How to make iChat use USB cameras...

Just curious, has one of these ever worked before? It seems like everytime the kids want something from Apple, they start on of these online petitions, and it never happens anyway.

I guess I'm asking why Apple would change their policy, which exists to sell its products, because a good number of people don't want to buy their products.
 
Ridiculous. Reminds me of the iPod debates. When the 3G iPod came out, people who had the previous generation iPods were crying because they couldn't use the new features. Suddenly the iPods that were GREAT on April 27th were absolute trash come April 28th. You mean to tell me that you're crying because your product does EXACTLY what it says it does, and works how it always has? Give me a break. I wanted the features of a third generation iPod. But rather than crying about it, I BOUGHT one. Sold my almost new 10GB iPod at a loss, and got a new one. I wanted a superdrive in my iMac. So instead of crying that Apple won't let me swap drives, I sold it and got a new one. You were happy with it when you got it, and nothing has changed. You want new features, get a new product.
 
I saw the new iPods and they are ok, smaller, their battery lasts less.. the only time i notice my 20 G is bigger is when i happen to see a 15 G one. So the 20 G is perfectly fine for me, and it made no sense to sell the old and then add money to get the new (to get less hours of music).

I see no reason why they'd make iChat use usb webcams, especially because iSight exists. Maybe some of you could open the iChat AV and see whether you can do something to the program yourself to make it work with usb. Programming never hurts.
 
This is pretty typical Apple (some thing it is good, other bad). They are pushing (or pulling) the market (often "kicking and screaming") into the future.

They did this with the 3.5" floppy (1984) and again in (what?) 1992.

Everyone whined. Now no one knows why.

They did this with OS X.

Everyone whined. Now no one (well, fewer, anyway) knows why.

They are doing this with DVD (vs. CD).

They are doing this with FireWire (specifically this FireWire camera thing).

They are saying: "Hey, USB is junk. It is not well suited for this sort of application. Great for keyboards, mice, printers. Low bandwidth stuff. But FireWire is the place to be when moving massive amounts of data around, quickly and reliably."

Not sure I always like it. But hey. I don't HAVE to get it either.

My opinion is that, because of Apple, we move forward more quickly than the rest of PC industry, because of this strategy.
 
We also SPEND more.

But yes, in general, we're always years ahead of the PC industry. My dad's PC-using friend JUST got a wireless base-station for his house.... whereas, we've been enjoying the delights of AirPort for almost 4 years now. :D
 
I guess I'm going to have to start a counter petition then... The reason USB cameras are not supported, is that Apple wants to provide a high quality video conferencing experience. USB (1.1) Cameras simply do not have the bandwidth to provide this. If you own a USB camera and want to video conference, check out iSpQ Videochat.

Use your noggin - you wouldn't expect Apple to be able to deliver high quality video over a dial up line, right? Well, the bandwidth limitations of USB are similiarly restrictive. I'd rather Apple provide the best possible experience then cowtow to the lowest common denominator.

If you really want to see how bad USB video conferencing is, play with iSpQ for a few days. You won't be impressed.

And finally, there are other Firewire cameras out there. The iBot can be had for less than $100, and is much nicer than just about every USB camera on the market.
 
seems already done to some extent...

From macosrumors.com

Reader Adrian Oldham writes:

Hi Guys,

I took delivery of my two new iSights yesterday and discovered something interesting.

I plugged one iSight into my Quicksilver G4 800 which also had a USB 1.1 Kritter Cam plugged in at the same time (the Kritter is driven using IOXperts OSX driver), when I launched iChat and started fiddling with the position of the iSight, I realized that the video stream I was previewing was actually coming from the Kritter.

If I unplug the iSight, iChat stops the video, alerting me to the fact there is no camera available, despite the fact the Kritter is still plugged in.

Now all I can imagine is that iChat is looking for the iSight hardware and when it finds it, iChat picks the first video stream available... and alphabetically that would be my "iRez Kritter".

