By MARYANNE MURRAY BUECHNER	E-mail this article to a friend

August 4, 2003

The QuickCam Pro 4000 syncs   well with video instant messenging   software. Logitech.com, $99 COURTESY OF LOGITECH

There will be e-mail, of course, and the telephone. And if you’re lucky, you’ll get pictures. But parents whose kids are leaving home for college this fall now have an even better way of staying in touch: video instant messaging.

Before you say “too techie for me!” let me counter that setting up a video chat session was probably the easiest extra-curricular thing I've ever done with my computer. It wasn't completely trouble-free, but the snags are relatively minor. And the results were good enough to convince me that this is finally a viable way to steal some face time, in real time, with that child who's left the nest — and any other far-flung friend or relative for that matter.

Set-Up

Here's how to do it: First, you need a webcam, one of those funny-looking “eyeballs” that mount on top (or near) your monitor. They range from $20 to $100, and are a snap to install. (You might also be able to use a digital still camera. It has to support something called USB streaming; if you’re not sure, check with the manufacturer).

Next, you need an IM program that supports two-way video. For Windows PCs, I recommend either MSN Messenger 6 or Yahoo Messenger version 5.6. Both are free, easy to download, and are designed to work seamlessly with your hardware. Apple’s new iChat program for Mac users is even more elegant, but unfortunately it doesn't work with Windows.

Once you're up and running, many factors will affect performance: the image resolution and compression capabilities of your webcam; the processing power of your PC; whether you have dial-up or a high-speed Internet connection; the kind of traffic your ISP is carrying that day; and whether there are firewall protections involved. What also matters: whether you're running audio and video simultaneously and what you're doing at your desk (are you sitting or dancing?). But gone are the tiny, grainy, jerky webcam images of old. It’s not Basil Exposition greeting Austin Powers from the dashboard of the Shaguar, but it’s way better than I expected.

Test Drive

To test MSN and Yahoo, I enlisted Columbia University English-major Jayanthi Daniel, who, like many college students living in dorms these days, gets free Internet access through the school’s network. Like most schools, Columbia protects that network with a firewall. That didn’t stop me from seeing her friendly face, or her hotpot and mini-fridge; she saw my new IKEA curtains and met my neurotic cat (the kids were already in bed). If only one firewall is in the way, and it isn't a "super-ultra secure" one (like what you'd get at a big corporate office), the video might slow down a bit, as it did in our case, but should otherwise go through. (It certainly helps when both parties have broadband. I've found yet another reason to love my DSL.)

Audio is another story. To put a voice with a face, we tried hitting the Audio button; I could hear her but she couldn’t hear me (and my webcam’s built-in mic had tested fine). In other tests, audio quality was either poor or non-existent, so I often just picked up the phone. I also tried typing text messages during my video sessions, but it wasn’t quite as satisfying. (Tip: If this is your only option, stack a few books on the desk between you and your monitor and place your webcam at about nose level. It will obscure part of your view of the monitor, but you’ll see enough of the screen to carry on a text chat and watch your partner, and they’ll still be able to see your eyes.)

AOL Instant Messenger — still the most popular IM program, with nearly 100 million users worldwide, according to Robert Mahowald, Research Manager at IDC — currently has no built-in video chat feature. The company would like to add one, a spokesman said, but the FCC bars this due to antitrust concerns from the AOL-Time Warner merger. AOL 9.0, released just last week, does provide a nice two-way audio feature called AOL Talk (for which you can buy a $45 handset, though it will work over a regular PC microphone and speakers; for more info about the slim-and-sleek "USB Phone," go to AOL Keyword: Broadband Gear). The new IM program in AOL 9.0 also lets users record and send short video clips, but that's not nearly as much fun as real-time video chat.

At least with recorded clips you can prepare. Once you’re set up for real-time video instant messaging, the opportunities to do it can come along at any time — including those mornings when you’ve plopped down in front of your home-office computer without bothering to brush your hair or put on a decent top. It’s a tribute to the technology that my chat-mates could see my every stray hair made fuzzy by a humid day, as well as the fresh pimple above my lip that looked so angry my 3-year-old offered to “kiss it and make it all better.” Maybe those grainy images weren't so bad after all.

TIPS  With both the MSN and Yahoo messenger programs, once you’ve initiated a regular chat, you just click the Webcam or Video button in the tools bar; your webcam will switch on and a preview window will appear. Your buddy will receive an invitation to view, and can invite you to view theirs. Hit Accept and you’ll have a two-way going in seconds. (They don’t have to have a webcam to view the other person’s image, but a one-way just wouldn’t be fair…)  If you don’t like what you see, play around with your webcam settings. Experiment with lighting, contrast, and other picture elements. Some webcams offer more flexibility than others. You can’t go wrong with Logitech’s QuickCam Pro 4000, a high-end model you can find online for under $100, but a $40 QuickCam Messenger will be perfectly adequate.  For optimal video performance, limit your movements, and don’t clutter up the background— that’s just means more visual data for the camera to deliver. If you want to pan the room (maybe to show off your new campus digs) be sure to turn the webcam slowly so that it can keep up. And have a lamp on in front of you; if you’re backlit, your face will be dark.  To get the best frame rate you might have to reduce image resolution, or broadcast image size; for better looking pictures, you’ll sacrifice speed. You can adjust both under Preferences. ALSO:  When installing your webcam, don’t install any messenger programs that are included on the setup disc because they may not be the latest versions  If you’re having trouble with the audio feature, run the audio tuning wizard in the tools menu; make sure the program knows which mic is should be looking for.  If you’ve already got a Hotmail account, you can log on to MSN Messenger using the same email address and password. Same goes for Yahoo Mail and Yahoo Messenger.

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