Webcam recommendations / videoconferencing?
 

I'm moving to the next phase of telecommunications, but am struggling to find guidance on the web.

I finally had ADSL installed at home. I'll be working on a long-term assignment abroad and would like to use videoconferencing to stay in touch with my family at home. But I'm baffled by the various webcam options that are available.

Assuming I have an ADSL connection at one end (500kb/s downstream and 250kb/s upstream) and a hotel or office high-speed internet connection at the other, what sort of resolution can I realistically support? Is 640x480 optimistic, or should I save my money and buy cheap cameras for 350x200?

Any recommendations on the easiest software to use, and on particular brands of web-cams? Ideally I'd like a camera with built-in mic and USB connectivity, as I don't have Firewire on my office machine.

If there are helpful websites, I'd also appreciate those recommendations.

Many thanks in advance for any advice offered!

I VERY much like Polycom's ViaVideo solution. It seems to offer the best resolution (and audio) over limited bandwith. It'll work fine with as little as 128k available. The cams aren't the smallest and require their own powersupply, but the software is self-contained (no fooling around with codecs and such) and works perfectly. The quality is also lightyears ahead of other webcams. We use them here both from viavideo to viavideo and also with the larger Polycom Viewstations. They can interoperate with Netmeeting as well but we haven't done much with that functionality.