where to get cam to spy on torty?

[tabact]

Originally Posted by vikiilou89

hmm yeah its just the setup bit thats just going straight over my head, lol blonde moment

If you have a laptop or your pc is near where you can see the tortoise any old webcam will do. I used to use windows media encoder (free download) to stream the output from the webcam so I could keep an eye on mine from work.
The most important thing is to know your IP address so you can connect to the stream from where ever you are viewing. Windows Media Encoder has a wizard that walks you through the setup.

Tom

[vikiilou89]

Ok thank you I have an old pc I can setup with the webcam which is handy to know

[yuna1971]

Originally Posted by tabact

If you have a laptop or your pc is near where you can see the tortoise any old webcam will do. I used to use windows media encoder (free download) to stream the output from the webcam so I could keep an eye on mine from work.
The most important thing is to know your IP address so you can connect to the stream from where ever you are viewing. Windows Media Encoder has a wizard that walks you through the setup.

Tom

Tom, touching on this subject.
I work for the MOJ and they have a firewall on the system. They also dont allow any downloads on the work pc's, nor putting software on it.
So....in light of that, do i gather that if wanted to view Lily (webcammed on the tort table)...i couldnt do this as I could not install any software needed to view the webstream?
I would find this so great, more for next summer - if only there was a way I could do it.
Thanks... xx

[Alan1]

I have ordinary wireless colour CCTV, nothing to do with a computer though. It works as an extra telly channel, you can flick it on to the channel to check on them. £30 it was but no good if you want to view them from 20 miles away or whatever

[tabact]

Originally Posted by yuna1971

Tom, touching on this subject.
I work for the MOJ and they have a firewall on the system. They also dont allow any downloads on the work pc's, nor putting software on it.
So....in light of that, do i gather that if wanted to view Lily (webcammed on the tort table)...i couldnt do this as I could not install any software needed to view the webstream?
I would find this so great, more for next summer - if only there was a way I could do it.
Thanks... xx

If they allow streaming via window media player you should be able to see it. It depends which ports they block with the firewall.

Tom

[tabact]

I've been trying out Yawcam which you can download here.
http://www.yawcam.com/download.php
It is free java based software with a built in webserver so you can view the stream in a web browser.

You can customise the page display to whatever you want if you play around with the settings. There is a forum on the Yawcam site where you can find all this out. I've only tried the streaming settings here to keep it simple.When you run it for the first time click on the red stream button so it goes green and shows disable. Go to the settings tab and select device to find your webcam. If you then go back to settings and open 'edit settings' select connection. There it will show your public IP and you can check whether you are online and what url to type in to your browser to see the stream. To get past company firewalls you may need to change the port to 80 (uses 8081 by default). Select 'Stream' and change the port number to 80. You may also need to enable UPNP on your router if you can't connect.
http://www.yawcam.com/help/help_upnp.php
The program worked through my Thomson router without me having to forward any ports manually. The first time you try to connect your firewall will probably ask if you want to unblock Java, select unblock.

I'd leave the port settings at the default 8081 unless you need to change it. A lot of ISPs block you from using port 80 by default, depends who you are with. If you have a dynamic IP address (changes each time you switch your router on) you will have to make a note of your IP address each time you want to connect. There are ways round this, Google is your friend. You may also be on limited bandwidth so check if uploads count against your usage. You can password protect the stream to limit who has access which is probably a good idea if you are on a low bandwidth package or you don't want anyone seeing you are not home. There are a maximum of ten connections allowed by default in the settings.I've set it so you are automatically cut off after 30 seconds if anybody wants to give it a try, just refresh the page to connect again.
http://94.193.105.216

I'm using an old webcam I found so the picture quality is not the best.

Tom

[tabact]

I've stuck the webcam in the greenhouse so you can see the tortoises. I can't get a decent picture the sun is too bright and it is a webcam designed for indoor use. I removed the 30 second limit so you can stay connected but there is a limit on the number of users so you may not be able to connect. The wireless connection is a bit dodgy as well. This thread has gone a bit off topic for 'where to buy' but hopefully of some use to the original post.

Tom

[WriterNick]

There is some really useful information there tabact, I definitely think I am going to set my own web cam up after hibernation next year! I love the link too, great torts!

[tabact]

Originally Posted by WriterNick

There is some really useful information there tabact, I definitely think I am going to set my own web cam up after hibernation next year! I love the link too, great torts!

Cheers Nick. Once I finally get get the house rewired I intend to put up a proper surveillance camera otuside so I can keep an eye on things. Tortoise watch is finished for the day they've put themselves away now.

Tom

[eric&amy]

Thanks Tabact. I myself have been streaming torts online for about 2 years off and on. I first started with earthcam and actually won a reward on there for top 20 cams during the month of september 2009. I then deleted that page and went to ustream, I still have that page but I do not use it hardly at all anymore. I do highly appreciate your information you've shared because I have been wanting to view my torts on my iphone and when i put in the URL you gave I was able to see your cam. This helps a lot, again thanks.....I will be using Yawcam!