If you’re already connected to the Internet 24/7 at your ISKCON temple (via broadband cable or DSL or similar), then there’s no reason why you shouldn’t upload a live image every 15 seconds to Krishna.com and broadcast the glories of your temple to the world.*
I have three recommendations. First, the cheap method with available equipment. All you need is an inexpensive $30 webcam from your electronics or office supply store—Logitech USB webcams are fine—and an old computer or laptop. Maybe you already have a cheap webcam lying around the office. Hook it all up, and start the FTP image upload. It’s not difficult. See option 1 below.
If you don’t want to tie up an old computer or laptop (and this solution is too bulky for you), then get a $95 network IP camera from Panasonic, or similar. See option 2 below.
Finally, when you’re comfortable with the technology and ready to upgrade, invest in a nice network IP camera that can pan, tilt, zoom and rotate through presets of each deity, temple room wide angle scenes, and any other areas of interest. See option 3 below.
Overview: You’ll plug a cheap USB webcam into an existing computer that is connected to the Internet, and upload still images every 15 seconds to Krishna.com. That’s it. Simple. (If we feature your webcam on Krishna.com, we’ll also help you implement a webcam page on your own temple website, for your local audience.)
What you’ll need:
1) Set up an FTP account with Krishna.com. Email us at webcams@krishna.com to let us know you want to set up a webcam for your temple. If we agree to host you, we’ll set up an FTP (file transfer) account on our web server for you, where you can upload the periodic still images from your camera.
Once your FTP account is set up and we’ve emailed you the information, proceed with Step 2.
2) Obtain and install a cheap webcam. Usually they connect via USB cable to a computer. Plug it into your computer’s USB port. Install the software that came with it. You should be able to see the webcam image on your computer screen if all is configured correctly.
3) Upload images via FTP to the Krishna.com media server. Check your webcam software until you find something called “periodic image upload” or “FTP upload settings” or similar. (You’ll have to enter the FTP information you got from us in Step 1.) Configure your FTP settings to upload an image every 15 seconds, or four images per minute.
4) Using your web browser, check your image upload URL (the location on our media web server where your image will appear, once it’s uploaded via FTP). Do you see a still image? If yes, great! Send us an email to let us know it’s working.
If not, retrace your steps and see if you can find your error. Double check the FTP information you typed into the FTP upload settings. Double check the connection on your webcam and see if you can see the webcam live image on your computer screen, using the webcam software that came with it.
Recommended webcam software: We recently set up the Vancouver temple webcast with a software called Active Webcam from http://www.pysoft.com/. You can search Google for “webcam software” and find any number of offerings. Try a few and see which one you like best.
Need something to tithe you over until you have enough money saved for an awesome SONY SNC-RX570 webcam?
Here are three simple network IP cameras that don’t require a computer. They plug directly into your broadband DSL router or network, and use dynamic DNS service to let you access the camera from the Internet.
$95 Panasonic BL-C1A Network Camera
$220 Axis Communications 206 Network Camera
$285 Panasonic BLC-30A 1/4" Color CMOS Wireless Network Camera
1) Purchase your webcam. Pick one of the above models. Purchase from a reputable dealer such as B&H Photo Video in New York. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/
2) Set up your camera. Follow the directions that come with the camera to set it up on your broadband network. Configure the dynamic DNS address as per instructions that came with the camera.
3) Email us when you have the camera connected to the Internet and are able to see it live in your web browser. You can reach us at: webcams@krishna.com
And here’s how to set up an absolutely awesome webcam just like we have at the Alachua, Mayapur, Dallas, Houston, Mumbai, Vrindavan, New Goloka, and Fiji temples.
We use mostly SONY and in some cases AXIS network IP cameras. There are currently three models I recommend. You don’t need a computer for these. They plug directly into your broadband Internet router.
3x optical zoom, AXIS 212 PTZ Network Camera. No moving parts. Good for small temple rooms. Pan, tilt and zoom happens inside of a large, high-resolution image with 140-degree viewing angle. Allows presets and automatic tour just like the bigger cameras below. $700
18x optical zoom, SONY SNC-RZ25 (Used in Alachua, Houston, Dallas, and New Goloka) 1/4" CCD. Pan range -170° to +170° $900
36x optical zoom, SONY SNC RZ570. 360-degree endless rotation (pan), 180-degree tilt. This is the newer version of the camera used in Mayapur and Vrindavan. $2,250
The 18x optical zoom SONY SNC-RZ25
is fine for installations up to 20 meters (60 feet) away from the deities. The 36x optical zoom of the SONY SNC-RZ570 would be my personal favorite for larger temple rooms. Especially if you can mount it in the center, on a low ceiling, suspending it from a high ceiling using a rigid pole (you can purchase pole mount accessories), or mounting it to a centrally located pillar - allowing you to make use of the camera’s 360-degree pan, and 180 degrees tilt features. Even if it were mounted on a back or side wall it should do well so long as it can see the entire altar, deities, etc.(NOTE: There are several other brands of network IP cameras worth mentioning. However we don’t want to recommend something we haven’t tried and tested. You’re welcome to experiment with other models and share your experience with us. AXIS, Panasonic, Canon, Toshiba and JVC are some of the trusted name brands who make comparable network IP cameras.)
