New LifeCams Announced & Windows Live Video Messages Launched

Brandon LeBlanc — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 19:25:00 GMT

Today we announced 2 new Microsoft LifeCams that will be entering the LifeCam Family - the LifeCam Show and LifeCam VX-5500. We also have something to go along with the new LifeCams that extend the LifeCam experience...

People leave friends and family personalized voice mails or send them emails all the time. What about sending them a customized video message with all the benefits of voice mail and email but with video instead? Today, we're launching Video Messages to do just that! Video Messages lets users enjoy the combination of what they get with voice mail and email with video to send personalized video messages to friends and family (or whoever they want).

You can visit Windows Live Video Messages at videomessages.live.com.

How about we check out what Windows Live Video Messages is all about?

When users sign into the Windows Live Video Messages website, they will notice it is set up quite a bit like a mailbox is for email. And that's how users should treat their Video Messages - like voicemail but better.

Note: Silverlight is required for Windows Live Video Messages.

On the top left hand corner, users will see 3 categories for Video Messages next to their display icon: Received, Sent, and Unviewed. A listing of how many Unviewed Video Messages is also displayed along with total Video Messages you have in your account.

On the left hand side users will have a sidebar that also displays new Video Messages (the black number circle in the above screenshot) as well as a list of their top 6 contacts.

When I first signed in to Windows Live Video Messages, I had 1 Unviewed Video Message. This was Video Message by Microsoft welcoming me to Windows Live Video Messages. A tile with a link to a list of available Microsoft LifeCams and where to buy them was also included.

On the top right hand side of Windows Live Video Messages is another set of buttons and options.

Users can select how they wish to view their Video Messages. There are 2 options: "Scattered" View or Grid View. By default, when users sign in it will be on Scattered View as that's what it was one for me when I signed in. Users can also check how much space they have left in Windows Live Video Messages by moving their mouse over the little harddrive icon. Users will get 2GB of storage for their Video Messages. Because Video Messages aren't usually very long - 2GB of storage will go a long way. And of course the Recycle Bin icon lets you manage deleted Video Messages and can be emptied at any time.

Recording a Video Message is really easy. To do so, all users need to do is press the "+" at the bottom right hand corner. A recording window will pop up.

NOTE: Windows Live Video Messages is designed to work with all of Microsoft's LifeCams. Non-Microsoft webcams are also supported by the website.

Windows Live Video Messages will detect your LifeCam and display your LifeCam in the Recording window.

After users record their Video Message, they can play it back before sending to make sure it's what they want to send. If it is what they want to send, they can click the "+" buttons on the empty display icons at the bottom to add contacts they want to send the Video Message to. You will be able to add multiple contacts as well. Users will also be able to lock certain Video Messages from being forwarded or saved by recipients.

After the user sends their Video Message, the person you sent it to will be notified via email a new Video Message is available for them to view.

That person can then reply to it just as they would reply to an email you send.

Sending and receiving Video Messages is really easy. But wait - there's more!

For users on Windows Vista, there is also a LifeCam video messages gadget available that lets users create, send, and receive Video Messages right from their Windows Vista desktop (with Windows Sidebar of course!). Users can choose 6 of their top contacts to be always shown in the gadget for quick access to sending Video Messages to specific people - like your mom. The LifeCam video messages gadget supports the all of the Microsoft LifeCams.

The Gadget will run on 64-bit systems when running Windows Sidebar in 32-bit mode.

Give Windows Live Video Messages a try today and start sending Video Messages to your friends and family! I also currently own the Microsoft LifeCam VX-7000 - which I blogged about here. I also got my hands on the Microsoft LifeCam VX-5000 which is also proving to be an excellent webcam. I'll be blogging more about the VX-5000 shortly. And certainly check out the new Microsoft LifeCams announced today as well.

Need a webcam? Try the Microsoft VX-7000 LifeCam

Brandon LeBlanc — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 00:18:00 GMT

Back in September, Nick blogged about two new LifeCams from Microsoft Hardware: the VX-7000 and NX-3000. Recently, I've been looking for a new webcam. I already owned the VX-3000 - but I wanted something a little more powerful and higher quality. And the VX-7000 is just that! I went ahead and picked one up last week and thought I'd share some notes on my experience with it so far.

First off, let me give you a brief introduction to the device. The VX-7000 is the top-of-the-line webcam in the VX series of LifeCams from Microsoft Hardware. The VX series LifeCams are designed for desktop PCs while the NX series LifeCams are designed for laptops. The VX-7000 is a Certified for Windows Vista device so it is designed to work great with Windows Vista. All LifeCams are optimized for Windows Live - specifically being used with Windows Live Messenger for video calls. The VX-7000 comes with a pretty slick set of specs (you can also read the specs here from the Microsoft Hardware site):

2.0 Megapixel Sensor for clear video
Built-in Microphone designed to capture crystal clear audio
Universal Attachment Base to fit on top and clamp on to most monitors
Auto-Adjustment for Low Light Conditions
71 degree Wide-angle Lens
High Definition 8 Megapixel still digital photographs

Both video and still photos are shot at 1600x1200 screen resolution which is really nice.

The VX-7000 (and all LifeCams) utilizes the Microsoft LifeCam client where you can take photos and videos using the camera. You can download the Microsoft LifeCam along with the drivers here.

But what the VX-7000 is perfect at, I found out, is doing video calls with contacts in Windows Live Messenger. I used Windows Live Messenger's Audio and Video wizard (under the Tools menu) to set the audio and video up with the VX-7000. I then initiated a video call with a friend of mine and within seconds my friend could hear and see me via my VX-7000 webcam. And the quality was pretty good!

As I mentioned above, you can use the Microsoft LifeCam client to record photos and videos using the VX-7000 (or any LifeCam). And with Windows Live Photo Gallery - you can upload those photos you take to your Windows Live Space (or Flickr). Did you also know that with Windows Live Photo Gallery you can upload videos to MSN Soapbox as well?

I was able to take several videos I shot with the VX-7000 and use Windows Live Photo Gallery to upload them to MSN Soapbox.

Overall though I've been really impressed with the quality of the VX-7000 in general and it should certainly be looked at if you're looking for a new webcam.

Windows Experience Blog : Windows Live, VX-7000

New LifeCams Announced & Windows Live Video Messages Launched

Need a webcam? Try the Microsoft VX-7000 LifeCam