Microsoft Portrait

A: Please firstly install Microsoft ActiveSync4.x(4.2 or above) for Windows 2000 or XP, or Windows Mobile Device Center for Vista, then execute Portrait_PPC_3.1_beta.msi on your PC after connecting your pocket pc with the PC using its USB cradle.

31. 2007-01-29
Q: How should I install Portrait 3.0 beta using the package of Portrait2005_PPC_beta.msi?

A: Please firstly install Microsoft ActiveSync, then execute Portrait2005_PPC_beta.msi on your PC after connecting your pocket pc with the PC using its USB cradle.

30. 2007-01-04
Q: The orientation of the video picture on some Pocket PCs is incorrect.

A: On some Pocket PC devices the video picture is flipped vertically. This is compatibility issue. Camera drivers on some Pocket PC devices do not process the captured picture correctly.

29. 2007-01-04
Q: Does Portrait 3.0 Beta (for Windows Mobile 5.0) support landscape screen orientation?

A: Portrait 3.0 Beta currently only supports portrait screen orientation. We will support landscape screen orientation in feature versions.

28. 2005-12-01
Q: When I use Portrait 2.3 to communicate with other public SIP server, I can only register in the SIP server but cannot make call by the standard SIP make call syntax. Why?

A: SIP is not fully supported by Portrait since it is just a research prototype for mobile video communication. SIP module in Portrait just assists users to discover one another.

27. 2005-11-15
Q: I have the pocket pc HP HX4700 and i have downloaded Microsoft Portrait 2.3 in the pocket pc. When i started to use it, the HP Image Zone don't want to work again. Why?

A: It seems that the old camera driver that Portrait installs may conflict with the new camera driver of your pocket pc. This existing bug prevent the built-in camera of HP HX4700/rx3xxx/rx6xxx from working. You have to uninstall Portrait to resolve the problem. We will try to fix the bug in future versions.

26. 2005-11-10 updated 2007-01-04
Q: I'm using Portrait 2.3 on my brand new MDA Pro PocketPC (Windows Mobile 5.0). Do your already support the built-in camera's of this model?

A: The new released Portrait 3.0 Beta for PocketPC supports Windows Mobile 5.0 and supports the bulit-in camera.

25. 2005-09-15 updated 2007-01-04
Q: Does Portrait 2.3 support the built-in cameras of HTC devices, such as O2, i-mate, Q-TEK, Dopod, etc?

A: The new released Portrait 3.0 Beta for PocketPC supports all bulit-in and plug-in cameras.

24. 2003-05-14
Q: Can Microsoft Portrait work via a CDMA connection?

A: Microsoft Portrait works very well via a CDMA connection. CDMA 2000 1X has sufficient bandwidth for two-way video communication. You can build a CDMA video phone using a Pocket PC, a dual-slot PC card expansion pack, a HP Jornada pocket camera and a CDMA PCMCIA card. You can use it to dialup and connect to the Internet then place calls to any other machine with Microsoft Portrait. Please note, since there may be a firewall in your CDMA network, you must place the calls from your CDMA Pocket PC to other machines.

23. 2002-11-21
Q: Why does the picture freeze after about 4 seconds of moving video when I check Capture video menu of Microsoft Portrait on an iPAQ 3970 with a HP Jornada pocket camera?

A: Yes, this problem exists when Microsoft Portrait runs on an iPAQ 3970 with a HP Jornada camera. For iPAQ 36xx with a HP Jornada camera, no such problem exists. This is because the current driver of HP Jornada pocket camera is not compatible with iPAQ 3970.

22. 2002-09-24
Q: How can I connect my GPRS Pocket PC Phone with a PC on the Internet?

A: As we known, there is usually a firewall in GPRS network. In order to successfully place a voice/video call, you must call the IP address of the PC in public ISP from your GPRS Pocket PC Phone. If you have signed in .NET Messenger Service and want to call your buddy through .NET Messenger Service, then you should initiate a call from the PC side since this actually sends the IP address of the PC to your GPRS Pocket PC Phone and your Pocket PC Phone will call the PC with the received IP address. Please note, if there is also a firewall in the PC side, then no voice/video call can be completed. Please refer to "How to communicate through a firewall?" in the FAQ part of User's Guide for more information.

21. 2002-08-08
Q: How does Microsoft Portrait inter-operate with MSN Messenger?

A: Microsoft Portrait can seamlessly inter-operate with MSN Messenger in chat. For voice/video calls, please refer to the tables.

20. 2002-06-17 Updated 2007-01-04
Q: Does Microsoft Portrait work with other cameras such as Lifeview FlyJacket, Pretec CompactCamera or Nexian NexiCAM?

A: The new released Portrait 3.0 Beta for PocketPC supports supports all bulit-in and plug-in cameras.

19. 2002-01-12 updated 2002-09-12
Q: I receive an error of "Cannot add video coder", then an error of "Failed to build video capture branch" when I use full-color video in Microsoft Portrait 1.05, but my camera works well with other video programs. Any idea?

