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how to turn my MBP into a puppy webcam

C

cahira

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 13, 2011
25
0
Hey guys,
Currently I am using 2 skype accounts and my MBP's iSight to keep an eye on my dogs while I'm at work. The only problem is that I need to keep my display on "never sleep" for this to work, but my IT guys at work said that wasn't good for my Mac, and I might burn the screen.

Does anyone have any suggestions for what I want to do?

I have access to an external web cam, if I can't just use my MPB. This isn't something I want to invest a lot of $ into.

Thanks in advance!
 
Hey, thanks for the reply - will that help? I thought screen burn was caused by prolonged display of non-moving images.
 
when the brightness is set to the lowest possible setting it effectively turns the screen off which, of course, couldn't "burn" images as there would be no wattage going to it to produce any light/images.

also, i thought such problems as image burn didn't occur in modern LCD displays? Apple stores don't seem to have a problem with keeping their myriad products on all the time.

i think you should research the type of screen further just to see if any such thing as "burning" occurs in modern displays. I'm sure I read somewhere it doesn't.
 
cahira said:
The only problem is that I need to keep my display on "never sleep" for this to work, but my IT guys at work said that wasn't good for my Mac, and I might burn the screen.
Click to expand...
You can use Caffeine to keep your Mac awake but keep your screen brightness turned down. You don't need the display on for your cam to work. And your IT guys don't know what they're talking about.

cahira said:
in the power saving settings, when I turn everything to "never turn off", there is a warning that says something about lessening the lifespan of the computer.
Click to expand...
No, that warning is about never turning your display off.... not your computer.
ScreenCap 1.png​
 
Last edited by a moderator:
cahira said:
thanks!

in the power saving settings, when I turn everything to "never turn off", there is a warning that says something about lessening the lifespan of the computer.

I did find this article on apple - do you think this would this work with Skype?

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2438744&tstart=-3
Click to expand...

the OS is assuming that you're going to have it displaying images all the time, it doesn't realise you've got the brightness turned all the way off :)

it would seem to work, yes. the person who created that thread seems to have had your problems sans puppies lol
 
GGJstudios said:
You can use Caffeine to keep your Mac awake but keep your screen brightness turned down. You don't need the display on for your cam to work. And your IT guys don't know what they're talking about.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Should I try out this app, or will just turning down my screen's brightness suffice?

I plan to keep the Mac on for about 9 hours straight.
 
cahira said:
Thanks! Should I try out this app, or will just turning down my screen's brightness suffice?

I plan to keep the Mac on for about 9 hours straight.
Click to expand...
Caffeine is a simple little app that you can click the icon in the Menu Bar to override your Energy Saver settings, so you don't have to keep adjusting them. Click it once to enable, again to disable. Once you enable it, just turn your screen brightness down.
 
AppleScruff1 said:
Can't you plug it into usb and monitor it remotely thru the pc with the display off?
Click to expand...
You can do the same thing with the built-in webcam, without the expense or hassle of attaching an external cam. The point is, it's no different... in both cases you need the computer on with the display off.
 
edifyingGerbil said:
the OS is assuming that you're going to have it displaying images all the time, it doesn't realise you've got the brightness turned all the way off :)

it would seem to work, yes. the person who created that thread seems to have had your problems sans puppies lol
Click to expand...

;)
 
GGJstudios said:
You can do the same thing with the built-in webcam, without the expense or hassle of attaching an external cam. The point is, it's no different... in both cases you need the computer on with the display off.
Click to expand...

Ok, I will install the app, and turn down the brightness. I wonder how dark the screen can get at the lowest setting :eek:
 
Thanks a lot guys - I will try it when I get home shortly. You've been a big help!
 
Turning the brightness all the way down DOES NOT TURN OFF THE SCREEN. I previously though it did, but under a bright enough light you can still see and operate the screen.
 
JamesGorman said:
Turning the brightness all the way down DOES NOT TURN OFF THE SCREEN. I previously though it did, but under a bright enough light you can still see and operate the screen.
Click to expand...

but if there is no light being emitted, doesn't that mean that the likelihood of an image being burned into the screen is slim?
 
It's true, there is still an image on the screen, but it seems like there's no back lighting at all.

I guess somebody would have to try it in the dark to see whether or not there's actually any light being emitted....
 
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