Q. Are there any firewall issues?
A. Yes, if you have a firewall! If you have a NAT or firewall system set up to guard your network, you'll need to look into opening the necessary ports, or moving your Mac to a "DMZ" zone. Some NAT/firewall hardware is smart enough to do that automagically: if you have a router which supports universal plug and play, you'll have a lot more success. See this Apple Support doc and this help page. If you are having issues, alternate who is calling who - it can sometimes make a difference.

Q. I have an old-fashioned dial-up modem rather than broadband. What can I expect?
A. You can have a working system, but expect slow video updates and choppy sound. With broadband, expect telephone quality sound and a good enough frame rate to make video chatting comfortable.

Q. Could I use iChat and iSight on my PowerBook using a Wi-fi Hotspot?
A. Theoretically, yes, you could have video chats from a Starbucks or other Wi-fi access point. However, it really depends on how the Wi-fi point is configured - the router may block the necessary ports. So it's a case of "try it and see".

Q. Can I talk/see to Windows users?
A. Yes, there are video conferencing standards in existence, and if these are adhered to and implemented properly it should mean that Mac applications could connect to Windows applications - or even dedicated hardware solutions. However, at the moment, the simplest way is to use iChat on the Mac, and AIM on the Windows system. The results are nowhere near as good as an iChat to iChat link, but it works. Also, consider iVisit, Yahoo Messenger, SquidCam or ohPhoneX.

Q. Can I use Virtual PC on the Mac to use MSN Messenger, and so talk to Windows users that way?
A. In theory it might work, in practice I've not got it to work using Virtual PC 7 and a USB Logitech webcam. (Virtual PC will definitely NOT support the FireWire iSight camera). The USB camera required drivers to work on the Virtual PC, and installing them caused my iMac G5 to crash. Even if it did work, Virtual PC is NOT fast at this kind of thing and would probably not work very well at all with video conferencing. If you really need MSN Messenger to work quickly with video, it's almost better picking up a cheap PC.

Q. Do I need a driver for my webcam?
A. If your webcam is Firewire based and you are using OS X 10.2.x (Jaguar) or better, then no drivers are required - its plug and play. If you are using USB, then yes, you'll need to install a driver. See MacCam or iChatUSBCam.

Q. Can I send pre-recorded material over the net?
A. Sure. If you have a camcorder, you could use the Firewire output to replay footage as if it were live into iChat. Or you could use one of the several Analog to Digital converters around, and plug it into your cable TV box. Remember than a talking head is pretty easy for video compression systems to work with, but a busy birthday celebration on a beach or an episode of Star Trek Enterprise might not work so well. If you want to get into more of a multi-casting situation, check out the Quicktime Broadcaster application. I'm working on a page explaining how to set this up, check back soon.

Q. Can I use iSight with iMovie?
A. Yes, you can with iMovie v4! Video is capture, and then a little extra processing is done to convert it into the format used my iMovie.

Q. Can I iChat to send video to more than one person at a time?
A. No, iChat is strictly one-on-one when it comes to video. To send video to multiple people, look at evocam, VideoWeb or Quicktime Broadcaster. Or iVisit. Apple have demonstrated the next version of iChat for Tiger, and it does support up to four video windows at once - we'll know more when Tiger is launched by mid 2005.

Q. Using iSight makes my computer crash!
A. One potential cause for iSight misbehaving is the very thin Firewire cable it ships with - it seems the cable lacks shielding and other hardware can cause interference: wireless mice for example. If you are having problems, try a thicker cable. The standard lead also seems to be the root of the "camera in use" error. Try unplugging the lead, and reconnecting. Or using the lead from an iPod.

Q. I can't use iChat AV, even though I have a fast Mac and a broadband connection!
A. Broadband can mean different things to different people: for example, in New Zealand I know that users who pay for broadband get a download speed that's a half or a quarter or the download speed I get in the US. The upload speed is also reduced. The end result is iChat AV doesn't work. Similarly, if you have a Satellite connection, it might be too slow, or the data rate might be too inconsistent to get good results. So although iChat's specs call for a "broadband" connection, I would guess this means the type of DSL/Cable broadband than is common in the US and the UK - in other words, at least 128kbps upstream, and 768kbps downstream. If this issue is causing you problems, it's worth adjusting iChat's data rate settings from Preferences to the lowest setting, or trying another conferencing program instead of iChat.

Q. Something weird is happening after I upgraded to Panther!
A. It seems that some people are experiencing problems if one Mac is running Jaguar (Mac OS 10.2) and the other is running Panther (10.3). This seems to lead to one-way video only. I'm not sure there is a solution at the moment, other than to update the Jaguar system (which is a worthwhile upgrade anyway).

Q. Do both iChat users need to be signed up with .Mac?
A. No, neither user requires a .Mac account. iChat AV supports both .Mac users and AOL/AIM users. Anyone can sign up for free to get an AOL/AIM ID. Go to http://aim.com to get an ID. Then in iChat go to Preferences, Accounts and enter the AOL username and password.

Q. What's the cheapest way to do video conferencing?
A. Find some USB webcams going cheap on eBay. Use the MacCam or iChatUSBCam.driver. Use ohPhoneX or iVisit lite.

Q. What's the money-is-no-option way to do video conferencing?
A. Make sure each Mac is at least a 800Ghz G4 running Panther. Buy an iSight for each. Use the fastest broadband connection you can buy.

Q. I have Jaguar, and I just bought an iSight. Do I really need to buy iChat AV?
A. Yes, yes you do. A version of iChat for Jaguar used to be available to purchase, but not any more.

Q. Can iChat support multiple audio or video chats at a time?
A. No, only multiple text only chats. If you want several people to see a video or audio transmission, you’ll need to look into QuickTime broadcaster.

Q. When I click on someone's name, it opens in AIM rather than iChat!
A. Use MoreInternet to make the default application iChat.

Q. Can I record iChat conversations? Or conversations with any other video conferencing software?
A. Yes, to record video conversations with sound try SnapzProX.

Q. Can I use iChat to talk to an older Mac running OS9?
A. No, I'm afraid I don't know of any OS9 video conferencing solutions that would support that. OS X is where it's at, baby..
 

• Apple's iChat webpage
• Apple's iSight webpage
• Apple's iChat forum
• Apple's iSight forum
• Apple iSight Support page
• Apple iChat Support page
• Apple iChat FAQ

So you want to..

..Chat with someone who is using MSN Instant Messenger on a PC.

Use the Mac version of the MSN Instant Messenger client, from Microsoft's Mactopia site. Or try one of the several third party chat clients, such as Adium or Fire.

..Video conference with someone who is using MSN Instant Messenger on a PC.

Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be a Mac client for MSN messenger that supports video (or sound). One or both of you will have to change their chat client.

So what is your favourite music on iTunes?

Funny you should ask, it's Warm Sound by Zero 7.