Bill Gatliff wrote: > Lennart Sorensen wrote: > >> Wouldn't seperate usb controllers have independant bandwidth? >> >> > > As long as they're truly separate _controllers_, yes. > >> A 4 or 5 port usb card isn't expensive after all. >> >> > > True, but the card may have only one controller plus a few hubs. If > that's the case, then you haven't helped anything--- you are still > limited by the USB 1.1 bandwidth through the single controller. > > You'll probably need one card per camera. > > b.g. >
One worthwhile solution might be Firewire cameras instead. They're a bit more expensive, but you get much better framerates and image quality, and much finer bandwidth control. Orange Micro makes a pretty good firewire webcam that isn't very expensive, and Apple's iSight is also another good example (although it's a fair bit pricier). If you're going to be buying multiple USB cards, you may as well get firewire cards instead. I don't know about pan/tilt/zoom capabilities, but firewire cameras don't need drivers. One other option is to get the cheap camcorders (maybe with a worn-out tape head or whatever) that can do video passthrough. Still no pan/tilt/zoom, though. Last bit of my tuppence for you is that several companies make separate pan/tilt platforms for webcams; that might be worth looking into. - Patrick Bogen -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
