These iChat 4 pages are coloured Gray and have the iChat 4 icon on them that was in use at the time, so you know where you are. The icon differs little from the Version 3 version.
These pages have sat here since 2008 with no update. In that time the AIM servers have been closed down (2017) and iChat has been superseded by Messages. That effectively make this a sort of Historical Document of how it worked.
iChat 4 How To's
Realistically the simplest thing to do first is review the iChat How-Tos as they include everything but Multi-Chats in Video and Audio. These are separate pages.
A/V Multichats Specs
Audio
This can be done over Dial-up if you have a 56k modem.
You can Audio chats in groups of you and 9 Buddies if they are using iChat 3 or 4. (Edit 2024:- Or higher up to version 6).
If you are invited to a Group Audio chat you will find the Audio Chat window will drop down to show you the contacts involved. However the Connection Doctor will only show the Bitrate for you an the Host.
If you are Host and did the Inviting then the Connection Doctor will show you the Bitrates of all the Buddies involved.
Only the Host can add more people.
Video
This can be done only on a "Broadband" (Edit 2024:- The word Broadband in this conext has almost no relationship to today's speeds. The word also meant different things in different countries.) connection of Cable, ADSL or Fibre Internet Services of at least 384k in both Up and Down directions to be a Host. Well that is the lowest spec quoted by Apple on the speed. In practice as ADSL speeds are faster Down than Up there does seem to be a practical averaging appearence to things as in the past I managed to Host with a 1Mbps Down and 256kbps Up service but pictures at 3rd and 4th Buddies got increasingly blurry but passable.
Also important is that the Specs of your computer have to be higher than for iChat 2 to be able to Multi-chat in Video even if you are not the Host. Effectively they go up again if you are Host. The Apple Specs are here (Way Back Machine Archive)
To be clear plain old 1-1 chats can be done with anything that is a G3/600Mghz or above. To join a 4 way Video chat it takes at least a Dual G4/800Mghz computer. To Host takes at least a Dual G4/1Ghz Computer such as my Mirrored Door tower of nearly 6 years of age.
The Specs are also graded into Good, Better and Best but this is Processor AND Internet Speed dependent.
What it does not say is that it is also largely Camera dependent as well. A really good picture from a Camcorder over a Firewire connection or the External iSight (which is Firewire) will produce better pictures (higher pixel rates) to start with.
Starting An Audio Multi-Chat
The simplest thing is clicking on another Buddies Audio icon after starting with one Buddy.
As with most things iChat you can Highlight several Buddies in the Buddy List by holding down the Apple Key and clicking on one Buddy after another - then using either the Buddies Menu, the icon at the bottom of the Buddies List or by Right-Clicking one of the Buddies to bring up the Contextual Menu start the chat that way.
If a Buddy is showing a camera then you can highlight them then use the Audio button at the bottom of the Buddy List or the Buddies Menu.
Starting A Video Multi-Chat
It's exactly the same as the Audio Chat. The simplest way is clicking on another Buddies Video icon after starting with one Buddy.
As with most things iChat you can Highlight several Buddies in the Buddy List by holding down the Apple Key and clicking on one Buddy after another - then using either the Buddies Menu, the icon at the bottom of the Buddies List or by Right-Clicking one of the Buddies to bring up the Contextual Menu start the chat that way.
What a Video Multi-Chat Invite looks like
This is what you see as a Buddy adds a third Buddy. I am not host in this picture but the host - to my right has invited someone else.
If you are the Host then the Right hand panel is where the Buddy is added.
Where as this picture says the Buddy that invited someone by palcing that info over their picture, your Hosting of one will have the Waiting and Starting messages across the center of the Spotlight area.
If they do not answer in a certain time the Spotight will close.
If you wish to end with one Buddy as Host then mouse over their Video and then click the Red Cross that appears.
If they end the chat at their end the Video will fold back to Single view.
You will find that the Mirroring of your normal picture is somewhat carried over to the layout of a 4 way chat so that people will appear to point to each other in the same way you see them like a News Reader turning to the weather person. You are displayed as if sat around a 4 sided table.
So the person to your left is to the right of the person you have opposite you (above your Preview in the 4 way chat window). It does not take long to indicate the correct person and remember to point downwards when indicating the person opposite. The picture above was sent to me by the Host of the Chat which is why I am off to one side.
If your camera is high enough it can be amusing with new 4 way buddies to pass a cup in front of your camera as if to place it on the table top.
As with ichat 1 , 2 and 3 the second Menu follows a pattern and may seem repetitive if you had read the others before getting here. However the pages were designed to be somewhat Standalone for each version.
So onwards to getting a Screen Name
Created October, 2008 Major Update/Edit October 2024.
© Ralph Johns. Created October 2008
Information Block
This site is about iChat from Version 1 through to iChat 5.x.x
Mostly this is kept as an Historical Document. Some small tense changes have been made but the content is by and large untouched.
It has a mixture of basic info and problem solving help.
The sections below will change for Specifics about info on the page on view
About This Page
This is a picture Index of the How Tos for iChat 4
There is a second menu that you can jump straight in with Starting on the left with Get A Screen Name.
otherwise there is a a breif run through on this page with pictures of some of the features that have been added for iChat 4.
Compatibility
As mentioned above this has had a major Edit/Update in September/October 2024 moving towards being fully HTML 5 compliant meaning that the Browsers listed below are likely to no longer work.
I have tested in Safari 18.1, Firefox 130.x and 131.0, Vivaldi 6.9.3447.48 and iCab 6.2.3 (All Mac Browsers) I don't have access to a PC let alone multiple browsers to test on.
The original pages worked with Win/IE 5.5 and later (should work in 5.0, but not confirmed),
Firefox 2, Safari 3, Opera 9, iCab 3.02 and later, Mac/IE 5, Netscape 6 and later
Old browsers (IE version 4 or earlier, Netscape 4 or earlier) should/may only see
a text-based page which, while not the prettiest option, is still entirely
usable.
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