As updates are released, this page will be updated with a detailed list of what's new and what's been
changed.
Most recent features:
2.04
Support for the Toshiba PTZ commands
Support for the new DLink DSC-950 interface
You now have the option not to use temp files for FTP image posting and archiving. Sites like photobucket.com do not allow the necessary remove/rename commands necessary to upload to a temp file.
A bug was fixed to allow the use of the MJPG codec at 100% quality.
The Web Server now distinguishes between admin and non-admin users when you enable authentication. Only admin users may use the "snapshot" icon remotely.
Moving forward, more admin control will be added to the remote interface. With this version, when you right-click on the video window, the stat window that previously opened now has a section for admin users to change the status of the Traffic Signal icon.
The PTZ controls on the remote interface now are disabled for cameras that don't support PTZ.
New behavior: the Traffic Signal toolbar button no longer affects webcasting.
2.03
Support for the Plustek, Aviosys, and new Swann IP cameras
Support for the Observer Veo Observer cameras has been added, including PTZ functionality
If you have a 4-port BT8x8 card, use of the "GadWatch low-level BT8x8" driver has been deprecated, and may soon be unsupported completely. Please instead use the universal BT8x8 driver available from btwincap.sourceforge.net. This is a highly stable and easy-to-install solution for supporting the hundreds of BT8x8-based cards available on the market today. GadWatch now allows you to add multiple cameras using the same Conexant DirectShow driver, each with a different input selection.
You may now choose to use an MJPG codec instead of the MP42 codec for video recording. It is recommended that you obtain the demo version of the Mainconcept Codec from http://www.mainconcept.com/site/. This is a highly efficient codec for compressing standard video sizes.
2.02
Support for Intellinet's MPEG4 cameras, such as the 550253. You must have an XVID codec installed, which is available from Intellinet.
Additional IP cameras listed for support
A new help page for troubleshooting Internet and other common support questions.
A new screen-capture technology is introduced using a freeware component by Unreal Streaming Technologies (http://www.umediaserver.net). This component allows for full frame-size and high frame-rates. It also renders the current cursor. If you are upgrading from a previous 2.x version, you will find this component in your GadWatch program folder, and you can register it by using Start/Run and entering REGSVR32 "c:\program files\GadWatch\UScreenCapture.ax". You may still choose to use the older technology, "DirectDraw Blit."
The AVI file format has been disabled as a recording format on Windows Vista. You may still export to the AVI format from the BVR format by using the clip Trim feature (move the green and red triangles and right-click).
AVI files are automatically limited to 1GB (operating system limitation) while recording.
2.01
Numerous enhancements for Windows Vista compatibility. With Vista, you should use the BVR or WMV file format for recording.
A new stream entitled "All cameras" is available for remote viewing if you have more than 1 camera.
All passwords stored in the registry are no longer in plaintext--they are encoded to prevent casual discovery. NOTE: if you have previously entered FTP upload, window restore or web page passwords, you must re-enter them in order to properly encode them for this version.
The phone alert will now auto-redial each 30 seconds for a total of 10 tries before failing.
2.00.09
PTZ support for the Intellinet 550710 and Vivotek PZ6112/6122.
The XCast OCX has been updated to version 1.0.0.11. If you are serving custom pages using this control, you may need to update those. Changes have been made to allow GadWatch and the control to work with more routers on port 80 (the standard HTTP port).
With a router you may now specify a different "public port" from your "local port" by including the "public port" in your server name on the web server configuration page. For example, you may set your server name to something like "myip.dyndns.org:82" where 82 is your router's public port.
If you are using an IP camera which uses the VitaminDecoder OCX (DLink DSC-2000/2100 DSC-3220, TV-IP301W, 4XEM), it is recommended that you update that control to version 2.1, which for your convenience can be found at http://GadWatch.co.uk/VitaminDecoder.exe.
2.00.00
An all-new user interface design
A GadWatch DVR video file format registered on your system as extension ".bvr" with a GadWatch logo icon. This new format allows very fast simultaneous read/write access with file sizes limited only by your available hard drive space. With this format, you may now open a clip in the viewer that is also open for recording. Also gone is the 1GB limit that AVI files have.
