I looked for a webcam program that meets these specifications:
Motion
Detection triggers video recording.
This feature is good for security applications.
When a person walks in front of the camera, they trigger the motion
detector, automatically starting the video recorder.
Sends text
message to my cell phone when motion is detected.
Uploads video
to a web server by FTP.
This feature allows remote monitoring. It also
acts
as a backup. Without this option, if a burglar breaks into your house
and steals the computer that you recorded your video to, you'll lose
the video with the computer. However, if you back up your video to a
remote location, you can download it from another location, even if
your surveillance computer is gone.
Non-proprietary
format for video recording.
The videos should be viewable on any
operating system, including Linux, Windows, and Macs. The videos should
be in a format that can be edited years from now using freely available
tools. Acceptable video formats include: AVI, MPG, MPG4, OGM.
Programs are sorted from favorite to least favorite.
This was the best program that I tested, but not the cheapest.
Pros
Can connect multiple
cameras at the same time. The cameras
can be camcorders, webcams, network IP cams, analog cards, or your PC
desktop.
I was able to successfully connect 2 camcorders to the
program at the same time. According to the documentation, you can
connect up to 25 cameras. However, you would need a
powerful computer to be able to handle that much input at one time. My
test computer maxed out on the CPU cycles (100% CPU usage) for just 2
cameras when they recorded video. The test PC has a Pentium 4 2.5 GHz
CPU with 1 GB RAM. My test computer is probably an average
one, so the average user might find it difficult to add more than a
couple cameras.
Program detects
motion. When motion is detected, Blue Iris can trigger an alarm.
Instead of an alarm, you can choose for the program to send you an
email, or start up another program or script. I set up my installation
to send me a text message on my cell phone whenever the program detects
motion. It has worked reliably, with no false alarms so far.
Records video
in a non-proprietary format. I like that I
can record videos to AVI format. I can edit those videos using the
software of my choice.
There are frequent
updates. This shows that the software is
actively maintained and improved.
Cons
Must get online to validate your software license.
This limits the number of computers you can run this
software on with a single license. If you want to use this
program on more than one computer at the same address, you might run
into problems.
Worked only with Windows. I would like to see this program
on Linux.
Getting PTZ
function to work
My PTZ webcam, one that has the capability to move itself,
could not be moved with Blue Iris when I first got started. The Blue
Iris website indicates that
it supports the PTZ control for other camera models, but not mine,
which I feel is a popular model. I have the Logitech Quickcam
Orbit/Sphere MP.
This webcam worked fine with the program for everything
else,
but Blue Iris could not access the PTZ movement control.
I sent an email to Blue Iris and received a prompt reply
from Ken. He gave me two points which solved this issue.
First, he said to choose the DirectShow option in
the PTZ settings.
Second, the Logitech Quickcam Orbit/Sphere MP
requires an update to the Logitech software, which allows the
camera's PTZ to work with 3rd party software, like Blue Iris.
I downloaded new software from Logitech.com
. I was running version 10.4. This update brought
me to 11.5.
Now I can access the PTZ function of my webcam using Blue
Iris. It's pretty cool to be able to remotely move
the camera from another computer on the web.
Updating might disable your program
Edited
on Mar-01-2010, by Earl
Blue Iris popped up a notice saying there was a new update that required
that the old
version of Blue Iris be uninstalled. Blue Iris uninstalled itself and loaded back up in demo mode and put a
watermark on my video stating that my version of the program was not
registered. I actually paid for the full version of the
program, so I knew this was some mistake.
I sent Blue Iris an email and received a prompt response. It looks like
during my testing on multiple computers, I activated the license key
too many times. After explaining my issue, Blue Iris reset my
key and now the program is again working as it should (and on
only one computer).
COMMENTS
michael - Wednesday,
August 20, 2008 at 11:57 PM
Hi, good information, thanks.
i'm using blueiris and the orbit MP and can't get the ptz to work. very
frustrating. Ken told me the same things to try but they didn't work
for me. i can not figure out why. i'm running 11.4 and can only choose
directshow anyway.
i wish it would work, i like blueiris a lot and i've tried many myself.
thanks,
michael
Earl -
Thursday, August 21, 2008 at 9:10 PM
You are running version 11.4 of the Logitech Quickcam software?
