CU-SeeMe Video On The Internet

CU-SeeMe is software which runs on virtually any Mac, and most Windows PCs, to enable real-time video communication over the Internet or internal networks.

The original program was developed at Cornell University and the latest versions were always available FREE ....but that's just changed, it would seem! The commercial version by Whitepine Software now appears to be the only option since Cornell signed over the complete rights in December 1998.

For those on an internal network or a high speed Internet connection (ISDN or better) I understand that decent quality responsive video is actually achievable on a consistent basis.

I was surprised to discover that when I first tried it CU-SeeMe (Cornell feeware) did actually work for me right away! (I believe that some people have a little more messing about to get it set up.)

It also depends on your Internet connection of course. Some people may have their connection obstructed by a "firewall". For speed of video, bandwidth is everything (as you might guess). Though I can claim to have received some reasonable video just using a 14.4K modem, 28.8K is realistically the minimum for simultaneous sending and receiving.

Using a 28K modem on a perfect connection (with the wind blowing in the right direction and the Gods smiling) it is possible to have simultaneous audio as well! In practice most users make do with typing into a "chat" window (if watching some other geek staring vacantly into cyberspace isn't enough for you on its own!)

The technical achievement of getting enough information "down the pipe" to enable video transmission simply amazes me!

What can you expect on a 28K modem? (It's not like watching TV!)

• A tiny video window (see examples)
• Small amounts of movement.
• Slow refresh of pixelated image.
• Virtually unuseable audio.
• A big stupid grin on your face!

Despite all these drawbacks it is a great way to communicate with people from all over the world! Just look at the screen and marvel at how you can be seeing someone from Antartica, another from California someone else from the UK, right there in front of you!

Who do you connect with?

• Group conferences.
• Direct to individuals.

To "chat" with a group of other people you connect to a "reflector" server (which can be anywhere on the Internet). Everyone who is online can open a window for each of the other participants. The reflector receives your video and sends it out to everyone else. If you wish to connect only to another individual you use their IP address and they must be online with CU-SeeMe running.

What about camera options?

• The Quickcam. (It works and it's cheap - well it was until they made it do colour!)..or....
• A video digitizer board and a video camera. (More flexible but much more expensive.)

For detailed information about CU-SeeMe the Cornell page was a good start but currently seems to be offline, presumably due to the rights transfer to Whitepine. I have some shots taken from CU-SeeMe windows (Cornell version) which show the general picture quality.