Clip folders. In addition to the previous Current (now known as New) and Archive (now known as Stored) folders, you may now organize your clips with subfolders.
Clip protection. You may mark clips as read-only, preventing then from being automatically deleted. You may also protect entire folders.
Web archival. You may mark clips manually or automatically for archival to your website via FTP.
PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) camera support. Currently, the Axis 213/214 PTZ protocol is supported. This protocol provides relative and absolute positioning and zooming as well as the use of preset names. Others will be added as requested.
The image posting feature now allows you to scale the image to sizes appropriate for cell-phone viewing.
Previous Release Notes
As updates are released, this page will be updated with a detailed list of what's new and what's been changed.
1.59
The automatic Clip Archiving feature has changed behavior. The dates used for calculation are now the file-modified dates (were previously the file-created dates).
Addition of a recording thread to make AVI/MPEG4 recording as efficient as possible.
Support for the Axis 2100 network camera
ActiveX control has been signed with a new code-signing certificate expiring in October, 2008
When GadWatch is running as a service, you may now run the GadWatch application a second time. This second instance of GadWatch will act as a client, allowing you to control the service; you can edit settings, restart cameras, and view stats and messages. Live video will be updated in the camera windows approximately once every 2 seconds.
When you enable the "run as a service" option on the Options/Startup page, you may quit GadWatch and re-run it to start the service without having to re-boot. When you disable the option, the service is stopped, and the client then will automatically exit.
1.58
Support for the D-Link DSC-900 camera
In the clip viewer, you may use your mouse to move two markers: a green or "start" point and a red or "stop" point. It is possible to place the stop point before the start point. When you click Play, playback loops from the start point to the stop point. Right-click the viewer window and click Trim to remove video before the start point and after the stop point; you may choose to replace the current video or create a new file.
When you export clips from the cliplist, you are shown a progress meter, and are given the option to cancel.
The rabbit/hare speed control in the Clip Viewer now has a range of 1/8 to 8x; previously this was only 1/2 to 2x.
If you move the slider control while playing a clip in the Clip Viewer, playback will resume when you release the mouse button.
The XCast ActiveX control has been revised to support clip streaming to make it easy to review your clips remotely. Now when you click on a thumbnail or entry in the clip list, the file is immediately "opened" in the XCast window and you are given playback controls. The three playback buttons correspond to slow, normal, and quick playback. When the video is "paused" you may use the slider for random access of the video. Previously, when you clicked on a clip, you had to wait until the entire clip was downloaded before it would open in Windows Media Player.
The XCast ActiveX control now displays the current camera or clip name at the top of its window.
1.57
Support for the D-Link DSC-950/G camera has been added. In order to decode these video streams, it is necessary to install the DIVX MPEG-4 codec, available directly from http://www.divx.com/.
Support for the D-Link DSC-2000, 3220, 5300, 6620 cameras. In order to interact with these cameras, it is necessary to install D-Link's redistributable file VitaminDecoder.exe.
You now may enter a web address in either IP format (for example, 111.23.1.2) or hostname format (for example, google.com) for your IP cameras.
The low-level BT848/878 driver has received extensive testing and debugging. In addition to supporting PAL, another new feature is that if you are using only 1, 2 or 3 of the inputs, the unused inputs are no longer polled, providing a higher maximum frame rate for those inputs that are in use. Also, the "driver/source" button on the camera properties page now allows you to adjust the brightness and contrast for the 4 cameras. NOTE that if you are using this driver, you must copy the update from the GadWatch folder to your c:\windows\system32\drivers folder and reboot.
1.56
The traffic-signal icon now displays a yellow light when it is automatically delaying the green light. The two Startup Options which control the traffic signal's operation have been decoupled. Note that if you now select to "start with a red signal" the signal will remain red until you manually click the traffic signal icon.
The "phone alert" now supports modems without automated voice capability.
