Features:
- PCI Bus video capture card
- Captures 30 frames per second
- Color video camera with built-in microphone
- Ships with White Pine CUSeeMe and Microsoft NetMeeting software
- 24 bit, true color images and video capture
Description:
If online chatting and e-mail don't satisfy your communication needs, add live video to the picture with 3Com's popular Bigpicture video phone. This PCI-based video camera and capture card will have you online in vivid 24-bit true color at a remarkable 30 frames per second, in no time. Although the Bigpicture video phone requires installation of a PCI video capture card, setup took us no more than five minutes. 3Com's simple step-by-step installation guide walks you through the process with large diagrams and helpful instructions. The incredibly tiny, sphere-shaped camera is designed to sit on top of your monitor in a rubber mount; we did, however, find it difficult to secure the Bigpicture video phone in place. You can easily adjust the manual focus to achieve the clearest image. The camera also includes contrast adjustment, back-light compensation, and white balance buttons, which, if you fiddle with them, produce quality images in any environment. Creating videos and still clips with the Bigpicture video phone is painless. The unit also comes with a cute postcard program for sending images via e-mail. We recommend compressing your images before sending them. The compression process is simple, but you must know what type of video compression your recipient has, so that he or she can open the image. We compressed our file with the Intel Indeo Video R3.2 format (a widely used standard), which took about two minutes to complete. The 30-second file, shot at 30 frames per second, was compressed from a whopping 32.6 MB down to a manageable 1.86 MB. Using the Bigpicture launcher, you can click to either CUSeeMe or NetMeeting to start chatting instantly. Both require a simple registration process and, once inside, you can enter public chat rooms or conduct private conferences in "reserved" rooms. The Bigpicture video phone comes with a built-in microphone to connect to your sound card, but you probably won't want to depend entirely on the audio to communicate--the sound can be very choppy and lag behind the video. One of the nicest features of the Bigpicture video phone is the outstanding software bundle, which gives you all the tools you need to create videos, capture still images, send images via e-mail, videoconference, and connect to your choice of online video chat rooms. Most applications are just one click away, with an intuitive GUI (graphical user interface) that makes performing any function exceptionally easy. Pros:
- Outstanding software bundle
- PCI card offers more frames per second
- Terrific image quality
- Easy installation
Cons:
- Camera difficult to position in mount
- Installation of PCI capture card required
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