Acme Health Video Call demonstration

PLEASE NOTE: ‘Acme Health’ is not a real organisation or publicly available health service. Healthdirect Australia’s Video Call team uses this test organisation for its Video Call demonstrations and training.

Browser requirements

You will require a recent release of the Google Chrome web browser or Microsoft Edge browser on Windows, Android and MacOS devices. For iOS devices such as iPhones and iPads, please use a recent release of Apple Safari to use Video Call. Please see this page for full details of browser requirements.

Support

If you have any issues connecting to the video call, please review the Troubleshooting section below or contact the Healthdirect Video Call staff member you are liaising with. You can also contact our support line on 1800 580 771.

Accessing Video Call

Click on the Start video call button below to begin a call. Click on the Test call button at any time to test your network and equipment and to check you can make a successful video call. If you are a service provider who is using Video Call for your consultations, click on the Staff login button.

More information

Go here for general information about Video Call or Healthdirect Australia's service portfolio.

Or, if you are looking for more detailed information on how Video Call works, technical requirements, troubleshooting advice and more, click on these links:

How Video Call works

Before the video call, you will be guided through a few steps to test your computer equipment. The video call application will check that your:

Internet connection is fast enough.
Speakers are working correctly.
Microphone is working correctly.
Camera is working and positioned correctly.

You will require a recent release of the Google Chrome web browser or Microsoft Edge browser on Windows, Android and MacOS devices. For iOS devices such as iPhones and iPads, please use a recent release of Apple Safari to use Video Call.

Click 'Allow' if you see a message at the top of your page requesting access to use your camera.

Then you will be asked to:

Enter your name and phone number.
Accept the terms of use for using a video call.
Acknowledge and agree to our privacy policy.

Watch this video to see how to start a Video Call as a patient/client and arrive in your clinic’s waiting area to be joined by your service provider.

For information about what to do if you experience any technical issues during the steps outlined above, see the Troubleshooting section.

When Video Call is not an option

If a video call is not an option for you today, please call:

healthdirect on 1800 022 222 (known as NURSE-ON-CALL in Victoria) if you have a medical issue
triple zero (000) in the case of an emergency.

By using a video call to access the helpline you acknowledge and agree to our terms of use.

Where you decide to provide us with your name, you acknowledge and agree to our privacy policy.

We ask for the phone number at your location so that we can help direct emergency services to you if needed.

Technical requirements

Below are the recommended technical requirements for you to use the video call option.

Web browser

A recent release of the Google Chrome web browser or Microsoft Edge browser on Windows, Android and MacOS devices.
A recent release of Apple Safari on iOS devices such as iPhones and iPads.
You can check your web browser at www.whatismybrowser.com.
When you click on the ‘Start video call’ button your browser will be detected and, if needed, you will be guided to the relevant download destination for Google Chrome.

Computers, tablets and mobiles

PC or Mac with at least a 2GHz dual-core, ideally i5, processor and 3GB of memory.
Operating system, either Microsoft Windows XP, 7, 8 or Mac OS 10.12+ on Intel.
Android phone or tablet, less than two years old with Android 5.1 or above and front facing camera.
iPhone 5S or later, iPad Air or later, iPad Mini 2 or later, iPad Pro with iOS 12 or above.

Speakers

The video call will use the default speaker in your computer or mobile device.
If you have headphones that you can attach to your computer, tablet or mobile, this can assist with reducing background noise and prevent others from over-hearing your conversation.
For conference room or group meetings a USB echo-cancelling microphone/speaker combination will provide better sound for all participants.

Microphone

The microphone can either be built into the computer or to the USB Webcam.
A combination headphone microphone set may be used. This is especially useful on mobile devices where there is background noise.
As part of a combined USB microphone/speaker.

Camera

An in-built camera in your computer or mobile device is suitable for individual use.
Where more than one person will be in the video call, a modern USB Webcam which has a wider-angle lens is recommended.
Installing the most up-to-date camera driver is strongly recommended.

