Live Cams simplifies the camera add/edit process by asking for as little information as possible. You will need to know the camera make/model, IP address or DNS name, port, username and password.
For webcams you will need to run additional 3rd party software so that Live Cams can receive the proper video format. On Windows machines we recommend webcamXP (there is a free version at www.webcamxp.com). For the Mac we have used EvoCam (www.evological.com) although EvoCam does not work properly when a username and password is assigned to the camera. We have contacted the authors and are working on a solution.
After installing your appropriate software and getting it to work with the webcam, add a camera using "webcamXP" or "EvoCam" camera profiles in Live Cams.
Choose "Add Camera" from the main screen. From the list of available profiles, please select the most appropriate option for your camera. If it is not listed then you can try some of the other profiles, but your best option is to contact support. Many camera models are not supported because they do not produce MJPEG or send proprietary formats for video.
Sample data for the add camera screen:
Camera Type: WebcamXP
Name: Test Camera
IP: 10.191.3.88
Port: 80
Username and password: blank
Camera Number: 1
The name is up to you, it can be anything you want to describe the camera. The IP or Host must be entered without any other data (don't prefix with HTTP://). Please make sure that the port is open on your firewall or you won't be able to access the device from the internet. If the camera is secured by username and password, enter them appropriately, otherwise leave them blank. If you have a multi-camera server like Axis Video Servers then adjust the camera number, otherwise leave it at the default of 1.
JPEG and Generic MJPEG Camera Profiles
If your camera model is not listed then you may be able to obtain still shots or video by using one of these profiles.
The JPEG profile takes a full URL to an image of either JPG or PNG formats.
(ex. http://somewebsite.com/logo.jpg)
You can also connect to generic motion jpeg streams using the Generic MJPEG profile. Again, enter a full URL to the stream (usually some sort of CGI file as the final part of the link). Consult your camera documentation or look for an SDK to find out what the URL is for your device. Contact Live Cams support if you cannot figure this out.
My cameras are hooked up to a DVR system. Can Live Cams support this?
At the moment, no. Live Cams conencts directly to cameras and communicates with each brand via their firmware and documented protocols. Placing a DVR between the cameras and the internet effectively hides the cameras from the internet and would require protocol support for the DVRs. Most DVR systems do not produce MJPEG but rather use MPEG4 or H264 video.
My camera works on the local network via Wifi but not when I'm on the cell networks. Why?
If your camera does not have a static IP address or dynamic DNS name it will not be visible on the internet. Sign up for a free dynamic DNS account at http://www.dyndns.org and then use this address in Live Cams.
EvoCam complains about an invalid username and password but I've checked and my values are correct. What is wrong?
EvoCam has a bug in their HTTP authentication which prevents applications like Live Cams from connecting to the MJPEG stream if a username and password is set up in EvoCam. To work around this, leave the username and password blank (in EvoCam and Live Cams) and you will receive video without any problems. We are writing our own Mac-based software to eliminate the need for EvoCam and hope to release it in January 2010.