Webcam linkup over Xmas-Hardware & Software suggestions?

Webcam linkup over Xmas-Hardware & Software suggestions?

I want to arrange a family webcam link up on Christmas day, and I'd welcome suggestions for the hardware & software that would be required. Both houses have broadband connections. I have a wireless router (with Ethernet ports available at my house).

What webcams would be not too expensive and easy to use/install/configure? Would a wireless webcam add risk/complexity or result in loss of quality or reliability?

Any suggestions for software or webservice that we can use to link our machines (both running Windows XP) together? I prefer the idea of a direct connection between the two PC's rather than a webservice that might be very busy on Xmas day?

All suggestions (or better still, direct personal experiences) welcome.

Re: Webcam linkup over Xmas-Hardware & Software suggesti

yahoo messenger would work - sware is free.

i have a logitech webcam - works fine, you can use some digital cameras also.

Re: Webcam linkup over Xmas-Hardware & Software suggesti

I got a pair last Christmas in Argos (2 for 1) for €50 as far as I can remember. They work fine. As for software, I used MSN Messenger. No probs.

Re: Webcam linkup over Xmas-Hardware & Software suggesti

I've used [broken link removed] on Windows 2000 with a broadband connection in the past for voice only as well as voice/video and shared whiteboard connectivity. I'm not sure if NetMeeting is still bundled with Windows XP though as I seem to recall it being superceded by the latest version of or something like that.

Re: Webcam linkup over Xmas-Hardware & Software suggesti

if using netmeeting, at least one of the two ends will need to be connected to the net directly so that it can receive the incoming connection
if both are behind routers, make sure that at least 1 of the routers is set up to forward all ports to its attached pc using a static internal ip such as 192.168.1.2 etc otherwise it wont work.
if only 1 machine is behind a router, that machine will need to initiate the call.

Re: Webcam linkup over Xmas-Hardware & Software suggesti

Yes - I was taking it for granted that there might be some router and/or firewall reconfiguration required in order to enable the connection. On the other hand this worked without hassle for me using a broadband connection at one end and a dial-up at the other end with the former set to wait for connections and the latter initiating the connection.