JackClark

I'm setting up a little on street exhibit and want to broadcast it to the web. As there will most likely not be any wireless networks around and no phone line I'm thinking USB GPRS and a USB webcam. Anyone have any experience with such things?

michael_clarkson

The data rates you'd get over GPRS would severly limit your attempts to stream anything meaningful. The bitrate would have to be that low it probably wouldn't be worth it.

Try encoding something at a low bit rate first and see if you think it's worthwhile.

class_A

You will not do live video over GPRS but you could still setup a regular "webcam" type affair to capture still images and upload to a webserver.

You might be able to push one image every 40 seconds. Tell us a little about the laptop, cam and phone you will be using.

Cheers,
Alex

JackClark

One image every 40 seconds is way too few.

I thought the data transfer rates with GPRS were pretty good! The image below from my Turtle cam - I know it's blank - is only 4k.



I'm finding out the specific location today in an attempt to locate a stray wireless network.

class_A

I have found GPRS to be as good as dial-up if the moon is correctly aligned and you are within 50m of the cell tower. It is also very "laggy"

Could think about 3G, Vodafone have a PC Card 3G data solution out now provided you're in the coverage area. Theoretical rates up to 384kbps IIRC. Probably out of budget though.

Don't rule out WiFi. Lots of pubs now have hotspots thanks to The Cloud. Other major pay-as-you-go hotspot providers include T-Mobile/Starbucks and BT OpenZone

Some BT Payphones are now BT OpenZone hotspots as well.

Let us know how you get on.

Cheers,
Alex

JackClark

Will do Alex. Just waiting on final locations now, we have to get council approval. Then I'll get onto wireless providers and take a wireless sniffer down there. Fun project so far. Budget is pretty high and I fancy one of those cards if the above doesn't come off.

class_A

Sounds like a fun project from a geek POV, aside from the street exhibit! Would be interested to see how you get on, maybe you could blog your experiences either on a website or on this thread??

Good luck

JackClark

Will do. Even the street exhibit has a geek element