Linux webcams for dummies

[Thompson Freeman]

On 04/02/2007 04:16:24 AM, Michael A Peters wrote:
> I've not purchased any hardware and I will not be doing
> this until next
> year. I want to start looking into what is needed now
> though.
> 
> I breed reptiles as a hobby, right now just various
> subspecies of the
> Common Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula) and the California
> Alligator
> Lizard (Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata)
> 
> Next year if it is possible I would like to set up a
> webcam to show
> incubation and hatching of a clutch of eggs. I'd like to
> do it using
> Linux technology - as I'm not buying a mac and I'm not
> paying for vista.
> 
> For most of the incubation, there is no action - so a
> still image
> refreshing once an hour would be more than sufficient. As
> it gets closer
> to hatch time, though, it should refresh a lot more often.
> I don't know
> if a streaming video codec should be used that time or
> what. Kingsnake
> eggs usually take several days to hatch. The snake makes a
> couple slits
> in the egg and then rests with its nose sticking out for
> sometimes two
> to three days before it decided to venture out of the egg
> while it
> finishes absorbing the yolk.
> 
> Alligator lizards sometimes do that, sometimes they burst
> their egg open
> and are out within a minute. So an alligator lizard egg
> incubation
> webcam would definitely need to have a very fast refresh
> to catch the
> action.
> 
> Any suggestions on what type of hardware and software
> would be needed to
> do this with Fedora?
> 
> Preferably I would want a script set to just automatically
> switch from
> the once an hour refresh to the more frequent refresh when
> it gets near
> hatching time. Also it would be nice to have a text layer
> automatically
> added that shows the days since clutch deposited.
> 
> Resolution of webcam hardware is also an issue. kingsnake
> eggs are often
> the size of a ping pong ball, sometimes elongated and a
> bit bigger.
> Alligator lizard eggs are about the size of lemon drop.
> 
> What kind of bandwidth is needed, can theora be used, and
> are there
> theora plugins for quicktime and windows media?

Well, I'm not going to be a whole lot of help, because I  
_mostly_ want a free copy of the results! That admitted,  
something like Motion (you will have to search that down, I  
don't have a URL to hand and I'm lazy) might suit your  
needs as to limiting the amount of no change frames  
collected.

As for the camera itself, more resolution will be better  
than less resolution, but how close in the camera can focus  
may be even more important.

Two final, not very usefull thoughts. Some cameras seem to  
have the ability to act as a web cam which might improve  
your optics and resolution issues. As an alternative, you  
might consider a video capture board with a decent security  
camera attached to accomplish the same thing.

Sorry to have not added light to the situation, but maybe  
some of this rambling will be of help.