The low-level BT878 driver now supports PAL sources
Free space on the drive used to record clips is displayed in the status bar. Clip recording may not take place if this number falls below 1 MB.
The reliability and stability of the FTP image posting feature has been greatly enhanced. It is now more likely to survive when the Internet connectivity or FTP server responsiveness are issues. A 30 second timeout for posting is enforced, and GadWatch will force-quite unresponsive transfer threads. Also, uploads now occur to a file named "temp_upload" and are then renamed.
The Motion Detector function is now limited to 2 frames per second (fps) in order to reduce CPU load imposed by high-framerate cameras.
The Cellvision Network IP camera is now supported.
Drastically improved performance for network IP cameras. Previously, there was no throttle on data from cameras on high bandwidth networks, which could have resulted in needlessly maxing-out the CPU while some frames were actually "thrown away." Now, the proper delays are in place to limit the bandwidth. However, with this improvement comes a minor consequence: the camera and internet receive buffers are constantly full, resulting a video that's delayed by a second or two.
The Windows MSN Messenger alert code has been updated to support version 7.5 of the Messenger. If you are using this alert, please update your Messenger, as older versions may no longer be compatible.
Improved compatibility with dual-monitor systems
1.55
Support for the IVC-100 4-port capture card, an easy-to-find, good performing, 4-port analog solution
Support for Axis 206, and improved overall support for JPEG streaming cameras
Support for Sony network cameras streaming ASF video
Support for up to 16 cameras (previously 12). The camera window layout has been improved for 1-up and 4-up modes.
Right-click menu option in the Clips View to show only clips from the selected camera(s).
Import and Export camera settings using two new buttons found on the Camera Properties page.
The ActiveX control has been updated to version 1,0,0,8. This version supports authentication when used outside of a webpage, as in a stand-alone application.
If a PV-143 card is used, PAL video mode is automatically selected if the video size selected is 576, 288, or 144 lines high.
Camera window borders are now red when recording, and blue when selected.
1.54
IP cameras that stream ASF format video (Windows Media format) are now supported. The Linksys WVC11B is one such popular camera. The Windows Media Technologies component must be installed--it is available from gadwatch.co.uk.
Clip playback will now use the VMR (Video Mixing Renderer) when using Windows XP. This allows for more reliable playback on multi-monitor systems.
The camera option to "open as desktop window" has been modified to allow these windows to work more seamlessly with Windows sidebars (a new feature coming to Windows Vista). The window will only be set as "topmost" if the main GadWatch window is also topmost. The window will open without a title bar. To move the window, click the black border area to drag it.
1.53
The cost-effective Gadget-spot NC1000 IP camera is now supported
The Startup options page has been rearranged, and contains a couple of new options:
A new option to "automatically restore window when motion sensor is triggered" alerts you to a motion trigger by opening the GadWatch window if it had been previously minimized.
A new option to "Run GadWatch as a Win32 service" (advanced users and licensed version only). When the PC is restarted, GadWatch will run on the "LocalSystem" account (a privileged account not requiring login, but having no user interface). GadWatch will run as a service using its most recent configuration. Before you can run GadWatch again as a Windows application, you must manually stop the service by going to your Control Panel/Administrative Tools/Services. Right-Click on "GadWatch Service" and select Stop. Please do not attempt to enable the service option to "Allow service to interact with desktop" as this will result in a software failure.
In order to facilitate running GadWatch as a service, all registry settings were moved from "current user" to "local machine." As a result, Administrator privileges are now required to run GadWatch. Your current settings will automatically be migrated.
The automatic "check for updates" option has been moved from the Startup options page to the About options page.
The built-in clip viewer has been fixed so that playback is now smoother.
The main window may now be sized somewhat smaller
The clip list now features a Select-All command on its right-click menu and on the keyboard shortcut list
The camera Image Posting feature now always uploads the latest image using your specified filename, regardless of the "maintain a ring" settings. If the ring feature is enabled, the most recent image is first renamed into the ring before the next image is uploaded.
