Not all notebooks or desktop computers have a built-in web camera. With desktop PC’s, this isn’t that big an issue: as you don’t carry them around, you can just buy an inexpensive, clip-on USB camera and you’re set. Not so with notebooks, UMPC’s or Tablet PC’s – with them, purchasing (and carrying!) a cabled solution might be overly suboptimal. Then, just using your camera-equipped smartphone may turn out to be the best solution; preferably over a wireless connection like Bluetooth. This way, you can avoid having to carry around a separate webcamera. It’s indeed big help!
Setting them up is exactly the same as with setting up traditional USB cameras. This means they’re really easy to use. In general, you just run the installer EXE file on the desktop you’d like to use your phone connected to. Some of the desktop-side (let’s call them server) apps ask for being started at boot-up time. If you aren’t afraid of the additional memory (and possible CPU) use, you can safely allow this; if you are, just untick the checkbox.
1.1 Starting the server on the desktop
After this, whenever you want to use your phone as your webcamera, start the given server on your desktop. That is, start (in the order of discussion), in Start/Programs, start
WebCamera Plus/ WebCamera Plus
Mobiola Web Camera for Windows Mobile / Mobiola Web Camera for Windows Mobile
Mobiola Web Camera for S60 / Mobiola Web Camera for S60
wwigo/ wwigo
SmartCam/Smartcam
After this, most of the apps start waiting and you can directly start the client on your phone and initiate the connection. The exceptions are:
* Mobiola Web Camera for S60, where you may also need to set the connection method:
{
"lightbox_close": "Close",
"lightbox_next": "Next",
"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
"lightbox_download": "Download",
"lightbox_share": "Share",
"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
}
Note that these radio buttons are completely missing from the Windows Mobile version as it supports fewer ways of connection
* Wwigo, where you need to click the leftmost button, "wwigo video" for the server to be able to receive connection requests:
If you plan to connect via USB cable (and not some kind of wireless connection), you’ll also need to connect and wait for ActiveSync (Windows Mobile) or Nokia PC Suite (S60) to be activated. (This also means that, on S60 phones, you’ll need to select the standard suite transfer mode.)
1.2 Starting the client on the phone
On the phone (the client), you will need to do the following in order to start the connection (in the order of further discussion; first, Windows Mobile titles and, then, Symbian ones):
1.2.1 Windows Mobile
1.2.1.1 WebCamera Plus
In Menu / Source, switch to Front Sensor if you want to use the front camera as your camera. Otherwise, use Camera to switch to the back camera. It’s also here that you can en/disable sound capture (using which isn’t recommended if you already have a mike built-in into your desktop because, at least in my case, the transferred sound was much choppier than with using the built-in mike of my TC1100):
In Menu / Settings / Camera, you can set a lot of goodies like saturation, rotation, mirror, resolution, quality:
If you plan to use WebCamera Plus via USB or Bluetooth (both via an active ActiveSync, previusly-started connection), there isn’t anything else to do – just click Start. If, on the other hand, you use a wireless TCP/IP connection (either BT PAN – if your phone supports it at all –, Wi-Fi p2p or even long-distance TCP/IP connections like GPRS), you will need to set the (local network) IP address of your desktop. You can do this in Menu / Settings / Network:
1.2.1.2 Mobiola Web Camera for Windows Mobile
Start the server and, then, the client. Go to Menu / Connect / ActiveSync to connect via either USB or Bluetooth or Menu / Connect / Wi-Fi if connecting via a Wi-Fi p2p network:
1.2.2 Symbian
1.2.2.1 Mobiola Web Camera for S60
After starting the server (and selecting the connection method in it), start the client (after connecting it to USB and waiting for Nokia PC Suite to be activated if you want to go the cabled route) and go to Options / Connect. There, select the connection method (which, again, must match the desktop setting):
When connecting via Bluetooth, you’ll be offered the standard Bluetooth device selection screen:
Note that you’ll also need to use the left/right cursor keys to switch between front/back cameras (and screens, if you want to transfer your screen content only).
1.2.2.2 WWigo
Start the server (and click leftmost "wwigo video" button). On the client, you can, as is explained HERE, safely cancel the initial access point request screen (which would only download ads to be displayed) with a right softkey (cancel). Then, go to Options / Settings and select Camera1 if you want to use the front (and not the back) camera:
(Unfortunately, this setting isn’t permanent.) Then, go to Options / Connect and select your already-paired desktop in the standard Bluetooth selector dialog:
1.2.2.3 SmartCam
After starting the server and the client, on the latter, go to Options / Start:
Select your desktop and you’re set.
