Cam for puppycam?
September 6, 2017 6:51 PM Subscribe
Looking for a camera for (ojala!) puppycam. Or is using an old phone really the best bet?
Lord willing and the creek don't rise, Zhora the Vallhund is due in two weeks. We'll need a streaming webcam of some kind, for us (so we can keep an eye on them if we both have to be out of the house), for future owners, and, hey, for y'all to gawk at them.
Last time around we did this with a USB camera hooked to a laptop, which works but eh.
Our primary constraint is that we expect the channel to be active multiple hours at a time, so security-oriented cameras that record snapshots when they see movement are probably not for us.
Ideal would be a totally wireless solution that just talks directly to ustream or youtube or twitch or whatever. We have a default option here -- the ustream app on my old LG G2 phone. Tested and works, but at least with the current cheapo charger when ustream is active it discharges the battery a little faster than it can charge itself. Sooo probably not optimal, though IIRC original chargers worked faster because LG wanted it that way.
Second best would be a wireless camera that can talk to the living-room gaming machine, which we can just leave on if needs must, and then use the PC to stream to whatever service. Or, alternately, whatever custom webpage security-ish or nanny-cam-ish products might use, but not if giving out the link to see it would be a pain (ie if you have to be using a phone that's paired with it, etc)
I'd prefer to spend less than fiftyish bucks and products costing over $100 would have to be fan-fucking-tastic.
Anyone done something like this? We'd like for you to have the best viewing experience. Ta much!
Also, once again ojala, inshallah, lord-willing, LOOK WE'RE NOT TEMPTING YOU MR. MURPHY, if you are shooting distance to Buffalo there will be Visiting Hours for the little buggers once they are old enough to be interactive. Especially if you have a great big bushy beard or a shaved head or are really big or small or loud or any of the million ways to be Not As White As Us.
Lord willing and the creek don't rise, Zhora the Vallhund is due in two weeks. We'll need a streaming webcam of some kind, for us (so we can keep an eye on them if we both have to be out of the house), for future owners, and, hey, for y'all to gawk at them.
Last time around we did this with a USB camera hooked to a laptop, which works but eh.
Our primary constraint is that we expect the channel to be active multiple hours at a time, so security-oriented cameras that record snapshots when they see movement are probably not for us.
Ideal would be a totally wireless solution that just talks directly to ustream or youtube or twitch or whatever. We have a default option here -- the ustream app on my old LG G2 phone. Tested and works, but at least with the current cheapo charger when ustream is active it discharges the battery a little faster than it can charge itself. Sooo probably not optimal, though IIRC original chargers worked faster because LG wanted it that way.
Second best would be a wireless camera that can talk to the living-room gaming machine, which we can just leave on if needs must, and then use the PC to stream to whatever service. Or, alternately, whatever custom webpage security-ish or nanny-cam-ish products might use, but not if giving out the link to see it would be a pain (ie if you have to be using a phone that's paired with it, etc)
I'd prefer to spend less than fiftyish bucks and products costing over $100 would have to be fan-fucking-tastic.
Anyone done something like this? We'd like for you to have the best viewing experience. Ta much!
Also, once again ojala, inshallah, lord-willing, LOOK WE'RE NOT TEMPTING YOU MR. MURPHY, if you are shooting distance to Buffalo there will be Visiting Hours for the little buggers once they are old enough to be interactive. Especially if you have a great big bushy beard or a shaved head or are really big or small or loud or any of the million ways to be Not As White As Us.
One solution that I have heard works is Facebook Live (using the facebook app on an android or iOS device to "livestream", then marking the stream as private). I haven't personally used it, but if you can get a phone plugged in, on the internet, and rigged up to point where you need to, I have heard it's the simplest solution.
posted by brocrastinator at 9:11 AM on September 7, 2017
posted by brocrastinator at 9:11 AM on September 7, 2017
Response by poster: Thanks; having multiple ways to get a stream from the G2 out is helpful.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:36 AM on September 7, 2017
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 9:36 AM on September 7, 2017
I can't vouch for this personally (yet), but I've been in the market for something similar, mainly to monitor my kitty when I'm at work. The camera I'm currently considering is this one. I think it might meet your requirments, and it's not too expensive as these things go, but I haven't tried it myself yet.
posted by litera scripta manet at 10:00 PM on September 7, 2017
posted by litera scripta manet at 10:00 PM on September 7, 2017
Response by poster: Thanks! That's almost there, but because we also want to stream semi-publicly our use case is weird, and surveillance/security cams all seem to be "you can watch the video from anywhere with this handy app where you put in your login and password and the camera serial number and so on," where we need to be able to point semi-clueless people at an url.
I'm going to see if a better charger will allow the old phone to operate indefinitely. If it won't, it's looking like "usb camera on a long cable" is going to be the best we can do.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:42 AM on September 8, 2017
I'm going to see if a better charger will allow the old phone to operate indefinitely. If it won't, it's looking like "usb camera on a long cable" is going to be the best we can do.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 10:42 AM on September 8, 2017
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by ROU_Xenophobe at 7:21 PM on September 6, 2017