Simplified instructions on how to proceed in setting up your own webcam.
It's not as complicated as you think. I have listed three easy steps below
that will get your cam live on the web.
STEP 1 The Camera
Choosing the right camera is important. If you do not already have a webcam
you can find one at cnet.com.
I can only personally recommend the cameras I have tried.
On Windows XP the following USB cameras worked successfully.
Logitech QuickCam® Cordless
Logitech QuickCam® Express
Logitech QuickCam® Pro 4000
On Windows 98 the following USB cameras worked successfully.
D-Link USB Digital Video Camera DCB-C100
Keep in mind that, the amount of money you spend on the camera, will not
greatly effect the image quality.
I have just as good of a picture from my QuickCam® Express as I do from
the QuickCam® Pro 4000
So, how do you make up for marginal image quality?
With extra features, for example the TrackerPod, which is a small robotic tripod
on which you mount a webcam, and TrackerCam is Artificial Intelligence
software to control camera movement from your computer. Together they
perform the function of a robotic camera-man for your webcam.
STEP 2 The Software
There are many programs available to support webcams. They all vary in their
functionality and reliability.
Tried on both Windows XP, XP Pro and 98 successfully is the booru.net FREE webcam software.
To quiclky summarize this topic, if you want all the feature of a professional webcam, expect to pay for it and expect
your computer to slow when running that same software becouse, it takes
alot of your computer resources to operate the software and all those 'extra'
features. In some setups, I see networks of computers and wireless devices
to run a live mulicamera website.
I bought a copy of the Coffee Cup webcam software and it is less reliable
than the booru software.
The CoffeCup software has some extra features but those extra features add
to the unreliable performance of the software.
The booru cam is light,
no installer, just double click, change your settings and your off and running
reliably and for FREE.
Additional software that I have not used but, I do know of those who use
it happily are below. Keep in mind that some of these have integrated hosting
or community type environments that can limit access and customization of
your webcam page.
Without getting too technical, basically you want to publish your
webcam pictures to the internet and you'll need an HTML page and small
hosting place to do so.
There are many ways to find hosting but the code for your webcam page can
be done in many ways. Listed below are a few zipped examples of the different
webcam code and methods including the comments inside the source files:
Now, you have to find Hosting for your webcam page. There are many places online to get hosting for webcams and some
offer FREE solutions to generate the html page for your
cam, automatically.
NOTE: If you are looking for hosting for a Florida Keys Based Webcam, contact us.
We offer free hosting for local personal/commercial webcams with 1GB of
traffic included monthly for no charge.