I am running 11.5. It might be worth a shot to
download the latest
version. Personally, I would uninstall the Quickcam
software first, then install the latest version. What OS are
you running it on? I have the PTZ functions working on XP.
ngdhai
- Sunday, March 8, 2009 at 04:13 AM
Excellent reviews on various webcam programs. My home was burglarized
so I am looking for some webcam software that allows me to watch my
home when I am away. I have bought the Dlink network camera and when I
look at the reviews at Newegg, people complained about Dlink own
software and people there recommended either Iris or Active Webcam.
Your review steers me toward Iris. But I am a little bit concerned
about your statement that Iris uses up a lot of CPU power with more
than 2 cameras recorded. I plan to use 3 cameras but my original idea
of using a netbook such as the EEE PC to conserve energy is shot now
because the eee pc doesn't have a lot of horsepower. So I am
wondering if I set the recording only when motion is detected - and can
I do this per webcam - will this require less CPU power?
Earl -
Saturday, January 9, 2010 at 10:20 PM
Yes, Blue Iris records video on just those cameras that detected
motion. The computer will not start recording video for all
camcorders attached to your computer unless they all detected motion.
The less recording your computer is doing, the less CPU usage
your computer will consume.
scottspam
- Wednesday, April 8, 2009 at 1:17 PM
It may be the Logitech drivers that are actually eating up the CPU
power, not Blue Iris. Most USB cameras do the majority of the image
processing in the driver software on the PC, to avoid having expensive
dedicated video processing circuitry inside the camera. This image
processing takes CPU cycles.
I use Blue Iris with a multi-cam PCI board (4 cameras) that does the
image processing on the board. Running all four cameras at once, Blue
Iris rarely moves my CPU more than 5%. The only time it starts using
any significant CPU is when it records video. Recording all four
cameras at once will use about 75% CPU.
Earl -
Saturday, January 9, 2010 at 10:20 PM
Thank you for that informative feedback. I guess if I want to
add
more cameras to my computer, I should look for a camera with its own
video processing.
mike
- Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Great review, thanks a lot. I have been using BlueIris for years and love it.
also had the same problem with the Logitech cam. Ken has always been fast with
replies. love that. it's my understanding that the CPU usage shoots up with
Motion Detection. it has to compare every image against the next etc... motion
detecting on more then one camera sucks up more CPU. my old single-core
pentium struggles with 4 cams motion detecting, but it works. if your netbook is
dedicated to this purpose i bet it would be fine for four cams.
metzyztem
- Saturday, August 7, 2010
The CPU usage depends on various things. Like resolution, FPS,
video mode (mjpeg jpeg push, h246 etc.), motion detection configuration.
Comments or
questions Blue Iris?
Your message:
#2
VisionGS BE
Review updated Mar-01-2010
Price $30
Bought online from visiongs.de
This program has lots of cool features for its modest price.
VisionGS successfully sends me text messages
on my cell phone when
it detects
motion. It also successfully sends pictures in emails, which
I
could view on a Blackberry cell phone. It was successful in
uploading pictures to my FTP server every 30 seconds.
The main disadvantage I see with VisionGS compared to Blue Iris regards the video
recording feature when motion is detected. With VisionGS,
there is no video recorded before
motion is detected. You want to know
what triggered the motion, right? VisionGS only shows what
happened after
the motion occurred. The video might not show you what
triggered the motion detection alarm.
VisionGS will take still images before the motion trigger.
But I would rather have this information included in the
video.
The
menus are not intuitive to use. Seems like I had to add the
same
information in multiple locations to get the program to function.
Pros
Price.
The main advantage of
VisionGS compared to the #1 program reviewed here is the cost... a full
$20 less than Blue Iris.
There are quite a few good features included with this
program considering its price.
Program detects
motion. When motion is detected, VisionGS can send you an
email, or start up another program or script. I set up my installation
to send me a text message on my cell phone whenever the program detects
motion. It also archives images to my FTP server.
Executes programs automatically.
When motion is detected, it can execute a program. I wrote
a test script. My test script opened a movie and began playing
it. Unfortunately, VisionGS opens the program every time is
detects motion. So every few seconds, another copy of the same
movie began playing. There were multiple instanced of the same
movie playing at the same time, resulting in an echo and a bogged down
CPU. I had to edit my script to only start if it was not
already running. The average user may not be into writing their
own scripts, so this part of VisionGS is not quite right. There
should be an option within VisionGS to execute a script just one time.
So this could be a con. For me, I can edit my scripts to
get around this.
