Plays Well With Others

I Can See You …

infoview.jpgAbout a year ago, Wifey™ and I bought some videophones — one for us and one for her parents. It’s really neat … and easy to install. You basically just need a television set and a telephone line and you’re set. You can also buy the “phone” model, that doesn’t require a television set, but we wanted the comfort of sitting on our sofa, rather than sitting hunched over the phone while conversing. So far it’s been a hit.

The reason for the purchase was simple. Since Wifey™’s parents live in Canada, although she could talk to them on the phone, she couldn’t SEE them. Without that visual connection, the homesickness began. And so we shelled out about $300 for two videophones that I found the product maker selling on eBay as refurbished units. If you buy them directly from the maker’s site, they sell for about $300 each.

Turning on the videophone has become a Friday night ritual. Due to timezone differences, it works out best to do it on a day that they don’t have to go to bed early. More importantly, Wifey™ can talk to her parents and see them at the same time. We also were able to meet one of her brother’s girlfriends, at least that week.

So, why not just use a webcam. Well, besides the fact that the picture is the size of a postage stamp, it’s also just not as convenient. The simplicity of installing this type of system was our main concern. We actually tried the webcam method and got it working, until her dad took the computer apart. Since I had been the one to set up the webcam during one of my visits, there was no way for them to set it up without my assistance. The videophone basically involved hooking up two cables Ú one to the phone and one to the television. Her dad had it hooked up within seconds.

So, what’s the drawback. Well, if the line has any static, for example, from a storm, you can expect to get cut off. We experience this intermittently, but most times it works perfectly. Another drawback is that the picture quality isn’t superb. Let’s face it, you are passing an image through a phone line. Don’t expect high definition quality video. There are times it’s blurry or digitized, but for the most part you can tell who you are looking at and can see them moving along with you. It beats not seeing them at all.

Most of these videophones work with each other, meaning you don’t need to buy them all from the same maker. Most maker’s use a standard which makes it easy for videophone users to talk to other videophone users. For us, it’s kept the connection between Canada and the U.S a little easier.

Now if it could only translate from French to English, I’d be set.

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