Suggestions on Live Streaming Camera

[camikazi2k]

Trying to help a friend set up the first camera, we need correct setup.

It's for startup auction site, so there going to be some people viewing the auction live.

Camera must have sound also.

I was thinking of IP camera, and PC installed at each location, multiple cameras of course all have different internet connection.

Number of viewers is UNKNOWN at this point.

How would you guys go about setting the initial setup.

Let's assume she will start with one camera and expand to up to 1000 cameras someday.

[itsokrelax]

You shouldn't need a local PC just the camera. I would start with a basic Axis camera as they integrate very easily with a web site.
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[ipcamerafun]

The initial set up is not a big problem. The big problem is with your bandwidth. If your bandwith is ok, you can set up your IP cameras as much as you like. And I think Local PCs are needed, you will need to check how your IP cameras work at the point. But it is not neccessary to have each point with one PC. And for better integration, I also would like to suggest NETVIEW IP Cameras. Their quality is very stable. You may view the website at www.nvipcam.com. You will also be able to view their online demos
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[itsokrelax]

No, a local PC is not required. Want to fight about it?
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I can record your video remotely. PM for details.
Favorite iPhone viewing apps:
Live Cams - http://tinyurl.com/yaby9ha
IPVision - http://tinyurl.com/y8allak

[ipcamerafun]

Easy buddy,

I know it is not a necessary thing to have a local PC. What I mean is that if he wanna have one for his own convenience, then that is fine and better for him. Am I right?
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[itsokrelax]

I just try to pick nerd fights don't mind me.

If he wants to spend money for convenience then by all means do so.
_________________
I can record your video remotely. PM for details.
Favorite iPhone viewing apps:
Live Cams - http://tinyurl.com/yaby9ha
IPVision - http://tinyurl.com/y8allak

[buellwinkle]

What you are trying to do is really tough. Most IP cameras have limits on how many users can view a live stream, usually 10 but it sounds like you want to broadcast it an unlimited number of viewers live with audio, like having a TV station in a sense but using the internet. What ends up hapenning is your frame rate will suffer, so with 10 people connected via the net, you may only see a few frames per second and audio may be choppy

10 connections is pushing it for most home or small business based DSL or Cable Modem connections, so you may need a dedicated internet connection, like an OC3 or T3 to handle the bandwidth. The problem with DSL or Cable is their upload speeds are slow, so they may say 3MB/sec which is fantastic, but upload (your camera feed) is slow, like 512MB/sec.

Maybe your approach is wrong, maybe video conference service is better, like Megameeting. We use it all the time, works for us. Allows a presenter on a cheap PC camera to present to an unlimited number of people that log into that meeting.

[JohnnyC]

Up to 1000 cameras someday? All running concurrently? Unknown number of viewers? Did I uderstand this correctly? If so, bandwidth and your network will croak! Your talking a major thing here. You may need to pump the video to a media server (or serverS) with ample banwidth.
John
New Jersey

[ddetra]

I was looking to do the same, just for a different purpose. So far the cheapest way I found to achieve streaming my Axis camera live video to a wide audience, was through www.StreamBy.com. Audio is not yet supported I believe, but personally I did not really need it, not as much as the flash encoding to avoid users having to install the axis activeX which scared viewers away.
So far I am glad with this solution. Let us know if you have found better ways.

[buellwinkle]

Very cool. Is it only open to Axis cameras?
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[ddetra]

Streamby supports Axis, Panasonic, Sony, Vivotek and other models too. you can see here the full list http://www.streamby.com/start