Webcams
 

Can anybody tell me what I require to use two computers as videophones on the internet. Both have broadband connections (one at 512kb/s one at 1mb/s). Do I only need webcams with built in mikes? If this is all I need then can somebody recognise a decent cheap webcam that will do the job. Thanks in advance.

Hi there. All you need is two web-cams, Logitech do good ones for as little as £30. You also need two mics and these can be picked up for about £3.99 from any computer shop. The cam will be USB and the mic plugs in to the 'Mic' socket at the back of your pc. Installation is easy and quick and you should be up and running in no time. If you have a hotmail account then you will have MSN Messenger. Just have your other half logged in and you can request a video call with them. Its really easy, if you need someone to test with just drop us an email and I will give you my details to test it all out with. Good luck and have fun.
Brl.

Except it all goes tits up if you're on a network behind a firewall. :sad:

longarm,

Webcams work best if both parties have headphones with a boom mike.

http://images10.newegg.com/productim...151-019-01.JPG

That way you will not get feedback from your computer's speakers.

I do like the quality of the Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000 USB WebCam.

http://images10.newegg.com/productim...108-105-03.JPG

Take Care,

Richard

As for the firewall comment you can over come that by configuring the port that yahoo or msn use to allow 2 way traffic and then close the port when finished

I love using my webcam but the only thing is that I wonder if anyone can tell me whether there is any risk of my picture being seen by anyone else but the person I'm chatting to.

Thank you.

Sophie ppruning,

It is possible for others to intercept your signal over the Internet, and there are hacks that let hackers turn on a webcam on a computer without the owner knowing it happened.

That is why most webcams come with visors. ;)

Take Care,

Richard

Open a port through the firewall is fine, but how does one work around a hardware firewall's IP masquerading?

For example: External IP of, say, 62.148.34.55 BUT inside the local network the PC might be 192.168.100.

Damned if I can get a webcam to to work that way for video chats.

Tinstaafl,

Look for a port forwarding feature on your hardware firewall. This will forward any data sent the forwarded port to a specific IP address on the local network. Most have default settings for web and email servers, and also allow you to specify your own.

goates

Ta. Had looked at that but ran afoul of knowing what ports to forward etc. Hard to describe to someone else for them to set up their different brand firewall...