Bandwidth questions

[Gr8Swammee]

I've been enjoying using icam pro since it came out and have recently upgraded the number of cameras I use. I have a Foscam 8910, and 2 d-link 930l (all wireless). I don't have high resolution set on any of them and motion detection is enabled on only one of the 930l. Auto-config router is enabled as I'm otherwise unable to view the cameras outside of my network.

For a day or 2 I was also using a usb logitech c615 but my router seemed to be locking up after a few hours. Using iStat I see with only the 3 wireless cameras connected I am receiving to my computer (mac mini 2.3GHZ core i7 w/ 16GB ram) an average of 1MB/s. Is this normal? Is more than that (adding the logitech camera) too much for a single port? I ask as I have a d-link 932L ordered and want to make sure the setup can handle these 4 cameras, and hopefully add the 5th back into the picture. Is adding a port forwarding range beneficial (it's only going through port 13001 at the moment).

[SKJM Support]

On local Wi-Fi, you should see a few frames per second. On a remote Wi-Fi hot spot, you should see about a frame per second. On 3G, Apple requires us to keep the framerate less than 1 frame every 2 seconds (0.5 fps).  This has been the limit since iCam was first released. On EDGE, you’ll probably see about one frame every 5 seconds or so, or as low as 1 frame every 10 seconds if you have a poor EDGE signal.

In regards to port forwarding, we generally recommend a range (12000-12100) There’s more information about using port forwarding with iCamSource here: http://skjm.com/forum/index.php?topic=402.0

[geezfools]

 I'm going to bump this because I'm dealing with this issue currently. I've done a little research and replying, in hopes that someone will chime in with a little bit of help.

 From what I've gathered, there is no easy way to limit the fps from the foscam cameras most of us are using. Meaning, even if our app can only see 1fps, the cameras are still sending 1-30fps to iCam Source. Thus, transmitting a ton of "useless" data.

 Now the question becomes, is there a way to limit the data being transferred to iCam source (currently or in the future) and if that isn't an option, is there a way to limit the fps at the cameras and still get the image to iCam source?

 Anyone?

[SKJM Support]

You can adjust the frame rate of a Foscam camera by adding a parameter to the URL.

http://x.x.x.x/video.cgi?rate=<PARAM>

<PARAM> can be a value between 0 and 23, and each value corresponds to:

0:maximum
1:20 fps
3:15 fps
6:10 fps
1:5 fps
12:4 fps
13:3 fps
14:2 fps
15:1 fps
17:1 fp/2s
19:1 fp/3s
21:1 fp/4s
23:1 fp/5s

So to connect to the camera at 2 fps, you would use http://x.x.x.x/video.cgi?rate=14 … or to connect at 5 fps, you would use http://x.x.x.x/video.cgi?rate=11

[geezfools]

hot damn, that's awesome, no idea how I missed that one!