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A few words about this site. My interest to this topic was born when I tried to compile technical information about various IP webcams. I found out then that there are very many live webcams (transmitting in real time) and that they are installed in many various and sometimes unexpected places. As a result I got very much interested in this topic. I am trying to determine a place shown by a webcam with as much accuracy as I can. Sometimes even the specific webcam model is known and it's being displayed as well. In other cases visitors to my site send me details and clarifications regarding some of the webcams.
I was trying to make this site convenient for navigation and viewing the webcams. My main purpose was to present only the working online (live) IP-webcams. Some other sites call the "live webcams" those which present a static picture taken at present/recent moment. I don't have such webcams. The picture must be changing, at least once in a couple of seconds. Most of the webcams on my site have decently good frame rate. If you see a static picture, then in most cases either the webcam was switched off by its owner or it has some issues with the data transmission. Some webcams show a date and a time. This data is not always correct, so please don't rely on it too much.
Where do I get the webcams from? There are three main sources:
- the webcams are openly available on the Internet. Unless/until their owner password protect them they are present on many similar sites or can be found via search engines;
- I approach a webcam owner with a request to allow me to transmit their webcams on my site. When I get an approval I display the owner's logo and a link to the original webcam site;
- webcams owners (both private people and organizations) approach me with a request to add their webcams to my list.
All of the webcams belong to their respective owners. I don't have ANY coordinates of the webcams nor do I have their owners' contact information. Therefore if any of the webcams don't work or have some other issues the most I can do is to take the problematic cameras off my list. Sometimes the cameras go off for a short period of time and then come back online. It's impossible to check them all at all times. If you notice that a specific webcam is off for quite some time or the picture stopped moving please send me a message or report a broken cam.
There is a page "CITY INDEX" where all of the available webcams are grouped by countries and cities. For USA and Australia the cities are also grouped by state, for Canada by provinces and for Russia by regions.In order to see the full list of cities click on the country name. (Obviously, for USA, Canada, Australia or Russia, this will bring the states/provinces/regions list from which you can select the corresponding cities). You can also navigate to the main live webcams page without making any selection. In that case you will get all of the available webcams. There is also a list of webcam models, those which I was able to determine. You can select a specific model from that list and then you will get only the webcams for the selected model on the viewing page.
Important note: not all of the webcams show the image right away. Please be patient! The starting delay and the image frame rate depend on many factors (connection speed, your PC parameters, webcam server parameters, number of simultaneous webcam viewers etc.) Some models such as the Axis ones often (but not always) start showing the live image almost instantly. Others such as the Panasonic ones usually have a few seconds delay before they start to transmit.
The image of most of the webcams can be expanded to almost the full screen size. In order to maximize the image please click on the "Show in full screen" button on the right hand side of the image if it's present. If you hover over the live image and your cursor turns into a "palm" icon then simply click on the webcam image and it will show in the full screen mode. Some of the original images have a special button for this mode which is usually located at the bottom right hand side corner of the image.
The main viewing page also has a special menu where you can choose a specific theme (City, Traffic, Nature etc.) to select only the webcams for this theme from the list of the previously selected webcams.
You can as well create your own list of favorite webcams by using the "Add to favorites" button which is located on the right hand side of the webcam image. Please keep in mind that if a particular webcam stopped working and I took it off the master list, then you won't find it in your list of favorite webcams either. One can only hope that it will come back on again.
Note: in order for you to be able to save and use a list of favorite webcams your browser has to allow storing cookies. Sets of favorite webcams are different for each browser you use.
Some popular webcams stop showing with time. Most often this happens to "personal" webcams but to other ones as well. There could be several reasons for that. It's possible that the number of simultaneous viewers exceeds the preset maximum. Some webcams may experience technical issues like power failures. There is however a good chance that the webcam's owner has decided to finally password protect his/her webcam. I don't hack the protected webcams. Instead I just take them off the list.
If you view this site on a desktop PC then depending on your OS and your browser different video streams may behave differently. None of the presented webcams requires a special plugin. This doesn't apply to an Adobe Flash plugin since currently it's used almost everywhere. Some webcams use it as well. Most of the webcams however use their built-in players or they let browsers handle their video streams.
I understand that everyone has a browser of choice. It's almost impossible however to make sure that all webcams show correctly in all browsers. I can only suggest to try different browsers and see which ones work the best for you.
This site was not optimized for mobile devices. As it happened some mobile devices show some of the presented webcams perfectly. If you only use the mobile devices to view the site you would need to live with those webcams which work on your device. With time I hope mobile browsers will acquire the capabilities of desktop browsers. Until then I suggest for you to use the desktop PCs or notebooks for best viewing experience.
I appreciate if you report about the problems you experience while using the site. Please don't forget to include the webcam ID, the device model, the OS and the browser types. Even if the problem can't be fixed at once, it will help me optimize the site in the future.
There are some problems which prevent users to have the best viewing experience. Below you find some recommendations on how to try and fix some of those problems.
- The webcam preview picture doesn't coincide with the live image. This in most cases is caused by the new webcam taking place of the one which stopped working. Please clear the browser cache and this should fix the problem. If the old preview picture still shows please report the problem and I will renew the snapshot.