1.52
The web server supports multiple usernames/passwords. The camera stats window will display the username that was used to authenticate to each IP address. The web server may also be configured to automatically get the system's current IP address on a periodic basis.
You may set a unique email subject per camera for email alerts
On the camera properties page, you may select to have a camera startup in a desktop window
Configuration data for audio and video capture hardware is saved and automatically reloaded. This may be necessary to configure a device for PAL vs NTSC, for example.
Network IP cameras now have a timeout setting--if an image is not received within the timeout, the connection is automatically reset
GadWatch now works via XP remote access, and will survive other display mode changes
If you have the DSound GE1 equalizer installed, you may adjust EQ settings for your microphone.
1.51
Integrated support for Intellinet Network IP Cameras. Now adding a camera (anywhere in the world) to your system is as easy as entering an IP address. Support for other popular network cameras may be added as requested. See the video hardware configuration page for information on configuring GadWatch to use one of these cameras.
More Clip options to control whether or not the viewer is opened after snapshots and video clip recordings.
1.50
Integrated support for Provideo PV143 capture cards. Each card allows 4 composite inputs, and up to 4 cards may be installed into a single PC, allowing 16 video ports.
A custom BT878 driver is now included which will allow many generic BT878-based capture cards to provide 4 composite inputs to GadWatch. See the video hardware configuration page for information on using this driver.
The webcasting ActiveX package has been reconfigured to offer better support for browsers running on XP service pack 2.
Many excellent feature suggestions have been received and will be implemented into version 1.5x in the coming weeks. Keep them coming!
Re-licensing is required to update to this version. Special pricing is available for registered 1.0-1.4 customers.
1.40
A webcasting flaw was eliminated. This flaw introduced a bottleneck, preventing MPEG/JPEG webcasting from reaching maximum frame-rate potential. Now with a LAN or sufficiently high-speed connection, it is possible to see 15 fps or higher at a reasonable quality.
Improved multi-camera support. When using either the "4-up" or "fit to window" camera layout, the "selected" camera is outlined in red. Click on a camera to select it. The snapshot, video record, and camera properties icons operate on the selected camera.
Each camera's "short name" appears in parentheses following its full name above its video window.
1.39
The camera Timer property page has been recoded to allow multiple active time blocks for each day. The time also has a graphical display. Note that timer settings made prior to version 1.39 will be lost and must be re-established.
1.38
A new Options page has been added entitled "Keyboard Shortcuts." Use this page to setup shortcuts or keyboard "accelerators." You can map Control+R to the Record function, or Shift+Control+S to the Snapshot function, for example.
The Video hardware configuration page has been revised (again). It is now possible for advanced users to override the X,Y and frame rate settings with arbitrary values (use caution in doing so).
Some capture devices (for example Hauppauge) only offer you the ability to set the video capture resolution through their hardware options pages -- use of GadWatch's "X,Y size" pull-down is either unavailable or causes the capture driver to crash due to selection of an unsupported size. Beginning with this version, GadWatch will sense that you have set the resolution through a hardware properties dialog, and memorize it as the camera's new "X,Y size."
The ADS Technologies "Instant DVD" product (producing MPEG-2 video) was coaxed into working with GadWatch. It requires the use of its DVD resolution, and requires that the Pinnacle MPEG-2 decoder filter is installed (included with Pinnacle software).
1.37
The "screen capture" code has been revised to be smoother and more efficient. The actual capture operation no longer causes Windows to "hang" as the screen is captured. Also, the captured resolution is no longer set to 1/2 of the screen resolution, but instead is limited to 1024 pixels in width and/or 768 height. This limitation exists because the MPEG codec may be unable to compress images of larger size. Also note, for optimal screen capture and system performance, use a desktop color depth of 32 bits per pixel, and capture no more than 1 frame per second.
1.36
The JAVA/JPEG webcasting has been updated. Many restricted networks have problems with both the ActiveX/MPEG viewer (due to security restrictions) and the old JAVA/JPEG Applet (because it streamed video rather than bring images over one at a time). The 1.36 JAVA Applet should now operate under these strict conditions.
