These iChatAV (Version 2) pages are coloured Green and have the iChat 2 icon on them that was in use at the time, so you know where you are. The icon differs from Version 1 by having the camera logo added.

These pages have sat here since 2008 with no update. In that time the AIM servers have been closed down (2017) and iChat has been superseded by Messages. That effectively make this a sort of Historical Document of how it worked.

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iChatAV (Version 2) Pictures

You are In:- iChat >> Versions >> iChat 2 >> iChat 2 Pictures Index >> iChat Menu Pics Index >> Video or Audio Menu

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06 iChat 2 Video (Audio) Menu

Oct 2008

6 Video Menu Picture If no Camera it will read Audio

This is the iChat 2 Video Menu. This Menu will be called Audio if there is No camera. You may need to go to the iChat Menu > Prefernces > and select the Video panel to set Camera and Microphone choices. In the case of the Mic also check System Preference > Sound > Input and make sure the Mic is selected here - both places need to match the same choice.

The most important items here are to make sure the Camera Enabled and Microphone Enabled items have ticks next to them. Selecting the items toggles the tick On or Off depending on it's state. Both items show up even if you do not have a camera although the Camera option will be greyed out.

Near the top you can see you can take a Snapshot and many people do this to create a Buddy Pic.(Take your Own pic before starting a chat). It also take a Snapshot during a chat. You can Mute the Mic from this menu. Pause the Video (You can still be heard) and make the chat Full Screen (you need really good Frame Rates with very good bitrates in both directions before even trying this).

This Menu also gives access to the Connection Doctor. Next is the window that shows up. It is not re-sizable but the info it generates is scrollable as detailed below.

The Connection Doctor is another window within iChat. It shows the Bitrates and Frame rates of you and your Buddy and two green bars representing the Incoming Video and Audio (Or audio only in a Audio Only chat) during Live chats.

It is the form of a Date stamp, Year: Month: Day then a time stamp with + (or minus) time form UTC/GMT followed by the message and then the detail. It list the IP on your Local network and the IP of yourself facing the internet from your router/modem. It lists Port numbers for Audio and Video. There can be much more : page 13 link

This particular view with the Error Message bit on display only shows if you have had a Failed Chat otherwise in iChat 2 only the active Video or Audio info is displayed or a blank version like the top part of this example.

If you have several failed chats while iChat is open the messages appear one after the other and the list becomes scrollable as in this pic. Quitting iChat clears the list.

The Next menu is The Format Menu

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Created with JAlbum 4.0.6

Information Block

This site is about iChat from Version 1 through to iChat 5.x.x
Mostly this is kept as an Historical Document. Some small tense changes have been made but the content is by and large untouched.

It has a mixture of basic info and problem solving help.

The sections below will change for Specifics about info on the page on view

About This Page

Small picture but can have dramtic effects.

It will read "Audio" if there is no Camera

You can. Mute the Audio or Pause the Video and take a Snapshot of the open Video chat Window.

At the bottom the Mic and Camera can be deselected and be Off.

The Connection Doctor option gives insight to the Framerates and Bitrates during active chats and Failure Messages in other circumstances.

Compatibility

As mentioned above this has had a major Edit/Update in September 2024 meaning that the Browsers listed below are likely to no longer work.

I have tested in Safari 18.1, Firefox 130.x and 131.0, Vivaldi 6.9.3447.48 and iCab 6.2.3 (All Mac Browsers) I don't have access to a PC let alone multiple browsers to test on.

The original pages worked with Win/IE 5.5 and later (should work in 5.0, but not confirmed), Firefox 2, Safari 3, Opera 9, iCab 3.02 and later, Mac/IE 5, Netscape 6 and later

Old browsers (IE version 4 or earlier, Netscape 4 or earlier) would only see a text-based page which, while not the prettiest option, is still entirely usable.