WebcamSat and Satcam Operation

Last Updated - 5 September 2006 17:36 gmt


	Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) WebcamSat Setup and Operation Download Satcam 3.0a for Windows . . . . . Satcam Setup (Windows) Download Satcam for Mac OS/X . . . . . . .. Satcam Setup (Mac)

WebcamSat Setup

WebcamSat - Where to start...

Download the WebcamSat .tar archive and extract everything to your target WebcamSat directory (e.g. "/wcs")
Make certain you have Java v.1.4.1 or later installed on your server (see http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.1/download.html
In the wcs directory, edit wstreamd.properties to set desired admin name, password and IP address. Alternately, you can wait until you have the server running, and edit these parameters from the WebcamSat admin menu
To start WebcamSat, create a batch or script file which, for Linux, Mac OS/X, etc, contains:
      java -cp .:wstreamd.jar com.surveyor.wstreamd.StreamServer 8888 &

or for Windows, contains:
      set CLASSPATH = .
      java -cp wstreamd.jar com.surveyor.wstreamd.StreamServer 8888
If you plan to connect to Webcam32 or IP addressable camera (Axis, D-Link, etc) feeds, you won't need the Satcam camera software, which is used to capture and transmit camera feeds from Windows systems to WebcamSat. If you are sending video from a Windows system, make certain you have a copy of Satcam camera software installed on a Windows system with DirectX 8.0 or later, or a Mac OS/X system with Quicktime. See details below for starting Satcam on Windows or Mac OS/X. On Windows, start "satcam.exe" and enter the address and port of the WebcamSat server, camera id# and password. Satcam should download its script and start execution. Use the dbgview.exe tool below to monitor operation
From a browser, access the admin functions of WebcamSat via "http://webcamsat-ip-address:8888/admin" (assuming WebcamSat is running on port 8888). Add, delete or edit a camera, and set the camera functionality
Note - you can add user accounts, and authorize user access on a per camera basis. Use the left mouse button to select authorized users for a specific camera - if no users are selected, the camera will not use any user name / password checking, which is what you want with a publicly accessible camera.
In the case of Webcam32 feeds, the "Source Stream" URL will have the format of
"http://your-webcam32-ip-address:8888/video/push". If Webcam32 and WebcamSat are running on the same machine, we suggest changing the port address of Webcam32 from 8888 to 9999 to avoid conflict. Also, note that we're using /video/push rather than /video/pull in the Source Stream shown below - push is more reliable with Webcam32
In the case of Axis (and other IP addressable camera) feeds, the URL will have the format of "http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/axis-cgi/mjpg/video.cgi".

With DLink cameras, the URL will look like "http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/cgi-bin/video.jpg"

If the camera feeds are password protected, the URL will instead look like: "http://user:password@xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/cgi-bin/video.jpg"
Select your camera to view from "http://webcamsat-ip-address:8888/wcs"

You can create your own web pages to access camera video and audio feeds as well as the chat window. Here is sample html code for using the video, audio and chat applets:

<html>
  <body>
    <applet name="Viewer"
            code="JavaViewer.class"
            archive="JavaViewer.jar"
            width="320"
            height="240"
            codebase="http://localhost:8888/applet/">
        <param name="url" value="http://localhost:8888/1.jpeg?">
    </applet>
  </body>
</html>

<html>
  <body>
    <applet code="GsmApplet.class"
            archive="gsm.jar"
            width="150"
            height="40"
            codebase="http://localhost:8888/applet/">
        <param name="url" value="http://localhost:8888/1.gsm?">
    </applet>
  </body>
</html>

<html>
  <body>
    <applet code="WCSChat.class"
            archive="chat.jar"
            width="500"
            height="360"
            codebase="http://localhost:8888/applet/">
        <param name="channel" value="1">
    </applet>
  </body>
</html>

You can create a multiview page to simultaneously display multiple feeds - here's an example:


<html>
  <body BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF">
    <table>
      <tr>
        <td>
          <applet name="Viewer"
                    code="JavaViewer.class"
                    archive="JavaViewer.jar"
                    width="320"
                    height="240"
                   codebase="http://localhost:8888/applet/">
                <param name="url" value="http://localhost:8888/1.jpeg?">
            </applet>
        </td>
        <td>
          <applet name="Viewer"
                    code="JavaViewer.class"
                    archive="JavaViewer.jar"
                    width="320"
                    height="240"
                   codebase="http://localhost:8888/applet/">
                <param name="url" value="http://localhost:8888/2.jpeg?">
            </applet>
        </td>
      </tr>
  </body>
</html>