1) Purchase your pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) Network IP camera with built-in web server. Pick one of the above recommended models. Purchase from a reputable dealer such as B&H Photo Video in New York. http://www.bhphotovideo.com/
2) Set up your camera on your network using the supplied users manual. Get someone who knows a thing or two about network IP addresses to help you read through the instructions, if you’re new to the subject.
3) Email us when you have the camera connected to your Internet broadband router and are ready to send periodic still images to Krishna.com’s web server. (After we’ve agreed to host you :-)
4) Get a static IP address on your Internet connection to take advantage of some of the most awesome features of your expensive webcam. (See the benefits below, in the Frequently Asked Questions.)
Happy webcasting!
On behalf of the team at Krishna.com,
Your servant,
Manu dasa
* PS: The Krishna.com team reserves the right to decide at its sole discretion what webcasts it features on its site, and in what location. If you would like your temple webcam to appear on Krishna.com, contact us and we can talk about it. We’ll consider ISKCON temples dedicated solely to the worship of Krishna first. Then all other Krishna temples. And then temples of devotees of Krishna, and so forth.
Question: Can you please suggest which particular camera will be sufficient for us? Due to the typical shape of our temple hall, there comes out to be only one point which can cover the whole temple and the three altars. The distances from that point to the 3 altars is: Sri Sri Gaura Nitai - 21 meters; Sri Sri Radha Parthasarathi - 21 meters; Sri Sri Sita Ram - 19 meters.
Answer: The 18x optical zoom of the SONY SNC-RZ25 should be sufficient in small to medium size temple rooms. We use two of these at the Alachua, Florida temple. One in the back corner, showing sufficient full-body close-ups of the deities about 20 meters away. The second is suspended from the ceiling in the center of the temple room, about 10 meters away, and points mostly at the deities, showing nice, detailed close-ups. See our webcast for examples.
But if you have the money and want to see more than full-body, that is, close-ups of the little deities, shilas, close-ups of the big deities (portrait style) etc., and you have to install in a location that is 20 or more meters (60 or more feet) away from the deities, then I would recommend the 36x optical zoom SNC-RX570.
Question: Do you recommend using separate broadband line for video & audio, or the same one line of 256 kbps will be sufficient.
Answer: You mean periodic still image uploads (every few seconds one image), and audio. In that case, one line is sufficient.
I would suggest you start with setting up the periodic still images and audio. When all is working, and you’ve spent some time familiarizing yourself with the camera, then add streaming video. (It will require a $150 software license for IPCamSource by Unreal Streaming Media which will allow you to capture video off your SONY camera and upload it to a video server such as uStream.tv. We will be posting a separate tutorial about how to broadcast live streaming video in the near future.)
Question: Do I need to have a fixed IP from my ISP for the SONY cameras as they don’t require a PC. Or a simple DHCP connection will do?
Answer: DHCP connection will do if you cannot afford fixed IP, so long as you are uploading still images via FTP. But there are advantages to having a fixed IP:
1) Fixed IP allows Krishna.com to “grab” images from your camera instead of your camera uploading periodic images to our server. This gets rid of the “half-loaded image” syndrome. When you upload images via FTP (file transfer protocol) you’ll have several people on their computers watching the webcast, waiting for the javascript to automatically refresh the image every 15 seconds. Chances are that the refresh request will come during the few seconds it takes for each of your images to upload from your location. So that means frequent half-loaded images for the viewers - who will call up and complain. (This used to drive us crazy until we discovered how to grab images via CRON script on our web server directly from the Sony cameras.)
With fixed IP, a script on the Krishna.com web server is able to “grab” the image from your camera directly every 15 seconds, copy it to a different location where people can view it, and the resulting image only displays when it has successfully transfered to our server and thus will not show half-loaded versions to viewers.
