Web-Based Videoconferencing on the Cheap

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Videoconferencing over the Web is now affordable for SOHO users, thanks to new videoconferencing applications—some of them free—and peer-to-peer (P2P) freeware. In this TechBuilder Recipe, I'll show you how to build Web-based videoconferencing solutions that are both low-cost and high-quality.

At the core of this solution are two freeware P2P programs, Google Talk and Skype 2.0. Both use Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. With Google Talk, users can speak with anyone else who has the Google Talk program running on their system. With Skype 2.0, you also get live video. Both free programs have just two requirements: an Internet connection and the client software running on both systems.

But both of these two freeware programs have a serious limitation: They're limited to conferences of no more than two people. Enter a new, easy-to-use freeware program called Festoon. Festoon runs an additional application layer that integrates either the Skype or Google Talk interfaces (or both), enabling videoconferencing for groups of up to five people. In this way, Festoon overcomes both Skype 2.0's inability to videoconference more than two people, and Google Talk's inability to play video at all. Even better, Festoon's video quality is terrific.

This Festoon solution is also free—almost. You will need to pay for one important component: a webcam. The good news is, webcams have gotten cheap. You can find a decent camera for as little as $24.

If your customer requires higher-quality, enterprise videoconferencing along the lines of WebEx, there's another low-cost solution: VSee, from start-up VSee Lab. I'll get to VSee later in this Recipe. But first, let's get started with the Festoon freeware.

Choosing and Setting Up the Festoon Webcam

To get started with Festoon videoconferencing, you'll need a PC running Windows XP, a webcam (including headphones and a microphone), either the Skype or Google Talk software, and a copy of Festoon.

Let's start with the camera. Basically, there are two ways to go: You can either choose a simple webcam, like the Logitech QuickCam Chat, which retails for $24 on Amazon. Or you can opt for something with all the bells and whistles, like Creative's WebCam Live! Motion or Logitech's QuickCam Orbit MP; both retail for about $130. The extra money gets you higher resolution (1.3 megapixels); higher frame rates (30 frames per second, or fps); and built-in rotation servos (with motorized intelligence), which can actually follow a user's face around the room, then zoom in once they settle down. Other features of the more expensive webcams include auto-focus, auto-adjust for lighting conditions, and wider-angle lenses.

Both Creative and Logitech also offer small versions of their webcams that clip onto the edge of a laptop screen. For this Recipe, I tested both the Logitech QuickCam for Notebooks Pro and the Creative Live! Ultra for Notebooks. Both have 1.3-megapixel lenses, frame rates of 30 fps, and face-tracking software. I found that the Creative camera clipped onto the notebook a little more securely and easily than the Logitech.

No matter which webcam you choose, the unit should come with a set-up disc. You'll need to run this CD before connecting the webcam's connector to a USB port on the computer. Installation is essentially the same for all cameras. The installation software guides you through the required steps quickly and easily.

After the webcam drivers and software are installed from the disc, you'll be prompted to plug the webcam into an available USB jack on the PC, as shown here:

Next, insert the headphone and microphone connectors—both should be included with the webcam package—into the jacks on the computer, as depicted here:

Remove the installation disc, and you're done installing the webcam. Let's move on to the conferencing software.

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