Capture images (JPEG) from IP-Camera

Question

Hey there!
I have been trying to capture images from an IP-Camera. I understand that this has to be done by using a custom DataSource and I have tried many many example found here on the net, but with no results.
I think I've tried every piece of code found here at this forum regarding this subject.. :/
The best I could do was not getting an error while creating a custom DataSource from a BufferedStream..but the when I try to configure/realize the Processor - created with Manager.createProcessor(customdatasource) - it gives me an error which, I think, has something to do with unrecognized content..
I could post all the examples I tried but I think it would be too much of a confusion so...does anyone have a full working example of code to achieve this? WITH the frame grabber class? plizzzzzzzzz?
Thanks,
Edd

Answer 1

I felt Captfoss' solution was inspired and so gave it a go. The following builds a video from an ip cam jpg stream using a version of Sun's JpegImagesToMovie.java. It is hacked together quickly and with scope for improvement, but it works, proves the idea, and is a good example.
Run as:- java JpegImagesToMovie -w 320 -h 240 -f 30 -o file:test.avi
* @(#)JpegImagesToMovie.java     1.3 01/03/13
* Copyright (c) 1999-2001 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
* Sun grants you ("Licensee") a non-exclusive, royalty free, license to use,
* modify and redistribute this software in source and binary code form,
* provided that i) this copyright notice and license appear on all copies of
* the software; and ii) Licensee does not utilize the software in a manner
* which is disparaging to Sun.
* This software is provided "AS IS," without a warranty of any kind. ALL
* EXPRESS OR IMPLIED CONDITIONS, REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, INCLUDING ANY
* IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR
* NON-INFRINGEMENT, ARE HEREBY EXCLUDED. SUN AND ITS LICENSORS SHALL NOT BE
* LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES SUFFERED BY LICENSEE AS A RESULT OF USING, MODIFYING
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* INDIRECT, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, INCIDENTAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, HOWEVER
* CAUSED AND REGARDLESS OF THE THEORY OF LIABILITY, ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF
* OR INABILITY TO USE SOFTWARE, EVEN IF SUN HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE
* POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
* This software is not designed or intended for use in on-line control of
* aircraft, air traffic, aircraft navigation or aircraft communications; or in
* the design, construction, operation or maintenance of any nuclear
* facility. Licensee represents and warrants that it will not use or
* redistribute the Software for such purposes.
* Some public domain modifications by Andy Dyble for avi etc by self and from 
* other internet resources 19/11/2008. Reads editable 20 ip cam network jpg files.
* Supported formats tested for compression options. This code could be much improved
* further to these amendments. Absolutely no warranties. www.exactfutures.com
import java.io.*;
import java.net.*;
import java.util.*;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import javax.media.*;
import javax.media.control.*;
import javax.media.protocol.*;
import javax.media.protocol.DataSource;
import javax.media.datasink.*;
import javax.media.format.VideoFormat;
import javax.media.format.JPEGFormat;
* This program takes a list of JPEG image files and convert them into
* a QuickTime movie.
public class JpegImagesToMovie implements ControllerListener, DataSinkListener {
    public boolean doIt(int width, int height, int frameRate, Vector inFiles, MediaLocator outML, String outputURL)
     ImageDataSource ids = new ImageDataSource(width, height, frameRate, inFiles);
     Processor p;
     try {
         System.err.println("- create processor for the image datasource ...");
         p = Manager.createProcessor(ids);
     } catch (Exception e) {
         System.err.println("Yikes!  Cannot create a processor from the data source.");
         return false;
     p.addControllerListener(this);
     // Put the Processor into configured state so we can set
     // some processing options on the processor.
     p.configure();
     if (!waitForState(p, p.Configured)) {
         System.err.println("Failed to configure the processor.");
         return false;
     // Set the output content descriptor to QuickTime.
     if(outputURL.endsWith(".avi") || outputURL.endsWith(".AVI"))
          p.setContentDescriptor(new ContentDescriptor(FileTypeDescriptor.MSVIDEO));
     if(outputURL.endsWith(".mov") || outputURL.endsWith(".MOV"))
          p.setContentDescriptor(new ContentDescriptor(FileTypeDescriptor.QUICKTIME));
     // Query for the processor for supported formats.
