<html>
<head>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="camstream.css" type="text/css">
</head>
<body>
<p><a href="index.html" target="_top">Frames</a></p>
<p><div align="center"><img src="images/camstream-logo.png" width=600 height=300><br clear="left"></div></p>
<h1>CamStream</h1>
<h3><a name="intro">Introduction</a></h3>
<p>CamStream is (going to be) a collection of tools for webcams and other
video-devices, enhancing your Linux system with multimedia video. All
written in C++ and with a nice GUI frontend. The interface is based on
<a href="http://www.trolltech.com/">Qt</a>, an excellent GUI framework.
<p>The aim of this project is build a set of programs for:
<ul>
<li>Webcamming, that is saving an image and uploading it to a server at
regular intervals;
<li>Video conferencing;
<li>Webcam broadcast (including server);
<li>Recording movie clips (AVI, Quicktime) from a webcam (and playing
them back);
<li>Using a webcam as a security camera.
</ul>
<h3><a name="news">News</a></h3>
<p><b>2002-12-30:</b> CamStream 0.26.2 is available for <a
href="download/">download</a>. It fixes a problem with devices that only
have the RGB24 or RGB32 palette available. I also fixed the
camstream/configure script (would fail to built after a second run).</p>
<p><b>2002-08-25:</b> A fix has been made such that CamStream will compile
with GCC 3.*; you can either apply a small patch or download a whole fresh
new version at the <a href="download/">download directory</a>.</p>
<p><b>2002-06-03:</b> There are some issues with camstream 0.26 and OV511
based cams; people only get a black screen; appearantly CamStream 0.25 works
normally. I'm not sure what the problem is, I've changed quite a few things.
I bought a OV511/OV518 based webcam to test, but that cam doesn't work at
all!</p>
<p><b>2002-05-17:</b> CamStream 0.26 is out! Thanks to all the testers of
the -pre versions! Get it at the <a href="download/">usual place</a>.</p>
<p><b>2002-04-30:</b> CamStream 0.26 pre 2 is available. It hopefully fixes
the compile error in VideoDeviceDlg.cc and should work with the qt-mt
library as well. See on the <a href="download/">download page</a>.</p>
<p><b>2002-04-27:</b> A new version is out! CamStream 0.26 pre 1 can be
<a href="download/">downloaded here</a>. It's a pre-version because
the documention (most notably user manual) isn't updated. However, I would
like your feedback on this. See the <a href="changelog.html">Changelog</a> to
see what has been fixed/added.</p>
<p><b>2002-03-10:</b> So you may wonder what I've been doing the past 6
months... Well, a lot of things, including work on CamStream. But there are
just a couple of delays... I've been busy with the Philips webcam drivers,
but that work is largely finished now. And I've got a new job, and some
other hobbies that take up time. Yes, I do have a life, you know :-)</p>
<p>What I have done so far on CamStream is speeding up the display process
quite a bit, and added all the features for the Philips webcams. Currently
I'm working on solidifying the FTP stuff, since the Qt classes simply don't
do what I want, and the other code was barely working. I really hope to
make a new release within the next 14 days.</p>
<p><b>2002-01-04:</b> I'm going on vacation for 2 weeks, so don't expect an
answer from me until the end of January... Wish me Hals und beinbruch :-)</p>
<p><b>2001-07-13:</b> There's a <a href="bugs.html">bug</a> in the Qt
library regarding FTP uploads; unfortunately, there is no workaround
available.</p>
<p><b>2001-06-20:</b> Released version 0.25. It fixes a small bug in the
palette detection logic of the video devices. Also, an old piece of
documentation from the camstream user manual has been deleted.</p>
<p><b>2001-05-29:</b> Complete revamp of the website, and the application.
The app itself has been transformed into a MDI applications, and some of the
dialogs have been redesigned with the Qt Designer (which I may recommend to
anyone doing regular GUI design).
<p><b>2000-11-27:</b> I am releasing version 0.23; it contains a few
bugfixes and should compile on Debian/woody systems (it just shows how Linux
really is Linux... :-( ). In case you missed the announcement of 0.22:
that's right. The website was unreachable from most part of this planet for
a week (!), and just in that time I managed to released 0.22 :-). Anyway,
everything is back to normal now.
<p><b>2000-11-11:</b> Version 0.22 is out; partly, this is an upgrade for
the Philips webcam modules 5.07 and up; in addition it has somewhat better
support for TV cards with multiple inputs and tuners.