- The live image of the webcam is not showing. Please try restarting the cam using the menu button on the right. If this doesn't help then it most likely means that the webcam is temporarily unavailable. Please try it again later.
- Instead of seeing the selected webcam's live image you get a pop-up window asking you to enter a user name and a password. This means one thing only: the webcam's owner has finally password protected it. Nothing I can do about it, so please, report this webcam and I will cross it off the list.
- Your webcams favorite list is not working or lost. Please remember that this list is based on a cookie stored in your computer and created by your specific browser. You need to allow your browser to store cookies and you need to be carefull when clearing the browser's cache so you don't inadvertently delete the cookie as well.
- Since moving to the secure server in 2017, there might be a following issue for some users affecting some (most) of the streams. In general most of the streams originate from unsecured servers. There is no way I can transmit them over a secure channel on my site. As a result these webcams appear as not working and often display a corresponding message. There is however a way to still see these live images. The problem is that most of the modern browsers block insecure or mixed content on the secure site by default. You can tell the browser to display the mixed (some show it as "unsafe") content. If you can't figure it out by yourself, try searching for the solution on the net, and if that fails - let me know and I will try and help you. Make sure you send me at the very least the OS and the browser you are using including its version.
If you are an owner of a webcam or you have found an interesting webcam and want the webcam to be included in my list, please use the form below to supply a necessary information.
First and foremost I need the webcam's IP address including the port number. This would be either a numeric url like http://123.123.123.123 or a link to one of the many free DNS redirection sites. Please test the webcam via entering the webcam address in a browser before sending it to me.
If this is your webcam please make sure it's always on and is always connected to a fast Internet. Non-working webcams get crossed out quickly.
In addition to the IP address please supply the following: a webcam model if known, a country, a city and a place shown on the cam.
This section allows you to share your comments for each specific webcam on this site. No login is required. To keep your comments consistent please use the same name and the same email address (preferably a real one). Your email will not be displayed in the comments, it is only required for your identification while posting. To be able to use an Avatar you'd need to register on the Gravatar site with the same email. I urge you to stick to this site thematic and refrain from any profanity, racial or political topics. The comments WILL be moderated.
Absolutely no advertisement is permitted. If you need to post a link to a related/interesting site and/or webcam please be advised that it might be edited by our moderator.
Please bear in mind that in cases when webcams become unavailable for whatever reason, I am reusing their IDs for newly added ones. The comments you enter are connected to this specific wecam ID. At the moment I am planning on keeping all comments even if the webcam with all of its data changes. This may change in the future.
And the last but not the least. This section is working in a test mode! This means that any comment you entered at any moment (or all of the entered comments) might become corrupt or disappear without warning. Please bear with me while I am making sure that this section works perfectly.
Oh, yeah, and one more thing! I can't monitor/moderate the site 24/7, taking into account that I have 4 languages to take care of. So, please keep that in mind and don't get frustrated if your comments don't appear at once. Having said that - you are more than welcome to help me with this. If this is your point of interest, you come here often and you have some time to spare, please do write to me. You could be our next moderator!
To let you know once again, all webcams on this site are either widely open or the owner gave me an explicit permission to re-transmit their feeds. If you know an owner of any presented webcam please let them know that they need to password protect their feeds. If you are the owner and think that this site violates your rights in any way, please let me know using the contact form here. I am sure we can resolve any issues in a prompt and proper manner.
What is being planned to do with the site in the future except of adding new webcams and excluding the not working cams? I have plenty of ideas and not enough time. Therefore I see a few ways to keep the site going and being developed:
- you agree to take part in this project and become an equal partner;
- you find an advertiser for the site and we share the profit;
- you donate an affordable amount.
If you are interested in any of the possibilities mentioned above, please do send me a message with this form. Don't forget to provide your email address!
In a modern world computers store a lot of our personal data, and we quite often don't even suspect it. Unfortunately third party computers and servers also keep some of our private data. I don't mean here the Big Brother type of machine, which for a long time already is a part of a big "family" of systems which spy on us and collect various data about us. I only mean the websites we visit and social networks we participate in.
Regarding this specific site, the amount of stored data is very minimal and you have a full right to know about it.
1) When you create a list of favorite webcams a cookie is being stored on your PC which helps to retrieve the list of the selected cams.
2) When you send a message with one of a few contact forms used on the site your IP address is automatically registered. This is needed exclusively to fight the spam. Your IP address is never stored and is not shared with anyone.
3) Your email address and your name which you put in the contact form are required solely to write you back if needed. This data is not collected, not stored and not shared.
4) You will never get a mass mailing originating from this site, be that advertising or any other type of communication.
All of the webcam owners have nothing to worry about as well. All their webcams data is being used exclusively to show their feeds properly. All requests to share the specific data about the video-feeds will be in most cases simply ignored.
Note: since the hosting for this site is located in Russian Federation, it's subject to all and any federal, municipal and other currently acting laws. If you find any violations of any law please let me know at once using the contact form below. All of your requests will be promptly considered and all issues resolved immediately.
