While previous MSN Messenger versions supported audio and video chatting, or what we might called video conferencing, MSN Messenger 7.0 significantly ups the quality level with better synchronization between the audio and video, and larger video sizes (including full screen). Furthermore, audio and video have been separated in this release so that you can start video-only conversations (Webcam) or full video conversations that include both audio and video (Figure).
And if both people in the conversation have a Webcam, you can do full-screen video chats, which is pretty impressive (Figure).
If you conduct a conversation that involves audio, MSN Messenger will attempt to connect the two users directly, using a PC-to-PC peer-to-peer connection that bypasses MSN's servers for better performance and quality. Quality will still vary depending on your connection type of course, and users with broadband connections communicating with other broadband-based users will get the best results.
In the case of both video and audio, MSN Messenger has been engineered to automatically navigate across most of the consumer-oriented firewalls that users will typically own. That means no more complicated set ups, and no more worrying about what firewall DMZs are and how to open ports.