Creating a Small Scale Video Conference System

[ontsjc]

Hello Again. I'm considering taking on a job for a small company that I've done some programing for in the past. They are four people, not in the same location, they have no official office, to communicate, they want a video conference system. Not very elaborate, just real time video and audio with perhaps some instant message capability. I orginally suggested they use skype, however (I've run in to this just recently before) two of the users only have MACs and Skype doesn't support MAC yet.

They operate their own server which has server 2000 operating on it. I'm somewhat at a loss here, but I'm thinking a FoxPro backend on the server with an HTML interface that both the MAC and PC users can hit. It is unlikly that they will need more than two people on it at a time for the forseeable future. Does anyone have any references, advice, past experiences they would be willing to share to point me in the direction of how to do the video and audio capture and upload through html to fox? I've never attempted this, but it seems fun to try and these guys are good about letting me experiment and learn so I'd like to take the opprotunity while it exists.

Thanks for your help (past and present).

 

[Scott24x7]

Im sure there is an available solution for this out there already... what you are proposing is really a HUGE undertaking. I'd look around a bit for an alternative solution... there are heaps of web based voice/video/IM integrated products.

Best Regards,
Scott

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, and no simpler."

 

[ontsjc]

Thanks for the response. I figured it wouldn't be small, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't overlooking something already in existance in the FoxPro arsenal (since that's where I like to go first. If you have a hammer every problem looks like a nail type of thinking). The one solution that looked viable was the MAC users use IChat and the PC users us AOL Instant Messanger which will interphase with IChat, but they were very opposed to using anything AOL.

 

[Neil Toulouse]

I communicate with my best mate in the USA (I'm in UK) all the time this way. He is Mac and I am PC. I don't have any problems with it at all. And the video with a decent cam is pretty much real time!

I think it is very blinkered to just say 'no' to anything AOL-wise. But if they are this way inclined there are a few video clients out there that are both Mac and PC, but they are either not that good or you have to pay.

I have used iVisit in the past which is ok and has a Mac and PC client.

http://www.ivisit.com/

HTH
Neil

I like work. It fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours...