Webcam live feed via 3G vodacom service?

[Kiwo]

Hello guys, this is my first post, i would like to know if its possible to create a live webcam feed with a macbook pro and vodacom 3G (7.2).

The idea is to try stream live video during 3 or 4 hours, most of viewers will be from Argentina.

Will this be possible using prepaid service? Its the same buying 3,6 or 7,2 modems?


If its not possible with a mac... ¿Do you know any specialist who can provide a one day, three hour live webcam streaming service? i'll be doing several days. There will be private security at the venues. I pay cash, half in advance, half after the event is done.

Thank you very much! You can contact me via private message or mail me at [email protected]

 

[VodacomData]

It will be possible to use our service , you would need to purchase from our bigger bundles as 3 to 4 hours of streaming will consume a huge amount of data. You can log on to the www.vodacom.co.za website to view the various bundles and charges.

 

[Kiwo]

Thanks for the reply, i know ill be using a lot of data so im looking forward to buy a 10Gig bundle, but my concern is about connection speed; Will it be enough (if not shared) to stream a live webcam without lag ?

Thanks again.

 

[morkhans]

Thanks for the reply, i know ill be using a lot of data so im looking forward to buy a 10Gig bundle, but my concern is about connection speed; Will it be enough (if not shared) to stream a live webcam without lag ?

Thanks again.

Speed is very much going to depend on location. If you have good signal, the tower has enough backhaul and is not heavily loaded it could work. The other factor is the quality you are planning on streaming in.

 

[TeleGuru]

3G Streaming

Hi There. I've had some experience with streaming via 3G. It works quite well, as long as you keep the stream quality quite low. Hou will also have to stream to a central server somewhere, and then have the viewers watch from that server, something like www.uStream.com. Their software should also work on MACs.

As for the stream quality, I've only been able to reliably stream between 150Kbps and 250Kbps without too many interruptions. My record so far has been a 5 hour stream at 350Kbps, which had about 3 short hiccups. Any faster than that and the network stability will start to bite you.

Also, from my experience, MTN is much worse than Vodacom. But an alternative, which you could consider, as their network is still quite underutilised, is Telkom 3G. But coverage is very limited, and you might not want to go through the schlep to get a SIM card that works...

 

[Kiwo]

morkhans Im expecting to do 192Kbps stream locations near the SA's soccer stadiums , TeleGuru thank you very much for your reply, ill try uStream with a borrowed vodacom 3G modem and see how it goes.

 

[morkhans]

morkhans Im expecting to do 192Kbps stream locations near the SA's soccer stadiums , TeleGuru thank you very much for your reply, ill try uStream with a borrowed vodacom 3G modem and see how it goes.

If the marketing hype is to be believed then the dense locations (like the soccer stadiums) should have ample backhaul. However depending on when your stream is taking place (i.e. during a game) those towers could be heavily utilised by others.

 

[Kiwo]

Thanks again morkhans, what about streaming 2 hours before the match, not during it ? will it make any difference?

I'm hoping someone from this forum could help me by offering the full service I'm trying to do by my own
(im willing to pay good money).. when/where? first three argentina matches at a safe venue with private security....

btw..
ive been in joburg for two days now and i find your mini-bus taxi driver signature quite funny

 

[morkhans]

Thanks again morkhans, what about streaming 2 hours before the match, not during it ? will it make any difference?

I'm hoping someone from this forum could help me by offering the full service I'm trying to do by my own
(im willing to pay good money).. when/where? first three argentina matches at a safe venue with private security....

btw..
ive been in joburg for two days now and i find your mini-bus taxi driver signature quite funny

All I have is day-to-day experience. So for instance. I use 3G at home in the evenings. Most evenings everything works, I can stream youtube, read email etc. No problems. Maybe once a month there is an issue with my tower that generally gets fixed in a day, things go on. So now lets take new-years or Christmas for example. Every tried calling to sending a text message at 00:01? You can't because the network is jammed. So now imagine a full to capacity soccer stadium half of them want to call friends before/during/after the game. Think the surrounding towers are going to be able to handle all that, personally I don't think so.

I don't really know what the best solution is here, but I think what I am saying is make sure you have a plan B. Maybe you need a location with a decent ADSL line as well you can flip over to if the 3G network is jammed? I don't really know anyone that is in that kind of business, perhaps TeleGuru has some further advice.

Regarding our taxi drivers, yes they are a special breed all on their own...