Basically, I've got a USB web cam plugged into the computer, which is connected to the 'net through a Telstra
cable modem ('always on').
I use a nice little package called WebCam32 that manages all of the image uploading, video streaming, captions
etc.
I'm on my third camera now.
The first camera was a Kensington SVGA (800x600!) that looked good, but was unstable and would freak out
after several hours and give nothing but garbage until you re-booted the PC. :-(
So I replaced that with the Creative WebCam3. The stability was refreshing, but the colour was drab. A beautiful
clear blue sky was just drab. Drab drab drab.
So I replaced THAT with a Swann SmartCam Deluxe (the people at the retail store are very patient, yes?). So far,
the colour looks okay, and the field of view is actually a little larger. Seems a bit grainy at night, but hey,
the selection is not that big down here.
Technical problems The picture doesn't refresh
- Netscape has a habit of sometimes ignoring "refresh" commands. I've put in some extra code that they say
will correct the problem, but it doesn't seem to be the case all the time.
- Sometimes your browser will "miss a beat" and resort to the last version it knows. Wait another 30 seconds.
- Also, sometimes my internet connection drops. I don't know why, but it usually happens when I am not around - like
3am. Please be patient and check later.
The Live Cam doesn't work
- some firewalls (eg. the gateway from your work to the external 'net) won't open port 8888. So, it won't work.
- java must be enbled on your browser