     // Then set it on the processor.
     TrackControl tcs[] = p.getTrackControls();
     for(int i=0;i<tcs.length;i++)
          System.out.println("TrackControl "+i+" "+tcs);
     Format f[] = tcs[0].getSupportedFormats();
     if (f == null || f.length <= 0) {
     System.err.println("The mux does not support the input format: " + tcs[0].getFormat());
     return false;
     for(int i=0;i<f.length;i++)
          System.out.println("Supported Format "+i+" "+f[i]);
//     tcs[0].setFormat(f[0]);
     if(outputURL.endsWith(".avi") || outputURL.endsWith(".AVI"))     // must be VideoFormat
          System.err.println("Setting the track format to: "     // INDEO50 CINEPAK f[0] etc
               + tcs[0].setFormat(new VideoFormat(VideoFormat.INDEO50)));
     if(outputURL.endsWith(".mov") || outputURL.endsWith(".MOV"))
          System.err.println("Setting the track format to: "     // JPEG CINEPAK RGB f[0] etc
               + tcs[0].setFormat(new VideoFormat(VideoFormat.JPEG)));
     //System.err.println("Setting the track format to: " + f[0]);
     // We are done with programming the processor. Let's just
     // realize it.
     p.realize();
     if (!waitForState(p, p.Realized)) {
     System.err.println("Failed to realize the processor.");
     return false;
     // Now, we'll need to create a DataSink.
     DataSink dsink;
     if ((dsink = createDataSink(p, outML)) == null) {
     System.err.println("Failed to create a DataSink for the given output MediaLocator: " + outML);
     return false;
     dsink.addDataSinkListener(this);
     fileDone = false;
     System.err.println("start processing...");
     // OK, we can now start the actual transcoding.
     try {
     p.start();
     dsink.start();
     } catch (IOException e) {
     System.err.println("IO error during processing");
     return false;
     // Wait for EndOfStream event.
     waitForFileDone();
     // Cleanup.
     try {
     dsink.close();
     } catch (Exception e) {}
     p.removeControllerListener(this);
     System.err.println("...done processing.");
     return true;
* Create the DataSink.
DataSink createDataSink(Processor p, MediaLocator outML) {
     DataSource ds;
     if ((ds = p.getDataOutput()) == null) {
     System.err.println("Something is really wrong: the processor does not have an output DataSource");
     return null;
     DataSink dsink;
     try {
     System.err.println("- create DataSink for: " + outML);
     dsink = Manager.createDataSink(ds, outML);
     dsink.open();
     } catch (Exception e) {
     System.err.println("Cannot create the DataSink: " + e);
     return null;
     return dsink;
Object waitSync = new Object();
boolean stateTransitionOK = true;
* Block until the processor has transitioned to the given state.
* Return false if the transition failed.
boolean waitForState(Processor p, int state) {
     synchronized (waitSync) {
     try {
          while (p.getState() < state && stateTransitionOK)
          waitSync.wait();
     } catch (Exception e) {}
     return stateTransitionOK;
* Controller Listener.
public void controllerUpdate(ControllerEvent evt) {
     if (evt instanceof ConfigureCompleteEvent ||
     evt instanceof RealizeCompleteEvent ||
     evt instanceof PrefetchCompleteEvent) {
     synchronized (waitSync) {
          stateTransitionOK = true;
          waitSync.notifyAll();
     } else if (evt instanceof ResourceUnavailableEvent) {
     synchronized (waitSync) {
          stateTransitionOK = false;
          waitSync.notifyAll();
     } else if (evt instanceof EndOfMediaEvent) {
     evt.getSourceController().stop();
     evt.getSourceController().close();
Object waitFileSync = new Object();
boolean fileDone = false;
boolean fileSuccess = true;
* Block until file writing is done.
boolean waitForFileDone() {
     synchronized (waitFileSync) {
     try {
          while (!fileDone)
          waitFileSync.wait();
     } catch (Exception e) {}
     return fileSuccess;
* Event handler for the file writer.
public void dataSinkUpdate(DataSinkEvent evt) {
     if (evt instanceof EndOfStreamEvent) {
     synchronized (waitFileSync) {
          fileDone = true;
          waitFileSync.notifyAll();
     } else if (evt instanceof DataSinkErrorEvent) {
     synchronized (waitFileSync) {
          fileDone = true;
          fileSuccess = false;
          waitFileSync.notifyAll();
     public static void createInputFiles(Vector files)
          // Create a file for the directory
          File file = new File("images");
          // Get the file list...
