# WebCam...



## nicko (Oct 5, 2001)

I was curious how many people have web cams? I have a friend in Korea and he recently set up a webcam and it was pretty amazing to see him live and also talk with him over the internet through instant messanger. I thought it was so amazing I picked one up for myself (only $30.00) and set it up at home. Just tonight I spoke with a friend in California who was able to see me via the cam.

Of course it only works with High speed and even with high speed internet access it can still be choppy. Still pretty cool.


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## lotuscakestudio (Jun 28, 2001)

My brother really wanted me to get one so we could talk and see each other. But all he would do is moon me and pick his nose because that's just the kind of brother he is. So I decided against it.


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## isa (Apr 4, 2000)

A few years ago there was more nudity than conversation on webcam chat room....


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## mike (Jan 24, 2003)

Yes got one & use it to communicate with friends & family its a hoot. However people do occasionaly scream if I suddenly appear in a little box on their pc. It must be the devil mask !

Webcams are the new CB radios I suppose.


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## momoreg (Mar 4, 2000)

I've used it to chat with my father in Florida. We really should use it more often.


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## markface (Aug 11, 2003)

webcams are pretty cool . i've been messing with them for 3 or 4 years , and have met some very interesting people on them . there are several different webcam/chat programs out there and more starting up every day . they dont actually require a high speed connection although it really helps to have one .


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## katew (Feb 22, 2002)

I just got a webcam today and I've been having so much fun with it. People can see the live video through aol instant messenger and I can also create my own webpage and run a show or something (a cooking show would be fun...)
I ran the cam while I had one of my cats on my lap and I played it back--all of a sudden the cat, who was still on my lap, started staring at herself on the screen...she loved it!


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## nicko (Oct 5, 2001)

Mine has been a lot of fun so far, the only problem is not too many of my friends have one or they don't use Yahoo Instant Messenger.

I agree they are like the new cb radios. I wonder how long before the technology gets up to speed so that it is more real time and not so choppy.


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## markface (Aug 11, 2003)

the choppiness your talking about has less to do with the connection and more to do with the camera your using . most so called "webcams" will only capture about 30 frames per second . the human eye is able to register upwards of 60 or 70 frames per second . better cameras tend to reduce this dramatically . if you run a good video camera through your pc you will notice a drastic improvement over a standard webcam.


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## nicko (Oct 5, 2001)

Any recommendations on a camera? I have a logitech which cost about $50.00.


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## katew (Feb 22, 2002)

I have a logitech too but mine cost $100. It's not choppy at all, at least not when I play it back to myself. Not sure how it looks to other people.


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## mike (Jan 24, 2003)

Webcams are great in theory but my logitech will not always contact my childrens webcam on the pc i got them for christmas even though i know the specs are fine and we both run messenger 6.0.

It drives me mad when you pay a lot for kit and it never works properly.

Suggestions would be welcome as it will stop me kicking the wall in frustration !


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## markface (Aug 11, 2003)

As far as what cam would be best , there are lots of really nice video cams out there now , and a lot of them are digital . For the best picture using the least memory and hard drive space , a video camera like you would use to do home videos is always going to be tops . Just install (or have installed for you ) a tv/cable card in your pc . Now you run your video cam through that . This gives you an optimal picture , while using less actual resources . This route is a good bit more expensive than using a webcam , but it just depends on how much it means to you to be able to have a good , clean , crisp , nonjumpy video . I myself use the logitech quick cams because it doesnt bother me enough to make me invest in a better set up . 

Mike , I would need to know a bit more about how your set up . Things like are you connecting over the net or on a local network ?Are they the same cams on each pc , or is it 2 pc's sharing one cam ? If you give me a little more info to go on I might be able to help out .


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## mike (Jan 24, 2003)

Thanks markface,
Both pcs run windows xp & messenger 5.0 as 6.0 seems to crash a lot. Both pcs have broadband connections & logitech cameras are the same.
Anti virus & firewalls are not disabled .
When we try yo start webcam the message says connecting to computer & then the connection is made for about a second then it disconnects again every time.
Both pcs are quite new & have good ram, harddrive & graphics cards.


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## markface (Aug 11, 2003)

Ok , I'm only nominally familiar with windows xp as I'm still running win 98 , but when I first started messing around with webcams I had some similar problems . first off , can you get the cams to work with other software (ie: the software supplied with the cam when you bought it) ? if you can bring up the logitech cam software and the cam works on it then its not in the cam or the drivers for the cam . if you are using a home network with a router(sp) feeding both pc's over one cable connection , then it might have to do with the ip address . also which messenger service are you using the cams with , aol , yahoo , icq , or some other messenger ? each of these messenger services have their own little bugs and quirks . my first guess would be an ip problem , but there are a few other things that could cause the same problem . let me know if you can get the cam to work at all , and what messenger your using and I should be able to figure it out or point you to someone online who can .


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