How to webcam chat

Introduction

It's a small world after all. I'm sure you have heard that song before. The strange thing about it is that it is so true today. The world really is a small place with the ability to fly anywhere within a day and also be able to send information anywhere instantaneously through the internet. With all of this technology at our disposal, you can even have webcam chats live with anyone in the world who also has a webcam installed onto their computer. If this sounds exciting to you, here are some tips and steps to learn how to webcam chat.

A webcam is a digital video camera that sends video via an internet connection. The video that is broadcasted can be sent to a single person's computer or broadcasted to an infinite number of people all at the same time. The neat thing about a webcam chat is that it enables families and friends to visit with each other who live far apart. Soldiers in Iraq can send prerecorded messages or have a live conference with their families who are home. It is a tool that connects people together in a more personal way. To start your own webcam chats, here are some easy steps to follow.

Instructions

Difficulty Level: Relatively hard

Steps

1.Purchase a USB 2.0 webcam from any electronics store.

2.Install the software and drivers that came with the camera.

3.Plug the camera into the computer and run the test wizard to make sure that a signal is being
retrieved from the camera.

4.Plug a small pronged microphone into the computer sound card.

5.Go into the computer volume settings. Within these settings go further into the recording settings.

6.Select the microphone as the recording device and make sure that it is turned up.

7.Open up the program that the chat will take place on. Chat services such as MSN Messenger, Yahoo Chat, AIM, and other chat software can be downloaded free off of the internet.These usually work well for broadcasting webcam chats.

8.Check the internet connection and match up the speed of the connection with the quality of the video and audio.

9.Inside of the chat software select the webcam driver as the broadcasting device.

10.If it hasn't already happened, select the microphone input within the software as the audio source.

11.Invite the contact on your chat list into a webcam chat and wait for them to accept.

Tips and Warnings

• When the people have accepted your invitation to join your webcam chat, a window should pop up that will feed a live signal from their computer.
• If things are running successfully, they should hear and see you and you should hear and see them, too.
• -If for some reason they can't see you or hear you, go back and check that you carefully did all of these steps.
• Some microphones need a battery to work and have an on and off switch. If the switch is on and there is no sound coming through to your guests, try changing the battery out and turning it on again.
• If the webcam isn't sending a signal, try disconnecting it and plugging it back into the computer.
• If you are using Windows XP, the operating system should automatically recognize the camera and initialize it.
• If none of these things worked, start the computer over and try everything again from step one.

Using the webcam chat feature of your internet connection will help keep you connected to your far away friends and family. It can be a fun tool to learn how to use and play with.