[…] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Iyaz Akhtar and FiniteComedy.com, This Old Nerd Show. This Old Nerd Show said: New episode! "This Old Nerd" shows you how to have great-looking video chats: http://bit.ly/ton007 […]

Great show. Especially enjoyed the lighting part which can be applied to any video at all.

Which software do you find gives the best picture quality for video chatting? I’ve tried Skype and Windows Live, which both look good, but not great. Recording straight to the hard drive from the same camera gives a much better quality picture.

Also, compression (maybe because of my 0.7Mb/sec upload speed) and reliability (maybe it’s just me, but I find myself configuring the settings for drivers each time I want to make a call) on video chat/call software really hinders widespread use of video chat at the moment, in my opinion.

I’d imagine the best video quality has to be Skype HD, although Logitech Vid could be good. I haven’t even tried out what’s the best video chat program for such a slow upload speed. I guess that’s just an unavoidable obstacle. I’ll have to think about it some more. Maybe a slow-Internet episode!

I’d imagine the best video quality has to be Skype HD, although Logitech Vid could be good. I haven’t even tried out what’s the best video chat program for such a slow upload speed. I guess that’s just an unavoidable obstacle. I’ll have to think about it some more. Maybe a slow-Internet episode!

Yeah, Skype does look the best out of the ones I’ve tired. A slow Internet episode would be super useful for people like me, we don’t have FiOS for anything with near that upload speed (yet) in the UK! 🙁

Keep up the great work!

Great Show. I would suggest that before you put the videos up you should put links in the description of all the products you used and if they are available in the Thisoldnerd store. that way you can attract some more commissions and it just makes it easier to know where to get everything you used in the video.

I will be waiting for my check in the mail 🙂

Thanks for watching. Great idea, it’s a bit time-consuming, but we’ll get there. Your check for approximately $0.00 is not in the mail.

With the pre-roll being “the fashion show- something or other” I think whoever does the advertising missed your main demographic…

I’ve started using Skype with my parents on my MBP. The backlighting issue is easy to figure out because my picture is inset in the video that I see, but I need to get some backlighting for my mom, who is always washed out from being in front of her (apparently massively blazing) monitor.
Bonus points for SO MUCH BABY!!! =D

Maybe your mom could try out iGlasses – it’s software that lets the user manipulate the camera settings on Macs: http://www.ecamm.com/mac/iglasses/settings.html

There’s a deleted scene with the kid you might want to see. I’ll post it soon.