compress in active webcam

[ameliachida 0]

Im using active webcam and is working fine however the video files it makes are huge..can anyone tell me if theres a way i can compress them? i have tried the options the program includes like .avi but they are all as big. any suggestions? thanks

[Scott Broscious 0]

I had not heard of active webcam until just now so forgive my ignorance of the software.

 

File compression/size will vary from format to format (like you've already learned). It will also vary based on the resolution your using. If your using a high reslution you may be limited as to how small you can compress that file. but it looks like its only capable of 640*480, which is considered a high resolution when dealing with surveillance equipment, though when dealing with todays computer hardware really isn't all that high at all. It also allows you to change the quality of that image, which would make me think that even though the frame size ranges from 320*240 to 640*480 that there are other ranges available as well.

 

Length of recordings is another limiting factor. Try setting the max file size lower so when that limit is reached it will either stop recording or start a new file (dependant on active webcam functionality). You can also have it record via motion as well which will also help when dealing with file size. Number of frames recorded would also change that file size so see if you're happy with 15fps, or lower, instead of 30fps.

 

I was unable to find anything about the type compression used with that software other than its capable of broadcasting MPEG-4 which would make me assume thats what they use, so there would be another limiting factor.

 

 

 

So I'd suggest setting everything to the lowest possible setting that would still get you the functionality you want and see if you're happy with that file size. Also remember that you may be able to compress it even further by zipping (or another method of compression) the file after its compressed by the software...though youd have to unzipp the file in order to view it.