If you live far away from the people you care about, video chatting is the best way to feel more like you’re there with them in person. But there are so many video chat apps out there, many of which only work on certain platforms. How do you know which one to use? If you’ve tried to set up an initial video chat with someone, you know the problem here. My parents are both iPhone users, but I’m an Android guy. All they know is FaceTime, but I don’t have access to that. Trying to get them to understand what they need to do to chat with me can beless than fun.

(But seriously, how about cross-platform FaceTime, Apple? We’d all use it.) Thankfully, we’re here to help. We tested a number of apps on Android, iPhone, Windows, and macOS to find the best one for any given situation.

Let’s do this thing. Our Real Recommendation: Just Use Facebook Messenger Look, I’ll cut the chase here: Facebook Messenger is a great way to video chat with pretty much everyone you know. You might not have realized Facebook has video chat, but it does—and it’s surprisingly good. And, since nearly everyone is on Facebook, they probably already have the requisite app, which is available pretty much any platform— and have dedicated mobile apps for Messenger, and computer users can just leverage.

If you and the person you want to chat with both have Facebook, it’s really a no brainer. Skip the headache and just use that. If you don’t have Facebook (or are trying to chat with someone who doesn’t), no worries! Continue on for the various platform-based tools. Windows to Windows: If you’re a Windows user, is the obvious choice here: it comes bundled with Windows now that Microsoft owns it, and it’s become synonomous enough with video chat that basically everyone has a Skype account.

Even if you don’t, you can sign in with Facebook if you wantbut if you have Facebook, please just refer back to the previous section of this guide. Chats Between Two Apple Products (Mac, iPhone, and iPad): Apple users!

Is where it’s at for you guys, but I’ll be honest: I didn’t have to tell you that. You’re probably already on the FaceTime train. If not, aboard. Seriously, though, it comes on all Macs, iPhones, and iPads, it works great, and everyone knows about it. Why would you use anything else?

Android to Android: Android is a bit more of a convoluted mess than iOS or Mac, because there are a ton of different apps. Skype is available on Android, Facebook Messenger is available on Android, and Google’s older video chat offering, is still quite good on Android. However, when it comes to Android-to-Android chats, there’s a new choice that’s better than all the rest:. This has, at least in theory, become the de facto standard for video chats on Android. It’s honestly the best video chat platform I’ve personally used on Android, as it just seem to work. As much as I hate to admit it, that’s something Android could use more of.

Across Other Platforms: Skype or Hangouts, Probably Okay, so now for the real head scratcher: video chatting people who don’t have Facebook and use a different platform than you. The obvious choices here are going to be Skype and Hangouts. They’re both available for pretty much every major platform out there—Skype is on, and; while Hangouts is available on,. You’ll only need an applicable account to use either of them. It’s also worth mentioning that if you’re trying to chat to, Google Duo is available on both platforms as well.

That would be my recommendation in that situation, though the other options mentioned here would also work.

Answer Record a video chat on Windows Since it provides a live audio and video feedback of the one you are talking to, video chatting nowadays is the most widespread trend in reaching people all over the world. It can easily be done by using a PC with available network. This type of communication can handle more than two people within a conversation. That is why it is used frequently for personal communications and business meetings. People tend to record a video chat mainly in order to save something important in the online chatting no matter it is business or daily stuff.

For video chats capturing, a video chat recorder that you can make use of is. This tool works well with Windows and Mac. And it is easy to handle if you want to record video chats. Video output formats are various, which could meet your needs if you want to upload videos to social network that requires a specific video format. Audio input could also be adjusted to microphone or computer sound according to your preferences. Besides, you could experience real-time editing and picture-in-picture video while recording. To start capturing, drag to customize the recording area first to make sure which part of the screen is the target you want to record.

Then hit “REC”, anything happened within the region you customized would be recorded. Once recording is done, click the green check button to finish and preview what you recorded.

Some edits like trimming the video could be done while playing. If you feel everything is ok, you could name and save the video on local drive. Newbies won’t feel difficult in recording as it is very simple to follow. Capture a video chat on Mac If you are a Mac user, you can also record a video chat by applying tools that are compatible. QuickTime seems to be the best one as it is official built-in player for Mac and it has a recording function. However, recording modes are few to select. So for better capturing experience, is a nice option.

Best Facebook Chat Program For Mac 2017

This application provides more modes for recording a video chat than QuickTime. Apart from recording region or full screen, it can record webcam or make picture-in-picture videos. This tool also bears four kinds of audio inputs and multiple selections of video formats. Additionally, schedule tasks could be created if you want an automatic recording. You can also convert videos to different formats catering to your needs.As for the way to use this application, it shares similar steps with the program mentioned above. Recording conversation from video call is a significant way for the one who wants to save it for keeping as a memory or important reminder in business. Thus a proper recorder is a must.

Best Facebook App For Mac

And these two mentioned above that are suitable for varied platforms would be of great use for you.