Webcam and video chat?

[Kuragari]

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

[bmxbandit]

£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...

[Kuragari]

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

[smicer07]

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

[Paul K]

Originally Posted by Kuragari

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

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.

[Caspar]

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

[Kuragari]

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

[AndrewJ]

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

[ian@huth]

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

[Flubflow]

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.

[Kuragari]

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

[caroline]

make sure its got a built in microphone with it

[bmxbandit]

Originally Posted by Kuragari

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

a decent comparison here

[ian@huth]

Originally Posted by Flubflow

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.

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

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