JPEG and MPEG webcasting may once again (optionally) use dedicated ports separate from the main HTTP server.
A bug with HTTP authentication through some popular firewall software has been remedied.
The built-in browser's toolbar has been moved to the top of the window.
1.35
JPEG and MPEG webcasting now occurs through the same port that's used for the GadWatch HTTP server. This greatly reduces the effort required to use GadWatch in a router or in a networking environment where the majority of ports are disabled. By default, the HTTP server uses port 80.
The default/demo web pages have been adjusted. If you use custom web pages, you will need to alter the ActiveX or JAVA control isntances to use the new webcasting URL format, which is http://domain:port/<camname> where port is your GadWatch web server port, and <camname> is a specific camera name.
1.34
The Camera Properties - Video page has been reworked to be easier to use. The two most important device property pages are available directly from this page. The remainder (and all that are available, including crossbar settings and TV tuning) are accessible by right-clicking the camera's video image.
Some internal camera initialization code has been updated so that a broader range of hardware should be supported. Please notify me immediately if you experience any problems with cameras that may now be "broken" in GadWatch.
The Options page has a button that may be used to manually check for software updates.
1.33
For Motion Detection, the definition of "make time" has changed. Previously, every frame within the make time window had to contain motion in order to trigger the motion detector. This did not work well for higher frame-rate setups. Now, it only takes 2 motion frames within the make time window to trigger the motion detector. That is, once motion is detected on a frame, the timer begins. If motion is detected again before the make time timer expires, the detector is triggered. If you want to trigger motion immediately, set the make time to 0.0 seconds.
On the camera setup Recording page, you may choose to buffer and then record a number (0-10) of frames that precede the motion detection trigger. This allows you to view events that may have "led-up to" or contributed to the trigger event.
It's now possible to update to the full version from the LE version with a 2nd LE key.
1.32
Toggle camera names on and off in the live video window.
Tool tips for the toolbar
1.31
The MPEG webcasting control has been updated (now version 1.0.0.2). It supports the same zoom and pan capability (using the mouse wheel and then dragging) as the GadWatch application itself. Right-click in the control window for an About box with stats.
1.30
A major update featuring a new MPEG-based webcasting technology. This technology uses temporal compression to achieve an optimal frame-rate by transmitting only "changes" in consecutive images rather than entire images. This is now the default webcasting method used on the default home page. This method uses an ActiveX component which must be installed on the viewing browser (answer "Yes" when prompted to install it).
All JPEG/MPEG webcasting in this version is more efficient, as only outbound frames are actually compressed. Previously, when wecasting was activated, all video frames were compressed regardless of whether they were actually transmitted or not.
The Zoom feature in live video and the clip viewer has been revised. Now, the mouse wheel is used to zoom in and out. Once you have zoomed-in, the left button may then be used to drag the video within the window.
1.16
SMTP-AUTH support for authenticated email alerts. The LOGIN and PLAIN methods are currently supported. Also, the email alert "test" function now displays interaction with the mail server for debugging purposes.
1.15
Support for MPEG-2 video sources (e.g., Sony MicroMV and Adaptec Videoh DVD). It is recommended that you have the ULEAD MPEG Decoder installed (install ULEAD Video Studio trial software). The InterVideo MPEG Decoder alone will not work with GadWatch.
If the "switch to green after x.x min" Setup option is in use (to delay "arming" the system), clicking the "red" traffic signal icon will re-start this timer. Click the red traffic signal icon again to force immediate "green."
Now less CPU time is consumed when GadWatch is minimized.
1.14
Support for advanced user-specified DirectShow movie codecs.
Delay camera startup by automatically setting the traffic signal to green after a specified time period on the Options/Startup page.
Support for a "lite" version, which will support only 1 camera, no Windows Media, and no image compositing (the future ability to combine multiple cameras into a single image).
