Starting to use CU-See Me
Available Software
- CU-See Me (Macintosh): Live conferencing software with video and
audio exchange.
- Maven (Macintosh): A tool that exchanges real-time audio with one
or more other users, based on the vat tool described below.
- vat (UNIX): Another tool for exchanging audio from the console
of many UNIX machines.
Basic Concepts
- Video-Conference: To communicate with others using video
(and audio) at a remote site.
- Video Client: A participant in a video-conferencing session.
- Peer-to-Peer: Communicating with one other user at a time.
- Reflector: A host that collects several client sessions,
enabling video-conferences among several users at a fixed network
address.
- Lurker: A client that listens to a video-conference (or any
discussion) without contributing.
Connecting
To start a CU-See Me session, you should have the following hardware:
- Macintosh or PC-compatible Computer
- Video digitizer board or hardware
- Video camera with microphone
- Appropriate software for your camera
- Internet communications software (MacTCP, WinSock, etc)
A user can start a session and wait for another to connect, connect to
another user, or connect to an established reflector. Typically, the
process involves pre-arranging the session with someone that you want to
communicate with such methods are discussed later in the document.
To connect to a computer using CU-See Me, you need to know the number
address for that computer.
To connect to a remote host for the first time, you should choose
Connect... from the Conference menu.
When connecting to a host, you will be prompted for a user name. Type
a descriptive word or name to identify yourself to other users... your
E-mail address is suggested.
In order to manage several host addresses, you can create a list of
common hosts that you connect to. From the Edit menu, go to
the Nicknames submenu and use New... to add a host
and its name to your "hotlist". Afterward, you can alway connect
to that host by selecting it from the Connect To submenu.
Basic Use
Once you have connected to another computer via CU-See Me, you are
presented with 2 or more windows that reflect the video portion of
the transaction.
Each window represents a participant that is sending (and receiving)
video. You may also see a tall window labeled "Audio" -- or you can open
it by selecting Audio Window from the Conference menu.
Finding other users
There are many ways to pre-arrange a CU-See Me session as to time and
host address, or to find a casual session to join:
- Exchange E-mail to set up a meeting
- By arranging a time to meet, you can connect to a common reflector
address that you know will not change. Unfortunately, there
is no way to verify that the remote user is ready at the
established time or to problem solve without resorting to
periodic messages.
- IRC Session to schedule a video-conference
- Join a channel on IRC, such as #itv (for Internet Television),
and wait for the other party to connect. This enables users to
exchange the addresses of the computers they are using (such as
in a lab environment), rather than requiring a pre-set address.
It also permits dialog if there are problems connecting, as well
as during the session.
This document was created at the University of Michigan
School of Information and Library
Studies (SILS), but it has been designed for public use. Permission is
hereby granted for unlimited print and electronic redistribution. Your
feedback is encouraged.
fprefect@umich.edu - 1/16/95