1.3 Configuring desktop applications to make use of the connection
You will also need to configure the desktop (for example video-capable messenger) apps to use the (new) video (or even audio) source one-by-one. Here, I show the example of Live Messenger, as you may already know this – after all, this is done in entirely the same way as with setting up a standard USB camera.
Go to Tools / Audio and Video Setup. Click Next two times to get to the audio input dialog. Here, if if you use Ateksoft WebCamera Plus on Windows Mobile, you’ll be able to switch to it as is depicted in the following screenshot:
Otherwise, just press Next to select the camera. The following screenshot shows my tablet PC with all the reviewed clients installed:
Here, you’ll need to select the right source. As these are named after the name of the given application, they’re very easy to recognize.
2. Available camera applications
Fortunately, there are several solutions for all major mobile operating systems of which, here, I cover three: Windows Mobile, Symbian S60 and BlackBerry. Let’s start with the first.
2.1 Windows Mobile
For Windows Mobile (WinMo), there are two solutions: Ateksoft WebCamera Plus and Warelex Mobiola Web Camera. Of the two, as the time being, I’d go with the first if you need front camera support – the latter doesn’t support front cameras on Windows Mobile (and has HUGE CPU and, consequentially, power usage when in foreground).
2.1.1 Ateksoft WebCamera Plus 2.0
I’ve already reviewed an earlier version of Ateksoft CoolCamera (a predecessor to WebCamera Plus). Version 2.0 of WebCamera Plus introduced a lot of goodies like audio capture (important for computers without a microphone).
Note that, today, CoolCamera is different from WebCamera Plus: it, on some select models, allows for taking videos at a much higher resolution than allowed by the built-in camera applications. (It’s, as opposed to CoolCapture (see below), doesn’t require a desktop component for video compression.) In this respect, it’s pretty much like the old, for seasoned Windows Mobile / Windows CE users, very well-known CECam. Finally, CoolCapture is a desktop-side video / screenshot capturer application.
This is the camera app I recommend the most for WinMo users.
2.1.2 Warelex Mobiola Web Camera 3.1.8
It’s a multiplatform (BlackBerry, Symbian S60v2/3, UIQ2/3; Windows Mobile) title.
Note that the license is attached to a desktop PC– and not a mobile phone. That is, if you’d like to use your phone with more than one PC’s, look for something else. Also see THIS for more info on this.
As with Ateksoft, they also have remote capture tools with image / video capture capabilities and IM support (for the screen only) - but "only" for the BlackBerry (for which, so far, I’ve used a free alternative) and Symbian S60v3/UIQ3; the latest version also working over Wi-Fi. Note that Ateksoft WebCamera Plus is also able to send over the phone / PDA screen contents themselves.
On Windows Mobile, it’s clearly weaker than Ateksoft WebCamera Plus because it, among other things, doesn’t support audio capture (should your desktop / notebook lack a built-in mike) and, even more importantly, front cameras.
2.2 Symbian
2.2.1 Warelex Mobiola Web Camera for S60 3.0.15
This is the one you may want to go for if you don’t mind the price: it’s stable, supports all kinds of connections (including USB) and consumes little power.
2.2.2 WWIGO (webcam wherever I go) beta 1.3
(also see THIS)
It’s a free product, all you need to do is registering on their homepage to access the download. Its support forum is HERE. It’s only able to use Bluetooth (no USB or Wi-Fi, unlike with Mobiola’s title). It didn’t work on either of my two MS BT stack (SP2/SP3) Windows XP’s - it always displayed Filter Initialization Failed – screenshot http://www.winmobiletech.com/072008Webcams/wwigoprob.png[/IMG]]HERE. This is a very common problem and is discussed HERE. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the 1.0 version (for example, the link given HERE is long-dead). Under Vista Ultimate SP1, however, it worked flawlessly on exactly the same HP TC1100 Tablet PC where it refused to do the same under XP Tablet Edition SP3. That is, the benchmarks I’ve made are done under Vista.
The longest thread on it outside the official forums is HERE.
