Travel Technology - Anyone use Apple iSight / iChatAV to video with family while on the road?

I'm thinking of getting myself and the family Apple iSights this year and was wondering if anyone had any comments about it.

Specifically, how is the quality? Do you find that the ethernet / wireless in domestic and international hotels fast enough for video use?

http://www.apple.com/isight/

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/04/technology/circuits/04POGUE-EMAIL.htm

Thanks.

[This message has been edited by Tummy (edited Dec 21, 2003).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Tummy:
I'm thinking of getting myself and the family Apple iSights this year and was wondering if anyone had any comments about it.

Specifically, how is the quality? Do you find that the ethernet / wireless in domestic and international hotels fast enough for video use?

http://www.apple.com/isight/

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/04/technology/circuits/04POGUE-EMAIL.htm

Thanks.

[This message has been edited by Tummy (edited Dec 21, 2003).]</font>

Ill be interested to hear first hand users. I dont have one but saw one in use this July. Somone in Melbourne had his Powerbook with the camera and was using a wireless network set up as a courtesy by Apple at the convention center. He was talking to his wife in the LA area. I was stunned at the quality. It isnt an HDTV plasma monitor but the voice was pretty much real time and the picture was fairly clear and smooth. Would love to hear others, thinking about getting a couple of them myself.

I'm seriously considering setting up myself and far flung family members with this. I'm thinking it might be fun now that we all have Macs and broadband connections.

We use them at work. iChat AV has changed the way we work, actually. The iSight enhances this.

You're always aware of who is available and who isn't. For instance, my third level boss based in Cupertino just hopped online as I began writing -- and one of my close colleagues in Sacramento just appeared.

Working remotely now has one less disadvantage/barrier. You can continue face-to-face interaction from anywhere now. This makes a big difference.

Collaboration is more natural. Everyone in the office now has a few ichat sessions going on at any given moment throughout the day. It gives everyone a better finger on the pulse of the company.

Functionally, the iSight is the best webcam style camera I know of without hooking up a conventional DV camcorder to your firewire port. I've met with some of the hardware and software engineers, and there was a lot of thought that went into the design and the technology. Example: there are actually two mics in th camera, one in the front and one in the back. The software is able to employ some ambient noise cancellation that way. For a $150 webcam, that's pretty fancy I think. Overall, for what you get and the quality of the picture/sound, I think it's a decent price. If you don't care so much if the picture is ruddy and choppy or if the sound isn't as crisp, you could go with something cheaper. But it won't integrate as smoothly (think: gotta go download the latest drivers and putter around with it til it decides to work). When it comes down to it, if you have a Mac and want to do videoconferencing, really, all other options are crap compared to the iSight with iChat AV.

You will need a fast connection for the video. I've only used it at T1 speeds. I would think cable/DSL and faster should do. You can lower the image quality/shrink the picture if things get a little slow. I have ISDN at home, and have used audio conferencing there. It's good.

Some people in the office have adopted the new technology more readily than others. There is a segment that things it's weird and get uncomfortable at the thought that someone can pop up on their screen anytime (you have to accept the invitation to chat before they see you, but it still bugs some folks). Almost all have come around to text chatting though.

(Another colleague, this time in Austin, just came on-line btw.)

The role instant messaging has made for itself sits between the role of the phone call and the role of email. A communication spectrum has evolved yet another degree:

phone
iChat
walk over
email
inter-office/snail mail

I find this fascinating and look forward to seeing how this new component continues to develop.

One last thing: our corporate policies warn us to keep dialogues about confidential topics contained to other forms of communication. Most likely I think this is because AIM is not a totally secure medium (i.e. there's no encription, it's outside of the corporate network, etc). It could also be possibly because the spyware can't penetrate AIM dialogues, but I doubt this is the case.

Anyway, that's my take on iChat and iSight. I think it's be a great thing for someone to get for themself and the family if they travel a lot. I can see that it would help to take the edge off of the empty house and isolation of a lonely hotel room.

If my bf starts traveling every week again, I think we would definitely get one for each of us. This would be completely worth $300 for us. If you have a family that you must be away from regularly, I think you and they would find it to be even more valuable.

Have been using iSight since it came out and it is fantastic. Mostly use it to talk to my parents at home.

Both audio and video are excellent.

I finally got a pair of iSights along with a new Powerbook. The first night I used it to connect home took some work to bypass our firewall, but afterwards it was great.

We left it on all night with the home computer in the bedroom and my laptop in the hotel. We woke up to the our home alarm clock, an hour early since I was a time zone away, but it was like I was there. We talked while we both got ready to go to work.

Last year I was away from home for 250+ nights. I'm sure I'll get lots of use from our new toys.

[This message has been edited by Tummy (edited Jan 30, 2004).]

