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WinCam.Live
Webcam Review
Hands On Review: WinCam.Live
by Julie Strietelmeier
Last date revised: 03/25/99
The WinCam.Live Internet Camera System by StarDot Technologies
is a fully automated webcam. This isn't one of those little webcams
that you use to do video chat through Microsoft NetMeeting or
other such programs. WinCam.Live is more suited although not limited
to surveillance type work. This product can be easily configured
to take a picture every 60 seconds and then upload it to a webserver
for instant viewing.
The WinCam.Live is a 4" Wide X 3.1" High X 5"
Deep plastic bodied camera. It has a CCD chip resolution of 512x492
pixels but has options to go as high as 640x480. The color depth
of the camera is 24-bit color or up to 16.7 million colors.
The camera sits flat on non skid rubber feet or can be attached
to a tripod via standard screw in mount. Also, the package I received
included an adjustable metal stand that could use that screw in
mount.
A small LED on the front of the camera shines green when the
camera is in use, yellow when it is not in use, and red when taking
a snapshot.
The camera comes with an 8mm lens. Several other lenses and filters
including outdoor, telephoto, and wide angle can be purchased
separately.
Outdoor enclosures can also be purchased separately.
The WinCam.Live is attached to your PC via a 24AWG CAT.5 25ft
phone cable (included). One end plugs into the back of the camera
and the other end plugs into a dual AC adapter, 25 pin serial
connector. You then plug this connector into a free serial port
on your PC. What makes this camera somewhat unique is it's ability
to move far away from the controlling PC. You can use a 200ft
cable, or with an optional extender kit, up to 1 mile away! Or,
you can even connect an external modem to the camera and move
it anywhere you want as long as there is a phone line to connect
it to (I did not test this). Another feature is the ability to
have one PC control up to 6 separate cameras one one comport via
an optional multiplexing box.
 
Included with the camera is a software package called Capture
Host. This is the software that controls the camera and uploads
the pictures to a webserver. With it, you can control image information
such as capture resolution, number of images to save, brightness,
exposure, and Jpeg quality. There are also powerful scheduling
options that you can set such as the interval between snaps, days
of the week and hours to enable use. You can even setup nifty
little features such as warning sounds to play when the camera
is getting ready to snap a picture, or the type of text overlay
that you want each picture to have such as time and date.
When the software is running, you see a small live grayscale
image in the window with a larger color image of the last snapshot.
A count down to the next snap is also displayed. From this main
screen you have the ability to quickly turn off the camera, turn
off ftp transfer, change brightness or zoom in 2x to 4x. Unfortunately,
the zoomed image is only for viewing in the preview image window.
It doesn't effect the captured image. I guess it is more for surveillance
purposes.
To the left you see an actual size image of the Capture Host software
in use.
I found the software to be powerful and user friendly.
Below you see an actual snapshot that was uploaded to the webserver.
The quality of the pictures are quite good. The camera does a
good job of setting the correct exposure for different lighting
situations. Indoor shots are good as well as outdoor shots. I
did tests where I pointed the camera out the window on a bright
sunny day and it did a terrific job.
With the standard lens that comes with the camera, it can focus
as close as a foot or so, to infinity.
Uploading the pictures to your webserver is automatic. You just
have
to tell the software the hostname, and login information. Capture
Host will then dial up your ISP and ftp the files automatically.
You can set up the software to keep the connection open, or you
can have the software dial the connection, upload the file and
disconnect.
I really like the WinCam.Live. The only real bad points about
it are that it is expensive and it can't be used as a regular
video conferencing camera. Star Dot does tell me that they are
working on a driver that will allow you to use the WinCam.Live
as a video conf. camera in the future.
As for the price, you have to realize that it isn't in the same
class as the $99 webcams. This is not a toy, but a tool. I've
had quite a bit of fun with it during the review period. I set
it up in my living room while I was at work so I could 'spy' on
my dog. One day I even caught her sleeping in MY chair! :-)
This system would be great for businesses or people that want
an easy to use and setup camera system.
Price: $499.99
Pros:
Easy to setup
Ability to locate far from host PC
Ability to connect multiple cameras to one PC
Lots of accessory options like lenses and enclosures
Cons:
Price
Can't use the camera as a typical webcam for video conferencing
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