iCam is for IP cameras, built-in webcams, or USB cameras...in other words, digital video feeds. I believe your Netrome cameras are actually analog video (but they hook up to a card in your computer that convert the video to digital). If your "capture card" (the DVR card that your cameras hook up to) doesn't show up as a potential camera source, then I think you are SOL as far as these cameras go. I say that....but there is a possible workaround, which is to install ManyCam and set up your computer's desktop as the camera source in the ManyCam program. Then choose ManyCam as your source in icamsource. This will stream your computer desktop to your phone. The problem is that you would need to disable the screensaver...and might need to disable the power off settings for the monitor (not sure about this one). Another problem...icamsource is going to shrink your desktop resolution in the video feed down to 640x480, which means you're not going to really be able to see any of the video feeds. You'd be better off buying a couple of wireless IP cameras or something....unless Stefan or Jay know something that I don't. Anyway, good luck!
You don't have any spaces or weird characters in your username and/or password, do you? I saw a post a few days ago where someone used the "&" symbol and the software didn't process it correctly. On your wifi (assuming you're connecting to the same router that your icamsource is connected to), it should definitely work without doing anything other than clicking start.
Did you have any luck? How do you like that cam? I researched it and it looks interesting. Good pic, audio, etc? You know the audio won't work through iCam, right?
Anyway, I read through some of the owner's manual to see if I could see what your issue might be...and it could be several things. First of all, do you have RTSP disabled? And MJPEG enabled? And the resolution set to 640x480? What is the address you are using as the camera's mjpeg source? Do you include the port number as the address? Also, did you assign a permanent IP address to your IP cam so the router doesn't change it on you?
I don't have Windows 7...so I'm not 100% sure, but it sounds like you have some other program running that is accessing the webcam...like Yahoo, MSN, Skype, the webcam's software, etc. If nothing else could be accessing it, I think I saw some posts on here about updating your drivers...especially for the graphics card. And if that doesn't work, you could always try running icamsource as a service (assuming the NT resource package works on Windows 7). The only problem with the service is that you can't directly access the icamsource on the computer, as it is hidden completely (even from the status bar). It still works though, and you can access everything you need from your phone. If none of those things help you, try e-mailing SKJM. I think Jay and Stefan are awake 24-7, as it seems they almost always respond to posts in a few hours. haha
Yes, assuming you want to use your iCam app 24/7. The icamsource program processes the images (resolution/file size) from your camera(s) so that they can be sent efficiently over the 3g/Edge networks, it monitors the images for motion and sends the motion push notifications to your phone. Do you have a different networked computer that you can leave on 24/7?
When you say the desktop cam turned off, do you mean it actually turned off? Or you just weren't able to see it anymore on your iPhone? Are you sure icamsource on your desktop didn't crash? What version of icamsource are you using? And are you on Windows? I have Windows XP...have some issues connecting to more than one source if I'm accessing the feed through 3g instead of through my local network. On my local network, everything works flawlessly. I have found that when I'm connected to 3g with more than one source, if I hit refresh in the iCam app, sometimes it finds the other source...but it seems to be completely random. Sometimes I just have to hit refresh once or twice...but sometimes I have to restart the iCam app on my phone and hit refresh before it'll find the other source...and still other times, all of the refreshing will cause one of the instances of icamsource to crash. Strange!
I've requested the ability to determine the camera feed's address and bypass the "zero configuration" logic that I suspect is having issues. Granted, I'm not a programmer...so I don't know for sure that's the issue. But either way, I'd like the option...removes one step in the connection process, and therefore one potential source of problems.
Maybe it's time for SKJM to start producing hardware....IP cameras that not only have their own web server built in, but also the ability to send push notifications/stream video to iCam and detect motion (although, some already detect motion right?). haha That would be pretty awesome!
It already is possible...I do it. You just need to install icamsource on each computer...using the same icam username/password combination. Works for me!
There might be an easier way to save it as a .bat file instead of a .txt file. Open the file that contains your intended bat instructions (should open in Notepad per your previous experience).
Click File > Save As > change "Save as type" from "Text Documents" to "All Files" > in the filename box type filename.bat > click Save
But, it is nice to always be able to change your file extensions easily if needed...so Stefan's directions are great if you know what file extensions are, etc. If you're not much of a computer nerd, you might not want to mess with it.
