Webcam Program Reviews

Edited by Earl on Mar-12-2008

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I looked for a webcam program that met three specifications:

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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

Blue_Iris_webcam_software (37K)

This was the best program that I tested.

Pros

Cons

Other Notes

#2  Webcam monitor v4.24

tested Jan-22-2008
Price $70

WebCam Monitor

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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