best IM with webcam support
 

Hi there, was just wondering whether linux has any good Im programs which are capable gf having video conferences with webcams? i've heard amsn is capable, are there any others worth trying?

There is one called Gyach-Enhanced but I haven't been able to get it working. Likely requires tweaking beyond my capabilities.

kopete also has support for webcams on yahoo and msn.

Mercury is good.

I have kopete 0.10.0, i cant seem to find the option to use the webcam. I noticed theres a new version (0.12.0), does this have webcam support or am i missing the option in my current version?

Also, I have a logitech messenger webcam, ive read afew threads which suggest that i should use a pwc driver. Is this the way to go in getting my webcam to work?

There is also gnome-meeting.

I use VLC for the webcam and gaim for chatting. It is not all integrated but it works better than regular IM, as the video goes directly to the target and not via a IM server.

So you mean i can use VLC for webcam meetings? i.e see another person (who is using msn messenger or another program?) and they can see me?

How do i get this function?

The another person(s) must be using VLC or a web browser like firefox which can play videos (mplayer module for instance). You are not limited to a 1 on 1 meeting. If the another person is using MSN, just send a link to your server (use http) and the another person just has to click on the link and your webcam shows up in his browser.

vlc v4l:/dev/video --sout '#standard{access=udp,url=$ip:$port}'
You can also use vlc as a http server :
vlc v4l:/dev/video --sout '#standard{access=http,dst=your.server.com:8080}'
On the client :
vlc http://your.server.com:8080
You can do all that in the GUI as well.
vlc is a very powerful and versatile tool. The quality is better than regular IM.
http://www.videolan.org/doc/streaming-howto/en/

Note : for http, if you are NAT'ed (behind a router), you have to forward the port 8080 to your machine. For udp, the client has to formard the udp port if he is NAT'ed.
udp is a little more effective than http but a little less flexible (the client has to do something more than just clicking on the link).

I think i understand how it works.... sounds good if i can get it up and running.

Have followed the HOWto from the link you gave and went through the wizard, i tried to stream a small video file as a tester. When the wizard exits, not no confirmation etc.... How can i check its streaming properly?

Will i be able to access my own ip to check if its streaming okay or will i need another computer? also, can i port forward 8080? the guides ive used so far seem to use ports from 40000ish to 55000ish. I'm not a pro at portforwarding, will adding the following line in the firewall setup in mandriva control centre siffice?

8080/tcp

Will i need to configure my router as well? In windows i neeed to access it and go to an iptable and tell it which ports i wanted to open ... does linux require this as well?

Yes, you can actually access your own ip or 127.0.0.1 (localhost) to test the streaming, most probably, unless you have a very strange iptables setup.
You should be able to forward port 8080 as well. I don't know about the Mandrake configuration tool, but it looks like that that should suffice. And yes you need to configure your router : http://192.168.1.1

Good luck and don't hesitate to ask if I can help

I have tested VLC with the streaming capability as youve described Agrouf and it works perfectly when streaming video files.

The main headache has been to get the webcam up and running. I've tried installing the pwc/usb-messenger drivers (am in danger of screwing up the kernel with so many different installs of drivers?) which seem to install and then nothing happens, which apparently is what's meant to happen.

following some advice from gqcam install file, i typed:

lsmod

and it came up with this

videodev 7104 3 bw_qcam,pwc,bttv

on running gqcam, i the image i get is green and displays what looks like my TV tuner.... ihave a feeling that i some how need to select my webcam as my main video source as at the moments its probably combining all three (?). Would you know how i can do that?

I dont know what to do next as the webcam does not appear in VLC player or XawTV.

Which webcam do you have? and which driver do you use to get it working?

I have a creative NX webcam or something like that. I had no problem setting it up. I don't remember which driver I use (I'm currently at work, so I can't access my machine). I'll check when I go home and report.
What is your webcam?

Mine is a Logitech quickcam messenger. Lots have posted saying it works but i cant find a complete guide on how to install and use it in a program.

provide usb ids by giving output of /sbin/lsusb

K, this thread's heaading seems to to a lil irrelevant now, here's the link to a thread i started i nthe forum dealing with the matter of actually getting the camera working in mandriva. Hopefully it will be more applicable.

http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...d.php?t=456903