<p><b>2000-10-12:</b> I added an <a href="errors.html">errors</a> page
that lists known issues and (hopefully) some fixes. This in case I'm too
lazy to release a new version with fixes and/or the code is in an unusable
stage. So pleace check this page first before sending mail.
<p><b>2000-09-25:</b> Oops. camstream-0.21 requires Qt 2.1 (haven't tested
2.0.*). I am using some functions that are not available in 1.44 or 1.45. So
I guess it's time for you to upgrade :)
<p><b>2000-09-24:</b> It took a while, but I'm still here. This version
features simple FTP upload code, so you can do some "real"
webcamming. But I disabled the video conferencing stuff since it was
a bit in the way of some the class redesinging that I did.
<p><b>2000-08-06:</b> A new version, a new webdesign. And a lots of changes
in the code. I don't think you'll recognize it back ;) I've spent a lot of
time on implementing code that will turn camstream into a webcam/broadcast
tool.
<h3><a name="status">Status</a></h3>
<p>At the moment the first part, <u>webcamming</u>, is functional. For a full
list of features, <a href="features.html">see this page</a>.</p>
<p>There is also a small utility available, <span
class="command">caminfo</span>. Caminfo probes your video devices from
/dev/video* and displays what it has found.
<p>There is still a lot of work to do, so anyone who is willing to help is
welcome! (provided you know how to program in C++, of course). See also the
<a href="todo.html">TODO list</a>.
<h3>Supported hardware</h3>
<p>Currently all webcams that are supported by the Linux kernel and TV cards
are supported fairly well (some better than others: your kilometrage may
vary :-) ).</p>
<p>For USB cams you will need a fairly recent kernel, like 2.4.* or
>= 2.2.18. <a href="http://www.linux-usb.org">www.linux-usb.org</a>
for more information on status, supported hardware and instructions.</p>
<h3>A bit of history</h3>
<p>CamStream was originally developed in parallel with the Linux USB drivers
for Philips and CPiA based webcams (WebBlaster, Zoom and others). Since 0.21
it also support TV cards (in a limited fashion), and it should work with
other devices that implement the
<a href="http://roadrunner.swansea.uk.linux.org/v4l.shtml">Video4Linux</a> API
and have a <span class="code">read()</span> or <span class="code">mmap()</span> call.</p>
<p>I started working on these programs because I was dissatisfied with the
available Open Source tools for webcams for Linux. Basicly I encountered 4
problems:
<ol>
<li>The tools were designed for one piece of hardware only, and thus
inflexible;
<li>They were hard to use, with obscure command-line settings;
<li>It was usually not possible to adjust settings from within these programs;
<li>The tools that were decent were commercial, binary-only programs.
</ol>
<p>I wanted to write something that was easy to use, with a GUI (Graphical
User Interface), where you could just go point-and-click.</p>
<h3>Feedback, etc</h3>
<p>Your comments, ideas, bugfixes, patches etc. are always welcome! Send
them to <a href="mailto:camstream@smcc.demon.nl">camstream@smcc.demon.nl</a>.
<br>Note: I speak both English and Dutch.
<h3>Miscellanceous</h3>
<p><a href="http://www.smcc.demon.nl/webcam/">Linux drivers for Philips USB cams</a>.
<p>Graphics are done with
<a target="_blank" href="http://www.gimp.org/">The Gimp</a>.
<p>Uploading of this homepage is done with
<a target="_blank" href="http://http://www.enjoy.ne.jp/~gm/program/weex/">Weex</a>.
<p><a href="http://www.smcc.demon.nl/stuff.html" target="_top">Other software by me</a>
<p><i> - Nemosoft Unv.</i>
<p align="center">
<script language="JavaScript" src="http://m1.nedstatbasic.net/basic.js">
</script>
<script language="JavaScript">
<!--
nedstatbasic("AAqedggamal3uQoWloDkJ5qjmfCw", 0);
// -->
</script>
<noscript>
<a target="_blank" href="http://v1.nedstatbasic.net/stats?AAqedggamal3uQoWloDkJ5qjmfCw"><img src="http://m1.nedstatbasic.net/n?id=AAqedggamal3uQoWloDkJ5qjmfCw" border="0" nosave width="18" height="18"></a>
</noscript>
</p>
</body>
</html>
