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Mebeam is a Flash based application running within a browser and is using proprietary, load-balancing servers. All is
programmed by and copyright of Ashod Apakian. MeBeam Multichat has
audio build-in and there can be till 16 people videochatting in one room. The size of the video will be automatically
adapted when more people are joining. Also a simple chat can be included. On these pages the original style Mebeam v0.986
is used till Mebeam v1.0 is ready and capable to exchange this one. To enjoy already some new features, visit the
MeBeam site. The use of the free
Firefox browser is recommended!
By using MeBeam you accept also its terms and conditions. There is also a Standalone Original Style Mebeam (Windows Only)
here, which needs no browser at all.
1. Type in a roomname of the room you want to create for your call or use an existing room (name)
to join your friends. The roomname must have 4 to 16 characters. Best thing to do is using an unique roomname like:
Jim_Don_22446688 . When the window is black at start, click on it.
2. When pressing the Enter key or the "Connect" button to connect and click "Allow", you accept
the MeBeam terms and conditions and you will have your video (webcam)
available.
3. Your own video should appear. If not, click the right mouse button in the multichat window
and select Settings or click the bottom left icon. A Flash window should pop-up.
4. You should see the Flash settings menu with icons on the bottomrow. Click the Webcam icon to
select the correct video capturing device.
5. Select in the Settings the Microphone icon to set the audio recording device. Check the level
gauge for the correct level (green/yellow). You can talk after pressing "Microphone is OFF" to ON and when not using
a headset, press "Microphone is ON" to OFF when finished talking to prevent echo.
6. If something is wrong, just reload the webpage and re-enter the room you want. Use only one
multichat window at a time.
7. To invite people, copy the browser URL and the roomname separately and paste these through
an Instant Messenger (IM) to friends *).
8. Click on the "Exit room" button to end a call.
Notes: The still working Original Style Mebeam is used here: The needed flash part is loaded from my
site too. *) This Original Style Mebeam will be phased out, but is still a good fallback
version when there are problems with the newest Mebeam. The invitation button is not working anylonger as supposed to and
there are NO publicrooms. You can however invite people by copying the used browser's Mebeam URL and roomname and paste
them through an IM to your contacts separately. Do not mix Mebeam versions, they are not compatible.
Use with your contacts the same version. This version does not work with the same rooms as the
newest version of Mebeam. Thus, if a certain room(name) does not connect, try again or choose another room(name).
The noted Lq/Hq settings are the used video quality settings, the higher the better. Although, higher values need a better
and more consistent quality of the internet connection (especially the upload, which should have an available minimum of
256kbps). Hq value is used till 3 connected people and Lq value is used if more people are invited. When Mebeam v1.0 is
ready and compatible, these sites will be changed to use the new Mebeam. You need also a quite modern system to be able
to do videocommunication without problems. A bottom rule is to have a cpu which is able to run on 1 GHz or better.
The rooms will auto close after about 5 minutes when not in use by others. It saves lots of datatraffic and valuable
server use. Rooms which are in use, will auto refresh each 20 minutes to minimize roomdelays and to clear users who
are not active anymore, to give others a chance to use that room when they were full.
Rules for use: No abusive and/or insulting language and no porno in any form is allowed.
You risk yourself to be banned for some time. Behave and have fun with Mebeam.
Note for Mac users:
Click the Settings control at the top right corner, click the small web-cam tab and make sure 'usb-class' web-cam is selected.
Upload button: When pushing this button, people are able to upload a file to the MeBeam server for use by others.
The link to this file will be shown on the chat. This can be copied for later use or clicked upon to (down)load it.
Using the right mouse button gives several options. The maximum filesize is set to about 30MB.
Webcam: People who have webcams without separate settings panel, try to set the webcam to fully automatic.
Although the webcam will be somewhat slower, the result will be better. Especially people with cmos type webcams:
care for sufficient environmental light! If you can find and afford a CCD
based webcam which have also high quality glass optics, those are the best: Faster, sharper and more light sensitive! Tips for better webcam settings
Mebeam is © Ashod Apakian.
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