Uses

Childcare Webcasting (Video Monitoring)

Childcare webcams cater to a growing demand for improved security, communications, and increased service value in daycare facilities across the country. No longer are webcams just a trend; they are quickly becoming an industry standard. According to researchers and industry leaders, as many as 100 childcare facilities add Internet viewing systems each month and that the total number of centers with some form of Internet monitoring runs into several thousands. In the United States, services such as Peanut Butter and Jelly TV have been offering premier webcasting systems to centers nationwide for many years.

Videocalling and conferencing

As webcam capabilities have been added to instant messaging, text chat services such as AOL Instant Messenger, and VoIP services such as Skype, one-to-one live video communication over the Internet has now reached millions of mainstream PC users worldwide. Improved video quality has helped webcams encroach on traditional video conferencing systems. New features such as automatic lighting controls, real-time enhancements (retouching, wrinkle smoothing and vertical stretch), automatic face tracking and autofocus assist users by providing substantial ease-of-use, further increasing the popularity of webcams.

Webcam features and performance can vary by program, computer operating system, and also by the computer's processor capabilities. For example, 'high-quality video' is principally available to users of certain Logitech webcams if their computers have dual-core processors meeting certain specifications. Video calling support has also been added to several popular instant messaging programs.

Video security

Webcams are also used as security cameras. Software is available to allow PC-connected cameras to watch for movement and sound,recording both when they are detected; these recordings can then be saved to the computer, e-mailed or uploaded to the Internet. In one well-publicised case,a computer e-mailed out images as the burglar who stole it, allowing the owner to give police a clear picture of the burglar's face even after the computer had been stolen.

Recently webcam privacy software has been introduced by such companies such as Stop Being Watched. The software exposes access to a webcam and prompts the user to allow or deny access by showing what program is trying to access the webcam. Allowing the user to accept a trusted program the user recognizes or terminate the attempt immediately. Other companies on the market manufacture and sell sliding lens covers that allow users to retrofit the computer and close access to the camera lens.

Video clips and stills

Webcams can be used to take video clips and still pictures. Various software tools in wide use can be employed for this, such as PicMaster(for use with Windows operating systems), Photo Booth (Mac), or Cheese (with Unix systems).