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Topic: Anybody got a web / network cam?

Mad Max
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Member # 622

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posted 01-19-2007 09:52 AM

I bought a network cam yesterday (Panasonic BL-C30A). It cost about 300 bucks and I have to say that the picture quality is pretty garbage. I don't know if that is what I should expect at that price range though. I read reviews of several network cameras and this one got good average rating from people on Amazon. Most people who gave it a poor rating were complaining about thing not working properly, difficult to setup, etc. and I had none of those issues.

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Posts: 1487 | From: | Registered: Aug 1999 | IP: Logged

AcidWarp
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Member # 997

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posted 01-19-2007 12:05 PM

AFAIK, network cam = webcam w/ 10/100 or wireless connectivity. The relatively low bandwidth means that the image quality has to be sacrificed. DV quality it ain't.

Personally I have yet to see a decent webcam. My laptop has a USB2 1.3mpx one and it sucks balls.

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“I have noticed even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road.”

“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.”

--Dr. Stephen Hawking.

Posts: 4363 | From: Waterloo, Ontario | Registered: Nov 1999 | IP: Logged

Mad Max
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Member # 622

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posted 01-19-2007 12:53 PM

I know I probably sound stupid asking this but what are the alternatives? I don't really need it to be a web cam. I really want to capture video, save it to my PC's hdd and then review it later.

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grumpy
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Member # 1912

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posted 01-19-2007 02:35 PM

http://www.manifest-tech.com/media_pc/pc_video_hw.htm

really, there are a lot of cables out there that'll hook up any video camera to ur pc. a little research should do it. return ur webcam, and get a nice video recorder. after that, let us know and i'm sure somebody will know how to hook it up to ur pc.

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Posts: 1561 | From: girls! computers, drinking, partying | Registered: Feb 2000 | IP: Logged

Mad Max
Sarge
Member # 622

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posted 01-19-2007 03:04 PM

quote:
Originally posted by grumpy:
http://www.manifest-tech.com/media_pc/pc_video_hw.htm
really, there are a lot of cables out there that'll hook up any video camera to ur pc. a little research should do it. return ur webcam, and get a nice video recorder. after that, let us know and i'm sure somebody will know how to hook it up to ur pc.

thanks, grumpy. I actually already have a new-ish DVD Sony handy cam and I considered using that BUT I don't want it tied up all the time doing this function. I'm looking for something that I can move around, leave in the same place for a long time, etc. My requirements are all over the place. I think I may return the camera though since it cost so much and, IMO, the pic quality is not that good. I've seen people using webcams before and the motion is not blurred or jittery like mine is. That said, I don't know what these people are using for their camera, maybe they are using a real camera like you suggested.

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Posts: 1487 | From: | Registered: Aug 1999 | IP: Logged

Mad Max
Sarge
Member # 622

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posted 01-19-2007 03:11 PM

Here's an example of a snapshot of my kitchen. The camera is setup to monitor our cat's food because we've not seen him drinking water for a while.

I don't think that that picture looks that great. Maybe I have my sights set too high.

[ 01-19-2007: Message edited by: Mad Max ]

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burble
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Member # 1190

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posted 01-19-2007 03:31 PM

that looks like piss. i've seen $50 webcams that looked better.

if you actually want decent quality, just buy a dirt cheap minidv (or even an old 8mm or vhc-c) camcorder and run the AV outputs to your PC.

Posts: 528 | From: Nashville, TN | Registered: Nov 1999 | IP: Logged

Mad Max
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Member # 622

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posted 01-19-2007 08:00 PM

Took the POS back tonight for a refund. I'm now thinking about a webcam / software solution instead since webcams seem to offer better quality pictures and higher framerates than the IP cams I've seen or read about.

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Posts: 1487 | From: | Registered: Aug 1999 | IP: Logged

AcidWarp
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Member # 997

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posted 01-20-2007 04:15 AM

x10 security camera stuff seems to be pretty good. From what I understand a fairly basic setup isn't too expensive.
http://www.video-surveillance-guide.com/X10-video-security-system.htm

[ 01-20-2007: Message edited by: AcidWarp ]

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“I have noticed even people who claim everything is predestined, and that we can do nothing to change it, look before they cross the road.”

“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.”

--Dr. Stephen Hawking.

Posts: 4363 | From: Waterloo, Ontario | Registered: Nov 1999 | IP: Logged

WillyTrombone
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Member # 27

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posted 01-21-2007 09:40 PM

You can probably tweak it to look better. It's probably set to some automatic mode to be able to operate in a wide variety of lighting conditions, and the bright light source in the background is guaranteed to screw that up. The easiest way to deal with it would be to change the angle/location of the camera itself to get a more consistent brightness gradient across the entirety of the captured image. You could try to crank the contrast and brightness down to eliminate some of the noise but the foreground objects would be washed out due to the overexposure in the background. IMHO, that's really not a bad image for what the camera is doing. If it were up behind a cash register and the bright light was the entrance to your liquor store, you could confidently expect to be able to identify a person's facial features in an image like that.

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Posts: 2844 | From: the edge of forever | Registered: Jun 1999 | IP: Logged

Mad Max
Sarge
Member # 622

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posted 01-22-2007 12:39 PM

I did try it in a few other places and the pic was equally bad IMO. The camera doesn't have that many settings but I did play around with them. One was brightness - no contrast control. There is also an auto white balance which you can switch to different modes like indoor, indoor fluorescent, etc.

I'm going to try a webcam and some software to see how that works.

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Posts: 1487 | From: | Registered: Aug 1999 | IP: Logged

grumpy
Sarge
Member # 1912

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posted 01-24-2007 01:42 AM

www.woot.com
hurry!

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Posts: 1561 | From: girls! computers, drinking, partying | Registered: Feb 2000 | IP: Logged

grumpy
Sarge
Member # 1912

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posted 01-24-2007 04:06 PM

holy crap webcam mania!! http://www.midnightbox.com/

hurry!

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Posts: 1561 | From: girls! computers, drinking, partying | Registered: Feb 2000 | IP: Logged

grumpy
Sarge
Member # 1912

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posted 01-24-2007 04:07 PM

although, the midnightbox one seems really crappy! but who knows. u get way u pay for

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Posts: 1561 | From: girls! computers, drinking, partying | Registered: Feb 2000 | IP: Logged

Mad Max
Sarge
Member # 622

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posted 01-25-2007 09:55 AM

thanks, grumpy. I checked out that woot yesterday. I didn't get one because I just picked up a Logitech QuickCam Fusion which seems to get decent reviews. I may regret that in the future...we'll see. Thanks for keeping an eye open though.

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Posts: 1487 | From: | Registered: Aug 1999 | IP: Logged

RoGuEBiTcH
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Member # 66

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