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Webcams
Home » Computer Hardware » Computer Peripherals » WebcamsWebcams are real time cameras whose images can be accessed by using the internet, instant messaging, or personal computer software.
A webcam can be attached to your personal computer to upload images.
The webcam was first introduced in 1991 and is used today by thousands of people who enjoy viewing images from cameras that have been set up by others all over the world. Webcams are used for teleconferencing, traffic reports, and weather reports.
For less than a hundred dollars and an internet dial- up connection, most people can set up their own camera on the Internet. A computer, webcam software, and an internet connection are required. The two types of webcams are:
• Streaming – With a streaming webcam you see the images in a continuous motion. The images tend to be of a poor quality and are not as easy to set up as the snapshot webcam.
• Snapshot – There is no continuous motion and the images refresh every few seconds. However, the quality is much better than with the streaming, and the snapshot webcam is very easy to set up.
The recommended image file format is JPEG files. The larger the size of the image, the longer it takes to refresh. It is advisable to keep the image size at 160x120. The client pull method is most often used by webcam users to show single snapshots. This is also the simplest method to set up and works best for dial-up style Internet connections. For this method, an FTP connection sends the last shot captured to your ISP’s hard drive or the site hosting your web pages.
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