Internet connection

Recommended minimum speed is 350Kbps upstream and downstream for Video Call)Latency is recommended to be less than 100ms. You can test your speed and latency at www.speedtest.net.
A wired internet connection will provide best video quality, but you can also use Wi-Fi or a mobile 3.5/4G data service.
Check that your internet usage plan covers the data consumption of a video call.
- A typical 20-minute call on a good internet connection, with a fast computer, could consume as much 600 Megabytes.
- With a slower connection, or a slower computer, the data consumption may be as low as 150 Megabytes.
- A High Definition call on a good internet connection could consume more than 1.5 Gigabytes.

Troubleshooting

I’m not sure if I have the right web browser

Check what version of browser you are using: www.whatismybrowser.com.

My connection speed test failed — the internet connection is poor

If you are using a Wi-Fi internet connection, try moving closer to the base station.
If you are using a mobile internet connection, try moving to an area with better reception.
Use a wired internet connection to your home router or local network if possible.
Sometimes when you have first turned on your computer after not using it for a while, it may be downloading updates which will reduce available bandwidth. You can wait for this finish, or postpone the download.
Check that no one else is using the same home internet connection and consuming all the bandwidth by streaming video or downloading large files.
Check that your current available bandwidth is adequate. This may vary, even over the course of an hour.
Video Call requires a minimum broadband speed of 350Kbps upstream and downstream.
Check that you have not used all of your internet plan’s data capacity, and that your connection speed has not been reduced by your internet provider.
Check that you don’t have more than one connection to the internet active at the same time (for example a wired and a wireless connection running at the same time).

My speaker test failed — I can’t hear the other end

Check that the speaker volume on your device is turned up and not on ‘mute’.
If you have earphones plugged in, make sure they are used as intended.
Check if your audio is working by playing something else on your computer, mobile or tablet.

My microphone test failed — the other end can’t hear me

Check that the correct microphone option is selected.
Check that the microphone level on your computer, headset microphone or external camera is turned up and not on ‘mute’.
On mobiles, the microphone should always be active to support the phone use.
On tablets, check that the microphone has not been disabled or muted.

My video test failed — the other end can’t see me

If you have an external USB Webcam, ensure that the camera is plugged in and has been detected by your PC or Mac.
Sometimes disconnecting the USB cable and then reconnecting can reset and make the Webcam available.
On PC, it is important to have the Webcam driver installed and up-to-date. This may have been supplied on CD, and would be available from the support section of the product website.
On Android mobiles and tablets, check that the camera has not been disabled in the settings. If you see the video from the back camera, you may need to set the default camera in settings to the front camera.

Video quality problems

The video I’m sending is very dark

Check there are no bright lights or windows in line of sight of the camera.

A high level of light behind you will cause the camera to darken. If possible, have the light in front of you behind the camera. This will allow the person at the other end to see you better.

I'm not using the right camera

If the video is showing the room in front of you, and not you, a front facing camera may have been selected by default.
If you have an external USB Webcam, it will likely be better to use this option than an inbuilt one.
Check that the correct camera option is selected.

On the right hand side of the browser address bar, there is a camera icon. When you click this it will allow you to select from the available cameras on your device. Once you have selected acamera, there will be a prompt to 'Reload' at the top of the page. Click this to reload the test or call page with the new camera active.

There are horizontal lines flickering in the video I am sending to the other end

In your Webcam software settings, or advanced settings, check camera ‘anti-flicker or anti-banding’ is set to 50hz.

Audio quality problems

The audio I'm sending is not easily understandable by the remote person

This could be due to addition noise like fan noise from your computer, back ground noise in the room, or just being too far away from the microphone.

If you have an external USB Webcam, its microphone will likely be better than an inbuilt one and pick up less noise from the computer.
If you have a headset with a microphone, it will provide the clearest audio with least background noise.
If you have a USB echo-cancelling combined microphone/speaker unit, make sure it is selected for both the microphone and speaker.
Check that the best microphone option is selected.

In the right hand side of the browser address bar there is a camera icon. When you click this it will allow you to select from the available cameras and microphones on your device. Once you have selected the correct microphone, there will be prompt to 'Reload' at the top of the page. Click this to reload the test or call page with the new microphone active.

Test again once any issues are resolved

Once you have checked the relevant things and think you have solved the problem, just click the 'Video call' button at the top of this page to repeat the test steps and begin your call.

Feedback

If you have feedback or questions regarding your Video Call experience please email videocallsupport@healthdirect.org.au or call our support team on 1800 580 771.