I have no idea who might be able to make use of this discovery. I hope you can alert someone who may be able to work around Apple's in-built USB limitation in iChat and help all those left out in the cold, clutching their USB cameras.
Click to expand...

now simply the way to make iChat believe there is an iSight connected...
 
Isn't forcing video down a USB cable a Bad Idea™ anyway though? I mean even if it does work, wouldn't the quality be too bad to be worth the hassle?
 
Fryke - don't buy a USB camera! If you already have a USB camera, then this util will come in handy, but if you haven't bought any camera yet, you are better off spending the extra $10-60 on the Firewire iBot or iSight.

Even with this hack util, USB cameras simply do not have the bandwidth to do what an iBot or iSight can - which is full screen, full motion video. At best, you might get a 320x240 window w/ a USB cam, and that's at best.

iBots can be had for $99 or less in some places. A new USB camera is going to be just about the same...

Go with the FW Cam, you won't regret it...
 
I just installed it and it works great with my iRez Kritter!!! I am going to buy the ioxpert driver now, I have been waiting so long!!!!

So the last thing I want to say is that for those of you wanting the firewire camera, why bother? Seriously, just get a $10 piece of crap and video conference. If you want resolution and picture, don't buy the iSight - for an extra $200 dollars you might as well get a DV camcorder and hook it up. IMHO, why spend all that money on a stationary, one-dimensional camera for something where all you need is a basic picture. iSight is a cute toy, but let's make iChat popular and let everyone use it... what a great way to make PC users switch: by having the easiest, bug free, AOL-IM compatible video conferencing software available on the market!!!

thanks
sukram

P.S. The quality of my USB camera is pretty amazing, even when I blow up my window size. Again, if you want picture quality (definition and color), any DV camera will DESTROY the precious little iSight in that competition. Although, as noted before, you might as well consider the iBot if its cheap. AGAIN, here are the numbers: USB camera = $15; iBot = $50 (on ebay right now!); iSight = $160 (tax); DV camera = $400.
 
Again, if you want picture quality (definition and color), any DV camera will DESTROY the precious little iSight in that competition.
Click to expand...
Then you shouldn't be whining. Nothing forces you to buy an iSight. Heck, I could use my JVC camcorder, or my Canon Ixus which also has video capability. But the iSight is smaller, easier to use on my system (both my Macs are 'Books) and more convenient (though I will agree that, for now, it's over-priced.
But asking for a company to dumb down its products doesn't make sense. When I had a graphite clamshell, I didn't have an iPod because I didn't have FireWire. I found a good, inexpensive and durable Creative mp3 player that worked fine with USB.
Then when I upgraded, I went and got an iPod. Sure, there were times I wished the Pods had a USB option, but it wasn't worth the time and effort to have a USB option.
I can see your frustration that you want to join in on the iChat fun from the get-go without shilling a hefty amount of $$ for the iSight. But to start a petition and all is a bit much. Why not just sue Apple for being biased against you?
Ok, rant over. Going to calm place now to rest. Ah, breathe out breathe out...
 
So the last thing I want to say is that for those of you wanting the firewire camera, why bother? Seriously, just get a $10 piece of crap and video conference. If you want resolution and picture, don't buy the iSight - for an extra $200 dollars you might as well get a DV camcorder and hook it up. IMHO, why spend all that money on a stationary, one-dimensional camera for something where all you need is a basic picture. iSight is a cute toy, but let's make iChat popular and let everyone use it... what a great way to make PC users switch: by having the easiest, bug free, AOL-IM compatible video conferencing software available on the market!!!

thanks
sukram

P.S. The quality of my USB camera is pretty amazing, even when I blow up my window size. Again, if you want picture quality (definition and color), any DV camera will DESTROY the precious little iSight in that competition. Although, as noted before, you might as well consider the iBot if its cheap. AGAIN, here are the numbers: USB camera = $15; iBot = $50 (on ebay right now!); iSight = $160 (tax); DV camera = $400.
Click to expand...

i bet sukram is a spy trying to convince us not to buy apple products.

it's downright treasonous i tell you!
 
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