Help needed with web cameras

Chaps

I'm looking at getting Web Cams supported on the Ctouch Colour.

As has rightly been pointed out, many of these d%$# things need to install an ActiveX control so you can view motion / video.

It also turns out that the security patches currently being used seem to forbid dynamic load of ActiveX controls (I've been fighting the settings for a week now).

I've found a couple of controls that are commonly used for the Axis cameras and cameras using a Winbond video->IP converter chip (which in theory should work for a lot of off-the-shelf converters out there).

I've also figured out how to pre-install these so that the camera will just work.

So a possible, but pretty crappy solution, is to bundle into the operating system the ActiveX controls for the most common cameras around. (Yes, I know, this sucks).

But...

What cameras are being used?

Can I have some replies please with the brand / make / model of web cameras that are commonly being used? And preferably where they are bought from?

This way there is a reasonable chance of supporting more than just a single make & model and doing so with a reasonable time to the next release of CTC firmware.

 

I wish we did (have it under control). I think we can do these.

I'll try.

I'd not been planning to. CTC does have a small speaker and I can try. Cannot promise at the moment. Some of them do it by default.

 

I've done some more digging.

Some cameras have very restrictive licensing terms, so download and bundling of portions of their control software is not going to be possible.

It looks though, like the Axis will be possible (cross yer fingers), and also some of the camera servers based on Winbond chips.

A bit more playing about and we might be able to offer at least 1 out-of-the box solution, and maybe even 2.

[It looks like the Netcomm might be an Axis rebadged. Linksys might be similar, but its hard to tell exactly.]

I've also found ACTi... Though its too early to tell yet if they are widely used, or if the controls they provide will be suitable.

Anyhow, I've gone from desperation to thinking there is a glimmer of hope

 

Hi PSC - no promises but I'll try and take a look and see how hard (or otherwise) they are.

 

Fine, no probs.

I've just been wasting my evening looking (gee I must want to get this update released!).

It looks like both Panasonic and D-Link don't publish the activeX controls separately.

This takes the shine off.

The only way to support them without breaking any laws & license agreements will be to approach them and ask if we can bundle their stuff in. I don't expect that to be a fast process.

Making these b^%$# cameras supported in a really clean simple manner is not easy at all. But it should be. The industry needs to get into a bit of a standardising mode...

 

Hi *JD*

When the update comes out, you will be able to use the sockets in logic code to get your code to have a chat with some other thingy.

The sockets you can open up in the firewall will be restricted to thre range 10000 to 19999.

We are also *planning* on supporting dropping a web browser object onto a homegate page, so you can view a URL.

However... *most* web cameras only display a motion image if they have an ActiveX control installed into the machine, and the web page being rendered references that. This raises two issues:

1. The security settings don't allow on-the-fly installation of ActiveX controls; and

2. The default page when you point the browser at most cameras includes all this decoration, setup buttons, firmware upgrade buttons, manufacturer advertising, and so on. In other words, it looks pretty crappy.

For these reasons, web camera support is *probably* going to need to be done a bit more intelligently... exactly what that means is still to be worked out, but just pointing a browser at a camera aint going to cut the mustard.

 

Tah.

What you will find is that some cameras support java, some don't. Some want to load the applet in dynamically, some don't. some want to use ActiveX (where the applet is pretty much assumed to be loaded in dynamically).

Every camera uses a different URL into the camera innards to get the MJPG or MPEG video out.

Some manufacturers allow all their controls and applets to be downloaded from their web site and distributed pretty much without restriction, but many have those long boring license agreements, and if you read them you find that you can only use a single copy of the the software on the originating computer for 2 days a year when their is a full moon and the wind is blowing from the north. (Sigh)

Thats why its all a can'o'worms.