h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Ok, this is the scenario:

I would like to broadcast my wedding live from my website so that people that can't be there on the day are able to watch.

We have laptops and can get hold of a webcam - would a video camera be better?

The venue will give us access to their ISDN line, do we need anything special to be able to use this? Does it require a special kind of modem for example? Have never tried to use ISDN so don't really know...

We have a website with a fixed IP address, and I have googled for and found software that allows you to broadcast from a website - some of these things appear to be free/shareware. Are any particularly good/bad?

Anyone actually know how to do this? I keep thinking it must be a pretty easy thing to do but can't quite see how to make it happen...


k

You seem to have most of the requirements already. However a couple of comments may help you further.

I would get a web cam. A video camera is to good for the job. The size and resolution of the image would be to great for transmitting over the Internet. You would only be transmitting a frame about every thirty seconds. You need a frame rate of at least ten frames per second to make it watchable. A web cam with its small image size is built for the job. They are not expensive

You may be a little disappointed with the ISDN line. ISDN is only 128 kbs max. Even the slowest ADSL connection will have an upload of 256kbs. You do need an IDSN modem to make it work. A DSL/Cable modem will not work I am afraid. ISDN modems tend to be more expensive and harder to find than the more common DSL/cable modems.

A fixed IP address is a good thing but not essential.

You need to look at the sotware carefully. Most of the free/shareware software assumes that the web cam is connected to the computer it is running on. In you case you will be running a remote web cam. You will need software on the laptop to send the images to your web site. Then software running on your your web site which receives the images and makes them available to anyone logging on. A little more complicated.

I would certainly arrange with the venue to do a dry run through a few days before the event to get everything set up and working.

I hate to sound gloomy on your wedding day, but unless you have someone in your wedding party that understands these things and can correct the little glitches that are likely to occur, it may not turn out as well as expected.

My very best wishes

Donald

No need to be quite so gloomy there Donald, the worst that can happen is that it doesn't get broadcast which is not the end of the world, just disappointing. My fiance is the and will run everything, but getting him to do any organising is another thing altogether. I'm trying to understand what we need so I can dump three quarters of it on him and tell him to get it finished...

I have seen a few sites for software that does the broadcasting, do you know what kind of thing we will need to run on the laptop in order to send the data so I know what to google for?

It is slightly annoying that the venue doesn't have adsl as neither of us has an ISDN modem. This may be the deal-breaker for us as we don't have spare funds for gadgetry just now.

Anyone want to lend me an ISDN modem?

k

Thanks for the help by the way

You need to be looking for remote web cam software. Most of the remote systems are designed for surveillance for security reasons. So look at it as if you were setting up remote surveillance of your wedding. Put "remote web cam" into Google and take it from there.

Good luck

Donald

If you have access to a Mac you can use Quicktime Broadcaster http://www.apple.com/quicktime/products/broadcaster/ , combined with Quicktime Streaming Server (on a Mac server) or Darwin Streaming Server (on a Windows or Linux server) you have the capability of doing high quality live video. (high quality for the web anyway).

Sorry I can't help with doing the same on a PC, but there must be an equivalent tool. Try looking at the RealNetworks web site.