Any camcorder and webcam knowledge-inclined people out there? Your help would be greatly appreciated.?

Question

I have an Aiptek A-HD-DV 720p Camcorder that hooks up to my computer through a USB port. I have switched the resolution to 352X240 (CIF) (WEB) on my camcorder to see if that would help, but I am still unable to use/figure out how to use my camcorder as a webcam. I know there has to be a good/easy way in doing this. I've checked the manual, but it doesn't seem to have what I want nor does the CD. Is there a piece of free software that can help me get around this? I really need/want to be able to get this to work. Do you have any suggestions (software or otherwise) at all that might help?

If not, I also have a HP Photosmart M517 Digital Camera that also hooks up via USB. Is that possible to use as a webcam?

Either way - I do not hold video quality as a priority right now, I just want to be able to get one of these two devices to work as a webcam.

Again, your help is greatly appreciated.

Are there any other specifications that you need to know in order to figure out an answer?

Answer 1

Unfortunately, You Can Blame WINDOWS Again:http://www.camcorderinfo.com/content/twe...

Or You Could Try This:http://www.trackercam.com/TCamWeb/dvdriv...

Good-Luck!!

Answer 2

See if the camcorder has a 4 pin Firewire slot. If so, most likely your camera is set up to transfer moving images through it and stills through USB. With his cable attached to camera will recognize that it is supposed to download it content. Just turn it to filming instead and it will send the image to the computer instead of recording it onto its media.

If that is the case get a 4 pin to 9 pin cable, usually only 9 bucks or so in Amazon.

As far as the picture camera, it's not going to work like you think, even if it can take short films, it was not intended to work that way. The best it can do is take snaps every millisecond or so. The mp2 codec is not that versatile and does not compress the data enough for streaming.