How to set up a snapshot webcam (non-streaming)

Setting up a snapshot webcam is easy to do. A snapshot webcam is different from a streaming webcam in that the Image is normally refreshed for a few seconds, and is not live or streaming like on TV. However the quality is great, the resources and memory requirements are very small and they are easy to set up. Here are the instructions to do it:

Things You'll Need

• A free webcam service
• A camera connected to your computer.
• Software that can take a frame from the camera every few seconds or minutes.
• A high speed connection ot the internet.

Instructions

1. BUY A USB WEBCAM:

   Go to the local electronic store, computer shop, or computer retailer and purchase a USB Webcam. We are going to be using a simple PnP (Plug and Play) webcam for this set-up. PnP Cameras are cheap and normally easy to install, but often offer lower frame rates than normal cameras connected to a VideoCapture Card, since the connection with the computer is made via a Serial/Parallel/USB port. They do, however, provide high quality images, and since you are starting out with this, save your money and learn how to do this first before buying an expensive camera.

   Before buying one of these check that you have a free USB port and if the camera you want to buy will be supported by your Computer.

   Install the software for the USB Web cam on your computer as instructed in the owner manual.

2. TEST YOUR WEBCAM:

   Once you have installed the webcam, test the software on your local computer to make sure that it is working. Point your webcam at a window, a door, a dog, anything in the room, and check to make sure that you are getting a picture. If you are not getting a piucture, refer to the trouble-shooting section of your manual, or re-install the webcam software.

3. CALIBRATE YOUR WEBCAM:

   Now that you are getting a picture on your webcam software, try to save a few images and see how they look. They might be dark, grainy, or too big or too small. We will now calibrate your webcam using the software provided to ge tthe correct resolution and contrast. This is pretty easy to do, and you can follow the direction in the user manual to adjust size, resolution, and image quality.

   Refer to the tips I give below for guidelines.

4. DOWNLOAD A FREE WEBCAM SOFTWARE FOR WEB PUBLISHING

   So now that your webcam works on your computer and is giving you some nice images, we want to set up a free webcam service (next step) and download a free program to help you publish your images online. The best software I would recommend for publishing your webcam online is called Webcam32. You can find it here http://surveyorcorp.com/index_webcam32.html
   (You can also do a google search to find other free versions)

   This is a popular software package for Webcams. Webcam32 grabs pictures from the camera and uploads them to a Web server. You can get a free demo version or you can pay for the full version.

   Download WebCam32 and install the program onto your computer.

5. SET UP A FREE WEBCAM SERVICE:

   Alright, so if you do a Google search for Free WebCam hosting, you get a lot of results, but nothing good. The sites are either gone or charge for the service now. You could always use YAhoo, MSN, or Instant Messenger, but these services require that others be logged in to view your cam. If you want to set up a webcam to view your business, or to keep on all of the time, you will have to go with the paid-for hosted route (which I explain in another article).

   This is the best free webcam service I have found:
   http://www.stickam.com/

Tips & Warnings

• I recommend a simple USB PnP (Plug and Play) WebCam. (check for computer compatibility)

• Check to make sure you have a free USB port.

• With a Snapshot webcam the image is refreshed for a few seconds, so it is not streaming like a TV. This is the easiest webcam to set up.

• The greater the image taken by the webcam, the lower the refresh rate. A 640x480 (width x height) image can be great to show an amazing panorama, but obviously users with a very slow Internet connection would have a snail-like refresh rate.

• Different hardware and software allow different image capture sizes. For refresh rates of 20-30 seconds per image, a reasonable image size is 320x240. For lower refresh rates of up to 10 seconds, start with an image size of 160x120.

• If you want to set up a permanent web cam that is alwaus streaming or refreshing an image - like a securuty cam or business cam, you need to go the hosted paid-for route. Even if you have your own website, you can do this on your own site, but you are still paying for the hosting. I explain this in another article.