ISight microphone options

I used my iSight for a videoconference, and while the video worked great, and the one distant attendee (whose iSight was mounted on his powerbook right in front of him had great sound pick up) had good sound speaking to us (of course, his voice was being fed through JBL creature II speakers), he couldn't hear us very well.
My iSight was perched atop my powerbook, and that whole setup was at one end of a conference room, on top of a projector cart.
I think I need a better microphone for this setup. I couldn't place the laptop in the middle of the table this time, due to not having a long enough cat 5 cable on hand.
Any recommendations?
Thanks,
Boris

Both of you should test with others to determine which of you has the problem.
As explained in Apple Article 93214, laptop Macs only make sound through the right speaker and the volume may seem lower to avoid feedback.
If the problem is hearing at his end, your "distant attendee" might want to try headphones to see if he can hear better that way. Some laptop users find that headphones significantly improve their audio in iChat AV.
If the problem is at your end, you may need to move closer to your iSight if that is possible in your situation. A longer Ethernet cable may be your best (and lowest cost) option.
I have tried others mics for iChat AV, and iSight's built-in mic is superior for audio or video chat. However, I sit close to my iSight. Currently, my other mic is a Logitech USB Desktop Microphone. Although it has noise canceling feature, its sound is not as good as iSight's mic at my close distance.
If you cannot sit close enough to your iSight, you might try a long USB cable and one of the Logitech mics. It may improve the audio you send in the large room you are using. If you try this, be sure to select the correct mic in the iChat > Preferences... > Video > Microphone: Choices Bar.

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