Webcam server on Linux 2

My guide on how to make a webcam server has had a lot of feedback and so I decided to give two other methods to achieve it with two different software webcam-server and ZoneMinder

Webcam-server is absolutely the easiest way to show on the net what is seen from your webcam, the software is very stable (I’ve just installed Ubuntu, and shows the date 2004) is based on Java and to make it work is enough to give these commands:

#> aptitude install webcam-server

#> export LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/libv4l/v4l1compat.so

#> webcam-server

Now point your browser at localhost:8888 and see a snapshot of that seen from the webcam.

Webcam-server has some options you can use to change the display mode of the stream and offer your visitors some additional info. For example, you can display the date, frame rate, and number of viewers by using

webcam-server -c “%d/%m/%Y %H:%M:%S – serving %%v viewers at %%f FPS”.

You can make webcam-server listen on another port if the default 8888 doesn’t suit you by using the -p attribute. Among other things, you can flip the displayed image, adjust the gamma level, set the image capture size, and specify colors for the foreground and background of the caption text.

Now if you want a stream of images, just use the applet Java and HTML page provided with the package, in ubuntu they are in /usr/share/doc/webcam-server/applets/

You’ll find a file called ‘webcam.html’. Copy this to a directory under your web site (DocumentRoot).

NOTE: Please edit this file. You have to change ‘localhost’ to the network name of your computer, otherwise you will be the only one who can see yourself on the camera using the applet.

You will also have to copy the ‘applet.jar’ file to the same folder in which you put ‘webcam.html’.

There, you’re ready to go.

Negative points of this software are: The age of the package and the limited options available.

ZoneMinder is a professional surveillance software, recommended if you have multiple cameras to be connected or would like to make a real security service through your linux server.


ZoneMinder is intended for use in single or multi-camera video security applications, including commercial or home CCTV, theft prevention and child, family member or home monitoring and other domestic care scenarios such as nanny cam installations. It supports capture, analysis, recording, and monitoring of video data coming from one or more video or network cameras attached to a Linux system. ZoneMinder also support web and semi-automatic control of Pan/Tilt/Zoom cameras using a variety of protocols. It is suitable for use as a DIY home video security system and for commercial or professional video security and surveillance. It can also be integrated into a home automation system via X.10 or other protocols.

To configure ZoneMinder i suggest that you follow their nice tutorial:: http://www.zoneminder.com/wiki/index.php/Documentation#Tutorial

And to have a nice Demo of ZoneMinder check this Video

 

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