Datasheet

Product Guide

Mac OS X Tiger

Multiway Audio Chat

iChat AV extends the one-to-one audio conferencing introduced in Panther with mul-

tiway audio-only conferences, allowing you to chat with up to nine colleagues. iChat

represents each participant with a buddy icon and provides a sound meter that shows

who is talking.

Behind the Scenes

Advanced technologies make setting up and using iChat AV effortless.

Quartz Extreme acceleration. iChat uses Quartz 3D acceleration, taking advantage of

the advanced capabilities of today’s graphics cards to perform image processing, filter-

ing, and anti-aliasing for high-quality video at any size, including full screen.

Zero configuration. iChat works with the Apple iSight video conferencing camera,

a FireWire DV camcorder, or an IIDC-compliant FireWire video camera. There is no

additional software to install; just plug in the camera and you’re ready to start video

conferencing.

ISP and router friendly. iChat works with many ISPs and routers that often block

audio and video in other conferencing applications because of their network configu-

ration. iChat uses an innovative approach to handle Network Address Translation (NAT)

servers to establish direct audio and video connections between the two computers,

bypassing the troublesome NAT routers.

Broadband and dial-up support. iChat detects the type of Internet connection

you have and uses the information to optimize the picture quality, ensuring the best

possible experience. For typical DSL upstream speeds of 100 Kbps, iChat uses more

compression and sends more frames to ensure smooth video. For faster upstream

connections, iChat uses less compression, ensuring that the video images are of the

highest quality.

Standards based. iChat uses the industry-standard H.264 video codec, the telephone-

quality QuickTime audio codec (PureVoice QCELP), and SIP—the emerging standard

for initiating interactive communications such as audio and video conferencing on

the Internet.

With Panther, Apple was the first to introduce one-to-one video conferencing over

the Internet. AOL worked quickly to introduce video conferencing into its AIM client,

and because of Apple’s support for industry standards, the two worked seamlessly

together. Once again, Apple is leading the way with multiway conferencing, and while

one-to-one video conferences continue to work great with AIM version 5.5 or later,

multiway video conferencing is a Mac-to-Mac–only solution.

System Requirements

Video conferencing with iChat AV requires a compatible FireWire DV or FireWire

web camera and broadband Internet access. Initiating a multiway video conference

requires a G5 or dual 1GHz or faster G4 processor and 384-Kbps or faster broadband

access. Participating in a multiway conference requires a G5, 1GHz G4, or dual 800MHz

or faster G4 computer and 100-Kbps or faster broadband access.