ichat in dubai

hi Syed,

What is the connection Speed ?
http://www.auditmypc.com/internet-speed-test.asp




10:30 PM Friday; June 23, 2006

Syed, welcome to the discussions board.

iChat AV normally works quite well between the US and Dubai (and Abu Dhabi for that matter). Low bandwidth in Dubai is frequently a problem that can cause failed connections (it afflicts both Etisalat and DIC Telecom). Also, I have experienced problems establishing both audio and video chats with my wife and other family members in the US due to problems with their own wireless networks. A simple reboot of their Mac usually solves this problem.

However, it sounds like you are experiencing more difficulties. It would probably help Ralph and others diagnose your problem (and suggest a cure) if you could provide more details. For example, what exactly is the connection speed you are getting? What is the connection speed that your wife and others in the US are using? Are you trying to run other software at the same time as iChat? (I for one found that Lotus Notes conflicts with iChat AV and I had to shut down Notes before I could establish anything more than a text connection in iChat AV. There are probably other apps that also create conflicts). Try quitting all apps except iChat AV, try to establish a chat with your wife and then each of you make a note of the exact error messages that you get.

Posting the error messages here would provide useful information to Ralph and others who will try to help solve your problem.

Best regards,
DXB Law

And one more thing, my wife sometimes uses an iBook g3 to iChat with me so I doubt that is the problem.

DXB Law

whats the speed of the G3 Mhz.

Tony

Umm


That G3 is fast enough then.

There is nothing yet that jumps out at me what the problem is.

It sounds like a wireless link is not strong enough in signal strength



8:35 PM Saturday; July 1, 2006

Ralph, Syed's problems sound very similar to the symptoms I have from time to time experienced with iChat from Dubai both to my mother in the New York area and my wife in the Philadelphia area, both of them using Verizon DSL.

Syed and his wife in NYC should each try rebooting the machine. I generally have found that a reboot is enough to solve the problem and allow me to establish an iChat with my wife. After much helpful troubleshooting by you I think you concluded that there was an issue having to do with NAT on the US side.

A simple reboot does not always help my mother (using a G4 eMac) but I think that is a genuine bandwidth problem as speeds test far below rated (and paid-for) capacity on both her end (Verizon DSL) and my end in the UAE. Isn't upload max 40 too low for iChat?

In any case, I have found that bandwidth is a real problem here in the UAE. I don't think Syed told us whether he is using Etisalat or DIC Telecom, but it almost doesn't matter - both ISPs provide service that is frequently not much better than slow dial-up even on what are supposed to be high-speed DSL connections. The slow speed can make it very difficult to negotiate an iChat AV and can cause video and sound quality to be degraded once a connection is established.

I can do a test iChat with Syed if he would like.

DXB Law

HI DBXLaw,

Yes 40kbps is too slow.

You need at 100kbps Uplink for Video chats.

Speed tests site http://www.auditmypc.com/internet-speed-test.asp



9:13 PM Sunday; July 2, 2006

The new popup window is a feature that was added in OS 10.4.7 which provides an option for automatic logging and reporting of iChat connection failures to Apple.

What I suggest is that you first try a connection with me inside the UAE. Then you try one with Ralph who is in the UK. If you have a configuration problem, Ralph will be able to sort you out. I suspect your main problem is lack of bandwidth supplied by Etisalat and, unfortunately, that is like the weather - we can complain about it but we cannot change it.

Click on my name to the left of my post and send an email to me at that address, we can exchange user information "off line" and arrange a test chat.

Best regards,
DXB Law

Ralph, I just had a test chat with Syed entirely within the United Arab Emirates. We had no problems establishing an audio connection or a video connection. I used Connection Doctor and noticed that while my frame rate was hovering around 95 kbps, Syed's was down in the range between 35 to 40.

Syed reports that he can regularly establish iChat video with a user in Florida, but there are two users in New York -- both on the same ISP (Earthlink) -- that he can only occasionally connect with.

Syed further reports that he lives in an apartment where a DSL connection is provided. He has run speed tests and gets results of 400 down and 40 up.

It is my guess that lack of bandwidth is his main problem, possibly coupled with bandwidth problems on Earthlink at the other end of his chat. That said, he was able to connect with me and he is able to connect with Florida. He is using a G3 iBook, so maybe his being at the lower end of the minimum specs for iChat is also a factor.

Finally, it is possible that there is some centralized router in his apartment complex has some ports closed or forwarded in a way that iChat doesn't like. That stuff is beyond my level of competence, so I thought I'd report back here in hopes that you could offer some more helpful suggestions.

Best regards,
DXB Law

HI DBX Law,

Thanks for the info.

It is more likely that the buiding has only Adequate Uplink in the first place and it is being shared further than is practical for iChat.

Realistically he will need his own connection.



7:51 PM Sunday; July 9, 2006