iCam 2.0 BETA

[Stefan]

UPDATE - The iCam 2.0 BETA test is now CLOSED. iCam 2.0 has been submitted to Apple for review. Thanks again to all of our testers!

What's new in iCam 2.0:

- Native interface support for the iPad.
- Connect to up to 12 (iPhone) or 16 (iPad) webcams at a time.
- Displays the iCamSource description in the thumbnail view.
- Support for both landscape orientations.
- Universal binary to run on iPhones, iPod touches, and iPads.

If you want to test the latest version of iCam, please send us an e-mail at support@skjm.com with a list of your devices (iPhones / iPod touches / iPads) that you want to test it on, along with each device's UDID.

Also, if you are planning on connecting to more than 4 webcams / network IP cameras at a time, please let us know.

iCam 2.0 is backwards compatible with the pre-2.0 versions of the iCamSource, but to experience the full iPad image resolutions you will need to be running the iCamSource 2.0 BETA or later. (We should have a Windows version of that available next week.)

We will be contacting the accepted iCam 2.0 BETA testers via e-mail sometime next week when the testing starts and the download becomes available.

Thanks!

EDIT - The Windows version (2.0 BETA) of iCamSource is now available at this thread: iCamSource 2.0 BETA

[slappywhite]

This is great news. Email sent. Thanks!

[Dean]

Can't wait! Sent my email this morning. Just one question, does/will iCam 2.0 UI (and its icon) support the Retina display on the iPhone 4?

[Stefan]

The icon will, yes, but we are still looking at whether or not doubling the image resolution has any real noticeable effect on the visible resolution without severely degrading the streaming performance / frame rate. (As the resolution doubles, the file size more than doubles, so the frame rate will be decreased significantly.)

I think that the compression adjustment that is included in the 2.0 version of the iCamSource makes a huge difference on the retina display, because you can really see the compression artifacts on the iPhone 4 when the compression is turned all the way up. Favoring image quality over faster frame rate will give you a much clearer picture.

[Stefan]

UPDATE : Thank you to everyone who has applied to the BETA test. If you e-mailed us your UDID information before around 1 PM PST you should be included in the first phase. We are currently getting everything built and put together, so you should receive an e-mail later today detailing the steps necessary to get started.

Thanks again!

[Dean]

UPDATE : Thank you to everyone who has applied to the BETA test. If you e-mailed us your UDID information before around 1 PM PST you should be included in the first phase. We are currently getting everything built and put together, so you should receive an e-mail later today detailing the steps necessary to get started.

Thanks again!

Using two USB cameras, and three Cisco WVC80N's

So far all (5) cams are working great over WiFi and 3G,

1st bug noticed is iCam doesn't always judge how many cameras it should display at the main screen properly. For example sometimes I'll get the 5 cameras Im using, and 1 black space filler, and sometimes Ill get the 5, and like 7 black fillers. Other than that, awesomeness.

(also the refresh button is still not Retina resolution )

[Stefan]

Using two USB cameras, and three Cisco WVC80N's

So far all (5) cams are working great over WiFi and 3G,

1st bug noticed is iCam doesn't always judge how many cameras it should display at the main screen properly. For example sometimes I'll get the 5 cameras Im using, and 1 black space filler, and sometimes Ill get the 5, and like 7 black fillers. Other than that, awesomeness.

(also the refresh button is still not Retina resolution )

Ah yes ... Will have to "refresh" the refresh button icon.

Have you tried the BETA on both your iPhone 4 and your iPad?

The issue of iCam not knowing how many cameras there are is actually probably due to a recent Stop / Start of the iCamSource. If there are "stale" iCamSource entries in the server, they will also be returned to iCam, and iCam will display the appropriate number of camera spots. If you see too many preview thumbnail spots when starting iCam, just you wait 30-60 seconds and reload / refresh. You should then see the correct number displayed.

[Dean]

UPDATE : Thank you to everyone who has applied to the BETA test. If you e-mailed us your UDID information before around 1 PM PST you should be included in the first phase. We are currently getting everything built and put together, so you should receive an e-mail later today detailing the steps necessary to get started.

