David Esp Video Technical Blog

Geographically separated team members of a Final Cut project can collaborate via iTheatre.   Suppose an editor is discussing with a client via Apple’s iChat.  Then the editor can play out of FCP straight into the iChat session.   It’s in FCP: View > iChat Theatre Preview.

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RACPO0N4Hc4

There are some reputable video people covering this topic:

• http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/non-linear-editing-mac/353369-ichat-theatre-preview.html
• http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/fcp_ichat_theater_stone.html

But iChat is only available for Macs.  What if the client doesn’t have a Mac?  I did some googling:

• iChat is an Instant Messenger.
• It is only available for Macs but it is compatible with AIM (AOL Instant Messenger), which is available for Windows.
  • ” iChat is only available on OS X” [http://lifehacker.com/5088083/five-best-video-chat-applications]
• .mac accounts are just AIM accounts. Enter your .mac username with @mac.com at the end while configuring an AIM account. [http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=458194]
• Whatever is playing in your Viewer or Canvas window is sent via iChat to your remote viewer. [http://digitalcontentproducer.com/videoedsys/revfeat/apple_ichat_theater_preview_0827/index1.html]
• But can the iChat Theatre option be used with Windows users?
  • This person believes it is not possible to interact with Windows users (I wonder if they know of the AIM option or whether it handles iTheatre) [http://forums.creativecow.net/thread/8/1065470]
  • “If your collaborators are on Windows and don’t have access to a Mac, you’re out of luck.” [http://digitalcontentproducer.com/videoedsys/revfeat/apple_ichat_theater_preview_0827/index1.html]
• “for iChat Theater Preview to work, both the host and remote computers much be running Mac OS X version 10.5 Leopard or later. Both computers must have iChat accounts and the remote user’s account must be added to the host computer’s buddy list (more detail from Apple here). ” [http://digitalcontentproducer.com/videoedsys/revfeat/apple_ichat_theater_preview_0827/index1.html]
• [http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Talk/thread?tid=3669a2bf94155d06&hl=en]
  • “… is it possible to make videoconference between a PC using google video and a MAC using ichat ?”,
    • “No, it is not possible.  Video chat is only between Gmail chat users.” and furthermore “You need … the Newer Version interface of Gmail”
• It has screen sharing, so both parties can observe and control a single desktop

Some links about iChat itself:

• iChat itself:
  • http://www.timsblog.net/2008/06/07/ichat-for-windows-maybe
    • Overview and context wrt other Instant Messengers (IMs).
  • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IChat
    • Has great list of add-on tools e.g. encryption.
  • http://www.apple.com/macosx/what-is-macosx/ichat.html
• How to converse with Windows users
  • [http://screencastsonline.com/forums/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1216452140/0]
    • “I wish MSN Messenger was supported natively as hardly anyone I know in the UK uses AIM. I’ve only got 10 AIM buddies. I have to go through a Jabber server with an MSN transport to use it”
    • “I am same as the others. I use Adium as I have MSN and Google Talk friends mostly and very few on AIM.   Sure I can use iChat fo Google Talk”
    • “It seems most of us are using Adium because iChat doesn’t connect to MSN and/or Yahoo Messenger.”
    • “Skype doesn’t intereact with any other software as far as I know but for internet-based phone video calls, it is the best because so many people use it and it is on Windows as well as Mac.”
  • [http://digg.com/apple/Adium_2_0_Coming_With_video_audio_support]
    • Adium is what Pidgin should be.
    • Adium is based on Pidgin’s libpurple (libgaim), which is already used in Pidgin on all three platforms.
    • Adium is the Cocoa client of libpurple. Pidgin is the GTK client, finch is the CLI client, etc… Same IM backend, multiple GUIs.
  • http://pressf1.pcworld.co.nz/showthread.php?t=86311
    • “AIM [http://products.aim.com] is about as close to iChat as you’re gonna get on Windows. That said, a better option would be to go with something more flexible like Pidgin. [http://www.pidgin.im]”
• AIM
  • http://products.aim.com/
  • [http://digg.com/apple/Adium_2_0_Coming_With_video_audio_support]
    • If you’re using the AIM service, make sure you have port 5190 open on your router, NAT, firewall, cable modem, or DSL modem. You’ll need it open for incoming connections to send and outgoing connections to receive (yes, that is the right way round: the recipient connects to the sender).
• Pidgin
  • Is open-source, has sometimes debatable deadlines and capabilities.  Many consider Adium better, and it has been stated that they are both front-ends onto the same core.
  • (formerly GAIM) [http://www.tuaw.com/2007/10/28/adium-offers-first-look-at-video-integration]
  • [http://www.pidgin.im/about] “Pidgin is a chat program which lets you log in to accounts on multiple chat networks simultaneously. This means that you can be chatting with friends on MSN, talking to a friend on Google Talk, and sitting in a Yahoo chat room all at the same time.  Pidgin runs on Windows, Linux, and other UNIX operating systems”
  • There are third-party plugins for other protocols such as Skype and Twitter.
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