3Com Home Connect PC Digital Camera
Written: Apr 09 '01 (Updated Apr 09 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: A lead pipe cinch to install and get running.
Cons: You can easily get hooked on the worldwide video communication.
The Bottom Line: Easy to install and get running. Picture quality very good for the price. A wonderful way to keep in touch.
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| lucie30's Full Review: 3Com HomeConnect PC Digital Camera |
USB devices are starting to appear, and they sure simplify life for the typical PC user. The 3Com Home Connect is a digital camera and set of software that really allows you to multiply the fun and utility of your PC. I am really excited about these easily implementable capabilities to do color video conferencing on the Internet. Just think, you can keep in touch with friends and family, conduct business meetings and even hold multi party conference calls anywhere in the world, with no cost beyond your normal Internet connection fee. 3Com Corporations Home Connect camera and its included software suite makes all this and much more possible. And the retail price is only $149. Best of all, the installation is a snap, even I of two left thumbs fame was able to successfully do it on the first try and within ten minutes.
Ok, you can swing the $149, but what else is required to install and operate this system? The minimum system requirements are: Pentium 166, 32 MB RAM, Sound Card, , USB port, 28.8 modem, Windows 95/OSR2 or Windows 98 and a 2XCD-ROM drive. My Pentium 233 with 64 MB RAM running under Windows 98 more than met these requirements. There is an amply illustrated brochure included in the package that gives step-by-step instructions, and they were simple to follow and really worked.
Prior to connecting the camera to the USB port, just put the CD in the drive and run begin.exe. This program performs a pre-installation check on your system. It quickly verified that my system was ready. If you fail this test, go to the Troubleshooting section of the documentation where you will be lead through the process of resolving the issue. Since my system was OK, I was prompted to shut down. I then plugged the camera's USB cable into the port and restarted the computer. Windows detected the camera and asked for the drivers. I told it to look in the CD and the drivers were installed. The installation software then asked me if I saw an image, I replied that I did and then was given the on-screen prompts to install the software. It all went just fine and within ten minutes of starting all this I was in business.
The camera has a focus ring around the edge of the lens. The software contains the ability to adjust the photographic parameters, and it is quite comprehensive. It all sounds much more complicated than it really is. You can make all the adjustments while viewing the produced video on your monitor. There is also an activity LED that blinks when the camera is active. A snapshot button on top of the camera allows you to take a snapshot during the video stream.
The package is complete; you need nothing else beyond the system requirements listed above. There is more than enough software supplied including user manuals in pdf format and an Acrobat reader, should you not have one. Other supplied software includes the Home Connect application launcher which provides access to the other software, PictureWorks NetCard Pro (make postcards and send them via the net.), PictureWorks Live(capture and edit pictures), 3Com Home Connect Viewer (multimedia for your web site),WebCam 32(put live video on your web site) and Microsoft NetMeeting(hold video conferences). Truly a sufficient assortment to get you going. All have adequate Help functions and printable manuals on the CD.
As usual, I dispensed with reading the user manuals, after all that is a form of cheating, reserved for last resort situations. I logged onto the Internet, minimized my screen and clicked on the Home Connect Launcher. From that I selected Video Phone and from the dropdown menu I chose Net Meeting. I clicked on the Directory, and soon had a list of people to contact. I went down the list in order by double clicking the names that had video camera and microphone symbols. The first few I tried were not on line, but shortly I was connected to Venezuela. My screen had two images, that which my camera was sending and that which I was receiving. I spoke into the microphone and explained that this was my first try and I was just testing the system. I could both see and converse with the man at the other end. Fortunately, he spoke English. This was truly amazing to me. A free video chat to a foreign land. Wow! The significant point is that everything was sufficiently intuitive, so sessions with the user manual were not required. I suspect that I will have to do some reading to get familiar with the niceties of the system. You are not restricted to the cited Directory, a click of the CALL icon allows you to reach out to any Internet address, and if they are using NetMeeting, you can establish a link. They do not need a video camera to see you. Therefore you can have a toll-free voice connection anywhere in the world.
Of course, the camera can function independently, that is you can take a video sequence with it, capture a particular frame or even take a single frame picture. These can be saved as graphics files and manipulated with standard graphics editing programs such as the included PictureWorks Live. The image can be cleaned up, and customized for any use that you would have for an image file, such as attaching to e-mail, insertion into a document or imported into another file.
Now I know what to buy other family members for Christmas. We will soon be able to see and talk to each other without long distance charges. It should not take long to pay for itself, at least not the way my family likes to talk.
Not only can you do the video call bit, but you can record a talking video perhaps with a customized message, and send it to any e-mail address running Windows 95/98/NT. You can also import video images from any compatible video source, (camcorder, VCR, Internet) and edit them into your own package. You may even turn off the video and just make phone calls over the Internet. Business users can do multiparty video conferencing and even show documents and objects. There is a chat mode where you can do the normal type-based chat to supplement the audio. This can be useful in getting audio and video set up properly for all users.
There is plenty of support available on the web, by fax and by phone. The unit comes with a 5-year warranty.
This great system is available at most of the major retail outlets, and additional information can be found at the web site, www.3com.com. .
Web surfers! Do yourself a big favor, add this new dimension of video conferencing to your surfing experience.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
lucie30
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Location: A small island in the Intercoastal.
Reviews written: 252
Trusted by: 53 members
About Me:
3 University degrees. 30+ years in Electronics R&D. Registered Professional Engineer. Graduated USAF Flying School.
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