Thanks again!

Using two USB cameras, and three Cisco WVC80N's

So far all (5) cams are working great over WiFi and 3G,

1st bug noticed is iCam doesn't always judge how many cameras it should display at the main screen properly. For example sometimes I'll get the 5 cameras Im using, and 1 black space filler, and sometimes Ill get the 5, and like 7 black fillers. Other than that, awesomeness.

(also the refresh button is still not Retina resolution )

Almost forgot to try the iPad!

Works over WiFi and 3G, same as iPhone.


iPhone is no longer doing the extra row thing. Both iPhone/iPad are working in both landscape positions, rotating without issue. Push notifications are also working, along with recording (toggling them on the iDevice works fine as well).

Small UI suggestions, maybe filling the whole screen horizontally, and putting small spaces on the sides of the feeds until the outer feeds touch the sides of the bezel.
Maybe also allowing to swipe left/right to switch to next or previous camera.

(Im sure its because its ad-hoc, but iTunes doesn't show it as universal.

[Stefan]

Great feedback as always.

But yeah, if it is running on your iPad and your iPhone then it is Universal.

[slappywhite]

Having a good time with this so far, six cams working great on the iPhone 4. I'll have more feedback tomorrow as I use the app during the workday, just wanted to weigh in on the easy setup.

[bigplayer]

Installed the 2.0 beta yesterday. Definitely seems snappier on startup for me on my iphone 4.

I have a quick UI request. Lets see if I can explain this correctly.

I like using the Display Cam info feature for my cameras. I like to see the name when choosing which to view. I noticed that there is clock at the top left which i am assuming is the iphone clock. When i have Diplay Cam info off, it looks like it is using the built in camera clock. I like the camera clock because i can tell if the camera feed is live. I know when it has locked up. I am having issues with one camera.

Is there a way to have Display Cam info on but use the built in camera clock at the top left?

Thanks for the great work!

Sean

[Dean]

Was wondering about a Vertical orientation mode for the iPad? Be nice when its docked on my desk to watch the cameras

Here is a quick mockup

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4143/4907587513_cbf0b3a1f3_o.png

Also, this is what I was talking about with the spacing in my last post;

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4100/4908193532_c02c503612_o.png

So far no real bugs to report in terms of connections etc, seems to be in great working order! Keep up the great work! 

[Stefan]

Installed the 2.0 beta yesterday. Definitely seems snappier on startup for me on my iphone 4.

I have a quick UI request. Lets see if I can explain this correctly.

I like using the Display Cam info feature for my cameras. I like to see the name when choosing which to view. I noticed that there is clock at the top left which i am assuming is the iphone clock. When i have Diplay Cam info off, it looks like it is using the built in camera clock. I like the camera clock because i can tell if the camera feed is live. I know when it has locked up. I am having issues with one camera.

Is there a way to have Display Cam info on but use the built in camera clock at the top left?

Thanks for the great work!

Sean

Are you looking at the clock from an IP camera, that has a time stamp at the top-left of the screen? If so there's really not a way to access that ... The IP camera simply writes the time on top of the images it streams to the iCamSource.

Was wondering about a Vertical orientation mode for the iPad? Be nice when its docked on my desk to watch the cameras

Here is a quick mockup

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4143/4907587513_cbf0b3a1f3_o.png

Also, this is what I was talking about with the spacing in my last post;

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4100/4908193532_c02c503612_o.png

So far no real bugs to report in terms of connections etc, seems to be in great working order! Keep up the great work! 

Sure, that might be something we put in iCam 2.1 or something ... Glad to hear things seem to be working as expected otherwise! If, after a week of BETA testing if there are no issues that require any further testing we may just submit it to Apple for release.

[slappywhite]

No bugs to report. Could use some UI polish, but that's about it. This seems really well done. Everything works as it should.

[Stefan]

Glad to hear it ... Any and all feedback is much appreciated during the BETA test, even if it's an "all's well".

Any suggestions on what area of the UI needs polish?

Thanks again.