Whether it’s a parade you’re marching in, a school play that you’ve been cast for, or an award that you’re going to be receiving, you want to share it with everybody who’s close to you. But not everybody is going to be able to make it for one reason or another. So instead of having them come to you, you’re going to go to them. That’s the subject of this How2. You’re the facilitator of your own Internet event. With a little creativity, you can even use this How2 for major events like graduations and weddings. (We’ll talk more about that at the bottom of this article.) It’s just a matter of setting that inner-videographer free to explore his or her creativity.

So let’s get started. The first thing you want to do is set up the XCam2 WideEye in the most suitable location for your event. Make sure that wherever you set up the camera, you’re going to get maximum coverage. If needed, you are free to use more than one camera as well. Use as many cameras as you need to get the best coverage.

For this next part, we’re going to refer back to a previous How2 where we talked about using your XCam2 as a webcam. Also, for this, we’re going to use XRay Vision Streaming, which will allow us to stream video onto the net. So let’s go to XRay Vision.

Once you’re in XRay Vision, right click on your mouse.

Go to Settings>

Then to Internet and Dial Up Settings>

Then to Export HTML>

Once you’re there, you’ll need to give XRay Vision some information.

First you’ll need to give it your FTP server name.

Then you’ll need to enter your User Name.

And finally, you’ll need to enter your password.

Once you’ve taken care of those, then you’ll need to tell XRay Vision WHEN to Export HTML.

Right click your mouse.

Go to Settings>

Server>

Export HTML>

And from there you will be given several choices, and those choices are based on what you need. You can choose to have a new picture every specified amount of seconds, or at specific times such as 5:00 pm, or 7:00 am. Etc. You can also tell it to update the picture based on movement. And you can give it the number of pictures to be uploaded. You’re the boss here; you get to make all those choices.

You will also want to save your images in the Active Database. To save images, right click your mouse.

Click on Settings>

Preferences>

And again, from here you will be given several choices that are yours to make. From "Save Picture Every..." to "Number of Images in Database."

So there you go. You now have your own webcam, and you’re ready to broadcast your event. All you need to do now is to give your friends or family, or both, your ISP address, and you’re set. Make sure you give them the broadcast time, and if they’re out of town, remind them of the time zone changes as well.

Now this is for broadcasting an event that is within range of power, and close to the computer. Such as family get-togethers and family reunions and the like. But what if you’re at a wedding, or a graduation? How do you access the Internet then? Well, you will need some extra gear, but the steps in XRay Vision will be the same as above, but you will need some extra gear.

To broadcast from these special events, you’ll need to have a laptop computer with a wireless Internet Service, such as Ricochet, which is available in most major U.S. cities. These programs allow you to dial out at about 56K speed from your laptop, and as long as the battery on the laptop holds up, you’ll have no problems with the broadcast.

From there, attach a video receiver to your laptop, and use the XCam2s anywhere you want. (Just remember the range of the cameras, and try not to get too far away.)

Also keep in mind that we offer battery packs and tripods since there may not be accessible power wherever you are going to be broadcasting from.

And if you don’t mind bringing along a VCR, you can simply plug that in to a power source, and set up the Video Receiver to your VCR. Then set up your cameras, and off you go. You can use your Scan Power Remote Control to switch back and from between the cameras. And this can all be done quietly and discretely, without disturbing the ceremonies.

That’s it for today’s How2. If you have anything you would like to see done, let us know, and we’ll use your ideas for our next How2.

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