PS3 How To: Starting a Video Chat

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Happy New Year!

Hoping to stay in more in touch with family and friends in 2009? If so, you’re in luck! For those of you with the PlayStation Eye or other web camera, video chat is a great way to keep in touch with family and friends, and this video will teach you how to get started. One of the best features of video chat on the PS3 is the ability to talk with up to six people at a time. So take a look at the video, give a try and let us know if you have any questions.

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74 Comments

  • I have a PlayStation Eye. I think it’s fantastic. I have sent pictures to and posted a few images of myself in Little Big Planet. I have also used video chat, forgetting that I was half naked once. Thank goodness the person at the other end was a Family member.

    It’s a great way to keep intouch and the video quality is even better some top named webcams.

    And, you can use the built-in mic for your online games should your normal mic be not available.

    Thanks for the videoguide. And, Happy New Year!

  • yay 1st comment

  • ok 1 question for lbp do you need the new dlc to earn the trophies because im getting my 1st psn card next week and when is the store update

  • I’m gonna add all those people in the video to my list today.

  • @1 i am happy for you i bet you been trying all last year too huh?

  • comment.

  • Any news of persistent voice chat even while playing a game coming soon?

  • Every time when i try to chat on the ps3 my connection log out from the PSN someone know Why? or how to fix it?

  • happy new year

  • That looks COOL :) Nice 1 SONY, keep up the good work :)

  • These tutorials are cool…the only point I’d like to bring out is that the majority of people who adequately use the internet, know what a blog is, and where to find the Playstation one are not the people who need to know how to do these things. All of these should be put on an educational DVD or pamphlet and handed out to people, so the ones who are still struggling with the concept of”HD”, “blu-ray” and other things can finally know all the things the PS3 can do and why its so expensive.

    Gaming sites only appeal to hardcore gamers, which can be testified to by LittleBigPlanet sales. That game was ALL over the internet, but the sales haven’t been all that great (at least, according to various reports). That’s because no one outside the hardcore gaming community knew anything about it. Oh, and the only people who read video game related articles on news sites like CNN?….video game enthusiasts.

  • @ 10 you make some good points but can we say on topic? but since were off the road let stop and review what your saying i love how you throw hardcore and lbp sell number to make your statement but what you fail to realize is that there are more causal gamer then hardcore gamer like you and me ie go look at wii consoles sell . two points you need to understand 1 you cant blame ms and sony in trying to tap into this avenue and 2 that causal gamer are strong by the million and hardcore gamer are dieing like the dinosaur you cant only make games for 1 type of gamer and sony ,ms and others see that why cant you? am a hardcore sony ps3 owner and i can respect what wii doing and ms and sony do as well by taping into there market .

  • Called this How-to. lol.

  • SONY HAVE AND GIVE US A SPECIAL 2009!!!!

    By the way… we need PSN ID custom avatars :D

  • So what web cams fall under the category “other web camera” that works with this feature? Should I get the PSN eye or pickup a Microsoft/Logitech web cam?

  • Jazzyrider, I use my Logitech webcam just fine. I also know that even an Xbox 360 camera works.

    I love this open system. Nobody is forcing proprietary devices on us.

  • Lol I’m pretty sure the video chat quality isn’t that good. Nice try, Sony.

  • Is there a list of USB camera’s that work with the PS3 because I have Creative Labs USB, Intel USB CS330 cameras and both are not showing up when I plug them in. They maybe USB l.0 or 1.1 but they should still work???

    Thanks for your help!

  • Thanks for all these How-To’s, they have been very handy for me to explain things to my mother about her PS3. I do have a question about video chat, i heard some rumor around the time that we got in-game XMB that sometime you would be giving us cross gaming video chat, maybe just a little half size image where the notices pop up in the right side of the screen. I figured you could use that by using the resorces from in-game XMB, and by pass that and only let it either have a video, or in-game XMB. Not the most useful thing in the world, but it would be damn cool if i was playing LBP with my friends and could see them as well, thanks for listing!!

  • @10 I agree that the tutorials won’t reach the people who should be seeing them.

    As for LBP’s problem… LBP should have a lot of family appeal, but it’s released on a system with almost no family appeal.

    The PS3 has too few exclusive kid and family games to be relevant in that market segment. The PS1 and PS2 had strong lineups of family-friendly games… Crash Bandicoot, Spyro, Sly Cooper, Jak and Daxter, Klonoa, etc. The PS3 has none of these.

    Instead of making a much needed PS3 Sly Cooper game, Sucker Punch has gone off making yet another hardcore-oriented game. The PS3 already has plenty of hardcore-oriented games, I think it really needed that Sly Cooper game.

    Crash Bandicoot and Spyro were system sellers at one time, until they were sold off in the prime of their popularity to second-rate developers who killed those franchises by making lower quality sequels. If nurtured instead of abandoned, these characters could still be the backbone of family gaming for Sony.

    As great as LBP is, one or two exclusive family games is not enough to make parents buy the PS3 over the much cheaper alternatives.

  • Hopefully a firmware update gets released enabling this to be accessed while playing a game.

  • @ 19 and 10 how do you know that it wont help? look until you show us raw numbers on how these how to video help or not help am not buying your statement. also know one know sony plans on the causal games market until we see it in E3 now there is a rumor going around there going to show a new control for causal games so if that true then you will see a numbers of games for the causal .