1.13
Support for all Windows Media codecs, including Series 9 from both the Webcasting and the Clip Recording properties pages
New Windows Media profile configuration dialog to explicitly set codecs, bitrates, keyframes, quality
Default web pages now use an updated embedded Windows Media control
Fix for some intermittent "script errors" on the default web
1.12
Multiple-camera support extended to 12 cameras
New camera window layout options--"1-up" (one camera window large, others small), "4-up" (4 camera windows share the majority of the display), and "fit to window" (all camera windows made equal size). Use the context (right-click) menu over a camera window to access these options.
1.11
Windows XP visual style now used for all common controls. You'll only notice a change if you're using Windows XP!
New Advanced Motion Sensor options for more reliable operation in low-light conditions.
1.10
FTP files to your remote website to indicate whether or not your webcam is available.
The browse-your-homepage feature (the Earth icon) now opens the browser as a GadWatch window. Next to the "X" close button for this new window is a button which will open the browser on the desktop instead.
If you have the Windows Media components installed, you may now perform both JPEG and Windows Media webcasting simultaneously, on separate ports. There are also new "audio-only" Windows Media profiles available, which allow you to combine JPEG images with Windows Media audio. An updated default.htm home page automatically checks for this combination and sets up the necessary objects.
Right-click in a camera window and select "Open in desktop window" to give a camera its own desktop window.
Crossbar support for analog capture devices with multiple inputs.
1.09
The built-in web server is now capable of serving up a list of cameras, as well as a list of clips, thumbnail images, and the clips themselves. The default.htm and GadWatch.cab/jar files have also been updated. The new default.htm contains the JavaScript necessary to switch between cameras, and to view the clips. If using these new pages, you should leave GadWatch's clip list showing the Current clips ordered "newest first."
To preserve compatibility with most HTML editors, the %SERVERNAME% and new macros now use double % symbols. That is, the server name is now represented by using %%SERVERNAME%%.
When new cameras are added, GadWatch automatically uses the next unique device name and webcasting port number.
1.08
Manually record a movie by using a new toolbar icon.
Prevent screensaver and system suspend modes using new options page settings.
Java JPEG refresh ("pull") webcasting script and server code revised for better efficiency. Also, if the script senses a "timeout" (no image is received for 10 seconds), it will automatically restart the script.
New status bar icon to indicate active webcam connections--this takes the "eye" icon. Movement is now indicated with a new four-headed arrow icon.
Enhanced webcasting connection statistics. Idle connections are "logged" and move to the bottom of the list
Option to play a sound when a webcasting viewer connects.
1.07
Image post/FTP allows specification of a destination folder
Camera properties Record page allows specification of a filename
Record page allows specification of MPEG compression parameters
Window Media ASF movies (with the Windows Media version of GadWatch installed)
1.06
Option to run minimized
Copy viewer images to the clipboard. Right-click on image for new popup menu.
Audio setup page allows selection on input pin and gain (input level)
The "defaults" page was removed. All pages to configure JPEG creation have individual quality settings, and all features that use a time format use the user default locale time format (you set this from the Windows control panel).
The Camera "Clips" page is now renamed "Record" and has been extensively overhauled to be more flexible and easy to use. You may now record a combination of JPEGs and movies, and may record at different rates depending on whether or not the motion sensor is triggered.
1.05
Multi-threaded JPEG refresh/push webcasting for optimal performance with multiple clients
Bandwidth limiting for JPEG refresh/push webcasting for optimal Intranet usage
Options to scale image and set the JPEG quality on webcasting setup page
1.04
Help file enhancements
JAR file fixed for Netscape browsers
Interface enhancements and bug fixes.
1.03
Webcasting "server push" model allows a client to decode a continuous JPEG image stream.
More Clip options to control the way in which clips are recorded.
1.02
New interface design
Live view now moves to lower-right corner when clip viewer is open
Several bug fixes
1.01
True Webcasting using the Windows Media ASF format.
When GadWatch detects that a camera has been removed or has arrived, it will automatically be initialized. To manually re-try the initialization of a camera, double-click in the window containing the error code.
The Stats Window and toolbar Icon.
