How to share webcam over network: Windows, Mac and Linux [GUIDE]

Webcam networking on Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora and CentOS)

• 1.

  Use these commands:
  
  To install software on your computer:
  dpkg -i [package]
  
  To install all dependencies automatically:
  dpkg -i [package]
sudo apt-get update
apt-get install -f
dpkg -i [package]
  
  To install or upgrade rpm package:
  yum install [package]
• 2.

  Open the app and do the following:
  
  

  1. Go to “Share local USB devices” tab
     
     
  2. In USB devices tree select the webcam you would like to share
     
     
  3. Click “Share local USB device” button
     
     
  4. “Share USB device” window will be invoked. You can see additional info about your webcam (Vendor, Manufacturer, Serial Number, etc.)
     
     
  5. The main drawback here is a large network traffic. To decrease it turn on traffic compression. To set traffic compression algorithm go to Options.

How to stream remote webcam with VLC player

• 1.

  Setup
  To install VLC on Debian, Ubuntu or Linux Mint:
  $ sudo apt-get install vlc
  
  To install VLC on Fedora, first enable RPM Fusion's free repository, then run:
  $ sudo yum install vlc
  
  To install VLC on CentOS or RHEL 6, first set up EPEL repository, and then use the following commands:
  $ cd /etc/yum.repos.d/
$ sudo wget http://pkgrepo.linuxtech.net/el6/release/linuxtech.repo
$ sudo yum install vlc
• 2.

  Verify Webcam in VLC
  Make sure your webcam is detected by your Linux system and VLC.
  
  You’ll need to know the webcam’s name for that. In the example below, the webcam is named
  /dev/video0.
$ ls /dev/video*
/dev/video0
  
  Then you have to test video from your webcam. Here is the command you need to use, do not forget to replace "video0" with the name of your device.
  $ vlc v4l2:///dev/video0
  
  If your webcam is successfully detected by VLC, you should be able to see your video stream.
• 3.

  Configure Webcam Streaming on VLC
  You have successfully detected your webcam in VLC, next is configuring webcam streaming.
  
  In this example webcam is streamed over HTTP in WMV format. To configure VLC for webcam streaming, first launch VLC.
  $ vlc
  
  In VLC menu choose "Streaming".
  
  On the screen select your webcam’s or audio device’s name, e.g., /dev/video0 for webcam, and hw:0,0 for audio. Tick "Show more options" checkbox and make a note of value strings in "MRL" and "Edit Options" fields. These strings will be used later in the tutorial. Click "Stream" button.
  
  Verify the video source, e.g., v4l2:///dev/video, and click "Next" to continue.
  
  Choose the destination, i.e., streaming method/target, of webcam streaming. In our example we choose HTTP from the drop down list, and click "Add".
  
  Next, specify port number and path of a streaming service. For port number, type 8080; we assume the port number is not occupied, for path - "/stream.wmv". For transcoding choose "Video - WMV + WMA (ASF)" profile from the drop down list. Click "Next".
  
  The next screen displays automatically generated stream output string. Make a note of it and click "Stream" button.
  
  At this point, VLC should start streaming video from your webcam over HTTP. Streaming traffic is sent directly to localhost at TCP port number 8080, so you won’t be able to see anything in the VLC window.
  
  To verify that VLC is running correctly at TCP port 8080, run the following command, and look for VLC.
  $ sudo netstat -nap | grep 8080
• 4.

  Watch Streaming Video from Webcam
  Once a streaming server starts running, the webcam live feed is available at
  http:// <ip_address_of_webcam_host>:8080/stream.wmv
  
  You can use VLC player or MPlayer to access the webcam feed as follows.
  $ vlc http:// <ip_address_of_webcam_host>:8080/stream.wmv
$ mplayer http:// <ip_address_of_webcam_host>:8080/stream.wmv
  
  If you are testing the feed from the same host, use loopback address 127.0.0.1 instead.
  
  Ask your questions in the comments below.

Webcam networking on Mac

• 1.

  Launch FlexiHub and sign in with your FlexiHub account you have created. In the interface, you will see the list of USB devices currently connected to the host computer.
• 2.

  You don’t have to make any additional steps on the host computer. You also may lock the devices you don’t want to be shared, but in our case the Webcam should be unlocked (it is set by default).
• 3.

  Once you are done with setting up the configuration for the remote webcam, click Connect on the local computer.

How to Broadcast webcam on Mac

• 1.

  Find an app to stream your webcam; for example, it could be CamTwist.
  
  Note: Compared to online streaming platforms, YouTube or encoders these apps are usually less functional, i.e. they have less features, less customization options and the streaming quality is lower. They work perfectly fine though if you need them for monitoring your house or office, as they are simple, easy-to-use and reliable.
• 2.

  Download and install the app.
• 3.

  Allow the app to access your webcam. Note that you might need to update your Flash plugin for this to work.
• 4.

  Start streaming!
  
  "Go Live" button starts streaming video from your webcam to a video player at a designated URL. You can view this URL on your browser or through the app on your mobile device.
  
  Go to the app's settings and change the values to get the video quality and resolution you want.
• 5.

  Share the URL on social media to get an audience for your live stream.
  
  The best thing about using the app is that it is simple – download, install, stream, and share. All it takes is a few minutes and a couple of clicks.
  
  Just like with other live streams, you can manage viewers of your video – remove background, those you do not like; or watch it yourself – set it as ‘private’ in the Settings."