How To Use An Android Device As A PC wireless Webcam

Maybe your PC does not have a webcam or you don’t like the picture quality of your default PC’s webcam and want a quick fix. In this article I am going to share with your apps that could turn your smartphone into a webcam.

After reading this post, you can be able to turn your smartphone into a webcam for your video calls. You can use your smartphone as webcam for Skype calls, GTalk, Yahoo video call etc. While some of these apps may be free, some may be premium apps.

There are good numbers of apps in the Google Play Store that can turn your smartphone into a webcam, while some of these apps may work only on Wi-Fi, some others will work with Bluetooth connection. Read below carefully for the apps that could turn your smartphone into a webcam.

IP Webcam: IP webcam is one of the apps that could turn your smartphone into a webcam. This app is free of charge; with IP webcam you can view your camera on any platform with VLC player or web browser. You can also stream video inside WiFi network without internet access. Use IP Webcam with tinyCam Monitor on another android device or with third-party MJPG software, including video surveillance software, security monitors and most audio players, the apps also supports video chat like Skype.

DroidCamX Wireless Webcam Pro: DroidCamX Wireless Webcam Pro is a premium app ($3.87) that could turn your smartphone into a webcam. You can use your smartphone on your computer over wi-fi, USB or Bluetooth. You can also use DroidCamX as an “IP/Surveillance Camera” via your Internet browser virtually on all networks. Droidcam webcam supports video chats like Skype, Yahoo ad MSN. Camera flash can also be turned on and you can actually zoom with it.

WO Webcam Lite: With WO Webcam Lite, you can turn your Android smartphone into a PC webcam. This is also a free app. WO Webcam Lite provide video streaming for messengers like Skype, MSN, Live/ GTalk etc, and it can also be used for a recording tool. You can connect with either, Wi-Fi, USB or Bluetooth.

EpocCam – Wireless HD webcam: EpocCam is yet another Android app that can turn your Smartphone into a webcam, EpocCam also supports Mac OS X. EpocCam is compatible with Skype, Windows Live Messenger, Google+ Hangouts, Facebook Video Calling, Chatroulette, YouTube and other webcam-enabled applications. It’s also a perfect baby monitor, spy cam, security camera, surveillance camera and pet cam. Go beyond built-in camera quality with HD 720p video that is sharper and more dynamic.

SmartCam App: This is yet another app that could turn your smartphone into a webcam. The app works with both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Download both the mobile app and desktop app and connect via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. You can connect it and use it with GTalk, Skype, Yahoo messenger etc.

using smart cam app

1. Prerequisites

The application is twofold; to use it you’ll need to install both the Android client and the desktop client. This desktop client is available for Windows and Linux computers. In this article we’re going to focus on Windows, but the process is similar if you’re using Linux.

Make sure you’ve installed both applications before continuing to the next step.

2. Configuration

There are two ways to connect SmartCam to your computer; Wi-Fi and BlueTooth. We’ll show you how to connect over Wi-Fi.

First open SmartCam on your Android phone, press the menu button on your phone to show the available options, and select Settings. Here, select TCP/IP (WiFi) as your Connection type, and enter the local IP address of your computer under Remote server.

You can find the local IP address of a Windows computer using Command Prompt. Open command prompt by searching for it in your Applications, or by running “cmd” in the Start menu.

In Command Prompt, enter “ipconfig /all” and press enter. There’ll be a lot of information here; a block of data for every (virtual) network adapter. If your computer also accesses the internet through Wi-Fi, look for the IPv4 address of your Wireless LAN adapter. If your computer uses a cable to connect to the internet, look for an ethernet adapter.

Open SmartCam on your computer as well, and make sure the connection type in the preferences pane is also set to use TCP/IP (WiFi).

3. Connecting

Turn on the Wi-Fi connectivity on your Android, and connect your phone to the same network that your computer is on. With SmartCam already open on your computer, launch the application on your Android phone and select Menu -> Connect WiFi.

In less than a minute, the image of your Android phone camera should appear in the SmartCam application on your desktop, with the video resolution and framerate visible below the video stream. If you’re so inclined, you can also record this input to a video file on your desktop. To use your makeshift webcam in another application, simply select SmartCam as your webcam when prompted.

How well does your smartphone webcam hold up? Test it out, and let us know in the comments below this article!

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