I just recently purchased a Linksys Wireless Webcam. The output can be viewed locally with one of our browsers pointed at http://192.168.0.115 (internal network only) or via the included Linksys utility. I would like to add this to WD (10.30p on Windows 2003 server), but I am at a total loss to understand the screens. Can someone point me at a good resource? I tried the online help and the FAQ, but neither seems to help.
This is a second attempt at posting - if this message shows up somewhere other than “questions” please excuse the double post.
Larry, did you try using Niko’s FAQ for 3rd party webcams? I wasn’t sure if you were talking about a FAQ for your camera setup or for WD…let us know what is or isn’t working for you so we can get an idea of whats happening.
No, I didn’t. Wow, can you give me a URL? That sounds like just what I am looking for! When I said FAQ in my previous message, I meant the one here on the BBS. My problem is that I hardly know where to start. I’m certain there will be some problems, but I need a decent overview just to get started. I don’t understand the screens, probably because while I have substantial experience with video, none of it is via computers!!! (used to own a business that did CCTV installations, among other things!)
The camera I’m using for this is a Linksys WVC54G ver1.1. If it helps, I have a few Pelco’s around here including a Spectra II which is in an outside, heated cabinet. It has PTZ, but it feeds video to a matrix switch and multiplexer which then goes to some vhf modulators and two vtr’s. It is part of the security system, it switches to low-light b/w at night and is color by day. I could easily use a spare 75ohm feed from it, but I’d have to use some kind of a converter to use the video and I have no idea how I could interface it with the PTZ joystick controllers.
Probably the Linksys webcam is the easiest to use, at least for now.
Niko’s post is terrific, but unfortunately, I’m stuck on the very first step. While I have a URL for the camera video, I don’t have a file to download. Using the camera control or the application, I can have it produce a still, but the feed is raw video. There is no image - that is what got me stuck before. I can use the Linksys program to schedule images, but each one will have a different name - I believe it uses a date and time combo…
I think you need to have it producing a still image. Someone had a similar problem with time stamped sat images and we were able to find a solution. Maybe the same thing could be used with your cam. I can’t remember right now how we got around the problem, but the thread is here in the forum somewhere. I will see if I can find it.
Hmmm. Well, it does give me another idea. I can put the Linksys app on the server and use the schedule to do several snaps per day. I don’t remember what it is called in Windows, but I can use the equivalent of cron (schedule?) to run a batch file which will rename the file to weather.jpg file. WD then transfers weather.jpg then another scheduled batch file erases weather.jpg. Since only a few shots per day are needed, wouldn’t that work? Seems like a kludge, but I think it might work.
Oh dear. Leave it to me! I am going over to the Linksys website (again - it’s been down all day) and see. There are several possible solutions:
It can produce a jpg, either by pressing a button on the camera or clicking a button on their application. That means I could encapsulate the .dll and call whatever function pushes that button.
That means I have to write a program.
I can see if I can find a utility that converts part of an .asf to a .jpg.
That might be hard to find.
I can buy another camera.
My server is a good distance (probably 50’) from a window. Whatever I use for a camera has to be able to be located that far away. That’s why I thought a wireless camera would work best.
Another possibility is that I might be able to use some function from the .ocx which works on a web browser.
Well, I found a program called Zillar Video Converter Decompiler which has the ability to decompile .asf files and extract frames into jpegs. Not sure how it will help, but…
Let me know how things go as i have got myself a wireless IP camera too. (don’t think it has a make), but it has some awesome IR night capability!
I load up the camera via the web browser and i can’t find a way to get the picture downloadable. I will also look on the mentioned threads to see what i can do. Hopefulyl snapshots will be the way forward!
I’m not sure I understand what you mean by a “make” but if it cannot produce a jpeg or gif, it is going to be very difficult. (Not impossible, but difficult) One of the utilities I experimented with is called the “Zilla Video Converter”. It will take a stream (like a movie, or .AVI, .WMV, or .ASF file) and extract “frames” as jpegs. This will work with just about anything, but it would be very difficult to automate to supply files either to WD or ftp manually.
FWIW, there are a few programs which will grab an image from a browser, but I don’t think they include motion. For that matter, virtually any “leech” program will grab an image off the web unless it is somehow protected.
Niko’s Macro Scheduler (www.mjtnet.com), will take a normal windows program and allow you to click on a button and put that in a scheduled macro, which makes things much easier. (no hacking dll’s!) I’m going to try to use the macro utility to delete files, add a new one, rename it, and send it on it’s way using either the WD ftp facility or the ftp program in windows.
What might be super interesting is to store the sent image in a database and either automate their display on a page like Niko’s or perhaps create an animated image which is mentioned elsewhere and is within the ability of WD.
when i say “Make”, i mean the “company that made the camera”. I doesnt say anywhere on the box! haha
Model number of it is NC1000 W10 tho.
As soon as i figure something out with my camera, i will let you know what i have got going. From what you are saying tho, doesnt sound easy! No way of taking a screen shot of your screen every 10 minutes or so?? There is software out there to do that i should imagine - this feature is usually found in security software. or, make a link on your website to your camera online. use your router to forward incoming connections to your camera. That way, the viewers of your website can access the camera directly, giving your users a “That is so cool” feeling
“Easy” is really a value judgement. If your camera can give you a jpeg or gif, it is relatively easy to move it around and get it up on the web. If not, it becomes more difficult. If you allow connections to the camera, you are doing what is called “streaming” and that is very difficult to get working from a site with a dynamic address, and some would say dangerous from a site with a static ip address. In either case, however, it is streaming and not simply uploading a file.
I checked out a bunch of video capture software today and my conclusion was that it didn’t make sense - you can easily buy a camera for less than the software/hardware. However, the Linksys camera comes with a subscription to a site which will display your camera live. That’s a lot of bandwidth to be using, however. Doesn’t really make sense unless your connection is both very broad and very cheap. I have to emphasize that I am definitely not an expert - that was the reason for my first post! I could well be wrong about all of this!
would you only be streaming tho when someone is connected to it?
It wouldn’t be streaming all teh time, only times wher other users are connected to it, maybe there is some way to have a timeout happen after say 5 minutes, like wdl.
I know i wouldnt watch a webcam for longer than that, you would get bored!