2.2.3 SmartCam 1.2 for S60v2/3
(download HERE)
This is an open-source, Java-based application capable of connecting via Bluetooth only. Unfortunately, while Java does have its merits, in this case it resulted in vastly (about 1.5 times more) increased power usage (because of the higher CPU usage). Furthermore, it just quit on my v21 Nokia N95 after about 30 seconds and is, consequently, pretty much useless. You, on the other hand, may find it stable.
3. Comparison chart
3.1 Windows Mobile
(original HTML table HERE)
3.2 Symbian
(original HTML table HERE)
All Nokia N95 power consumption figures include the about 0.12W power consumption of the backlight.
let's bump this so that it gets some (deserved) attention...
This can be done free on WM
This is in short how it works (and it is free):
Download mymobiler: http://www.mymobiler.com
Download VH screen capture driver: http://www.hmelyoff.com/index.php?section=8
Start mymobiler and activate your mobile camera
Grab the part of the screen you want with VH screen capture
Now you have a webcam stream which you can use in any program like skype, msn etc..
Look at this video as example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wveANUBUIJM
Instead of using the microsoft remote tool use mymobiler. It is much faster.
PS: You need active sync to communicate with mymobiler
HTC ...
webcam software works only in HTC Phone(imate "ultimate series" is not support!!!).
MyMobile work on my 838 Pro, but no video came.
The screen was displayed on my PC but when I activated the camera, no picture came from the camera. Just blackout (the camera indicatior & buttons are shown).
Any clue?
lordlugo said:
WM work on my 838 Pro,
The screen was displayed on my PC but when I activated the camera, no picture came from the camera. Juss blackout (the camera indicatior & buttons are shown).
Any clue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you watching it via MyMobiler?
Menneisyys said:
Are you watching it via MyMobiler?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yes it is.
the 838pro camera program started and it shows everyting at the Phone screen. But there's nothing but the indicator at the PC screen (via My Mobiler).
I think I have the same issue with mymobiler showing only a blackscreen when my camera is active. Using Diamond2 here.
Also, I downloaded WebcameraPlus 2.0 but when I run it in Diamond2, the screen is very small on the top left corner and when I exit, it freezes my Diamond2 for 30 seconds and throw out an error report for Microsoft. I don't think it's compatible with Diamond2. I used the same WebCameraPlus on 818Pro and it's working perfectly. Any idea?
UPDATE (06/28/2009): The Mobola FAQ doesn’t mention this, so, I find it necessary to elaborate on it: I’ve tested the application under Windows 7 RC. It doesn’t run, not even with setting the main application executable, webcam.exe, to run in XP SP2/3 mode, with admin rights.
Fortunately, this all is very easy to fix: just download connapi.dll from HERE. Unzip the file to C:\Program Files\Mobiola Web Camera for S60\ and you’re set.
After this, camera worked just fine on my two Windows 7 notebooks (IBM Thinkpad t42p and HP TC1100 tablet) I’ve tested it on via Bluetooth, using my Nokia N95; works flawlessly.
Alas, doesn't run on the Acer Temp M900 device. Just hangs with the Busy icon when you try to enable the camera.
This works amazing. Even catch it over the internet, connecting to my home-domain.
But, to get ultimate awesomeness, I want to catch the stream with another program. What stream is sent out?
I have this new Sheevaplug installed at home running Linux.
I want to catch the stream with f.i. ffmpeg, and port it via uPNP (mediatomb, fuppes) to my home-tv.
So now, everywhere with a decent connection I can stream directly to my TV set
Also check out LiveCast:
bb.livecast.com
pafke said:
This is in short how it works (and it is free):
Download mymobiler: http://www.mymobiler.com
Download VH screen capture driver: http://www.hmelyoff.com/index.php?section=8
Start mymobiler and activate your mobile camera
Grab the part of the screen you want with VH screen capture
Now you have a webcam stream which you can use in any program like skype, msn etc..
Look at this video as example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wveANUBUIJM
Instead of using the microsoft remote tool use mymobiler. It is much faster.
PS: You need active sync to communicate with mymobiler
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks, works perfect for me!
I have problem w/ XV6800(Titan) camera software.Both the screencapture softwares are not able to get the correct video from the camera software on XV6800.I guess its because the camera software uses camera video as background(I can get everything except the background camera video...its just black)
imgur,com sQKS3.jpg
(sorry i cant post with external link)
Only black background,no actual view
Is there any way to hook my Toshiba G900 which runs at WVGA to an external monitor of some sort? It lacks VGA Out so I'm guessing not, though is there any software which will stream it over to my PC? Perhaps allow me to interact with the phone using the PC, such as clicking for a stylus tap.
