iChat: Video halting after a few seconds, will not connect to server

In some cases, when users start a video chat, after a short while the program will freeze and sometimes require a force-quit to get things back up and running. Previously, MacFixIt recommended that users reapply the recent QuickTime updates as well as the Mac OS X 10.5.5 update, but according to more recent posts both here at MacFixIt as well as on the Apple Discussion boards, some users have found that this problem could be due to faulty QuickTime preference files. As such, in addition to the previous suggestions, it is recommended that users remove the file named "com.apple.QuickTime.plist" from their /username/Library/Preferences/ folder, and restart the computer. Then in the QuickTime preferences be sure to set the streaming data rate to the highest value.

In addition to the freezing problem, some users are having troubles with iChat not properly connecting to the iChat server.

Apple Discussioins poster peter andreev writes:

"I'm using AIM through iChat. When I try to connect, I get signed on, lose my connection, and then automatically sign back on, and then lose my connection...back and forth about 6 times within a second. Then it says I've tried to sign on too many times so I'm forced to wait."

For AIM users, when iChat goes through this cycle of connecting and disconnecting, it is most likely a result of iChat's port settings not being in agreement with the server. The default port for iChat is 5190, but using port 443 should resolve this issue.

Fixes

Change the port to 443 To change the port, go to the iChat preferences and in the Accounts section, select the AIM account and go to the "Server Settings" tab. In there users can change the port from 5190 to 443.

Remove the iChat preferences Go to the /username/Library/Preferences/ folder and remove the file named "com.apple.iChat.plist", and then restart iChat. This will reset the program to the default settings, and as such may overcome any settings problems that might have been causing the connection problems.

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