Use iChat for home monitoring

Hello. I would like to use the video portion of iChat for home monitoring. Is it possible to access my home iMac camera, through iChat, from my workplace? To make things interesting, my Mac monitor at work does not have a built in camera and I have no external webcam. Is it possible for me to connect to my home camera through iChat even though I have no camera at work?
I look forward to hearing any ideas.
Thank you.

I was setting up my home computer for automatic video monitoring through iChat when I noticed something in the energy settings in system preferences. I wanted to have my screen saver in use or turn the monitor brightness all the way down to save my screen life. I also wanted to keep my computer awake so that I could have access to the home iChat account and computer/camera. However, if I set my Display Sleep and Computer Sleep settings to "Never" sleep, I receive the notice of "Never letting your display go to sleep may shorten its life".
So it seems no matter what, I may shorten the life of my monitor and I would most likely be increasing energy consumption by keeping my monitor and computer awake while I am away from home.
Is there anyway around this? If I used Screen Share (VNC), or any dedicated software like Vitamin D or EvoCam, would I still need to worry about my computer's energy consumption? I suppose if I really wanted a dedicated video monitoring setup I could use an external camera and external computer or server? I've read that some people use a Mac Mini for this, but thats seems like a waste of a Mac mini to me. I was really just planning on doing this occasionally to check in on my apartment.
Thoughts?
I will probably only video monitor a couple of times a week, so maybe the energy settings are nothing to worry about.

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Is it possible to use iChat for non network video conferanci

Hi all,
I am looking for a little help please. This may be a fruitless question, but here it goes. I have a deaf 5th grader. TTY relay is essentially a thing of the past, and all of her friends are using 'video phone' to keep in touch. Anyway, today we got a Sorenson VRS router and video phone camera from her school, and it uses our existing cable internet connection. It is a BUNCH of stuff to hook up to an already crowded system. Does anyone have any ideas about the possibility of using iChat for my daughter to connect to her friends that will be using a different system?
Sorry if this is the question of a Neophyte. I am learning this deaf world as i go.
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HI Randell,
Welcome to the Apple Discussion Pages.
I can tell you what iChat will do and maybe that will help.
iChat is an Instant Messaging service that uses the AIM servers. Therefore it is an AIM client.
AIM stands for AOL Instant Messenger.
You can join this service in several ways.
1) By having the AOL Package where AOL is your Internet provider (ISP)
2) By having the stand alone Application referred on these Discussions as the AIM application (comes in several version for PC, Macs, Linux and phones although each version varies as to what it can do - see side bar at link page).
3) Or by another application that is also an AIM client.
On a Mac that can be Proteus or AdiumX, there are PC AIM clients like Trillian.
Some AIM clients only do some of the features.
FOr instance iChat to PC AIM can Video (Moving Pics and Sound) but not Audio only.
iChat to Trillian on a PC can do both Video and Audio only if the PC end has the Pro version of Trillian ($25)
All clients can at least Text chat.
Many can send files and pics as well as Text chatting.
iChat can support Text chatting, Audio Chats and Video chats. Any USB Mic will work for Audio chats. Many Firewire DV Camcorders also work, many Firewire Webcams also work and some USB cams can be made to work with iChat.
To do this iChat needs a fast enough Mac (Procesor speed) and a fast enough interent Connection Speed.
In iChat 2 there is felt to be a better chance of success with connections to PC machines running either AIM (or the AOL package) or Trillian Pro for Video chats.
Text chats and Video chats can be done to the same Buddy (contact) at the same time. I would have thought this would be ideal as it provides a chance to practice lip reading skills and not missing any of the info.
What iChat 2 can not do.
1) Chat to other services like MSN or Yahoo!
2) Chat or link to Video phones.
3) Video to Mobile (cell) phones.
4) Connect to other Video conferencing services.
For more info start here
Faq on how to start in iChat
This tells you more about connecting to PCs.
More info than you might need at this stage http://www.ralphjohnsuk.dsl.pipex.com/
What iChat 3 adds.
1) Upto 4 people in a Video chat
2) Access to the Jabber service (Another Instant Messaging service). This also can use Jabber servers that provide things called Tranports Gateways to other IM services which allows Text chatting to Buddiies on these services.
Ralph

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10:36 PM Sunday; July 24, 2011
Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"
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Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"
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Most of my friends do not have Macs, and therefore I
need to use other options such as Skype, although I
have found out that Skype does not recognize macs.
Are there any other mail services that can be used
with iChat?
Not sure what you mean...I use Skype for Mac with no problem for voice calls computer to computer with Macs and PC's, and they've had no problems linking to me. The link to the latest version is:
http://www.skype.com/download/skype/macosx/
There's now even a Skype widget...
Blessings,
Fred
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Can I set up my iMac to monitor my dog in my apartment while I'm at work? Would I connect with iChat, or would I somehow set it up as a webcam?

Hi,
Yes.
The Home computer needs to have Auto Accept set up for Video chats.
The Chax Add-on allows you to select which Buddies that will allow (So you can limit to just your Remote Mac's Screen Name)
For Alternatives see this list, near the bottom (Nanny Cam Section)
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Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"

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Hello, my father recently passed (using his ID) and I took over the payments on his mac and took his computer. I am not that familiar with mac, but am usually computer savy. However, this one has me stumped. I have no problem starting the built in cam and it seems to work fine with all other programs I've tried using it with. However, it will not work with yahoo. Whether I use normal yahoo messenger or if I try using Yahoo through I chat. The cam button will not light up, therefore, it is not clickable. Which ultimately means I cannot use my cam on yahoo, which is something I use 99% of the time compared to other programs. So why is this happening and what solutions can I take to try and fix this? The mac I am using is: Mac OS X, Version 10.7.4
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iTunes
iPod Updater
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Try the steps listed here...
iPod shows up in Windows but not in iTunes
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MPEG Streamclip
Videora iPod Converter
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iTunes needs to be adding the songs to the iPod. You cannot just add the song files to the iPod.
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Hi,
iChat was first developed as an AIM client.
That means you can Text chat at least to AIM Screen Names, Apple IDs (@mac.com and @me.com), ICQ and other email type names that are allowed similar to the Apple IDs (Normally a deal by the persons ISP)
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GoogleTalk is a Jabber server. However iChat cannot Video chat to the webmail Chat option as this is different Video codecs again (Flash based) and is different again from the PC GoogleTalk app which iChat cannot Video or Audio chat to.
Screen Colour.
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However if the Mac has been set up with only one User Account if you change it your Husband may not like it.
It may be better to create a second account on the mac for you
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Please, if posting Logs, do not post any Log info after the line "Binary Images for iChat"

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Gregor
Message was edited by: Sidney1

Hi,
The answer to this is that the regular posters only get here at certain times of day.
I am here about 4 hours of so most evenings (about 17 hours after you first posted).
Defcom does sometimes get here early afternoon his time (Same as mine).
We were not ignoring you, we just weren't here.
As Defcom has said it is about whether the accounts/Email IDs are Aliases or not.
10:17 PM Wednesday; January 13, 2010
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Hi,
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9:30 PM Tuesday; June 2, 2009
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Use iChat for home monitoring

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