You can schedule archives on a camera-by-camera basis - archives are saved in AVI format, and a Video-for-Windows MJPEG codec is provided for viewing on older versions for Windows Media Player.

and then view them here, or built a web page link pointing to a specific archive, e.g. http://your-webcamsat-ip:8888/archives?action=view&id=1 . Note that the archive playback controls are all HTML links, so it's easy to integrate this functionality with a web page :
You can directly access WebcamSat's internal camera and user databases from external processes. Click here for sample Java code that accesses the WebcamSat databases.
You can capture and archive frames from any feed - the syntax in Linux is:
shell_exec("wget --ignore-length -O /var/wcs/folder1/frame.jpg http://www.blah.com:8888/1.jpeg?frames=1");
where "1.jpeg" is the feed id in this example.
If you want to resize the image before capture, the format is:
shell_exec("wget --ignore-length -O /var/wcs/folder1/frame.jpg http://www.blah.com:8888/1.jpeg?frames=1&width=xxx&height=yyy");
Contact us at support@surveyor.com with questions or problems

Satcam camera software - Windows version

Satcam for Windows - Where to start...

What is Satcam ?
What are the minimum system requirements to run Satcam ?
What are the steps to running Satcam ?
What is the best way to troubleshoot Satcam ?

Q: What is Satcam ?

Satcam is designed to operate as a camera source for WebcamSat servers. "satcam.exe" is the application used to connect to WebcamSat).

Q: What are the minimum system requirements to run Satcam ?

200MHz+ Pentium Processor, 128MB memory, 4MB Disk
Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT (4.0 or later), Windows 2000, Windows XP
WDM compatible video capture device
Microsoft DirectX 8.1 or later

Q: What are the steps to running Satcam ?

Download and run "satcam-install.exe"
Locate and run "satcam.exe". Specify address of your WebcamSat server, port (typically 8888), feed id# and password as configured by the WebcamSat system administrator
An icon for Satcam should show up in the system tray - right click on it to see the options

Q: What is the best way to troubleshoot Satcam ?

Check the Satcam category on our online help forum - click here.
All technical support requests for Satcam should be emailed to support@surveyor.com, along with a description of the problem. Please include the word "Satcam" in the subject line, and provide info on your operating system version, video capture card, browser version, and anything else that might help us to duplicate / track the problem.
If you experience problems with the Satcam, download and install DebugView. This program will allow you to capture messages from Satcam that will be useful in diagnosing the problem. Install DebugView and run it before starting Satcam. Send the captured output to support@surveyor.com, along with a description of the problem, and include the "Satcam" on the subject line of the message.

Note - available Satcam filter for motion detection

There's now an add-in filter for motion detection on Satcam - click here for details

Satcam camera software - Mac OS/X version

Mac OS/X Satcam - Where to start...

What are the minimum system requirements to run Satcam on a Mac?
What are the steps to running Satcam ?
What is the best way to troubleshoot Satcam ?

Q: What are the minimum system requirements to run Satcam on a Mac ?

Apple Mac running OS X v10.2 or later
Quicktime compatible video capture device
Java 1.4 or later runtime - download from http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.4.1/download.html

Q: What are the steps to running Satcam ?

Plug in camera. If you do not have a camera, Satcam X can be run with a built in Testpattern.
Download and extract Satcam_X.sit
Double click Satcam X
Enter in the information:
- Server - Webcamsat Reflector Server address (IP or DNS)
- Port - Server Port (Default is 8888, not 80)
- Push Rate - The rate to send images (1000 = 1 sec)
- Read Rate - Disabled (Rate to check for viewers)
- Feed ID - Feed ID for Camera instance on the Webcamsat Reflector
- Password - Password for Camera instance on the Webcamsat Reflector
Click "Enter" - a file called "settings" will be created in the directory of Satcam X
Open Issues:
- Once preferences are initially set, the "settings" file need to be deleted to reenter changes. This will be addressed in a future release.
- CPU Usage. In some tests, the app has been using 100% of the cpu at 5fps on an 800MHz.
- Camera adjustments. At this time, the application does not offer camera adjustments. The app will use the default setting for the camera attached.
- Source selection. At this time, the app does not support camera selection. It selects the first QT compatible capture device found. This will be corrected in a future release.
- At this time there is no audio support. This will added in a future release.
- Application requires Java 1.4 or greater.
Q: What is the best way to troubleshoot Satcam ?
- Check the Satcam category on our online help forum - click here.
- All technical support requests for Satcam should be emailed to support@surveyor.com, along with a description of the problem. Please include the word "Satcam" in the subject line, and provide info on your operating system version, video capture card, browser version, and anything else that might help us to duplicate / track the problem.