Does anyone know of software which will allow a digital camera to act as one of those cheap ontopofthecomputer cameras. I would like to send "live" pics to my family as well as stills ??

-- paul kobetz (paulk@pacific.net), October 12, 1998

Answers

Certainly,

Most of the Digital cameras that I have seen (even the little $80.00 vivitar) have an NTSC (video) out port. I have used the Nikon Coolpix 300, Coolpix 900, Kodak DC260, and Kodak DC210, and some smaller Casio cameras this way, as my video source for "NetMeeting".

You will need a video-capture card in your computer. If your PC has an expansion slot available in back, you can purchase a card for around $100.00 that will give you a little television window on your desktop. A "snappy" card will work too, on your parallel port. I use an ATI "All-in-Wonder" video tuner card, which also includes a TV tuner, and an S-VHS input/output. I plug my Digi-cam NTSC video out cable into the video in port on the ATI card, and then point the Digi-cam at my workstation. I run the Microsoft NETmeeting software, (which is H323 compliant) so I could video-conference with anyone in the world, then grab the camera off the tripod, and use it to take stills.

JR

-- John Reed (John.Reed@Bigfoot.com), October 15, 1998.

John's comment answered my question, too. But I don't know how old this answer is. Wouldn't it be better to just by a ready to go settop cam for as little as $80 or less, instead of investing in the card?

-- David Wu (dwu@vt.edu), November 01, 1998.