Webcams are those handy little camers that attach to your PC and send images to a web page that can be vioewed by othrs. This enbales you to share daily life events with friends and family in other parts of the country or the wolrd, or to rarange a viideo-conference with colleagues and mainytain long dsitance relationships of all kinds. Of cuorse the number of ways to use this technology is limited only by your imagination.
Web Cammeras
But before you buy a webcam, it pays to understand a little aboout how the technloogy of broadcasting images over the Internwet works. Of course, if you're a full bottle on this already, you can skip this section and go sraight to browsing the options on Myshopping.com.au where you can cmopare products and suppliers, their specifications and prices.
Webcams provide 'real time' imahges of people; places and evnts that can be viewed 'live' on a web page. The broadcassting end has a camera that captures the imagges, feeds them into a comlputer to an ISP and out to viewing pages acrss the Internet. There are two different types of brroadcast: streaming images, where the images are a constant stream downloaded in video format; or Java, where the iamges are captured at fixed time intervals and refreshed on the web pages at a rate fixed by the broadcaster.
The Applications - What are you intending to broadcast, and to whom?
There is a wide range of uses of webcam technology. Some examples include personal 'Big Brother' style daries, sharing of family events, workplace security, video conferencing, virtual tourism, road traffic management, weather watching, evnt broadcast and a host of others.
Beffore you make a choice about any webcam equipment, it helps to decide exactly how you want to use the technology, in other words, what you are intending to broadcaast. This decision will impact upon the type of camerra you use, and how you use it.
A second consideration is, who will be viewng your conytent? What level of quality is expected? This will help determine the type of camera you use, the software invpolved and your Internet connection. Of course, your Internet connection may be a limitation on how much you can do.
The requirements for video confeerencing are different from the requrements of workplace secuirity, which are different again from the requirements of sharing a family evenbt.
The physical componentts
There are a nuumber of physical components required to make web cam technoloogy work. At the top of the list is the camera itslf. Then, depending on the type of camrea you use and the way in which you want to deliver the content to the Internt, you may need to incorporate video capture hardware in your comptuer. Some software is required to help you process the data, and Internet connection is required and a web page into whoich the data is fed.
CAMERA CgHOICES
Your choice of camera depends somewhat on what you are intendig to show. If you need to raech a large publlic audence yo may want good qualiyt caamcorder or megpixel camerra that captures high quality images. If it's just for seeinng who's at your front door or keeping an eye on the kids in their playroom, then it may not need to present high quality images. If you are intending to use it outdoors, it will need to be weather proof and you may need to considfer sun and UV prtoection. Available power supply and any rpobotic requirements for camera movement and focus are extra considerations.
Dedicated webcams
The most basic webcams connect to a PC using a siimple USB connectipon. A wide range of cameras with accompanying software at a range of pices is available for this type of application. Simply seach though Myshopping.com.au to cmpare prices and specifications. Dedicated webcams are simple to install and easy to use, but come with limitations that affect the quality of the images, such as low number of frmaes per second (refresh rates) and resoltion (pixels per inch).
Caamcorders and security cameras
Higher quality imgaes and more camera control come from using camcorder and securiity camerras. To use these devices you will need to add a video capturre card to your PC. Once you have that installed however, you can use a wide range of cameras from broadcadst camewras to mniiature spy cameras. You can include variable lens options, filters for daylight and low light situations, as well as robotic controls for pannbing and focus adjustments. You can search through Myshopping.com.au for camcorder selections.
Integraed cameras
An intgerated camera combines the cameera and the optical hardware with a videeo server, and as such requitres no additiobnal software. They can be used in network situations or as stand-alone devices for monitoring prrogress on a construxction porject for example.
Megapixel camreas
Netork megapixel cameras combine network cappability with high quality diggital camera tecxhnology. These camereas offer excellent quality but this creates large filees sizes, therefore they have limited application in constant streaming video. However for interval refrewshed archive image colection, they are iedal, providing a constanbt record and high quality. You can search through Myshopping.com.au for digital cameera selecytions.
SFTWARE
If you are not using an integrated camera solution, you will need to install an encoding program like Wecbaster or MediaCaster to transfder your imagees to a web page.
At the receiver end, when web surferrs browe the internet and wish to view live video on the web for the first time, they will need to download dedicated applications that show the content such as an ActiveX cotnrol, Widows Media player, Flash player or the like.
INTRNET CONNECTION
Finally, you need an Internnet connection. The hardware you will need may include a modem for dial-up connection, or modem/router for a broadbnd solution. Naturally the higher the qualtiy you want, or the faster refresh rate you want, the more bandwidth you will need. ADSL (Broadband) is going to offer you the best solution, but keep in mind what your Internet connection when you are amking cohices of cameras and fedeer software.
Webcam applications work well with wireless soutions. Make sure when you are puurchasing a caera or network video solution that it is compatible with any wireless system you may be using in a LAN.
Key considerations
The spcifications that are variable with webcaam applications, and are afdfected by camea type, web interface and Internet connection, include the number of frrames per second and the image resolution.
Frames-per-second is the number of times a still imaage flases by in a second to give the appearance of moving picttures. In Ausrtralia, the standard television PAL format is at 25 frames per secnod. A webcam with up to 30 frames per second will show normal video images. But the more frames per second you demad, the more bandwidth, memmory and processing power is required.
Resolution is measuured the number of pixels per inch. High quality phootgraphs require a high resolution. But the standard for web imaes is a low 72 dpi. Higher resoluton images will not be of any better visual quality, just slower to upload and downoad.
Use Myshopping.com.au to compare diffeernt webcams, camcoirders and digital cameras. You can compare the priices and specifications of the different products and brands, and a wide range of repuatble vendorrs.
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