Recording off a Webcam.

Discussion in 'General Hardware' started by Frant1c, Jul 19, 2010.

  1. Frant1c

    Frant1c Banned

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    Hello Forum!
    I really hope G3D is the right place to post this question.

    I'm thinking of purchasing a Logitech Webcam9000 Pro.

    The main thing I would be using it for is to record long periods of time, in a static position.

    So I have about a 100GB of free space on my HDD - I was wondering if I can record 3-4 Hours of best quality recording from that WebCam straight to my HDD?

    What kind of software would I need? How much volume will a 2 hour recording would take up on my HDD?

    It's reaaally important for me.

    p.s. other solutions for recording a static place for a couple of hours without having to worry about battery and free space would be appriciated.
     
  2. Anubis

    Anubis Ancient Guru

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    The size will oc depend on the resolution you record at..
    With the logitech software you also have an option that it starts recording if something moves infront of the cam (monitoring).. So you save alot of space with that..
     
  3. CoreyPL

    CoreyPL Guest

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    Give us some more info:

    1. Will you be using laptop or desktop?
    2. What resolution are you planning to use?
    3. What FPS do you need? For ex. 10FPS should be more than enough for monitoring purposes, while 25-30FPS is needed for fluid motion.
    4. Will you be using dedicated computer for this, or it will be done on the computer you are using for work/games etc.?

    If you need it for monitoring, there are better solutions than simple webcam. Depends on your budget too.

    How much space 2 hour video will take depends on many things: resolution, FPS, codec used (based on your CPU processing power), bitrate used, with/without audio etc.
     
  4. Frant1c

    Frant1c Banned

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    Thanks a lot fellas for helping me out!
    What you said about movement setting off the recording is great.
    I need the video to be top quality. Probably 1280x720:30fps - WITH SOUND. :banana:

    I'm using a Desktop machine: :pc1:
    GeForce 8600GT
    E8400 Dual Core CPU 3.0GHz
    2gigs of RAM.

    The machine isn't dedicated, but during these recordings I can sacrifice all it's resources.

    Is there a way to encode it during the recording action so it won't take up 200megs for 30 secs of video? :bang:
     

  5. thecake90

    thecake90 Guest

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  6. CoreyPL

    CoreyPL Guest

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    So if you want to make 720p video at 30FPS and encoded live, it will require some nice processing power. Don't know if your C2D will handle it.

    I just tested my webcam - I set up 640x480/30FPS with audio as MP3. Codecs used were XviD 1.3.0 (CVS) multicore optimized and LAME MP3 Codec. Bitreates were about 4000kbps for video and 128kbps for audio. It took 60-75% of my Core2Quad at 2.83GHz (counting all cores).

    Application used: Virtual Dub 1.9.9 at Capture AVI mode.

    So as you can see, capturing video with live encoding without dedicated chip requires a lot of power. Maybe it will be better to invest in something with hardware accelerated encoding.

    Or you can buy pocketcam, like Kodak Zi8 - it is one of the few pocket cam on the market, that can operate on power supply only - without the need to use the battery. Most of the pocket cams won't let you use PSU without the battery, and when PSU is connected, they shut off to recharge. Zi8 supports recording up to 1080p/30FPS and 720p/30FPS/60FPS. 8GB SDHC card will let you record up to ~1h20mins of 720p/30FPS or up to ~1h2mins of 720/60fps. So 32GB card will let you store 4h of high quality HD video with sound.

    Battery will last you for about 1h20mins of recording time tops, but with PSU connected, you can record until your memory card gets full.

    It records in .mov files with aac audio, which can be easily produced using Pinnacle Studio 14 (there is native support for mov files since version 14) or Virtual Dub with mov plug-in.

    You can check the sample recording here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grjzboxwf-4 - be sure to set HD 720p res (real picture is better, but youtube codecs recompress the video to lower bitrate and they are max 30fps).

    Or if you simply want to reconvert the video to .avi without producing, there are many free apps to do this.

    It would be simpler to advise when you would tell what use are you planning for cam.
     
  7. Pill Monster

    Pill Monster Banned

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    This...:giggle2:
     
  8. Anubis

    Anubis Ancient Guru

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    Dude are you gonna shot some p0rn movies or what :D
    Didn't knew Logitech was producing HD webcams allready, tnx for info :p
     
  9. Frant1c

    Frant1c Banned

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    lol, i'm not a porn director yet chill fellas.


    thanks alot for your help mates

    the Zi8 seems awesome, though it's kind of an expensive solution for me, coming up to around 400$

    can anyone recommend a good quality cam ( perhaps not 1080i x[ ) that can record of a power supply, and supports a a large sd-card?
     
  10. Frant1c

    Frant1c Banned

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    also how can you know exactly how much recording time i would have on each SD card exactly..?

    I'm thinking about getting a 16GB card :/

    EDIT ::

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFJZvgl5Geg

    oh snap! 4:10 the dude just said that he can record 2hrs~ on a 60gig SDHC card :E crap.
     
    Last edited: Jul 19, 2010

  11. CoreyPL

    CoreyPL Guest

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    He said, or meant ~2h of 1080p/30fps or 720p/60fps on 16GB not 60GB. Just like I said earlier, my 8GB card lasts for 1h-1h17m depending on resolution.

    How can I tell? Camera has build-in counter and records at constant bitrate, so the time will always be the same.

    As for the $400 price - from where did you get it?

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16830170314&cm_re=ZI8-_-30-170-314-_-Product - camera 99$
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...220452&cm_re=sdhc_32gb-_-20-220-452-_-Product - 32GB class 10 SDHC card $93

    Plus some cheap desk or floor stand so the total would be $230 tops. I've paid for mine 800PLN (almost $250), and I've got camera, extra battery (not Kodak), protective pouch, 8GB card, desk and floor stands and IR pilot. For such a little device it works great - you can see the vids yourself.

    I don't know any other model that can record with PSU connected. I've researched a few models when I was buying my pocket cam, but non have the option of working from PSU besides Kodak. It is more expensive than the Logitech 9000 Pro, but you don't have to use PC to record and it's extremely portable - you can take it with you everywhere. Plus the picture quality should be better. And it produces ready-to-watch films that can be edited later if needed, even with bundled software.
     
    Last edited: Jul 19, 2010
  12. Frant1c

    Frant1c Banned

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    greets man thanks.

    I'm from ISR and prices here are obviously outrages, and an online transaction is not an option for me.

    instead of 99$ --> here it's around 260$ lol

    and the SILICON POWER SDHC 32GB class 6 - 126$


    R E D I C I U L O U S.

    never the less, i believe i will go for it. thanks alot!
     
  13. Frant1c

    Frant1c Banned

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    One last question:


    If connected to my PC & a PSU - Can I record straight to my HDD with this camera to get more runtime?
     
  14. CoreyPL

    CoreyPL Guest

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    Sry, but no - this camera don't have video to direct PC pass through - you must use the memory card.

    And I thought prices in Poland are fu...uped - but yours beats everything. I've ordered my camera from France - with shipping included it was still $35 cheaper than in Poland.
     
  15. Frant1c

    Frant1c Banned

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    Thank you very much CoreyPL & everyone
     

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