[GnomeMeeting-list] Three-party interactions and capturing GnomeMeeting video and audio

["E. Sean Rintel" <er8430 albany edu>]

G'day all,

I'm trying to work out:

(a) If a three party interaction is possible without significant lag or
some people having video/audio problems in GM.

(b) What the easiest way to record GnomeMeeting video and audio is.

Here's what I'm up to:

I am a Communication PhD student interested in how people accomplish
relationships (friends, family, romantic relationships) via CMC. I used
to study IRC but these days I'm more interested in videoconferencing
applications like GnomeMeeting and NetMeeting. Ultimately what I would
like to do is to have dyads consent to me recording the video and audio
of their interaction. Assuming I get consent, what I need is either:

1) to be able to be part of a three-party interaction in which the two
other people can see and hear each other, and I can see and hear them,
but no-one can see and hear me--which I would then record (see next
question). The reason I ask question (a) is that I have tested the
possibility of three-party interaction using NetMeeting with terrible
results. Some people can not see each other, others not hear each other,
and sometimes the lag is terrible. I'm wondering if GM is any less
problematic--or if it isn't, is there a way to control the
problems--because clearly the dyads that I'm recording have no need to
see or hear me, so there is no need for me to send video or audio, just
receive it from both parties.

OR

2) an easy way to allow one of the two people in the dyad to record the
video and audio, which would then be sent on to me. 

Clearly, in both options, I need to work out the easiest way to record
the video and audio. 

I know that if I went with option (1) (me being a third party) I can
probably use a video-screen-capture program that will take care of the
video (can someone suggest one), and record the audio onto minidisc by
using cable splitters at the point where my headset plugs into to
computer. That being said, I'd prefer to record it directly onto the
hard drive using some other audio capture program, if GM audio can be
'split' in such a fashion.

If I go with option (2) (providing some way for one of a dyad to do the
recording), then I need a pretty easy setup to give to people so that I
impact upon them minimally. Then again, I would only need around five
dyads, and perhaps people in the GM community would be both sufficiently
generous to consent and savvy enough to deal with a bit of a technical
setup. 

Other thoughts:

* Perhaps three-party interaction would only work if GM was in
audio-only mode, to reduce lag?

* If I ran a private ILS server, would that make it any easier to record
the interactions (again, with consent)?

* If all of this is impossible, does someone out there in the GM
community know of any reasonably easily recordable
videoconferencing/sites systems that people who are conducting
friendships/romances etc?

Just to finish, responding to this email does not in any way constitute
a request for consent or consent itself. If at some point I find that
what I want to do is technically possible, then I would have to go
through an ethical review process at my university and then obtain
emailed consent forms from people. On the other hand, if you are
interested in this research, and what it might have to offer the GM
community, please let me know so that I can put your name in a file to
come back to later.

Thanks in advance,

Sean