RowdyCam – OSU

RowdyCam Time Lapse Video of OSU Tailgate

Saturday, September 13, 2014   Stillwater, OK

 

After an initial failed attempt at the Houston game to setup a live webcam, we tried again with different technology this week and had a moderate amount of success.  For those that are interested in the techie side of things, below is a run down of how this was setup and how I plan on taking it to the next level at the New Mexico home game.

 

My initial failed attempt was to use inexpensive USB based cameras tied into one of my old laptops.  What a miserable concept.  The old laptop was USB 1.1 which does not nearly have the bandwidth for a camera feed.  Next was to try an XPS laptop with USB 2.0… better, but if you tied more than one camera up it just died.  And the software using USB cameras was just not up to par, dropping out, losing connection, etc.  So much for the quick and dirty way of doing it.

In comes IP based wireless cameras with the following advantages:

• No laptop/computer required once it is setup/configured
• FTP directly to website on a scheduled bases
• Point/Tilt/(zoom if purchased—gets pricey for the zoom feature) and controlled by your phone
• Wireless—range is not a major issue so can put it further away from internet connection

The trick, of course, is picking out the right camera.  The first one worked fine at home.  That was until I went full wireless from a cold-start.  Then it just would not connect.  It was a China knock-off and I got what I paid for.  The second one, also a China knock-off worked-ish and is what I used at the OSU tailgate.  The problem I had is that for some reason if you put it in FTP mode, it switches from Photo resolution (640×480) to video resolution (320×240).

For the Internet connection, I setup one of our phones in tethering mode for a private network.  With a decent data plan, and only doing photos (not video) over the web, you are looking at a few hundred meg at most for a single tailgate with a few cameras running.  For power, I have a deep-cell marine battery with more than enough power for the cameras and phone and a few more goodies (open cell phone charging stations, small fans, etc).

So what’s next?  I need to find a better camera quality-wise that will work consistently.  I have 3 on order and will see how they work all together.  Also considering some waterproof domes for them (2 out of our 3 tailgates have had rain this year).  I will also be expanding the range and scope of the cams to include a few other tailgaters in B and C lots.  I’m implementing a TPLink Wireless Extender to provide network coverage across the lots.   So more to look for on this.

Next test will be FAU in Boca Raton.   Won’t take all of it but will test two of the newer cameras and see what happens.

More to follow…