Web Cameras

Features

The INDI Webcam driver should support many different types of devices including:

• AV Foundation Cameras on OS X
• V4L2 Cameras on LInux
• DC 1394 Cameras on Linux
• IP Cameras over Ethernet and Wifi
• Cell Phone and Mobile Device Cameras over Wifi using IP camera apps
• Screen Capture on OS X and LInux
• And any other devices supported by FFMPEG and the software libraries you have installed on your computer

The INDI Webcam driver has a number of interesting features:

• Supports both Live Streaming and Single Image Capture
• Can use a Webcam or Cell Phone Camera like an astrophotography camera
• Can do rapid stacking in integration mode to add many frames in the set exposure time to increase signal
• Can do rapid stacking in averaging mode to average many frames in the exposure time to reduce noise
• Can take 8 bit RGB, 16 bit RGB, and 16 bit Grayscale images.
• Supports ROI subframing

Before connecting

Before you can connect to your webcam and use it in an INDI client, you should do the following:

• Configure your profile in KStars or other client program
• Plug in your webcam (or on a mobile phone, start up the IP camera Server)
• Turn on your webcam (if required)
• Start or Connect to the INDI Server from the client
• Select your Video Device, Video Source, Frame Rate, and Video Size

Configuring a Profile in KStars

In order to use your Webcam in KStars, the first step is to configure the CCD setting in a new profile or editing and existing one. Here is a new profile where we are selecting our CCD as an INDI Webcam CCD.  Other software may have similar configuration steps.

Note that it is not a good idea to have "Autoconnect" selected in this driver before you configure your connection settings and save your c