Editing Webcam (section)

=== Early development (early 1990s) ===
[[File:Trojan Room coffee pot xcoffee.png|thumb|The [[Trojan Room coffee pot]], as displayed in XCoffee]]

First developed in 1991, a webcam was pointed at the [[Trojan Room coffee pot]] in the [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge University]] Computer Science Department (initially operating over a local network instead of the web). The camera was finally switched off on August 22, 2001. The final image captured by the camera can still be viewed at its homepage.<ref>[http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/coffee/coffee.html CoffeeCam] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313093700/http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/coffee/coffee.html |date=2012-03-13 }}, University of Cambridge.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spiegel.de/static/popup/coffeecam/cam2.html|title=Trojan Room Coffee Pot – SPIEGEL ONLINE|access-date=29 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925043554/http://www.spiegel.de/static/popup/coffeecam/cam2.html|archive-date=25 September 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> The oldest continuously operating webcam, [[San Francisco State University]]'s [[FogCam]], has run since 1994 and is still operating {{as of|lc=y|2025|01|post=.}} It updates every 20 seconds.<ref>{{cite web |title='World's oldest webcam' to be switched off |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-49408335 |website=BBC News |access-date=20 August 2019 |date=20 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190820170350/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-49408335 |archive-date=20 August 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>[[File:Silicon Graphics camera IMG 4205.jpg|thumb|SGI IndyCam|left]]

The [[SGI Indy]], released in 1993, is the first commercial computer to have a standard video camera,<ref name="MD camera">{{cite magazine|date=August 13, 1993|title=Low-cost, high-speed SGI Indy comes with camera|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/217148786|magazine=Machine Design|volume=65|issue=16|page=84|id={{ProQuest|217148786}}|access-date=March 5, 2021|via=[[ProQuest]]|url-access=registration|archive-date=July 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210713165154/https://www.proquest.com/docview/217148786|url-status=live}}</ref> and the first SGI computer to have standard video inputs.<ref name="ED Video input">{{cite magazine|author=DB|date=July 22, 1993|title=Video input becoming workstation standard.|url=https://web-b-ebscohost-com.wikipedialibrary.idm.oclc.org/ehost/detail/detail?vid=0&sid=d6805b5a-27de-4991-a527-b8d1649e6b8e%40pdc-v-sessmgr01&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=9311156271&db=f6h|magazine=Electronic Design|volume=41|issue=15|page=30|issn=0013-4872|access-date=March 5, 2021|via=[[EBSCO Information Services|EBSCO]]|url-access=registration|archive-date=August 19, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819104536/https://wikipedialibrary.wmflabs.org/?next_url=/ezproxy/r/ezp.2aHR0cHM6Ly93ZWIuYi5lYnNjb2hvc3QuY29tL2Vob3N0L2RldGFpbC9kZXRhaWw.dmlkPTAmc2lkPWQ2ODA1YjVhLTI3ZGUtNDk5MS1hNTI3LWI4ZDE2NDllNmI4ZSU0MHBkYy12LXNlc3NtZ3IwMSZiZGF0YT1Kbk5wZEdVOVpXaHZjM1F0YkdsMlpRJTNEJTNE#AN=9311156271&db=f6h|url-status=live}}</ref>

The maximum supported input resolution is 640×480 for [[NTSC]] or 768×576 for [[PAL]]. A fast machine is required to capture at either of these resolutions, though; an Indy with slower [[R4600|R4600PC]] CPU, for example, may require the input resolution to be reduced before storage or processing. However, the Vino hardware is capable of [[Direct memory access|DMA]]ing video fields directly into the frame buffer with minimal CPU overhead.

The first widespread commercial webcam, the black-and-white [[QuickCam]], entered the marketplace in 1994, created by the U.S. computer company [[Connectix]]. QuickCam was available in August 1994 for the [[Apple Macintosh]], connecting via a [[serial port]], at a cost of $100. Jon Garber, the designer of the device, had wanted to call it the "Mac-camera", but was overruled by Connectix's marketing department; a version with a PC-compatible parallel port and software for [[Microsoft Windows]] was launched in October 1995. The original Quick Cam provided 320x240-pixel resolution with a grayscale depth of 16 shades at 60 frames per second, or 256 shades at 15 frames per second.<ref>Edwards, Benj. [http://www.pcworld.com/article/199112/victorian_scifi.html History of Video Calls: From Fantasy to Flops to Facetime] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111010182111/http://www.pcworld.com/article/199112/victorian_scifi.html |date=2011-10-10 }}, [[PC World (magazine)|PC World Magazine]], June 17, 2010.</ref> These cam were tested on several [[Delta II launch]] using a variety of communication protocols including CDMA, TDMA, GSM and HF.

[[Videotelephony|Videoconferencing]] via computers already existed, and at the time [[Client–server model|client-server]] based videoconferencing software such as [[CU-SeeMe]] had started to become popular.

The first widely known laptop with integrated webcam option, at a pricepoint starting at US$ 12,000, was an IBM [[RS/6000]] 860 laptop<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ps-2.kev009.com/aixtp/Brochure/4249-860.pdf|title=RS/6000 Notebook 860|website=kev009.com|access-date=2020-12-30|archive-date=2021-02-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225170148/http://ps-2.kev009.com/aixtp/Brochure/4249-860.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2000-06-28|title=US - IBM RS/6000 Notebook 860 Model 860|url=https://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/rep_sm/0/897/ENUS7249-860/index.html|access-date=2020-12-30|website=www-01.ibm.com|language=en-US|archive-date=2020-09-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919231326/https://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/rep_sm/0/897/ENUS7249-860/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and its related [[ThinkPad 850]],<ref>{{Cite web|date=1996-07-09|title=IBM ThinkPad Power Series 820 and 850|url=https://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/printableversion.wss?docURL=/common/ssi/rep_ca/8/877/ENUSZG96-0188/index.html&request_locale=en|access-date=2020-12-30|website=www-01.ibm.com|language=en-US}}</ref> released in 1996.