Recommendations for webcams and software to make postable video clips

[Thomas Kaiser]

Peter N. Spotts wrote:
> Folks,
> 
> Our all-Mac office is beginning to ask some of us reporters to do very
> brief video clips for our website (I've been blessed with a voice, and
> cursed with a face, made for radio!). Usually, two someones from our
> photo department trundle over with a camera, tripod, light, and mike --
> a major, and often disrupting, production. At the office yesterday, one
> of our web gurus had me test a video approach that uses the tiny camera
> and mike built into a rather large Mac flat-screen monitor to make the
> video. Then we used some Mac software to record it and convert it into
> a .mov file for posting. 
> 
> I use my Ubuntu-run laptop as my primary (read "only") machine in the
> office as well as at home or on the road (where we'd also be expected to
> originate these little clips). So, what are my best options for hanging
> a webcam off my laptop's lid and for software that will give me
> something akin to an .mov file at the end of a recording/file-massaging
> process? I'm running Xubuntu Edgy on a four-year-old Toshiba Satellite
> 1905-S303 -- which still hums along too smartly to trash yet.
> 
> This is a new universe for me, so thanks in advance for any guidance...
> 
> With best regards,
> 
> Pete

Hello Pete

For webcam support see http://mxhaard.free.fr/spca5xx.html

gspca (spca5xx) is included in Ubuntu, but I don't know which version.
And there are some more webcam drivers out there which are included in 
Ubuntu....

Check http://mxhaard.free.fr/news.html to find out which cam was added 
at what time. Just choose one which is in already a long time and you 
should be on the save side :-)

Hope this helps, Thomas


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