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Mac video conferencing is a popular term for video conferences with Macintosh personal computers. Let's see what software solutions are available for Apple PC lovers...
The growing teleconference market has always had a complicating factor. The Macintosh market was not compatible with the larger PC market.
While there has long been a powerful capability for PC based video conference, mac users have had to struggle or do without. This is now changing.
Current resources include ichat, ivisit, Session, Pixion, WebEx and XMeeting. A compatible camera will be required if video is to be shared from your end.
MAC Video Conferencing Recommended SolutionsThe first is ichat AV 3 for Tiger, an Apple computer and video conferencing product, which appears to be aimed at the personal user market.
It is easily able to handle a chat with up to ten sites at once and is integrated with the ichat buddy list. This is OS X software and features the H.264 codec, delivering sharper images, improved color and capable of scaling to match available bandwidth.
The software retains the integrated text message capability, as well as voice. Sound meter icons show when someone is speaking so announcing yourself is not required.
The software allows a company to set up a secure and private IM server for business clients. The program supports drag and drop file sharing and has parental control features to disable chats with strangers.
The ichat suite only allows limited mac to PC chatting currently, by allowing PC based IM programs to interact, such as AOL or Jabber messenger.
The next program is ivisit Lite, a mac video conferencing suite that combines video conferencing, voice calls, IM, file sharing and joint web browsing.
It has the ability to provide one on one conferences, up to 8 sites at a time, 100 party channels and an upgrade to ivisit Plus allows up to 15 in a video conference at once.
Session from Wave Three provides high quality audio and video and an effective whiteboard feature for briefings, but appears to lack a text messaging system.
The interface is simple with more complex options hidden in the menus. Session requires high bandwidth and still has some stability problems, especially when the conference is started from the PC end.
Despite these problems, performance is good and can reach outstanding when the connection quality allows the program to fully shine.
The shared whiteboard allows a number of interesting tricks including real time annotations, storage of several files for use during a briefing and even converting powerpoint slides into graphics for sharing across the mac/pc gap. There is a free thirty-day trial available.
Pixion is a PC or mac video conferencing product, which has a free, seven-day trial offering. The program is available in several options, from a pay by the minute personal service to perpetually licensed server.
This requires no download, as it uses a java web interface for cross-platform capabilities. Any part of the presentation can be easily shared between users, annotation and real time feedback are supported, multiple bandwidth requirements can be set and meetings can even be recorded and played back.
WebEx is is a PC or mac video conferencing product intended for individuals and businesses. It also supports a pay as you go option and has seminars available for users to provide training and advice. There is also a free trial available.
XMeeting is an H.323 compatible or mac video conferencing product with several codecs fully or partially supported, a call record feature and multiple language manuals.
It is certain that mac video conferencing will continue to grow as the market is approaching the necessity level for business, and is no longer at the uber-geek only level for private use.
While there is as yet no killer application that will provide everything anyone could reasonably want, there are several reasonable options available and no reason for these to cease improvements.
Naturally, the cross platform issues are still the biggest hurdles, but with a couple of options available to show methods to defeat this, we should quickly see progress in the technical arena, after which the market should be free to worry about price, capability and features.
So far, most mac video conferencing suppliers appear to see a need for the video, audio and text transmission, with file sharing and possibly a whiteboard available. Various degrees of security will be possible, depending on the needs of a customer.
It appears possible that personal and corporate needs might diverge enough to make separate programs reasonable, but at this point solving the needs of one provides enough of a step towards solving the needs of the other to make joint solutions attractive.
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