# web cams **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 3, 2002, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/web-cams/117138 "2002-07-03T01:37:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Aceospades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Aceospades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aceospades)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2002, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/web-cams/117138/1 "2002-07-03T01:37:43Z")
My best friend is moving to Florida:(. I’m looking into a way that we could still play D&D over the Internet using a web cam. Unfortunately I know nothing about web cams. Anyone have any good advice? Could anyone point my in the right direction? ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2002, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/web-cams/117138/2 "2002-07-03T05:51:46Z")
My only experience was with Logitech’s QuickCam, but that was in the era of 28mb modems. The QuickCams were only used in the office intranet so I don’t know what to recommend in your case. A lot has changed since then. The guys at C-net recently did a recent review: [http://electronics.cnet.com/electronics/search/0,10126,0-6613936-1302-0,00.html](http://electronics.cnet.com/electronics/search/0,10126,0-6613936-1302-0,00.html) So, check the info, compare and shop around. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2002, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/web-cams/117138/3 "2002-07-03T06:01:03Z")
Oops, drop that added “recent” word there! [sub]need some sleep![/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Aceospades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Aceospades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aceospades)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2002, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/web-cams/117138/4 "2002-07-04T15:42:37Z")
anyone else?? ---
**Author:** ![Snetho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@Snetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snetho)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2002, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/web-cams/117138/5 "2002-07-04T15:52:16Z")
Try NetMeeting…it now works with MSN Messenger, so you can place a video call to someone on your buddy list. To run NetMeeting alone, go to the run command line and type “conf”… ---
**Author:** ![Aceospades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Aceospades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aceospades)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2002, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/web-cams/117138/6 "2002-07-04T21:18:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Snetho \* > \*\*Try NetMeeting…it now works with MSN Messenger, so you can place a video call to someone on your buddy list. To run NetMeeting alone, go to the run command line and type “conf”… \*\* are you able to hear audio with this? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2002, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/web-cams/117138/7 "2002-07-05T23:55:53Z")
Some friends and I once tried this very thing (Internet D&D), and tried NetMeeting, but found that it worked less than satisfactorially (I don’t remember exactly what the problems were, though). We eventually settled on a program called Firetalk, which supported sound, text chat, and a whiteboard (essential for drawing maps and such). We didn’t try using a webcam with either program, so I can’t say how well (if at all) that was supported. For that matter, depending on the computers of all involved, it might just be easier to use one of the recent D&D-based computer games for this purpose. I’ve yet to play it myself, but I understand that Neverwinter Nights was designed with this exact situation in mind. ---
**Author:** ![flapcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@flapcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flapcats)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2002, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/web-cams/117138/8 "2002-07-06T00:19:22Z")
Messenger limits the size of some streams on some cams - you could join the (non adult) section of iFriends and use their cam s/w - it’s basic but allows your own drivers to control of pic size etc. As for webcam: If you have a video camera you’ll get much better images by using a composite video-in card (as video cams tend to have lower lux levels etc) - or if you have a DV cam get a Firewire card and capture through that. I find webcams need quite a lot of light to get a decent image. Also, if you’re using a 56kps modem, don’t expect more than 2fps, 1fps if you want press-to-talk sound (which is generally poor quality). ---
**Author:** ![flapcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@flapcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flapcats)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2002, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/web-cams/117138/9 "2002-07-06T00:23:20Z")
Not Messenger, I meant Netmeeting - Also, Netmeeting will disable DirectDraw and prevent PowerDVD from playing DVD’s on some systems. There’s a workaround on the 'net somewhere. Because of this I don’t like Netmeeting, though yes, it has audio.