Webcam - setup/hosting??

[hnzw_rui]

With Apache, you are able to password protect directories using an .htaccess file. If you open any file within that directory, you'd have to enter a valid username and password first. There's also mod_rewrite which is great for obfuscating URLs (e.g. the address http://www.mysite.com/webcam/~user/ actually goes to http://www.mysite.com/index.php?source=webcam&user=user without the user knowing). You can also embed the log-in and video within the same PHP script. If the user doesn't enter a valid username and password, then the video isn't shown.

Again, the problem is bandwidth. I'm not familiar with webcamXP so I don't know how exactly it would allow streaming to various users at the same time. Hosting it directly from your computer is not an option unless you've got a big pipe coming into your house/work. You'll need to get a web hosting account but I don't know how you will handle caching so you have just one stream coming from your computer and the webhost multicasts. If your customers are fine with not getting real-time streams (maybe a 30-second delay or fixed-interval recordings), it becomes somewhat easier.

Take what I've said with a grain of salt, though. I just started playing with Apache+PHP (maybe a couple of weeks ago?), so I'm not exactly well versed on the technology. Suffice to say there are many different ways to accomplish what you want but the less expensive options might require a certain level of expertise.

[turnbui]

Once again, thanks for your input. Perhaps thsi is due a posting on a web server type forum.
Also I need a deeper read up on the webcamXP abilities .