Fred Avolio's Musings

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:: home :: pc2mac :: SightSpeed.html ::
Fri, 21 Apr 2006
Time to try SightSpeed

I've been struggling with trying to get iChat to AIM to work. Unsuccessfully. I'm moving on. (See my blog entry Ready to Give Up on iChat to PC.)

From now on I will use iChat video with Mac users (where it works without problem) and encourage PC users to get and install SightSpeed. The free version will give all that I want to do. From a use and security standpoint it looks good. It is not as popular as AIM, but I can use AIM as the invitation mechanism.

In a PC Magazine review, in January, 2005, Cade Metz writes, "The inaugural version of SightSpeed Video Messenger impressed us a year ago, proving to be one of most effective desktop videoconferencing tools on the Internet. Its latest incarnation, known simply as SightSpeed 3.0, is even more impressive."

When Skype comes out with video conferencing for Mac, I'll try that also.

Meanwhile, if you want to try it out, my id on SightSpeed is my e-mail address: fred@avolio.com.

Tried SightSpeed with my daughter. It seemed like had to port forward port 9000 But, I just turned it off and video chatted with someone in support and it worked fine (though he said I had some echo; I am not using a headset). I need to redo my network connection. I do not see why port forwarding should be necessary! I was successfully connected! But, when I tried it gave me a failure message and invoked firewalls. With the port forward, it worked wonderfully. Clear picture. Good sound. Easy setup for both of us. Free of charge.
I tried SightSpeed with my friend Paul in Ukraine (whom I mentioned in VoIP -- Unexpected Benefits). It was very easy for him to install and get working.

I recorded two samples for your viewing and listening pleasure. In the free version of SightSpeed, one is not able to save and download a video recording. In other words, to view it and hear it I have to point you to their web site, which drives potential subcribers to them (which is absolutely reasonable for the free version).

The first one, is usinG the built-in microphone on my iSight webcam. The second is using a head-set microphone.

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