  • @14, @17, pick up the PS Eye, works great, has better audio. You can download software for the PS Eye @ the PS Store, & there is software that lets you use the camera with your PC.
    Read the specs on the Eye, it really is a nice camera for the price.

  • I try to use video chat with my wife’s brother sometimes, but the lag is always terrible. I see him just fine, but our images lag a lot on his end.

    We both have perfectly fast connections, and both of our NAT types are set up correctly.

    I didn’t know what else to try, so sadly, this is a feature I’ve kind of given up on. Since it only seems to end in frustration.

    I would love to be able to use it, but I have my doubts it would ever be so clear as the video above.

    Any help or suggestions would be tremendous.

  • Happy New Year!!!

  • The PS Eye at least for me does not give that kind of video quality.

  • the video chat feature is awesome but sadly i rarely use it :.(

    thanks,
    Lh

  • can’t sony add a feature allowing a private voice chat while in-game with other ps3 users?
    Like if im playing CoD WaW and he is playing Resistance 2 and we can private chat?

  • Kristin/Eric L.

    A lot of gamers, basically all the hardcore gamers, are asking for a universal voice chat on the XMB.

    A voice chat system where you can invite friends, and when you leave the voice chat it will run in the background, even in different games.
    So you are always in touch with friends, even if you are in different games.

    So many gamers are screaming for this feature in all gaming forums, why not add it?

  • my brother and I do this a lot so our kids can see each other. For video quality- it looks almost as crisp as the video with a touch of motion blur.

  • Are we going to have a PSN Store update today? I’m just curious. Maybe some 2009 specials on PSN games? I received 10 $50 PSN cards from friends and family during the Holyday. Im just waiting for the right time to use them. LOL

  • Awsome tutorial, really though the XMB is an amazing interface, and its so simple to use, I pitty does that dont know how to use it lmao

  • HAPPY NEW YEAR!

    I’m hoping PS3 stop playing catch up or the Mr. me too game with the 360 this year. It’s time to surpass the competition. Also, a more unified PSN with cross game chat would be a nice touch!

  • The PSEye is not of that quality. I can look really good in the right light, but it never looks that good.

    Speaking of PSEye, give us some more games for it please!

  • Hi Kristin, again thanks for these videos. Any chance we might see them be released on the PSN?

    For example, a buddy of mine got his PS3 2 months after launch and he and his roommate had no idea you could listen to music, press the PS button and go do other things….

  • @36 i know, i chat all the time with my friends on psn and in-game chat is a must needed feature for psn users.

  • Do you have to use the Playstation Eye, or can you use any USB webcam?

  • well am a hardcore gamer and i dont care for in game chat there no real big purpose for in game chat if i want to talk to my friends i can video chat,send a message or use home to contact them on my ps3 . now in game music would be ok , am not for or against in game chat i just dont see a market for it on the ps3 when there others ways to contact your friends . also please stop trying to make the ps3 into a xbox 360 and i know i know some of you guys are going to response with ps3 need to have all of this to catch up with 360 but why? and dont you think sony have bigger fish to worry about then catching second place ? solve nothing to the bigger picture .

  • This is pretty cool. Didn’t know it worked like that, never used it before. Maybe in the near future.
    But I am with everyone else, a must need is the universal chat.

  • i must be the only person who don’t care about cross game chat. whats so important that a person have to talk to another person and there playing two different games.

  • @ 41 lol make it two lol i agree with you

  • sony needs to

    * no cross gaming chat please sony
    REason: people will cheat in games like socom and stuff and it would ruin the full game expierence

    * please sony make the chat rooms bigger like maybe 16? that would be freaking awesome and throw the competition off the bridge

    *THANKS FOR THE PLAYSTATIOn3

  • let us access the XMB while chatting.

  • What kind of cameras where you guys using for this video? I’m 100% sure it’s not a PS camera LOL. Even if my living room was well lit during the day it still wouldn’t look like that. Maybe you guys were using studio lights or something. Besides, the quality doesn’t look anything close to what I just watched. For those of you that want to see what the Playstation camera quality really looks like. Go watch some of the Sing Star video uploads. That’s as good as it gets.

  • @43

    That new Socom game was never good to begin with. So what are you talking about? LOL

  • Hey, I have a question. Why is it that we can’t check our trophies in a chat room with another person but we can check them while playing with 32 other players in Socom: Confrontation? It doesn’t make sense to me. I’d appreciate a response. Thanks.

  • @ 41 and 42:
    Note really about being important, I doubt someone will use that feature to say: “OMG! I’m like, totally having a heart attack, can you call an ambulance? I’m kinda busy with GTA4 right now”
    It’s just socializing, me and a friend are online and want to talk, we need to stop playing our respective games (or am I obligated to stop my game and join his – vice-versa) so we can say: “yo, sup?” to each other? Ridiculous. I don’t imagine my life being dependent on it either, but it would make socializing MUCH easier.

  • Can we have party chat (sorry MS Term), but Chat we can have with our friends no matter what game we r in. I like to chat and play. Not look at a screen. I hate the fact if someone wants to chat and you are playing something – that you have to exit the game then join chat room only to find them offline after all the trouble.

    Also someone said avatars – we definitely need new ones and custom ones. Custom themes – why not custom avatars.

    Anyways that is my Rant. Just hoping these little things can help give us more freedom and more edge over Live.

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