Skype Video - Hardware Advice needed

[sierra2469alpha]

Hello friends - a fairly straightforward question to those of you who use webcams on Skype.

BACKGROUND: The parents and some friends dotted around the globe want to use Skype to keep in contact with us (at our suggestion, given IDD costs). So that got me thinking how about Skype, video, and HANDSFREE.

They, like us, all have broadband, so no foreseeable problems there. My wife's notebook has inbuilt cam/mike/speakers, and we've tested that and works a treat.

My notebook has all EXCEPT a webcam.

Parents have a mix of different desktop/notebook equipment.

QUESTIONS:
1. In order to prebuild a solution for the parents, who will need speakers/mic/webcam - has anyone used an integrated unit, or maybe a hansfree speakerphone and a webcam across Skype? If so, what brands worked best for your solution?

2. Webcam for my notebook/spare notebook/friends - anybody reccommend ones that do the Skype High Def (don't be confused by HDTV) - different bag of puppies). ANy recommendations or "steer clear of..." advice much appreciated.

Thankyou in advance. C & P

[durain]

i dont use skype but they are all the same.

1. the sound will be taken care of on the PC by the soundcard. you will need mic and speakers, or get a headset. some webcam has a mic as well which goes via the usb port. you can choose to use an external/internal mic or the one on the webcam.

2. checkout webcam from logitech. they are excellent.

[ksl]

i dont use skype but they are all the same.

1. the sound will be taken care of on the PC by the soundcard. you will need mic and speakers, or get a headset. some webcam has a mic as well which goes via the usb port. you can choose to use an external/internal mic or the one on the webcam.

2. checkout webcam from logitech. they are excellent.

Agreed, Logitech is good buy one with mic built in.

[woodywoodpecker]

Logitech is good...used it before for communicating with my the other half some time ago...clear and good

[durain]

how about using skype without a PC?

http://www.hardwarezone.com/news/view.php?id=9848&cid=2
http://www.consumer.philips.com/consume ... IP8411B-69

[Forks]

with a PC its usually just plug and play so to speak, any decent PC these days you just need to plug the stuff in and configure it, easy peasy.

A point to note is that some devices like web cams note which USB port they were first plugged into and wont work unless plugged into that port unless you know how to tell it otherwise.

But i use skype all the time and its easy and hassle free, I just dont like wearing the headphone set so i use a mic

And I recomend logitech too, but do offer a word of warning there have been reported problems with the lower end webcams having some sort of effect/glitch on the computer and causing trouble like a system crash, I know this coz it happened to me and then after fixing it and doing some research i found that it had happened to others

[bigfilsing]

you get what you pay for ............as always

Buy cheap crap get crappy results ...surprised ??????