Winnipesaukee Forum - View Single Post

webmaster · 08-09-2005, 03:44 PM

Here's my 2 cents on some of this:

First, remember that the people who are providing these free camera feeds, including me, have little or no choice of the method used to stream the video and very little ability to fix bugs or weaknesses. We all try to buy the cameras that are reliable and affordable for our needs but we don't design or build them. The camera kit contains a disk with a system to display the video on the web and that's what we're stuck with, for better or worse. As we've seen it usually involves JAVA script, JAVA applets and active-X controls, depending on the camera. When those browser add-on's are necessary someone is always going to have problems. Security programs and firewalls often identify these add-ons as threats and block them and many other hidden problems or settings can stop the video from displaying. Unless you are a very savvy user you may not be able to overcome these obstacles and that is one of the reasons I'll continue to maintain the original static WeirsCAM page, which updates every 10 minutes.

After I make an official announcement of the streaming WeirsCAM (I'm still in a low-key beta test period) I plan to post a poll to see how many visitors can or can't view it. I suspect that less than 10% have any trouble. The Netcam's java applet is widely used and has been stable (no updates or fixes needed) for several years. The lake's Axis cameras' need for an active-x control may be more problematical. Many security programs simply shut off active-x because of its potential to infect your computer from within. Windows XP SP2 pops up a bar that allows you to approve and install the control but I know many cases where people either don't notice it or don't know what to do.

The bottom line is that these video webcam feeds are not perfect. The people running them are not IT experts and usually are amazed they work at all. I know I am. A few years ago the operators of the Wolfecam almost shut it down for good because of all the complaints they were receiving. Take it easy on all the CAM operators and be glad we have such a growing choice of views available, even if they may not always work for everyone.

I've tried to cover some of this as it applies to the new Motion WeirsCAM in the Motion WeirsCAM FAQ.

Don

08-09-2005, 03:44 PM	#15
webmaster Moderator Join Date: Jun 2002 Posts: 2,434 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 441 Thanked 3,727 Times in 824 Posts	Here's my 2 cents on some of this: First, remember that the people who are providing these free camera feeds, including me, have little or no choice of the method used to stream the video and very little ability to fix bugs or weaknesses. We all try to buy the cameras that are reliable and affordable for our needs but we don't design or build them. The camera kit contains a disk with a system to display the video on the web and that's what we're stuck with, for better or worse. As we've seen it usually involves JAVA script, JAVA applets and active-X controls, depending on the camera. When those browser add-on's are necessary someone is always going to have problems. Security programs and firewalls often identify these add-ons as threats and block them and many other hidden problems or settings can stop the video from displaying. Unless you are a very savvy user you may not be able to overcome these obstacles and that is one of the reasons I'll continue to maintain the original static WeirsCAM page, which updates every 10 minutes. After I make an official announcement of the streaming WeirsCAM (I'm still in a low-key beta test period) I plan to post a poll to see how many visitors can or can't view it. I suspect that less than 10% have any trouble. The Netcam's java applet is widely used and has been stable (no updates or fixes needed) for several years. The lake's Axis cameras' need for an active-x control may be more problematical. Many security programs simply shut off active-x because of its potential to infect your computer from within. Windows XP SP2 pops up a bar that allows you to approve and install the control but I know many cases where people either don't notice it or don't know what to do. The bottom line is that these video webcam feeds are not perfect. The people running them are not IT experts and usually are amazed they work at all. I know I am. A few years ago the operators of the Wolfecam almost shut it down for good because of all the complaints they were receiving. Take it easy on all the CAM operators and be glad we have such a growing choice of views available, even if they may not always work for everyone. I've tried to cover some of this as it applies to the new Motion WeirsCAM in the Motion WeirsCAM FAQ. Don