Thanks.
My Mobiler
download it from http://www.mymobiler.com
Thanks for that. I'm getting server errors right now so the site is probably down, but I'll try again soon.
ShaunC193 said:
Is there any way to hook my Toshiba G900 which runs at WVGA to an external monitor of some sort? It lacks VGA Out so I'm guessing not, though is there any software which will stream it over to my PC? Perhaps allow me to interact with the phone using the PC, such as clicking for a stylus tap.
Thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try this: http://www.soti.net/default.asp?Cmd=Products&SubCmd=PCPro
hope it helps,
Or you can use software provided by Toshiba - teleport (it's usually on a CD bundled with the phone). It allows you to view phone's screen and control it from a PC, or use phone's keyboard to control the PC. Not very efficient and i prefer MyMobiler over it, but it is a possible solution
Oh, and by the way, you can grab MyMobiler at places other than author's website which still seems to be down:
http://freewareppc.com/utilities/mymobiler.shtml
While the Splashtop app that comes pre-installed on the TF300 is pretty neat, it differs from Windows implementation of Remote Desktop in several ways. Most significantly to me is that the image that you see on the TF300's screen is a mirror of your PC's current desktop, including aspect ratio and screen resolution (scaled). In Microsoft's implementation of RDP, the remote machine is unavailable while an RDP session is in progress, which allows for the session to conform to the client machine's native screen resolution.
Is there an alternative to Splashtop that more closely resembles Microsoft's implementation of RDP?
I ask because my desktop PC sports two 1280 x 1024 resolution screens, and when I open a Splashtop session, not only do I see a single screen (scaled to squeeze a 1024 vertical resolution down to 800) but my second screen is completely invisible.
Look up teamviewer. I'm not sure how it compares but it's free so worth a shot. when I tried it, out had much more options than splashtop. My buddy who is a network admin recommended it to me.
enomele said:
Look up teamviewer. I'm not sure how it compares but it's free so worth a shot. when I tried it, out had much more options than splashtop. My buddy who is a network admin recommended it to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 TeamViewer
Another +1. Desktops/servers... Works great.
if you are looking for something that functions like the Remote Desktop app in Windows, the only one that I've found that does that is 2X Client RDP/Remote Desktop. You don't install anything on a host pc like most of these other apps require.
I can use 2X to log into my work's windows server, just like if I was Remote Desktop on a windows PC. Navigating can sometimes be a little tricky, but the app includes a built in mouse emulator that makes things easier.
You can edit the settings for a computer in the Splashtop app to fit the resolution of the tablet (I use "Best fit to this device"). You can also switch between monitors by tapping 3 fingers (which is pretty damn difficult to get it to register at times); I switch between my monitors all the time. Only thing with multiple monitors is that it only adjusts the resolution of the primary display on your computer and not the others.
Thanks for all the tips, guys.
I don't see many posts about remote desktop but I've found that using my Surface RT + remote desktop to connect to my Windows 8 Pro computer at home is an amazing way to work. The touchscreen even works to navigate the remote computer.
And, since the micro hdmi on the surface supports 1080p, I can connect to a full size screen.
Does this actually work fine then? It's what I plan on doing tbh, I have a media centre PC under my TV that I want to install Windows 8 Pro on and use Remote Desktop.
brummiesteven said:
Does this actually work fine then? It's what I plan on doing tbh, I have a media centre PC under my TV that I want to install Windows 8 Pro on and use Remote Desktop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
it works very well. I do prefer the classic RDP client over the new RT one though because of easier touch gestures.
brummiesteven said:
Does this actually work fine then? It's what I plan on doing tbh, I have a media centre PC under my TV that I want to install Windows 8 Pro on and use Remote Desktop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The screen on the htpc will lock when you rdp in. If you want to see the screen on the tv and your surface you'll have to use remote assistance.
moosic said:
The screen on the htpc will lock when you rdp in. If you want to see the screen on the tv and your surface you'll have to use remote assistance.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Doesn't bother me too much... although it'd be good to have both, I just want tot have the option there to run Intel apps *if* I ever had the need.
