows98 and that works too although it may ask you to insert the windows CD during installation of the drivers).

You have to use a seperate microphone if you want audio though (better than a built-in one IMHO `cos you might want the cam further away from you but still be heard)

Not bad for £7.50 per cam. Good picture resolution for the price.

Re: Webcam and video chat?
 

bmxbandit mentioned ccd over cmos, what's the difference?

Re: Webcam and video chat?
 

make sure its got a built in microphone with it:)

Re: Webcam and video chat?
 

Re: Webcam and video chat?
 

Homebase have something similar on their shelves at the moment. Pack of two for £9.99.

Re: Webcam and video chat?
 

Once you got the cam you could always set it up for her using remote assistance(very nice tool) I would download the new yahoo messenger beta so you can video conference and talk using VoIP so you get crystal clear speech and its free

Re: Webcam and video chat?
 

what is remote assistance?

Re: Webcam and video chat?
 

Unforunatly MSN messenger is not very good with video confereincing in my experience , you can usually have video OR sound but rarely both, some people do seem to get it working, but internet is covered in posts from those who can't get both working

I have since used EyeChat sucessfully,very easy to install .

Skype is v.good for voice - easy to set up, plus there is now a video option too HERE

Remote Assistance means she can request 'asssitance' from you via MSN messenger, this will cause her PC screen to be visible on your PC, and you can control her PC with your mouse/keyboard, + she gets to see what you are doing on her PC so can learn for future - v.useful for those with non technical relatives

Re: Webcam and video chat?
 

this is a good bit of software and has a better frame rate and picture size to eyeball chat.

www.netvidea.com

ignore the 'pro' and 'lite' options - when you download it you endup with a 'pro' version for free as they have never progressed to charging for it.

Re: Webcam and video chat?
 

Remote assistance is a little app inside xp that allows one user to take over the other users pc and run programs set ups fault diagnosis etc for the other person,it does not matter where in the world they are :) just type it into windows help and it will show you how

Re: Webcam and video chat?
 

picture quality of CCD is much more superior - especially in lower light levels.

CCD is more expensive to make and that's why most web cams and cheap digital cameras aren't CCD.

CCD is usually what you find in quality digital cameras. a much more crisper picture in my experience.

I purchased a low end creative digital camera a couple of years back and it had a CMOS sensor - it was hopeless - I took it back as pictures turned out black unless taken in day light!
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I also recommend this one - I paid £80 for one 3 years ago! and it's still working - excellent value at £22 compared to the cheap rubbish you will find at places like tesco.