I have set up video conferencing on windows machines but not linux. This
was a college project from 2 years ago -- I'm not a pro -- that I set up
videoconferencing among 4 homes over the Internet. But I did learn a few
things. Are you using wine? Not sure which cameras would work with linux.
Intel makes a decent camera -- it's the common one you see in the stores --
which is what we used. Aside from compatibility issues, I can offer some
general advice. From all the reviews I read, there's not much difference in
performance among the low-end cameras. More expensive cameras come with a
pci card that increases performance, but it doesn't sound like you will
need that. Most, if not all, low-end *new* cameras use usb. I think any new
video camera will work fine, if you have usb on your linux machines. Some
older cameras use the parallel port, but that is a slower interface and usb
is much better.
Another consideration is the connection between your computers. As long as
your home network uses ethernet, you'll have plenty of bandwidth. I know
that there are alternatives out there for home networking, but the more
bandwidth you have the better. Even with a 56K modem with a good
connection, you get decent results. But with ethernet (and good lighting,
see below) you can get flawless videoconferencing. Since you're not going
across the internet, fortunately, you won't have to worry about latency,
which can be a problem when using microphones. For microphones, I suggest
that you get the headset kind: the hand held mics tend to have an
irritating echo side effect while you're talking (but that going across the
internet, so it might not be bad in a home network). Still, those desktop
mics on a stand are just a pain to use. Headsets are much better.
A lot of people install linux on older pcs; not sure if that will work well
with videoconferencing. I'd use at least a PIII or equivalent. but that's
something you can try and see. Videoconferencing is very cpu intensive, so
good video cards might are also in order. Don't use old computers with
cheap videocards, like the computer I have linux installed on :). The
cameras don't do the processing or display the images on your monitor.
Low-end cameras really depend on the computer and the video card. Higher
end cameras have pci cards to handle that, but you probably won't be buying
those, so you probably can't use any old computers. We used Dell PIII 500s.
And they were really working sometimes just to produce decent results, with
nothing else running. I would imagine that you all will want to be able to
do other things while videoconferencing, like surf the net, do work, etc.
But that's something you can try and see. Maybe you'll get better results
that I would expect.
The last thing I can think of is something that people tend to not
consider: your rooms' lighting. I found this to be a real problem in one of
the home I set up. That person kept having really bad performance problems.
The other 3 homes were fine. I found out that the problem was not the
camera (after reinstalling everything a few times); the problem was the
room's lighting. This person had bad lighting in their living room, where
the computer with the camera was located. Low lighting increases the amount
of work the computers' cpu must do in order to process the video coming in
from the camera. Really bad lighting can slow the computer -- and the video
of course -- down a crawl or even freeze the computer.
So:
1. get usb cameras (most are probably usb now, anyway).
2. use ethernet (which you probably are)
3. have good lighting, not just a small lamp but really bright lighting.
4. use good computer equipment
Mitch
PS. I'm glad I finally had something to say on this list! You've helped me
out before, Paul. I hope this helps you.
Paul Rodr�guez
<[EMAIL PROTECTED] To: newbie
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
om> cc:
Sent by: Subject: [newbie] video
conferencing
newbie-owner@linux-m
andrake.com
03/07/02 08:44 AM
Please respond to
newbie
What programs are people using (or know about) for video-conferencing?
I am setting up Mandrake computers for my whole family and would like to
set up some video-conferencing for us.
I need an easy and convenient way to set up a video-conferencing
connection with Linux and non-unix users.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
- Paul Rodriguez
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