2) Fixed IP allows you remote control. You will be able to manage the camera remotely from anywhere on the Internet, and do not have to be present in the temple room to control the camera position, settings, etc. So that is a big benefit of fixed IP.
For example, our volunteer who manages the Alachua temple live webcast can log into the Alachua webcams from anywhere on the Internet, because of the fixed IP, and thus adjust the settings, control where the cameras point to during festivals or Bhagavatam class, etc. He can do this from the office, from home, from anywhere when he’s traveling… it is very convenient. Sometimes the camera presets shift slightly (the camera will move a fraction of a degree which will throw off the presets over a long distance across the temple room.) To re-adjust the presets of where the camera points to has to be done about once every week or two, and it is convenient not to have to be in the temple room at that particular moment. Wherever he is, on any computer connected to the Internet, if he notices that the presets are off, he can adjust them.
NOTE: The AXIS cameras include the option of using an Internet Dynamic DNS Service provided by AXIS (see http://www.axiscam.net/) where you can configure the camera to automatically register itself on an axiscam URL that acts as a quasi static IP address, allowing you to log into the camera and control it remotely from the Internet. If you find yourself in a situation such as a third-world country where paying for a static IP address is prohibitively expensive, you may wish to consider using an AXIS camera. (The AXIS 232D+ compares in features to the SONY SNC-RZ25.)
However, if you’re considering adding live sound and want to have the ability to remotely adjust microphone input levels on the webcast computer, at that time you’ll need your own static IP address rented from your broadband Internet service provider. (You can upload live sound without static IP, you just won’t be able to remotely control the sound level.)
My recommendation is get a SONY SNC-RX570 if you can afford it (best image quality.) Get a static IP address if you can afford it. And invest in equipment to webcast live sound from your temple. This will give you a first class webcast that draws visitors to your website who long for virtual association because they live far away from temples or because they are unable to attend your temple functions. They can listen to Bhagavatam class while getting ready for work, see the darshan of the deities, listen to the temple live sound in their office and home during the day… your live image uploads and live temple sound can transform their lives.
Sure. One-time costs will vary based on the quality of equipment you buy. Adjust accordingly. If you start with a webcam and add sound later, take away the money itemized below for a laptop and audio equipment.
In my example, I’ll assume you want to set up a nice, high quality webcast with live sound from your temple (like we have in Alachua, Mayapur, Dallas, etc.)
Estimated One-Time Costs for High Quality Equipment: $4,130
Estimated Recurring Monthly Costs: $208
The number of visitors viewing your live stream will affect the cost involved in maintaining the bandwidth necessary to serve those viewers, especially with live streaming audio. The below example costs figure an average of about 100-200 congregation viewers and listeners a day at a medium size temple.
If you are an ISKCON temple looking to set up a live webcast,
Krishna.com may be interested to host you, giving you lots of exposure, a larger audience, and donations coming in to your temple. Let’s talk.
Live streaming video (at small size, with heavily compressed video and audio similar to YouTube format) is now becoming affordable for people due to new services like Ustream.tv. We will post a tutorial on how to set up live streaming video from your temple just as soon as we successfully set this up on our end, at Krishna.com and at the Alachua temple. (We’re in the process of testing live video streaming as of May 2008.)
We encourage you to explore uStream.tv and set up a free account with them. They have an easy tutorial on how to begin live video broadcasting. If you use an inexpensive USB webcam for the live video, you can be up and running almost immediately (configuration of uStream.tv account settings takes just a few minutes and they allow you to embed the video in your own web page.)
Don’t get your hopes up too high. Streaming high quality (full-screen) live video is not yet possible. The practical limitations of broadband Internet technology restrict the size of your live stream, and mean that you will most likely be streaming at business-card size, low frame rate (about 4 frames per second), low image quality (blurry video), and low audio quality.\
We’ve done some experimenting here at Krishna.com with our DSL connection, as of May 2008. We had to reduce the quality of our live stream upload to 80 kbps (combined audio and video) at 4 frames per second in order to avoid skipping, choppy, interrupted live video.
Having said that, this aspect of the Internet is rapidly changing as bandwidth becomes more affordable, more accessible (imagine a world where everyone has access to megabit-per-second Internet on optical cable modems.) Research this subject of live streaming video over the Internet. Test new providers. Experiment. Share your findings with us at Krishna.com.
The Chowpatty Radha Gopinath Mandir in Mumbai is streaming live video via a proprietary service, and you can take a look at their quality and compare to the still image uploads. Whatever you end up doing, you will want to keep the live still image uploads for quality so you can actually see (and recognize the features of) your deities.
Hope this helps. If you have more questions or suggestions, send them our way.