Setup Aquarium WebCam

We Show You How To Setup A Fish Tank Webcam

Why Setup An Aquarium Webcam?
You and I both know that as soon as one leaves their home, the pets get out of contol. A webcam is a great way to keep an eye out for your pets, use for surveillance, research, or entertainment purposes. With a little money and effort, you can broadcast your own video (and maybe sound) feed to viewers worldwide. You will be able to check on your aquarium from any computer with web browser. It is really not that difficult to setup and you will learn along the way.

What You Will Need:
To setup a live aquarium webcam you will need the following:

Instructions:
The first thing you’ll need to do is configure the machine you’re going to connect the camera to. You’ll need to install the drivers and software for your webcam, install the streaming software, configure the machine to use a static (unchanging) IP address, and disable power management—you don’t want the machine going into a power-saving mode, because this computer will always be on.

 To disable power management, open the Control Panel and go to the Power Options panel. Then make sure the System Standby option is set to Never. In Vista, there should be an option for "High Performance". This will always keep the computer on. Make sure your webcam is working properly—most cams include an app that lets you adjust the camera settings.

To configure your rig for a static IP address, the first thing you need to do is find the appropriate settings for your config. Go to the Control Panel, then click the Network Connections icon. Right-click your Internet connection—it will usually be called Local Area Connection—and click Status. Go to the Support tab and click Details.

For Vista, Control Panel > Classic View > Network and Sharing Center > View Status (by connection) > Details

You should write down your current IP address, default gateway, and DNS servers; you’ll need that info when you configure the static IP.

Now, close that window, go back to the General tab, and click Properties. Double-click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). In the window that opens, you should click “Use the following IP address.” It gets tricky. To figure out your new static IP, you should look at the default gateway setting you wrote down before. Then add one to the final number in the default gateway (it’s usually 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1, so your new IP would be 192.168.0.2). I would choose something higher (192.168.0.10) because I have a few computers. Your subnet mask will be 255.255.255.0 and you can use the same default gateway and DNS servers you were using before. OK and close all the windows you just opened. If everything works and Windows doesn’t give you an error, you can move on to the next step. If Windows says your IP is already in use, you’ll need to try another IP address.

If you’re using a software firewall on this machine, you’ll also need to configure it to allow Windows Media Encoder (the streaming app) to receive requests on port 8080, or the firewall will stop them. Consult your firewall’s documentation for info on enabling port forwarding for a single app or port.

Once you have installed Windows Media Encoder. Run the program. Click New Session > Broadcast A Live Event. Press OK. Check the video box and choose your webcam. This is a great time to configure your webcam (brightness, sharpness, focus, etc..). You don't need audio, unless you want it. Press Next. Choose Pull from the encoder for the broadcast method. Press Next. For the HTTP port type 8080. Press Next. For encoding options, Mulitlpe bit rates video (CBR) 300Kbps. Press Next. You don't need an Archive File. Press Next. Now you can choose if you want to display author, title, etc. in the video properties. I skipped this. Click Next and the check "begin broadcasting when I click finish". Press Finish.

Still with us? We are almost there. :) Windows Media Encoder is now broadcasting your video feed, but you will need to open a port (8080) on your router so the world can access the broadcast. In english, your router acts as a firewall, but opening a port is like taking a small brick out of the wall for a mouse to get through. In this case, the mouse is a viewer trying to access your video broadcast.

The details will vary from router to router, but the basic steps are the same. First, you need to access your router’s web interface. Open your browser and type the IP address you wrote down earlier for your default gateway—your router is your gateway. Enter your router’s password when prompted, and then look for a page labeled Port Forwarding, Gaming, or Servers.

Regardless of your router’s brand, you’ll need to configure a port to forward, as well as tell the router which type of traffic to pass through, and the destination on your internal network. The port range will be 8080 to 8080, the IP address will be the static IP you assigned, and you should forward both TCP and UDP packets. Make sure your new forwarded port is enabled, click the button to apply your settings, and you’re done with the router config.

If you can't figure this out, you may need to refer to your router's manual or maybe an online .pdf manual for forwarding (openings) a port. I am also willing to help so we can get more aquarium webcams on this AWESOME website. Just send your questions here if you are absolutely stumped. I was at that point once, but I eventually learned.

At this point, windows media encoder is broadcasting, and there is an open port on your router. The world should now be able to access your video feed. I'll meet you at the next page to show you how... :)

Test Your Stream! You will need your "external" IP Address (the IP address your ISP assigns you) to test your feed. IPChicken.com will show your external IP address. Write this down.

Go to "open URL" in Windows Media Player, and type your external ip address followed by the opened port (ex. "http://98.212.239.13:8080"). Your broadcast will show up. But, your ISP will change your external IP address from time to time, so this number will eventually change. The solution? Get a "fixed" domain name at dyndns.com! This free domain name service allows your Internet connection to have a fixed domain name (such as aquariumvideo.mypets.ws) on the Internet even if your external IP address varies each time you connect to the Internet. The services basically work as follows:

Get a free domain name with dyndns.com. You specify an e-mail address, username and password during your registration.

You download and install a small "dynamic update client" (DUC) application on your computer from dyndns.com.

The DUC application finds your current IP address and tells the domain name service (DNS) servers at dyndns.com what your current IP address is.

The DNS servers at dyndns.com update your domain name according to the IP address you have.

Your domain name is up to date.

If your IP address changes, the DUC application tells dyndns.com what your current new IP address is.

Some broadband Internet routers already have the dyndns.com DUC application installed on them. I have a Belkin N wireless router and it works great! I didn't need to install the DUC client from dyndns.com because it is integrated into the router.

At dyndns.com, click services, and choose Dynamic DNS Free. For hostname, it can be anything you want and choose the suffix of your liking from the drop down menu (i chose aquariumvideo.mypets.ws). For service type, "Host with Ip Address". For IP address, it's your external ip, or click use auto-detected. Don't check mail routing. Press Add to cart (Don't worry it is free and doesn't require a credit card). Don't forget to download and install your DUC client from dyndns.com, or else your broadcast will be unavailable when your external IP address changes! :(

Your broadcast URL will be: (ex. http://yourdyndnshostname:Port)
Mine was: (http://aquariumvideo.mypets.ws:8080)
You can give it out to your friend's/family, or send it to us so we can post your broadcast on this site (easier option). Your Done! :)

 

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