I would also like to know how to get Skype video into MAX. does anyone have any info on this? Much appreciated, thankyou!

jit.desktop could be the way

never try, but something like camtwist may help you to recover the image in a good old jit.qt.grab.

or jit.net.recv from another computer with a ruunig max patch, with dynamic dns ip or static ip and recover sound from skype'audio thanks to soundflower.

hey thanks! i really appreciate that....

off hand do you guys know, how i could store the image as a looped video once i have selected the portion on the screen?

have a look at the Syphon program, you can take video from other applications and route it to Jitter using the externals.

I don't know if it'll work with Skype, as I haven't extensively used it, certainly something to look into though.

thanks again, chris. I looked into that Syphon.

It is very close to being exactly what i need, but it doesn't work with skype from what i can gather and from the simple testing i have done this morning. It wont recognise Skype as a video source at all, which is a pity.

I think the jit.desktop/cam twist solution/may be the way to go with soundflower to record the audio if and when needed.

It will mean a two stage process for the project i am working on (a reinterpretation of a Max Neuhaus piece Radio Supply IV (http://www.max-neuhaus.info/audio-video/Broadcast_Works_and_Audium.pdf) where i will have to manually record the skype calls in realtime, save them into a folder, and then a max patch will look for files in that folder, open them and process them.

I will look into it more but if in the meantime, if anyone has any other ideas they are more than welcome!!!

ecamm's call recorder seems to do the trick.

Automatically creates a video of the skype call, that i can then get into max to play with the audio and video pretty easily.

About Syphon. I did it one time: grab the portion of the screen using a Syphon server in quartz composer and getting the video in a syphon client in Max. The reason I did it was to transform an iphone into a wireless camera. It works but it's kind of a complicated way around... and you have to keep the space on the screen for the skype window.

Y.

I can understand why skype is an attractive avenue for your project, given its ubiquity and accessibility. But have you considered working with Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP)? I have worked on a couple of projects using RTSP in Max, which only needs jit.broadcast and jit.qt.movie to work. Then you could have everything native in Max without the complexities of hacking skype.... hope that helps- best-

You might also want to look into the Skype Java API. You need to register as a developer to have access to all recources. It is a long time ago since I worked with it and at that time there was no video stream available. but that might have changed meanwhile... jan

thanks for all the ideas, and i have taken them on board, but as this projects core focus is all about people being able to get involved/participate in the performance through calling into it, then actually using skype is essential, as Skype is the chosen medium for this interaction.