Some computers have multiple users. Imagine parents setting up icamsource on the family computer. When the kids get on there, if they realize what icamsource is (which they will see the icon in the system tray by the clock), they will close the program. What self-respecting teenager wants to be monitored while the folks are away? Anyway, there's a way that you can run icamsource as a service, instead of as a startup program. This means that icamsource will run in the background (no icon in the system tray) immediately as soon as the computer is powered up...even though nobody has logged in to Windows with their username/password. That's not to say the service method of execution is perfect...but it's harder for someone else to find out it's running and therefore disable it.
Are you wanting to start it as a service so it starts immediately when the computer is turned on (but with nobody logged in), or as a normal startup program that loads when someone logs into the computer? One downside to the service is that you can't access the icamsource on the computer (without executing the icamsource on your own through the Start Menu) because it won't show up in the system tray...but that's also a positive thing if you don't want it obvious to everyone that it's running.
I always close my apps using the home button before I lock the screen. But it does seem like I left an app open once with the screen locked for the entire day...and I'm thinking the battery drained dramatically like you experienced. It's also possible that I just accidently left an app running in the background all day (jailbroken), so I'm not 100% sure. Try closing the app before you lock the screen throughout a day and see if that fixes it. Let me know what happens...I'm curious.
Never owned a Mac computer...but if you have to worry about leaving it on for a week, then you might need a different kind of computer. I leave my computer on 24-7...365 days a year...and it's about 4 years old. Some webcams will tend to "freeze" after prolonged use, but I think it's probably more of a driver issue than hardware. But since Mac is supposedly superior, I'm sure they don't have those driver issues. So that's the long way of saying keep your computer/cam on, as it won't add extra wear to your computer. Just like at all other times, make sure air can move around/through the computer so nothing overheats. You might get one of those cans of compressed air and make sure the fan and everything on the computer is clear of dust bunnies, etc. Enjoy your trip with the added security of iCam! Isn't it awesome?!
Is your phone jailbroken? If so, is it possible that you accidently left iCam running in the background on your phone? If so, I'd imagine that would quickly drain your phone. If your phone is jailbroken, try charging it completely and then rebooting your phone. Use it for a day without accessing iCam and see if you get different results. Then enable Push and repeat the process (without actually accessing iCam). On the 3rd day, repeat using iCam as you stated below...but make sure that you quickly tap the home button to close iCam. If your phone is jailbroken and you hold the home button down for any significant amount of time, it enables backgrounding and then minimizes the app that is currently open. Apps that use the Internet heavily will quickly drain your battery if they are allowed to run in the background.
I use a cheap, wired IP camera (D-Link DCS-910) and it has been amazing...no lockups, etc. You just need to take into account several things before you make your decision(s):
1) Wired or wireless? And if wireless, make sure that you read reviews concerning the signal strength/quality. If wired, can you run the cat5 AND can you run the power over the cat5 (more expensive) or is there an electrical outlet very near where you want to add the camera(s)? 2) Do you need audio? IP cameras won't provide audio (iCam limitation) 3) Do you need low-light vision? Again, read reviews and make sure the camera actually has a quality low-light image. Consider IR lamps to improve things...maybe a motion detected IR lamp? 4) Overall image quality? I'm guessing that since icamsource narrows the image size down to 640x480, it has to work harder (slowing down your computer potentially) to change camera images from higher resolutions to 640x480. With that being said, if you use a program called ManyCam, it is probably possible to use the camera's original motion detection software to store the higher-res images and allow icamsource to manipulate/save a 2nd set of lower-res images. Remember that some cameras (such as my D-Link) have a focus adjustment piece that you can rotate. So if you fire up your cam and it's blurry, try rotating the piece around the lens. 5) Where are you physically locating the camera? Remember that areas near windows and obviously any area outdoors are going to generally be exposed to larger temperature variations (think condensation inside camera) and possibly exposure to water from rain, etc. Do you need a weatherproof and/or heated enclosure? Do you need to leave the window blinds up to reduce the temperature variations? Or if you don't want to worry about that, yet still place them in questionable areas, you'll want to plan on replacing the cameras occasionally.
Show Posts
Anyway, there's a way that you can run icamsource as a service, instead of as a startup program. This means that icamsource will run in the background (no icon in the system tray) immediately as soon as the computer is powered up...even though nobody has logged in to Windows with their username/password. That's not to say the service method of execution is perfect...but it's harder for someone else to find out it's running and therefore disable it.