Webcam Program Reviews

Edited by Earl on Mar-12-2008

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I looked for a webcam program that met three specifications:

Records video when motion is detected.
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.
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.
Records video in a non-proprietary format.
The videos should be free to be viewed 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.

#1 Blue Iris

review updated Mar-12-2008
Price $50 for full version

Downloaded from: blueirissoftware.com

This was the best program that I tested.

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 16 cameras at the same time. 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, which 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.

Cons

Must get online to validate your software license.

Worked only with Windows. I would like to see this program on Linux.

Other Notes

Logitech_quickcam_sphere (22K)

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.

#2 Webcam monitor v4.24

tested Jan-22-2008
Price $70

Downloaded from: deskshare.com

This was the 2nd best program I tested.

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

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.

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.

#3 Active Webcam

tested Jan-15-2008
Price: $49 for Active WebCam Pro (which has motion detection capability) link

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.

#4 WheresJames Webcam Publisher

tested Dec-2-2007
Price: free

Downloaded from sourceforge.net

Pros

Free

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.

Test setup

Operating Systems used:

1. Windows XP Pro

2. Vista

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.

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