How Fast Does It Move?
The motors move the camera very fast. The specs state that it can move 100 degrees in one second, and we believe them. You can see in our video at the end of the article that the camera really zips around.
We tried to burn out the motors by rapidly panning and tilting in all directions for two minutes straight. The motors held up well and we managed to draw a sizable crowd as well.
Installation
Installation was easy. First you must attach the Webcam to the base. This took us a few minutes as you really have to force the Webcam into the TrackerPod. Fortunately the rest of the install is painless.
There are two drivers to install, one for the base and one for the Webcam. Both are included on the CD. Also included on the CD is an optional Webcam surveillance software called CamPanel, but you can use any other software.
On our Logitech-based system, the driver install required a reboot. After the drivers are installed, simply plug in both USB cables and you are off and running.
Software
The TrackerCam software will start automatically after it detects the base and camera. TrackerCam is a nice piece of software that does the panning and tilting of the camera. There are dozens of settings allowing for full customization.
One quirk of the TrackerCam software is that some of the configurations are done in the software panel, while other configurations are done in the Web interface. Once you figure it out, it's not too bad.
