Can't start Screen Sharing, Video Chat, or Audio Chat

Question

Can't start Screen Sharing, Video Chat, or Audio Chat

Hi there,

I've been through countless Apple Discussion and other website threads, but I can't figure this out.

I just got my dad a brand-new iMac with Mountain Lion 10.8.3 on it. I'm using a MacBook Pro, also with 10.8.3 on it. We're both using the Messages app, signed into our respective Google Talk accounts (not Apple IDs with Google email addresses).

But for the both of us, "Invite to Video Chat," "Invite to Audio Chat," and "Share Screen With..." are grayed out in the Buddies menu, even though both of us have "Video Chat Enabled," "Audio Chat Enabled," and "Screen Sharing Enabled" checked off. I unchecked the option to consolidate the various Buddy Lists in the Messages > Preferences > General pane, and when I go to my Gmail account's Buddy List, I see the four buttons underneath the list (with my dad's name highlighted), but only the "A" button is clickable--not the other buttons for Audio (the phone icon), Video (the camera icon), or Screen Sharing (the two rectangles layered over one another icon).

Does anyone have any ideas on how to remedy this (short of using a completely different method of screen sharing)?

MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2009), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.3), Late 2009, 8GBRAM, WinXP/Parallels7

Posted on May 16, 2013 6:17 PM

Reply

Answer 1

May 17, 2013 12:36 PM in response to Meredith Sweet

HI,

So on your GoogleMail IDs settings At Google you have both Enabled "Talk" ?

Although Google have other accounts and allow them to work via the web Browser chat option they do not work in external Clients such as Messages or iChat.

Also the fact the Name is highlighted but only the "A" icon for Text Chats is active suggest one of two things.

1) At both ends the internet is not fast enough. (a bit unlikely nowadays)

2) the person is also logged in via the Web Page that this chat is not Compatible with Messages Video and Audio Chats.

This can be compromised by "Remember Me" options that may keep you logged in for up to two weeks if the defaults are not changed.

Google run a Jabber server.

Some other Jabber apps have Video and Audio Modules that run using a Jabber protocol called Jingle.

Jingle is build in to the web browser plug-in you can get from Google for web Browser Video chat.

It is also built in to the Google App called GoogleTalk that is for PCs.

iChat and Messages is not compatible with Jingle.

Regarding the Speed

Double check the Preferences > Video section has not go the Bandwidth set to 100kbps as this is too low fro Video Chats and Screen Sharing.

8:36 PM Friday; May 17, 2013

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Mountain Lion 10.8.3)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 Couple of iPhones and an iPad
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Reply

Answer 2

May 17, 2013 5:14 PM in response to Ralph-Johns-UK

Re: the settng to enable Talk, are you referring to the one on Gmail, under Settings > Chat > Voice and Video Chat? I'm assuming I enabled mine a long time ago, because all mine says is "Make voice and video calls to friends and family right from Gmail. It's free and installs in seconds" but there's no button or link of any kind. I'm not sure what it says on my dad's end, but I'll check with him.

I know my dad was using Messages on his iMac as well when we were trying to do the screen sharing, but he may have also been logged into Gmail via Safari--that could have interfered?

Also, do you happen to know what the default bandwidth limit is under Messages > Preferences > Audio and Video? Since my dad just got his iMac, and I didn't change it for him, I'm assuming it's still set to whatever the default is.

Reply

Answer 3

May 18, 2013 11:33 AM in response to Meredith Sweet

HI,

On your GoogleMail Page pull down your own Name/ID

Click Account

Choose "Products" from Menu.

Enable "Talk" (Sign in to Dashboard far right)

This is separate from the settings to actions on the Web Mail Page accessed in the Settings icon.

However I am not sure if the setting absent there if TALK has not been enabled as it was done some time ago for for me as well.

Jabber apps can have Priority Setting to allow people to be logged in via several devices and be sure a messages goes to the right device at the time.

iChat version 3 through 5 had the same Priority as the Web Browser login and would stop text Messages getting through.

iChat would show the Buddy still on line if they were logged in via the web page at a later stage

but the Video and Audio green icons would disappear from the Buddy List and the icons at the bottom would be greyed out.

Messages has a default priority of 0 compared to iChat's 23.

However I have never managed to work out which end of the scale outranks the other.

Essentially logging in to Google Mail web page to Check things is likely to stop the ability to Video chat.

This is because Jabber app use a Protocol called Jingle to connect and this is not compatible with the SIP iChat and Messages uses.

It is included in the Web Browser Plug-in you can get from Google.

The default setting for the Bandwidth setting is the NONE one.

However it can pay to set it to 500kbps.

This helps when internet speeds that are faster vary too much for the Buffering in iChat and Messages to work.

In broad terms a 5% variance in a 10Mbps download speed can be 500kbps.

Forcing Message to only use 500kbps is fast enough for 4 way video chats but is well below any variance interference.

It can also help where the ISP slows the connection as it thinks it is a Peer-to-Peer file sharing event.

Video and Audio chats (including Screen Sharing) are peer-to-Peer connections.

7:33 PM Saturday; May 18, 2013

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Mountain Lion 10.8.3)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 Couple of iPhones and an iPad
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Reply