Must an IP camera have a http connect string ?

Replace "rtsp://username:[email protected]/Streaming/Channels/1" with the rtsp link address for your webcam
is that url able to be viewed in a web page? if so then it still might work as the url to use in WD webcamcapture

Real Time Streaming Protocol, I don’t believe so. It will open in a video player like VLC but not directly in a browser (maybe with a plugin).

yes, the browser needs a plug-in for RTSP

So, I’m guessing the answer to my original question is “yes - the only way to use an IP camera with WD is for it to have a http connect string as outlined in wdwebcamcapture” ?

according to a demo of the component I use , rtsp will work
http://www.weather-display.com/downloadfiles/MainDemo.zip
have you actually tried using that?
i.e
Replace “rtsp://username:[email protected]/Streaming/Channels/1” with the rtsp link address for your webcam

"RTSP H264/MPEG4 mode:

Note: this mode requires TVideoGrabber 8.5.2.2 or higher, and to install an additional DirectShow source filter, e.g. the Datastead RTSP/RTMP Source filter is suitable."

http://www.datastead.com/products/rtsprtmpsrc.html

It worked after I downloaded and installed the Datastead RTSP/RTMP Source filter, but without that installed it couldn’t open my rtsp stream.

that’s good that the demo worked
does the latest wdwebcamcapture program work then?

I’ll get a fresh copy and try again.

It does indeed work! Thank you both.

I tried the demo, and it didn’t work, then I installed the component suggested by niko and the demo worked. I then copied the connect string into wdwebcamcapture - and it works too.

Great - I don’t have to buy another camera after-all.

Hmmm, you did better than me, the demo worked, but not WD’s webcamcapture. Note that the download I linked is only a demo.

Does it still work in WD if you uninstall the component (and restart WD)?

yes, wdwebcamcapture 10.28 (might not be the latest) seems to be working fine.

One question though: the “log file window” (or whatever you call it on the left side of the image in wdwebcamcapture) shows the text “copying temp file to bla”, “Saving as temp file bla” repeating every second. This seems unnecessary processing and disk activity - is this as expected ?

you must have set the file save update rate as 1 second

It seems the minimum is once per minute - however restarting wdwebcamcapture has it saving every minute now.

However another problem has surfaced. The DataStead RTSP filter that I installed from niko’s link is an evaluation version that says it stops working after “a few minutes to a few hours”. I didn’t notice it stopping, but it put an “evaluation version” text across the picture. This text disappeared when I restarted wdwebcamcapture, so I’ve ticked the “restart regularly” box in wdwebcamcapture and I’ll see if that restarts it often enough to keep the annoying text away.

Whoa, $950 8O

hmmm - the “restart regularly” isn’t enough to keep the annoying messages away all the time. I get a couple of periods/day, some that last an hour-or-more. Still, there’s no way this hobbyist is ever going to spend $950 to get a weather camera going (especially when the camera itself was only $60!)

Maybe Brian can find an affordable rtsp stream component, or you could try the free solution I outlined above.

  • but the solution you outlined won’t get me the WD overlays ??

I think it does. It captures a frame from the rtsp stream and saves it as a .jpg. AFAIK WD’s webcam function can use that .jpg as its image source.

I will see if I can find a component