I’d look more at bundled software if I were you. Most webcams do the same thing (heck, you can get two different brands with basically the same hardware inside actually).
I think you’re gonna want to make sure that the webcam comes with the proper software to do this kind of thing, 'cause I don’t think either 'doze or Mac stuff does streaming video for you by themselves. (Alternately you could buy that kind of software eparately).
Yeah, I figured out that it was all in the software. Just looking for suggestions on a cheap package. In terms of software, I should be looking for a cam that’s bundled with broadcasting SW? And said SW will broadcast to some IP address that I’ll give out to my lucky viewers?
Yep, they all need quite a lot of light, what can you expect? Some get all the power for their system & light from a USB port. But if you can get a cheap camcorder on ebay & a video in gizmo or video card, you can have prefect crisp, detailed video.
Here’s the one I think I’m going to buy. I reserved one online and will pick it up this weekend. It seems to have the features I want, including video broadcasting software, webcam software, and video IM software. It’s certainly not the best out there, but it’ll do. I hope.
In terms of lighting, we just got a funky new directional lamp for the computer desk of evil®. That’ll help.
An X10 (or any video capture card) with a camcorder would provide fantastic live video capture would be fantastic. I’d just need excellent webcam software (MediaExport encodes for streaming, but doesn’t actually stream) and a blazingly fast system to broadcast it at full frame rate. Since I don’t have an X10 (and believe me, I can’t just “borrow one” from work), a camcorder, or a super fast system, that solution ain’t gonna happen.
I just got back from a tech expo - the presentation on OSX was really good. Apparently Apple have a streaming media server built in to Quicktime. I can’t recall if this was part of the stuff they open-sourced or not (and thus might be available in someone else’s Win32 software), but it’s something you might wanna look for.
So, um (how do I say this?) how does it feel to work for the most annoying internet company? I really REALLY liked X10 and their products, and even spent quite a bit of money with them before the whole pop-under-watch-the-scantily-clad-burglars-cavort-around-your-house schtick.