iChat: Video Chat with someone who does not have iSight?

dmetzcher

dmetzcher

Metzcher.com
I have an iBook with no iSight camera. My friend has a MacBook with a built-in iSight. He wants to initiate a video chat with me, so that I can see his video. Obviously, he won't see video coming from my end, but that's fine. He was just wanting to test things out. Is this possible?

When he right-clicks my name in the buddy list, he sees that "Invite to Video Chat" is grayed out.

Also, he wants to audio chat with someone else, who is using AOL IM on a PC. Is this possible. He says he's getting a strange message that says that he (my friend) did not accept the conversation, however, he is the one who tried to initiate it.

He's new to the Mac, and I rarely use iChat for anything (preferring Adium, because I don't have an iSight or need audio chat, typically).

Thanks!
 
Yeah, ive done exactly that with an ibook owner. Just sign in with an aol AIM account and invite him to a video convo and he will just see a black screen with your name and a bouncing audio bar...
 
I'm going to have to take a look at the MacBook when I see him next, in that case, because he can't even send me an invite for a video chat. I've been wanting an iSight camera...this might be an excuse to drop $100 on one and test things out.
 
He can use Apple's test server to see if he connects okay;

user name - appleu3test01
 
I turned off my firewall. That did it. He was able to video chat with me.

However, is there a way that I can keep the firewall on, while allowing traffic on ports that are used for video chatting by iChat? If so, what are the port numbers? And, will opening these ports open me up to anything else (meaning, are they only used for video chatting via iChat, or are they broader in scope)?

Thanks! I'm getting an iSight tomorrow. I FINALLY have an excuse to get one.
 
Satcomer said:
Using iChat AV with a firewall or NAT router

"Well Known" TCP and UDP Ports Used By Apple Software Products
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info...
Regarding the instructions below for opening ports in the Apple firewall, are they TCP ports, or UDP ports, or should the ports be entered into the fields for both TCP AND UDP?

1. From the Apple menu, choose System Preferences.
2. From the View, choose Sharing.
3. Click the Firewall tab.
4. Click New.
5. From the Port Name pop-up menu, choose Other.
6. In the Port Number, Range or Series field, type in:

5060, 5190, 5297, 5298, 5678, 16384-16403

7. In the Description field type in: iChat AV
8. Click OK.

Thanks!
 
Nevermind...found it in the notes section of the same article...

"1. All iChat AV traffic is UDP except for ports 5190 and 5298, which need to be open for both TCP and UDP; and 5220 and 5222, which need to be open for TCP only."
 
Looks like it should be something like this...

1. From the Apple menu, choose System Preferences.
2. From the View, choose Sharing.
3. Click the Firewall tab.
4. Click New.
5. Enter the following values...
-- Port Name: Other
-- TCP Port Number(s): 5190, 5298, 5220, 5222
-- UDP Port Number(s): 5060, 5190, 5297, 5298, 5678, 16384-16403
-- Description: iChat AV
6. Click OK.

I will test things in the next few days (once my friend is online again) and report back. I want to test audio, video, and file transfer, all with the firewall on but with the above port configuration.
 
I just tested things with my friend, and, using the configuration above on my own machine, he was able to initiate a video chat with me.
 
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