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Video Conferencing for Unix?
LordDavon asks: "I have been trying to find a good video conferencing solution for Linux. The main issue is that my family and many friends are subjects under the Microsoft tyranny and use Microsoft NetMeeting. Although it is a nicely featured application (Whiteboard, VNC, File Transfer, etc...), I am failing to find a comparable application for Linux. Is there a single, low cost, multi-platform application that can compete?" While I'm not so sure about the existence of a whole suite of Open Source applications that can compete with NetMeeting, are there apps that are usable solely for video conferencing? We touched on this exact question two years ago, we also talked about shared whiteboards as well, although a bit more recently. Are any of you out there using Linux (or any Unix clone for that matter) in Video Conferencing? If so, how?
No.
But you should feel free to create an open-source multiplatform confrencing project.
It's easy.
1) Make your program run as a device driver
2) Completely bring the system to its knees anytime someone launches the program
That's it!
At least, that's my experience with the steaming pile of crap Netmeeting.
Might want to give GNOMEMeeting a try. Supposedly it works with NetMeeting but I've never had much success with it. Typical Linux software - half implemented and a mess.
http://cvw.sourceforge.net/ seems to fit your bill somewhat.
The Java client should run on Win, Posix (Linux?) and even Palm (no video I guess).
However, it does require a dedicated document server.
Projects like confman (java too) seems very slick, but is only for people having acces for Mbone (ip6?).
GnomeMeeting (http://www.gnomemeeting.org) is very slick too. It supports the H.323 protocol, so it should work with MS Netmeeting. However no chat, whiteboards etc, only video and voice. (those functions usually requires the T.120 protocol).
I haven't been tracking them for a quite a while, but they seem to have a start towards what you're looking for. One big problem they were having (which may or may not still be true) was that some of the other protocols being used by netmeeting and other videoconferencing over networks were patented.
Besides, who really wants to see their boss/coworkers? Wouldn't it be better to get cracking on some manner of better looking avatars?
I can't believe they give it away for free.
I actually use it for remote desktop control more often than video conferencing.
If you're at all interested in remote desktop control, I'd check out VNC. It is cross platform and it's probably the next best thing to netmeeting.
As far as video conferencing... Until there are more drivers for all the cheapie usb webcams out there, I don't think video conferencing will be a realistic possibility under linux.
The man who trades freedom for security does not deserve nor will he ever receive either. - Benjamin Franklin
I appreciate the work done by gnomemeeting and openh323 for giving us a netmeeting/h.323 compatible client. But are there any alternatives to the h.323 protocol? Trying to configure a client begind a firewall is horrible. Nat is almost impossible.
I've done some video conferencing and it just seems silly. I do not know if I really like being able to see the person I'm talking to or visa versa. It makes it harder to multitask. I can't cook or read a website while videoconferencing, but I can while on the telephone or instant messenging.
Sun has a firewire camer for VC that they are selling for the Sun Blade workstations. It comes with Sun's version of netmeeting, which is compatable. I don't know if the app is freely downloadable or not, but the camera cost about $250 with the app on a CD. If it is freely avalable, they may have a x86 version as well in the works. It's been a while since I looked into it but you should be able to find the specs under the Blade 100 or 1000 pages. If I find a link to the kit, I'll post again as a resonce to this.
Who wants Pork Chops?
It uses "H.323, T.120 and T.127 standards for communicating multimedia and other data between conference participants"
From the FAQ, it looks like it should interoperate with Netmeeting etc if it talks the same language (H.323)
I use an old SiliconGraphics Indy (mine has a 200 MHz R4400 CPU) salvaged from a lab upgrade for my video conferencing. InPerson supports a whole bucket load of audio codec along with H.261, RGB8, and HDCC video codecs. When conversing with other InPerson users we can use a shared whiteboard and a 3D model space as well. The app is no longer sold, but it works fine on pretty much any SGI that can run IRIX 5.3, 6.2, or 6.5.X. It works great on most 150 MHz or faster Indys. Fair warning, the "IndyCam" is trash. It is what you would expect from any cheap montior-top cam from 1993. Indy has SVideo and Composite (RCA) NTSC/PAL input jacks, so use an old camcorder or small lab cam.
:P
At any rate, this is what I use for my conferencing. It beats the heck outta a windows box. Some folks hate IRIX, but at least it's POSIX complaint and can run gcc, etc (http://freeware.sgi.com). And InPerson is much cooler than Sun's conferecing app anyway.
This does look like an excellent package. I may try it tonight. This one looks like is may solve some of the problems I am having.
NetMeeting can interoperate with any H.323 and T.120 compliant conferencing system. The H.323 part--the video and audio conferencing--is available under Linux, with apps like GnomeMeeting and the OpenH323 Project's foundational work.
But there's no free T.120 client for Linux. T.120 is the whiteboarding and application sharing part of the protocol.
DataConnection is the company that did the core work for both NetMeeting and Sun's SunForum, which is a feature-for-feature NetMeeting-alike for Solaris. Their generic name for the product is DC-Share.
Last year they ported the product to Linux, and also have a Java version--with, yes, app sharing--but they don't do direct sales.. just OEM and licensing deals. Contact them and see if anyone is selling a Linux client based on their software.