Web Cams 2 - Support Thread

[McBainUK]

Could you try the attached version of the WebCams2 plug-in for a bit and see if you get the same problems.

I've moved the download code to a separate thread, this way the GB-PVR UI gets updated even if the download stalls. To test I set all the default WebCams to 10second refresh and flicked through them like a madman - the GUI runs fine, you met get occasional blank images when the images are being saved the moment you are trying to view them.

Let me know how it goes.

[capone]

Can you post your \gbpvr\Plugins\WebCams2.xml file so I can run tests with the same setup? What internet connection type/speed have you got?


The only way to check is to run tests and add some extra logging.

I be glad to try that fix later. Here's my page for now.

My connection is over cable...usually 4Mb/sec from the pvr.

[capone]

Could you try the attached version of the WebCams2 plug-in for a bit and see if you get the same problems.

Let me know how it goes.

I played w/ it last night, and it was so much faster. I only flipped it 2-3 times last night, but it seemed to perform both very well and better than before. I did change the times around on my d/l intervals (so they all weren't at 10min), but again, it just seemed so unlikely I was always using it at that 10min mark.

I turned on debug logging, so if anything comes up, I can give you a more detailed log file.

Thanks for the hard work.

[ccsnet]

McBainUK - Do you know the browser name that this plugin gives to web sites ? It seems to grab images from one site that IE can't so I'm going to use a spoofing script (non GBPVR related )....

Thanks

Terran

[McBainUK]

I'm afraid I don't know. To download the web cam images I use the .NET system.IO name space and the WebClient class. I imagine being MS it uses an IE like browser name.

Code attached:

Code:

// Downloads a picture from the Internet
        protected bool DownloadPicture(string id, string filename)
        {
            Logger.Verbose("WebCams2 Plugin: Attempting to download \"" + id + "\"");

            bool bStatus = false;
                try
                {
                    System.Uri uri = new System.Uri(id);
                    WebRequest request = WebRequest.Create(uri);
                    //WebResponse response = new WebResponse();
                    StreamReader streamReader;

                    if (username != "" && password != "")// Set up a web client and supply it the username and password
                    {
                        WebClient client = new WebClient();
                        client.Credentials = new System.Net.NetworkCredential(username, password);
                        streamReader = new StreamReader(client.OpenRead(uri));
                    }
                    else
                    {
                        WebResponse response = request.GetResponse();
                        streamReader = new StreamReader(response.GetResponseStream());
                    }

                    // save to file
                    Stream output = new FileStream(filename, FileMode.Create);
                    int BUFFER_SIZE = 128000;
                    byte[] buff = new byte[BUFFER_SIZE];
                    int bytes = 0;
                    //Stream str = response.GetResponseStream();
                    Stream str = streamReader.BaseStream;
                    while ((bytes = str.Read(buff, 0, BUFFER_SIZE)) > 0)
                    {
                        output.Write(buff, 0, bytes);
                    }
                    output.Close();

                    bStatus = true;

                    streamReader.Close();
                    str.Close();
                }
                catch (Exception e)
                {
                    Logger.Error("WebCams2 Plugin: Could not download WebCam image");
                    Logger.Error("WebCams2 Plugin: " + e.Message );
                }
            return (bStatus);
        }

[Cape-City]

Hi,

is it possible to show the image from a local usb webcam like the securitycam plugin does ?

i think the securitycam plugin will not be developed anymore and the look and
feel isnt that kind of handy

Greetz
Cape-City

[McBainUK]

is it possible to show the image from a local usb webcam like the securitycam plugin does ?

If the webcam saves the image to a local file then the plug-in will be able to view it (set local to true in the config app).

[Cape-City]

no, its only conneted to the usb port - only the driver is installed no
software which is running in the background. hmmmm - poor me

thnx for quick answer.

[ACTCMS]

I am investigating using a USB webcam attached to my gbpvr server as a security camera...

Can anyone confirm that I would have to:

• Configure the server to capture an image to a .jpg at whatever refresh rate.
  
• Use gbpvr config to add the URL of the .jpg with an appropriate refresh rate.
  
• Start gbpvr and see who is at the door from whichever PC or gbpvr supported appliance I happen to be sitting in front of at the time...
  

Or have I missed something... :o

If I haven't, does anyone know of any software which would persuade a Labtec webcam to capture the images as required?

BTW: what an interesting piece of kit gbpvr is...

[McBainUK]

That all seems OK.

Regarding your software question, I don't know but a Google search or a look on labtec's website might bring some results.