Cons
FTP uploads.
Could not automatically upload video to my FTP server using
this program. VisionGS will upload images, but
not videos. The videos get saved to your local hard drive.
Motion
Detection. Video recorded does not
include
footage of what triggered the motion detection.
Interface
lacks control. There
is no fast way to turn on or off the program without being caught by
the motion detection as you leave your computer running the program.
Program should be more intuitive to use.
The user interface can be tough to navigate. Here are some
tips.
How to
set up VisionGS to upload a photo by FTP every 30 seconds
If you want your webcam to send a photo to your server automatically,
regardless of whether there is motion...
Click on the device settings icon.
Click on Capture/Upload...
Then make sure the check box is marked for Capture/Upload automatically
You can choose any time interval you want. In the above
example, I chose one picture to be uploaded every 30 seconds.
What is
the blue bar that moves at the bottom of the program?
Sometimes the bar is black...
This black bar means that the program is not connecting to the
internet. It's in offline mode.
And sometimes the bar is moving and blue...
If the progress bar is blue, that means the program is set up to upload
images to the internet.
So, if you want your webcam to be offline, be sure that the progress
bar is black. If you want your webcam to upload photos to the
internet, it should be blue.
This program has been updated since I tested it. As
of March 1, 2010, the program is now up to version 5.24.
Just looking at their website, I don't see any compelling reason
to choose this program over the other ones tested above. See
the cons (below).
Pros
It takes pictures and video when it detects motion
Works with Vista.
(Many programs, not just webcam
programs, do not work properly with Vista, so I was happy this one did
work.)
Worked with a high-definition
camcorder using firewire. (I
could monitor video in high-def
but I did not test recording in high-def.)
Program emailed me a JPG image when it sensed motion.
Cons
Can only monitor one webcam at a time. Must pay extra for
multiple cameras. They have a $90 version of the program, called Security Monitor Pro
that allows motion detection and recording from multiple cameras at the
same time. But why pay $90 for this when you could use one of the
less expensive programs shown above?
Records video only to the .WMV format. There is no choice
to change the video to any other format, like AVI or MPG.
This is a
deal-breaker for me. I don't want to be stuck with WMV files
that require specific software to edit and play back.
Could only record video at a maximum resolution of 320 x
240
in our test setup. (Sony Handyman Mini-DV camcorder, model DCR-HC21,
connected via USB). It's possible another setup could get a
higher resolution, though... I don't know.
Comments or
questions about Webcam Monitor ?
Your message:
#4
Active Webcam
tested Jan-15-2008
Price: $49 for Active WebCam Pro (which has motion detection
capability)
As of March 7, 2009, I see that the product name may have changed.
It now appears to be called Argus
DVR.
Pros
Works really well with motion detection
Can capture video using a firewire
connection, meaning the resolution of the video
is higher than that achieved with a streaming USB connection.
Recorded audio and video using a USB connection with an
old Digital8 camcorder.
Successfully uploaded snapshots (still images) to my FTP
server once every 10 seconds.
Cons
Video is saved in their proprietary format: AWlive. It's
difficult,
if not impossible, to edit the video or convert it to
different formats, like MPG or AVI. Our
computers crashed when Active Webcam tried to save videos in AVI format
using many codecs, including the Xvid codec.
We were not able to stream video by FTP using either
ActiveX
or a Java Applet. Our only success with FTP was to upload still photos
to our website, about one
image per second.
The program automatically deleted images, preventing us
from
archiving images on our FTP server.
Hmm,
looks like this program may have been updated sine I tested it.
It is now at version 2.0 beta. Will have to test this
again. Have a try yourself and let me know what you think.
Easy to set up. Wizard got our camcorder up and running
with
motion detection within a minute.
Cons
Crashed on first attempt to minimize program to taskbar. We
could not get program running again after the crash. Even re-installing
the program would not
restore the function of the program.
Installed the program on another computer. Worked great
until
we closed the program. Next time we tried to load the program, it would
not load up without crashing.
Comments or questions about WheresJames?
Your message:
Test setup
Operating Systems used:
1. Windows XP Pro
2. Vista Ultimate
Video capture devices used: 1. Sony Handyman Mini-DV camcorder,
DCR-HC21, connected two different ways: firewire and USB 2.
Sony Digital Handyman, DCR-TRV740, connected via USB 3.
Logitech Orbit/Sphere MP connected via USB.