A: This problem has been solved since version 1.6. The following answer was for versions earlier than version 1.6:

You may not have installed wmtools.exe. Please download wmtools.exe from http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/Netshow/downloads/wmtools.mspx and install it to your PC. The full-color function in Microsoft Portrait needs the support of Windows Media Tools. A few users reported that a "Failed to run capture graph" message occurred and the full-color function still did not work even if wmtools.exe had been installed. The reason is that our program relies on DirectShow architecture and uses a publicly available full color video codec MPEG4 V2, but this codec does not support DirectShow architecture very well in some machines. Please select black/white video plus watercolor in the Tools->Options->Video menu or use traditional full-color video conferencing software if you have a broadband connection.

Please note you no longer need to install wmtools.exe since version 1.6.

18. 2001-12-03
Q: After I input the name of an ILS server to the "Find Someone" dialog box, an error message appears "There was a problem connecting to the directory server. You may not be connected to the network, or the server may be busy." I am sure that the server usually works and I have a direct Internet connection. What's the problem?

A: As Microsoft Portrait is new very low bitrate video conferencing software to users, some ILS servers that you want to browse may not contain any Microsoft Portrait user. This causes the above error message. In order to avoid the error message and identify the situation, you can first log on to that server by inputting the name of the server to the "Directory" bar in the "options" menu and clicking "Apply" button. If the server works, you can see yourself in the server.

17. 2001-12-03
Q: I can browse web through a proxy of my company's network, but when I try to log on to an ILS server, an error message appears "Logon failed, maybe your email address is already registered in the ILS server by other user". Why?

A: ILS servers cannot be accessed through a network proxy. Please either use a direct Internet connection to access ILS servers or place a call using the method introduced in Q&A 16.

16. 2001-11-16
Q: I am behind a firewall of my company's network and my friend connects to the Internet via a public ISP. We can chat via MSN Messenger, but cannot make a voice call. When I initiate a call on Microsoft Portrait via MSN Messenger, I fail to connect with my friend, even chat function in Microsoft Portrait cannot work. How can I do?

A: Usually you and your friend are required to connect to the Internet all via public ISPs or to be all in the same local area network if you want to initiate a call on Microsoft Portrait via MSN Messenger. If one of you is behind a firewall, the one who is behind the firewall should properly configure his/her proxy settings in Tools->Options->Network menu. Please refer to "How to communicate through a firewall?" in the FAQ part of User's Guide for details. After that the one who connects to a public ISP should initiate a call from the buddy list in Microsoft Portrait. The one who is behind the firewall then accepts the call by click the IP address in a popped up MSN Messenger Window, that is equivalent to initiating a direct IP call behind the firewall as described in the above FAQ part.

15. 2001-11-16 updated 2001-12-03
Q: I use Windows XP operating system. When a remote friend calls me via starting Microsoft Portrait in his MSN Messenger 4.5, after I accept his call, an error message box is popped up. How can I do?

A: This problem has been solved since version 1.07.
For version 1.06 or below, the error message occurs at Windows operating systems that installed DirectX 8.1. Windows XP already contains DirectX 8.1. Microsoft Portrait can work normally if you keep the error message open. If you close the error message box, Microsoft Portrait will exit. So you need only move the error message box aside, and do not close it until you finish the call. The error message does not occur at DirectX 8.0 or 8.0a. If your remote friend calls you from the buddy list in Microsoft Portrait, the error will not occur no matter which version of DirectX is installed.

14. 2001-11-16 updated 2001-12-03
Q: I use Windows 98 operating system. When I click the Buddy button in the main window of Microsoft Portrait while my MSN Messenger has signed out, I cannot see buddies in Microsoft Portrait buddy window. How can I do?

A: This problem has been solved since version 1.07.
For version 1.06 or below, if you use Windows 98 operating system, please first make your MSN Messenger sign in, then you can get your buddies in Microsoft Portrait. For Windows 2000 and XP, no such requirement.

13. 2001-11-14
Q: I have a webcam connected to my PC. When I check the box in Video button to enable video, a message "Cannot connect video capture to video encoder" appears. How can I do?

A: This problem has been solved since version 1.07.
In version 1.06 or earlier, our program requires the output of your camera to be 24 bit color (RGB24). However the output of some cameras may only be in YUV color space.

12. 2001-10-10
Q: I am living in Europe. I have a GSM mobile phone connection (9.6 Kbps). How can I configure the settings of Microsoft Portrait so that I can get best quality?

A: If you are using a GSM mobile phone connection for video communication between a PC and a Pocket PC, in the PC side, please set audio codec to Mobile Voice (2.4 Kbps), Image size to 128x96, Frame rate to 5 fps, Video bandwidth to 4.8 Kbps, Keyframe interval to 5 seconds; in the Pocket PC side, please set audio codec to Mobile Voice (2.4 Kbps). If you are using a GSM mobile phone connection for voice communication between two Pocket PCs, please set both sides with Mobile Voice (2.4 Kbps) audio codec or simply exit Microsoft Portrait and make a direct phone call:-)

11. 2001-10-09
Q: I am living in North America. I have a CDPD connection (19.2 Kbps). How can I configure the settings of Microsoft Portrait so that I can get best quality?

