Viewing an ActiveX-based Webcam from a Corporate World

[gsownsby2]

In a previous posting, I had identified a problem with viewing an ActiveX-based webcam (Gadspot NC1200 W10) in a corporate environment in which the IE browser is locked down so that only corporately-approved ActiveX components can be run...and most ActiveX components used in webcams are unlikely to be approved for use in my very security conscious corporate world.

http://www.networkcamerareviews.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=461&highlight=gadspot

I have found a solution to that problem--Active Webcam (AW) by PYSoftware (http://www.pysoft.com/). AW is software that is installed on one of your networked PCs. It is a very versatile software package with tons of features and capabilities. One of those features is the ability to accept inputs from different types of video sources and "repackage" them into ActiveX- or Java-Based components. AW is available as a trial download and may be purchased in standard, pro, and deluxe configurations.

Using AW, I was able to select my Gadspot webcam from a list of pre-defined cameras, create a web page using AW's web page creator, and package my webcam's output into an ActiveX- and Java-based format. When you access the web page, you are given the option of selecting an ActiveX viewer or a Java-based viewer. Even using a locked down browser, I could easily access my webcam's video feed using the Java-based viewer without any problem! This was not possible before.

Another nice capability with AW is the ability to consolidate multiple video feeds from various type and brands of camera manufacturers into one environment for control and display. It's sort of like one-stop shopping for your video feeds rather than having a separate web page for each brand of webcam you may be using. You can still directly access the webcams (and their manufacturer-specific web pages) and bypass AW if necessary to directly control the webcam (if AW itself can't do the task).

For most folks, the price of AW would range between $29 - $89 US (depending up the specific configuration desired). I haven't found much "negative" about it other than because of its robust features, it takes a while to navigate through the software and find out how to take advantage of all it does.

It absolutely solved my problem of viewing my ActiveX-based webcam from my corporately-controlled browser environment. I have tested AW's output using IE , Firefox, and Opera@USB (V8.54 Build 7730) without any problems.

I am a happy webcammer now!

[pdf417]

Good job gsownsby2 and thanks for sharing. This sure saves the corporate network lockdown issue.

Thanks mate

[jadkar]

I have the same exact problem as you and I also tried the Active Webcam software. I had to issues however......

1) the video was hardly streaming coming from Active Webcam as it was moving along at a rate of 1-fpm (at best). It looked like a Jersey Shore webcam!!

2) the aplication can't run as a service so I have to make sure it stays up and running on my home server. I'm a server engineer by trade and don't like babysitting my babysitting applications

3) It was pounding my machine hard as far as resources.


The first is my biggest problem, please let me know how your performance is. I've just about given up on the Gadspot cams, I have asked them for a level two tech to contact me so I can possibly grab some code from them to make my own web application, one that actually grabs the data itself from the camera. Nobody as of this point has contacted me and I doubt they will

Thanks!!