Flyfunston

As requested, here is some information of realtime webcams. The camera would be something like this
http://www.axis.com/products/cam_213/index.htm

The camera outputs really high quality video. The limiting factor would be our connection speed. SBC's highest available upload spead is 385-512kb/s. With a static IP address, that would be $75 per month. I don't know what options there are if we need a larger bandwidth, but there must be some way to accomidate that. I'll see if I can find out what people/companies in this area use for higher bandwidth applications.

The Camera I have linked runs around $2,000. Probably we would need some mounting hardware and a 'dome' for mounting it outdoors as well, so the total cost would be a bit more. There are other cameras that are a bit cheaper ($1,200 ish) that do not offer the tip/tilt/zoom of the 213 linked above.

These cameras (if they work as planed) would allow people to zoom in with enough detail to see who was in the setup area. They support around 30 frames per second, which is the equivalent of a tv, so the video could be realtime.

One potential problem with a system like this is that since we would have limited bandwidth, the performance of the system would depend on the number of people trying to access it at any one time. If people were accessing the camera and then just leaving it running on their computer, it would slow down the setup. That said, there is probably some way to include a 'time-out' setting on the camera's IP access to prevent such things.

Brian

ive never set up a system quite like this before, so what i know about it is pretty much what ive read about it. im not computer illiterate, but i certainly wouldn't claim to be an expert. but these systems apear to be simple enough to set up and run. certainly doable.

im happy to research a few different options (price/performance, etc). my right hand is immobilized right now though so i may wait a few weeks since typing one handed with my left is painfully slow.

i very much appreciate and value our current system and the work that has gone into it. i dont mean for these proposals to be a complaint of any kind. just somrthing i/we thought the club might be interested in.

Brian F

If the club needs help getting the cam system and website upgraded, i could donate the time to do it beginning January, 2006 (but you'll have to work through my agent, Mr Rapheal Lavin, esq.)

In my opinion, all we really need is a more reliable system, but if the club is looking for functionality enhancements the following would be nice:

(1) higher res/higher frequency pictures ONLY ON DEMAND by the user (default low res / low frequency to save bandwidth). If we really got ambitious, we could slap a mysql database on there and make an extensive pic history queryable against other data . . although i don't really know what that would get us except to document the exact time you went to the beach -- or corroborate an alibi.

(2) multiple views of the wind sock, setup area, and a wide-angle shot of a large swath of airspace above the main cliff to see if gliders are up. The current setup is like looking through a keyhole.

I think tabular data as implemented by Rick is perfect as is

Unless someone finds an incredible amount of bandwidth on the cheap, video probably should be avoided.


-Mark Zeleznock
(415) 845-3440

BTW does anyone have the specs/schematic on the current setup? What software/OS/API's are used?