A: If you are using a CDPD connection for video communication between a PC and a Pocket PC, in the PC side, please set audio codec to Mobile Voice (2.4 Kbps), Image size to 128x96, Frame rate to 10 or 5 fps, Video bandwidth to 9.6 or 4.8 Kbps, Keyframe interval to 3 or 5 seconds; in the Pocket PC side, please set audio codec to Mobile Voice (2.4 Kbps). If you are using a CDPD connection for voice communication bewteen two Pocket PCs, you can set one side with GSM 6.10 (13 Kbps) audio codec and the other side with Mobile Voice (2.4 Kbps) audio codec or both sides with Mobile Voice (2.4 Kbps) audio codec. Please note if you use Pocket PC 2002, you have to use GSM 6.10 for audio.

10. 2001-08-07
Q: I installed a PC version to my Windows NT 4.0 desktop PC, but I cannot start the program. I got message "Failed To Create GraphBuilder".

A: The problem is caused by Windows NT 4.0 platform. Our software uses DirectShow architecture, but the native Windows NT 4.0 operating system does not support it. As we have tested, even after DirectX Media 6 is installed to Windows NT 4.0 platform, our software still cannot run on it.

9. 2001-08-07 updated 2007-01-04
Q: What cameras can be used in Pocket PCs?

A: The new released Portrait 3.0 Beta for PocketPC supports all bulit-in and plug-in cameras.

8. 2001-08-07
Q: When I try to call my desktop PC from my iPAQ PocketPC, I get the error that my desktop is not able to accept calls. This happens even when I set my desktop to accept calls automatically. I tried with both my desktop's IP & name.

A: Two possible causes: (a) You may connect your iPAQ to the USB port of your desktop PC (see Q&A 1); (b) You may check the proxy setting box in Tools->Options->Network menu but you do not place a call to a user outside a firewall.

7. 2001-08-04
Q: How can we design the skins of the PC version or get additional skins?

A: We used a user interface development tool of Softshape company to develop our PC version. You can get design tools or additional skins from
http://www.softshape.com/activeskin/

6. 2001-08-02
Q: I installed the PC version to my Windows 95 desktop PC. When I checked the video box, a message "Failed to create Graphbuilder" popped up.

A: The problem is caused by Windows 95 platform. Our software uses DirectShow architecture, but the native Windows 95 operating system does not support it. You should first install DirectX Runtime from
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/search.aspx?displaylang=en&categoryid=2
and IE 4.0 or above at
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/

5. 2001-08-01
Q: Will you ever be developed a version for palm size PC running Windows CE 2.11?

A: We are sorry to say that due to the limitations in computational power and audio driver of the palm size PC with Windows CE 2.11, we have not considered to develop a version for it yet.

4. 2001-08-01
Q: I installed the PC version to two desktop PCs A and B. However, after they are connected, I only see diagonal lines in PC A while the images in both remote and local windows of PC B are correct. What's wrong with it?

A: This is a bug in our PC version 1.01. It occurs when users set the display mode of their PCs to 24 bits. It does not affect local windows, but it does affect remote windows. This bug has been fixed since PC version 1.02.

3. 2001-07-31 updated 2002-11-21
Q: Do your Pocket PC versions support full-duplex?

A: Full-duplex audio has been supported on iPAQ since version 1.04. In previous versions, Our Pocket PC program could not open recording device when the playing device was running and vice versa. So you could only press the "Talk" button to talk and release the "Talk" button to listen.

Please note, full-duplex can only be enabled on iPAQ with Pocket PC 2000 operating system.

2. 2001-07-31 updated 2001-09-01
Q: I have downloaded the Pocket PC version. When I unzip it, it became a .cab file which extracted to several files but without a setup file or any .exe files. Would you please advise how to do that?

A: We have provided standard installation files that start installation from your PC since version 1.03. For previous version, the solution was that you copied the .cab file to a directory in your Pocket PC. Double click the .cab file in your Pocket PC to run it. It will install the software in your Pocket PC and put an icon to the Start menu.

1. 2001-07-29
Q: I installed Microsoft Portrait in my desktop PC and iPAQ. I could originate a call from my iPAQ to my PC. However, I could not transmit or receive any sounds between the two even when pressing the "Talk" button. My desktop PC has a static IP address. My iPAQ is connected directly to the PC via a USB connection.

A: The talk cannot be completed between a Pocket PC and a PC if the Pocket PC is synchronizing with the PC via a USB connection. You have to make the iPAQ separate and possess an independent IP address. You can either use a CompactFlash Ethernet card or a wireless LAN card to connect the iPAQ to a local area network or use a CompactFlash modem card to connect the iPAQ to a dialup network.

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