The webcams come with a stand or hooks for placing the device on a flat surface or to attach it to a shelf, monitor or other area. USB webcams also contain larger, adjustable lenses that result in better overall picture quality than built-in webcams. An adjustable lens enables you to fine tune the focus control as well as adjust the focal length for near or far so the subject you are recording is always in focus. Like built-in webcams, USB webcams also include application programs that include an array of color, sound, focus and other adjustments as well as the ability to designate which directory to save videos and still photographs.
How a USB webcam Connects to the Internet
A USB webcam is a camera that connects to a computer, usually through plugging it in to a USB port on the machine. The video is fed to the computer where a software application lets you view the pictures and also transfer them to the Internet.
The software you choose can be set to upload images on a time interval using FTP (file transfer protocol) to a website, or it can be set to provide a live feed for displaying on a remote machine or again in a website.
When FTP is used the picture on the website is a static one which is updated regularly at intervals minute by minute, hour by hour or even longer. This is very easy to set up but the image delay means they are no where near as interesting to watch as a live feed.
USB webcam software can also be used to provide a live feed directly from the computer to your website or even fed to the Camsecure streaming service to allow large numbers of visitors to your website to see the feed at the same time.
USB webcams can be the small internal type you usually see for web conferencing and personal use etc. right up to professional quality oudoor weatherproof webcams.
The downside to any USB type of webcam is the fact that you must have a PC switched on at the location of the camera to enable the images or video feed to be sent to a website.
The first webcam was up and running at Cambridge University’s Computer Science Department In 1991.