It's actually awesome! I use Vuze a lot for movies and such. I have them saved on my computer, and use the network link to move them to my Surface. I was thinking I would need to do it thru the SD Card, but this is much easier
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
Is it possible to use the older RDP client and enable monitor spanning to remote connect using the tablets screen as well as a 1080p monitor?
For the sake of argument, could you use the remote desktop to use image editing software such as Photoshop through the Surface? Obviously, the screen is probably way too small in terms of both physical size and resolution to really be of much use but for less complex editing it would be awesome...
Absolutely. Bear in mind that the Surface RT doesn't have a stylus digitizer, so you'd be stuck with capacitive touch or mouse+keyboard for input (although now that I think about it, you can probably use a Wacom USB tablet with the Surface's USB port...) but in general, yes you could do this. I already have Remote Desktop pinned to my Surface's taskbar (along with Powershell, which also allows a different kind of remote access).
GoodDayToDie said:
Absolutely. Bear in mind that the Surface RT doesn't have a stylus digitizer, so you'd be stuck with capacitive touch or mouse+keyboard for input (although now that I think about it, you can probably use a Wacom USB tablet with the Surface's USB port...) but in general, yes you could do this. I already have Remote Desktop pinned to my Surface's taskbar (along with Powershell, which also allows a different kind of remote access).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is good to hear! My dilemma has been that I want a portable device so that I'm not glued to my desk for the majority of the day but the major obstacle has been finding a tablet that can actually do what my computer does. Remote Desktop sounds like an answer.
What would the frame rate be stable enough to remote my computer and remote desktop from work with no lag?
For example, internet browsing on chrome or watching a youtube video through remote desktop.
tehsprayer said:
What would the frame rate be stable enough to remote my computer and remote desktop from work with no lag?
For example, internet browsing on chrome or watching a youtube video through remote desktop.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Or you can download google chrome and the app for remote desktop for chrome....Works pretty good for me.....should work fine for surface....or RT...
You should search the forum - there is a thread on Remote Desktop, and it explains how to use Remote Apps, which imho, is the best way to utilize x86 apps on your surface RT...
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1977545&highlight=remote+apps
I get little to no lag running Photoshop, AutoCAD, etc. For the few times that I actually need to run an x86, this is the way to go. Do not expect to stream movies, or music from your desktop - although, I guess it depends on your connection - I have my home laptop connected to Linksys G router (im sure if I upgraded to N, it might be faster).
I found an interesting company (Mikogo) who have launched a cloud based Windows 8 desktop (which is actually Windows Server 2012). This doesn't have a windows 8 app but runs through HTML. In theory this would be great as it says you can install your own apps so is less restrictive than Cloudon and Onlive Desktop if you've used those on other platforms.
I requested an account and could then access a desktop via HTML5 using IE on my Windows 8 PC. However it doesn't work on my Surface RT browser (Metro or desktop) as the mouse cursor is not captured for some reason (I've tried via the touchpad and a mouse via USB). Note that even on a PC the performance is slow, although this is a beta.
If anyone wants to try this out I'm curious why it doesn't work in the RT IE10 browser but it does on the desktop. I did feed this back to Mikogo but they don't have an RT device to use (they suggested I try another browser on RT )
VNC has already been ported. Does the job, can be controlled by either device PC or RT.
Hello, I'm searching for an alternative for BBQScreen which allows me to mirror/clone the screen of my S4 in realtime. I don't want to start any apps like Chromecast, just a realtime-streaming like AirPlay in connection with AirServer.I know there is an Android app called AirSync which allows me to create a connection to the AirServer, but a realtime-screen-mirroring like it is possible with an iOS-device is not possible (yet). BBQScreen makes this possible, but it regularly breaks down and I have to reconnect every few minutes...
Miracast should work like AirPlay, but I think it's not working as it should yet. If I'm mistaking, please let me know!
Reflector 2 Screen-Mirroring
Hello!
To answer your question, a great alternative to BBQscreen is Reflector 2. It runs on a Mac or Windows computer and is compatible with Android devices using Google Cast. There is no additional software needed for the device(s) you wish to mirror. When your device is mirrored to your computer screen, the app will allow you to see what's happening on your device in real-time, as well as record your mirrored devices. As long as your computer and device are on the same network, you shouldn't experience issues using the app.
I'm using AirServer now. Works quite well, although iOS-devices still work better...