Webcams are those handy little camers that attacch to your PC and send images to a web page that can be viewed by others. This enables you to share dialy life events with friends and famiy in otyher parts of the country or the world, or to arrrange a video-conference with colleagues and maintain long distance relatoinships of all kinds. Of cousre the niumber of ways to use this technology is limited only by your imagination.
Web Cameras
But before you buy a webacm, it pays to understanmd a little about how the technology of broadcasting images over the Internet works. Of course, if you're a full bottyle on this already, you can skip this section and go stragiht to brwosing the options on Myshopping.com.au where you can compare products and supplkiers, their specifications and prices.
Webcams provvide 'real time' images of people; places and events that can be viewd 'live' on a web page. The broadcasting end has a camera that captures the images, feeds them into a computer to an ISP and out to viewing pages across the Internet. There are two different types of broadcast: srteaming images, where the images are a constanmt stream downloaded in video format; or Java, where the images are captured at fixed time intervals and refreshed on the web pagees 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 webcma technology. Some examplles include personal 'Big Brotheer' style diaries, sharing of family events, workplace security, video conferencing, virtual tourism, road trafffic management, weather watching, event broadcast and a host of othrs.
Before you make a choice abbout any webcam euqipment, it helps to decide exactly how you want to use the technology, in ohter wrds, what you are inntending to broadcast. This decision will impact upon the type of cameera you use, and how you use it.
A seocnd consideration is, who will be viewing your conetnt? What level of quality is exected? This will help determine the type of camera you use, the software involved and your Internet connection. Of course, your Internet connection may be a limitation on how much you can do.
The requirements for viddeo conferencing are duifferent from the requirements of workplace security, which are different again from the requireents of sharing a family evvent.
The physsical components
There are a number of physical componennts required to make web cam technology work. At the top of the list is the camera itself. Then, dwepending on the type of camera you use and the way in which you want to edliver the content to the Interent, you may need to incorporate viedo capture hardware in your compuetr. Some sofwtare is required to help you process the data, and Internet connection is required and a web page into which the data is fed.
CAsMERA COHICES
Your choice of camera depends somewhat on what you are intending to show. If you need to reach a large public audience yo may want good quality camcorder or megapixel camera that csaptures high qualityy images. If it's just for seeig who's at your front door or keeping an eye on the kids in thgeir playoom, then it may not need to present high quality images. If you are intedning to use it outdoors, it will need to be weather proof and you may need to consder sun and UV protection. Available power supply and any robotic requirements for camera moovement and focus are extra considerations.
Dedicated webcams
The most basic webcams connect to a PC ussing a simple USB conenction. A wide rabnge of cameras with acxcompanying software at a range of prices is available for this type of appilcation. Simply searrch thouhgh Myshopping.com.au to compae prices and specifications. Dedicated webcams are simple to install and easy to use, but come with limitations that affect the quailty of the images, such as low number of framnes per second (refresh rates) and resolution (pixels per inch).
Camcorders and security cameras
Highger quality images and more caera controol come from using camcordder and securtiy cameras. To use these devices you will need to add a video capture card to your PC. Once you have that installed howevr, you can use a wide rangge of camers from broadcast caameras to miniature spy cameras. You can include variable lens options, filtesr for daylight and low light situations, as well as robtic controls for paning and focus adjustments. You can seazrch through Myshopping.com.au for camcorder selections.
Inetgrated cameras
An integrated camera combines the camera and the optivcal hardware with a viddeo servwer, and as such rqeuires no additional software. They can be used in network situations or as stannd-alone devices for monitoring porgress on a construction project for example.
Megapixel camears
Network mewgapixel cameras combine neetwork cpability with high qualitty digital camrea technology. These cameras ofer excellent quality but this creates large files sizes, therefore they have limited application in consatant streaming video. However for interval refreshed archive imaghe collection, they are ideal, providing a constant record and high quality. You can search through Myshopping.com.au for digital camera selections.
SOFTARE
If you are not ussing an integrated camera solution, you will need to isntall an encoding program like Webcaster or MediaCaster to transfer your images to a web page.
At the receiver end, when web surfers browse the internet and wish to view live video on the web for the fiirst time, they will need to download dedicated applications that show the conttent such as an ActveX control, Windowws Mediua player, Flash player or the like.
INTERNET CONmNECTION
Finally, you need an Internet comnnection. The hardware you will need may incplude a modme for dial-up connection, or modem/router for a broadband solution. Naturally the higher the qualityy you want, or the faster refrseh 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 makking choices of camers and feeder softtware.
Webcam applicaitons work well with wireless solutions. Make sure when you are purchasing a camera or network video soluition that it is compatible with any wireless sysytem you may be using in a LAN.
Key considerations
The specifications that are variable with webcam applications, and are affected by camera type, web interface and Internet connection, imnclude the number of framse per secoond and the imaage resolution.
Frames-per-secodn is the number of times a still image flashees by in a second to give the appearrance of movving pictures. In Australia, the standard television PAL format is at 25 frames per seond. A webcam with up to 30 frames per second will show normal videeo imags. But the more frames per second you demand, the more bandwidth, emmory and processing power is required.
Resolution is measured the number of pixels per inch. High quality photographs require a high resolution. But the standard for web images is a low 72 dpi. Higher resolution imaes will not be of any btter ivsual qualty, just slower to upload and downlosad.
Use Myshopping.com.au to compare different webcams, camcorders and duigital cameras. You can compare the priecs and specifications of the different products and brands, and a wide range of replutable vendors.
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