Put webcam feed on desktop? GeekTool?

[someguy]

Hey guys, I am wondering if anyone can help me figure out how to do this.

My work uses a little Creative webcam and we are allowed to view it from home to keep an eye on what is going on there, and instead of keeping it open in it's own page on a second display so I can see it at all times, I'd like to place it on the desktop in the same way you can place calendars and terminal windows on the desktop (windowless).

Is there anyway to do this using GeekTool or some other utility?


The page itself is [camera].creativeddns.com and when I open the "Page Info" window in Firefox, the Media item that pertains to the video feed changes constantly, so I don't know how I could link to an active video feed without using a browser.

Is there anyway to do this?

 

[tobefirst ⚽️]

You could run WebDesktop, which allows you to display a webpage on your desktop underneath icons, but is still clickable when Cmd-Tabbed to make it active. Also supports transparency.

 

[someguy]

You could run WebDesktop, which allows you to display a webpage on your desktop underneath icons, but is still clickable when Cmd-Tabbed to make it active. Also supports transparency.

I might give that a shot. Thanks!

I've figured out how to do it in GeekTool as well for anyone interested.

I made a new item with the intent of displaying an image from the web on the desktop and used the url: [cameraname].creativeddns.com/getcam? and voila.

I should note that GeekTool obtained the username and password to access this page from the saved item in my Keychain, so make sure you have it saved there first as GeekTool may not ask for it on its own.

 

[HazMatt]

Yes I realize this thread is over five years old, but I wanted to post my solution for getting IP camera feeds on the desktop.

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First, a Dashboard Widget I created:
http://www.hazmatt.net/downloads/CamExtender.zip

It only works with Axis cameras, since that's what we mostly use. I set it up so I can easily add other camera URL formats later, but right now I have no motivation to do it.

Then I found a neat utility called WidgetRunner:
http://db.lcs.mit.edu/madden/WidgetRunner/

Basically, you can run Dashboard widgets in a different application, and kill the DashboardClient. Widgets can be set to stay on top, act like a normal window, or become one with your desktop picture.

I finally figured out this solution today and I thought I'd share!