Suitable webcams for displaying progress in the webui?

number40fan

I use the IP WebCam app on a cheap phone. It gives you the IP address to use after it is setup and running. Just have to put /video at the end of that IP in DWC.

RGN01

Thanks number40fan. The weird thing is that the stream works (I can view it in VLC, for example) yet when I connect to it in Chrome (or Edge) whatever I add after the IP address and port (like /video in your example) the browser opens a 'save as' dialogue box and wants to save to that name!

So http://192.168.0.111/videostream.cgi?user=xxxxx&pwd=yyyyy gets me this https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8OcCwBLJgXFcXRaNk1PdWdiYkE/view?usp=sharing

Edited to add: To be clear, this is not a DWC issue, it is something with my browser or PC configuration and DWC inherits the problem.

dc42

I didn't use ?user=xxxxx&pwd=yyyyy at the end of the URL, I left them out and let FireFox ask me for them the first time.

RGN01

Thanks, David, tried that too with the same results. There is clearly a setting I'm not aware of - I'll keep looking.

dc42

videostream.cgi is wrong, that's for RTSP which can't be displayed in any browser. Use snapshot.cgi.

RGN01

That just tries to save as 'snapshot.cgi' -whatever text I use there, with or without the .cgi or any other extension, is used for the filename to save as.

I'll ask for help in the Chrome help forums next. Thanks for your help.

dc42

Which model of camera do you have?

RGN01

Various - I run a CCTV system called Blue Iris and have a number of IP cameras. They use a variety of IP ports and settings. Tried them all and as I say, they work in Blue Iris and in VLC but not in Chrome or Edge.

dc42

Not all IP cameras provide the facility to return a jpeg still image. We'd love to support RTSP streams, but it's not possible since Google removed the support from Chrome. The programs that camera makers supply to access your camera from a browser send the RTSP stream to a cloud server, which then provides a HTML5 stream for your browser. That's why they make you open a cloud account first.

RGN01

Thanks, David. These cameras supply RTSP and a series of still images over port 80, 81, or various other ports. To confirm this is a browser issue, I set up the Blue Iris webserver to stream video as a series of images. Although very CPU intensive on the Blue Iris server and not a permanent solution, it allows me to configure things rather than guess what the camera is sending.

Opening the web page displays the image in a series of jpg files as this snippet of code from the Inspect element option shows (the 'time' number increments too fast to read as the 'video' is displaying):

[[language]]
![](/image/Camera1?time=116339)

Despite this, if I try to capture this stream in my browser direct, it tries to save it. Using the same page URL in DWC does not work - it just shows a blank white box where the video should be.

I've taken the path of least resistance, though, and ordered a Sannce camera!

briangilbert

Hi All

With the sannce camera you can add the user/pass in the url field in DWC as follows:
http://user:pass@camip:port/snapshot.cgi

if you have an @ symbol in your password change it to %40

Works on Firefox anyway..

3DTyro

Based on DC42's experience with the Sannce camera, I bought 2 to test. I finally, after a little fiddling, got it to work just using the URL DC42 provided.

The port varies, as mine was different than DC42's example. I'm not sure if that's because the camera was on a different firmware revision, or if it is random. In any case, the app linked to showed not only the IP but the port as well.

I wasn't able to use the solution briangilbert suggested, though I am running Chrome, not FF.

Dougal1957

yes that is true for chrome try adding this to the end of your Chrome URL

?loginuse=xxxxxxx&loginpas=xxxxxxxxx&resolution=32

such as 192.168.0.120:18912/snapshot.cgi?loginuse=xxxxx&loginpas=xxxxxxxx&resolution=32 (still need the http preamble)

Doug

PS change the IP and Port to match yours.

Mike

You can also get one of those ELP 1280 * 720p IP cameras. Fairly cheap, decent resolution and works reasonably well with DWC. Configuring it was a bit of a pain in the neck though…

ect2

Mike, how do you hook up and configure the ELP 1280? This is exactly what I've been looking for as I do not want to use WiFi.

Mike

Took me a while to figure that one out. First, you'll need to connect to it - by default (for some reason) it has a fixed IP 192.168.1.10. So if your router assigns IPs in that range, make sure that it's not taken, otherwise just connect directly to the PC. After that you should log into the machine, but you'll need a browser with ActiveX support. In my case, I ended up installing old Internet Explorer just for that. Further setup is fairly trivial - you can switch the language to English, enable the DHCP support (seriously, why isn't it on by default…) and toy with the settings. The static jpeg image would be available at "http://your camera's IP/webcapture.jpg/command=snap&channel=0" and you should also check "Do not append extra HTTP qualifier".

ect2

Thank Mike. Something like this?

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Audio-Mini-Type-HD-1280-x-720P-1-0MP-IP-Camera-Metal-Indoor-Security-Camera-ONVIF/32822170249.html?spm=2114.search0104.3.79.49f5ffacQ7JAJ3&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_4_10065_10344_10130_10068_10342_10547_10343_10340_10548_10341_10084_10083_10618_10615_10307_10131_10132_10133_10313_10059_10534_100031_10103_441_10624_442_10623_10622_10621_10620_10142,searchweb201603_2,ppcSwitch_3&algo_expid=9f721937-67e2-4d39-8fdc-480a18e0d51a-12&algo_pvid=9f721937-67e2-4d39-8fdc-480a18e0d51a&priceBeautifyAB=3

ect2

This one is probably more suitable:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1280-720P-1-0MP-mini-IP-Camera-ONVIF-2-8-12mm-manual-varifocal-zoom-lens-P2P/32684641752.html

What focal length do you use for sharpest image?

Mike

Got something similar to the 1st one, although I've got mine from Amazon. Can't say anything on the focal length - I ended up just adjusting the lens manually until my printbed was in focus.

ect2

Thanks Mike