WebcamVideoDiary: v1.03.01 - Mar 4, 2015

[mouser]

Download latest version from Official Web Page: HERE.

This program is being released as part of the NANY 2011 challenge.

What is Webcam Video Diary good for?

• Takes snapshots and videos and lets you annotate them with text notes.
• Organizes images/videos automatically in folders based on the date.
• Highly customizable user interface and recording options.
• Designed to stay resident in the system tray and be triggered by hotkeys, for users who intend to use it throughout the day.

It is still in very early beta stage, so expect:

• Very rough edges
• No help file to speak of
• You need to really configure it and experiment to get good initial webcam configuration settings.

Noteworthy features:

• All video/image/notes are standard files stored in normal directories on your disk that you can work with in other programs.  Notes are stored in standard standalone .txt files with same base name as their associated image/video files.

An example usecase for Webcam Video Diary:
You want to be able to take image snapshots from your webcam throughout they day and annotate them with notes, while you are working:

• Configure a hotkey to trigger an image capture.
• Configure it to minimize to the tray.
• Configure it to switch to media file view after taking an image capture.
• Now just minimize the program to the tray.  When you are ready to take a new image, hit the hotkey; image snapshot will be taken and filed into the folder associated with the current date, and pop up with the cursor in the notes field for you to enter your notes for the screenshot.
• You can configure the program to keep the video connected at all times for fastest response, or to only connect the webcam when an image snapshot is triggered.
• Same thing can be done for videos.

Feature requests welcome.

[mouser]

Very Important:

This application is not going to be useful to many people, but if you are someone who thinks you can benefit from it, it is *VERY* important that you take some time to experiment with the different resolution and compression choices available in the options.  If you do not do so, you will end up with huge video files that have lots of dropped frames.

I could use assistance with finding a good set of reliable settings for some of these values; and please do share your experiences finding a good combination of resolution/compression values.

[insert_nick]

I won't be able to give other feedback before December 28, but I've quickly tried it and I can say that the camera doesn't work (I get no video, just black). It's a built-in webcam into an Acer notebook, usually it just works (e.g. with flash apps/websites).

[Kamel]

I think this is a wonderful idea for an app there mouser, excellent work!

I unfortunately do not currently have a webcam hooked up, but I definitely own one. If I can find it, this might actually give me a reason to use it! Reminds me of Avatar haha. It's an excellent idea though, I hate journaling. This would actually get me to do it.

[mouser]

insert_nick, make sure you explore the options, and switch to the Live Video tab.

this is a very highly configurable program, and it's going to require some exploration of the options before you get the hang of it.

[insert_nick]

No way: in Program Options -> Hardware -> Video Device Settings -> Video Source -> Video Input Device, I have the following options:

Google Camera Adapter 1
Google Camera Adapter 0
USB Video Device

Unfortunately none of them works, even if I am on the Live Camera Video tab.

[mouser]

insert_nick, that is strange.. i wonder what is unusual about your video camera device that makes it not available to the webcam library. since this is my first experience coding for such a thing, let's see what other reports we get from other users about compatibility with their cameras.

[Cyeb]

Very Important:

This application is not going to be useful to many people

-mouser (December 22, 2010, 07:58 PM)

You kidding me?  I'm definitely using this!  Maybe I should start my own "Boy Takes Picture of Himself Everyday for 10 Years" thingy.  

Edit:  First impressions:  Wow, I'm loving it.  It's pretty nice.  Could this program maybe be portable?
Edit2:  The scroll bar is messing up.  The theme disappears when you drag it.

[insert_nick]

mouser, 1.02.01 works for me too! It's a great app, with some more features how nice it would be for those lucid dreaming purposes that I wrote about before :) Also, the same features would be useful to take quick but effective notes about ideas when they pop into mind (and I can think a lot of other possible uses too...)

PS: could you post a notification in this thread whenever you update the software? (I didn't notice the availability of the 1.02.01 version).

[mouser]

I'm glad it works for you insert_nick!

Please do start posting feature ideas and bug report -- but lets do those in new threads in this section.  I'm very interested in hearing how people use the program or want to use it.

Could this program maybe be portable?

All of my programs can be used portably.  Just unzip the setup program with any unzip program (rename extension from .exe to .zip if you like).  Then edit the ConfigDir.ini file (rename ConfigDir_Sample.ini to ConfigDir.ini) and make the first line: PORTABLE=TRUE

[insert_nick]

All of my programs can be used portably.  Just unzip the setup program with any unzip program (rename extension from .exe to .zip if you like).  Then edit the ConfigDir.ini file (rename ConfigDir_Sample.ini to ConfigDir.ini) and make the first line: PORTABLE=TRUE

-mouser (January 02, 2011, 12:16 PM)

Awesome, uninstalled and using it in portable mode now.
I see the mouse pointer changing into a cross that I can drag on videos and pictures to make a rectangle, that can be moved and resized: what is it for? It seems that it is not saved...

[mouser]

v1.03.01 - Mar 4, 2015

Portable version now available.
Older versions were expiring saying Private Beta Testing period had expired.