MSN Messenger and any $20 webcam have been doing this for years, guys. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif


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-alan in sitges, home of the new, improved Si-Re-Do (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum95/HTML/003867.html)

Does anyone know of a way for me to connect on a XP machine to an iBook running iSight/iChatAV? My wife has an iBook and we would love to be able to talk while I am on the road (using XP in my laptop). I can use MSN Messenger with my camera, but the Apple version doesn't support that feature. Thanks.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by alanw:
MSN Messenger and any $20 webcam have been doing this for years, guys. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif
</font>

Yeah... but the image and sound quality on the Mac/iSight/iChat is http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/thumbsup.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/thumbsup.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/thumbsup.gif.

I use mine for both working with clients and for chatting up the folks at home when I'm on the road (or visa versa). Like the previous poster said, you need a fast connection for video to work, but that's not much of an issue most of the places I go these days.

I try to travel light, and limit the toys I bring on most trips. The iSight is one that I hardly ever leave behind.

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Wherever you go, there you are.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Cobijonz:
Does anyone know of a way for me to connect on a XP machine to an iBook running iSight/iChatAV? My wife has an iBook and we would love to be able to talk while I am on the road (using XP in my laptop). I can use MSN Messenger with my camera, but the Apple version doesn't support that feature. Thanks.</font>


Here's a good site which lists 3rd party software for cross-platform conferencing - http://homepage.mac.com/john_kenn/video.html#Cross_Platform_Video_Conferencing

Dammn!!!

I'm gonna have to get myself an Apple laptop sooner or later, it looks like! http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/thumbsup.gif http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/thumbsup.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by alanw:
MSN Messenger and any $20 webcam have been doing this for years, guys. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif


</font>

Thank you http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif

When I was reading about the amazing technology of chatting to each other through the internet and seeing who is online and who isn't I knew I had seen that technology somewhere... Perhaps it was that ICQ thing I was using back in 1996 or Netmeeting??? http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/biggrin.gif

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by ScottC:
Thank you http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif

When I was reading about the amazing technology of chatting to each other through the internet and seeing who is online and who isn't I knew I had seen that technology somewhere... Perhaps it was that ICQ thing I was using back in 1996 or Netmeeting??? http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/biggrin.gif</font>


So people like the iSight, what's the big deal?

StudentExplorer:

Thanks for the link. I found a recommendation for iVisit on a Mac forum as well and I 'll try it out.

Not to hijack, but there are times where I don't know how to do things on my Mac 1.25DP G4 running Panther.

Is there a switcher website or something that I could post questions to???

Thanks.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by chichow:
Not to hijack, but there are times where I don't know how to do things on my Mac 1.25DP G4 running Panther.

Is there a switcher website or something that I could post questions to???

Thanks.</font>

A good start is Apple's own site: http://www.apple.com/switch

Also lots of knowledgeable people on their discussion boards who can point you in the right direction. I suggest posting on the Panther board: http://discussions.info.apple.com/

Finally, the Missing Manuals series by David Pogue is excellent. Well written and easy to follow for a switcher but also some great tips for more advanced users. You can get them at any bookstore or Amazon. The website: http://www.missingmanual.com/

He even has a book for Switching: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0596004524/002-7048574-6132857?v=glance




[This message has been edited by StudentExplorer (edited Feb 03, 2004).]

I highly recommend getting that Missing Manual book for OS X (there is a specific new edition for Panther). It covers just about everything, an appendix has multiple "Where did it go?" for users of Windows, Unix, etc., and it has tips from beginners to advanced users (so once you get used to some things there are more advanced options to try). I got this book for a friend when she got a new Mac, and she found it ideal. Since you have a desktop, the fact that the book is thick is not so much of an issue.

Another place with friendly forums for Mac beginners is The Mac Observer http://www.macobserver.com/forums/ (Disclosure: I am a volunteer moderator on that site.)

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Cobijonz:
StudentExplorer:

Thanks for the link. I found a recommendation for iVisit on a Mac forum as well and I 'll try it out.</font>

FYI, the new AIM for Windows now supports video conferencing and a beta iChat is now out which supports conferencing between the 2 programs.

There's also new support for Bluetooth headsets with Macs, including with iChat.

Looking forward to trying that out with my Jabra Freespeak...

Since i recently moved to Australia from the States, i have found iSight/iChatAV to be the best $$$ i spent on telecommunications.

I bought my parents an iMac and the iSight, but didn't tell them what the camera was for. Then, one day, i told them to boot up the computer (we were on the phone) and then walked them through a 4 step instruction process (plug inthe camera, open the lens cap, turn on the lights in the room (it was a bit dark) and smile).

The look on their faces was priceless.

And my girlfriend, who lives in DC, and I spend an hour each day on the video chat - which has helped maintain our relationship even with the distance... now she's moving here to join me http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif

So for those of you who asked "what's the big deal?" the answer is (a) it just works and (b) it does so very well.