          String s[] = file.list();
          files.removeAllElements();     // if any set from arguments
          for(int i=0;i<s.length;i++)
               if(s[i].indexOf(".jp")!=-1)
                    files.addElement("images"+File.separator+s[i]);     // and to sort if required
               else
                    System.out.println((i+1)+": "+s[i]+" - ignored");
public static void main(String args[]) {
     if (args.length == 0)
     prUsage();
     // Parse the arguments.
     int i = 0;
     int width = -1, height = -1, frameRate = 1;
     Vector inputFiles = new Vector();
     String outputURL = null;
     while (i < args.length) {
     if (args[i].equals("-w")) {
          i++;
          if (i >= args.length)
          prUsage();
          width = new Integer(args[i]).intValue();
     } else if (args[i].equals("-h")) {
          i++;
          if (i >= args.length)
          prUsage();
          height = new Integer(args[i]).intValue();
     } else if (args[i].equals("-f")) {
          i++;
          if (i >= args.length)
          prUsage();
          frameRate = new Integer(args[i]).intValue();
     } else if (args[i].equals("-o")) {
          i++;
          if (i >= args.length)
          prUsage();
          outputURL = args[i];
     } else {
          inputFiles.addElement(args[i]);
     i++;
///     createInputFiles(inputFiles);
     if (outputURL == null)// || inputFiles.size() == 0)
     prUsage();
     // Check for output file extension.
     if(!outputURL.endsWith(".avi") && !outputURL.endsWith(".AVI") && !outputURL.endsWith(".mov") && !outputURL.endsWith(".MOV"))
          System.err.println("The output file extension should end with a .mov extension");
          prUsage();
     if (width < 0 || height < 0) {
     System.err.println("Please specify the correct image size.");
     prUsage();
     // Check the frame rate.
     if (frameRate < 1)
     frameRate = 1;
     // Generate the output media locators.
     MediaLocator oml;
     if ((oml = createMediaLocator(outputURL)) == null) {
     System.err.println("Cannot build media locator from: " + outputURL);
     System.exit(0);
     JpegImagesToMovie imageToMovie = new JpegImagesToMovie();
     imageToMovie.doIt(width, height, frameRate, inputFiles, oml, outputURL);
     System.exit(0);
static void prUsage() {
     System.err.println("Usage: java JpegImagesToMovie -w <width> -h <height> -f <frame rate> -o <output URL>");// <input JPEG file 1> <input JPEG file 2> ...");
     System.exit(-1);
* Create a media locator from the given string.
static MediaLocator createMediaLocator(String url) {
     MediaLocator ml;
     if (url.indexOf(":") > 0 && (ml = new MediaLocator(url)) != null)
     return ml;
     if (url.startsWith(File.separator)) {
     if ((ml = new MediaLocator("file:" + url)) != null)
          return ml;
     } else {
     String file = "file:" + System.getProperty("user.dir") + File.separator + url;
     if ((ml = new MediaLocator(file)) != null)
          return ml;
     return null;
// Inner classes.
* A DataSource to read from a list of JPEG image files and
* turn that into a stream of JMF buffers.
* The DataSource is not seekable or positionable.
class ImageDataSource extends PullBufferDataSource {
     ImageSourceStream streams[];
     ImageDataSource(int width, int height, int frameRate, Vector images) {
     streams = new ImageSourceStream[1];
     streams[0] = new ImageSourceStream(width, height, frameRate, images);
     public void setLocator(MediaLocator source) {
     public MediaLocator getLocator() {
     return null;
     * Content type is of RAW since we are sending buffers of video
     * frames without a container format.
     public String getContentType() {
     return ContentDescriptor.RAW;
     public void connect() {
     public void disconnect() {
     public void start() {
     public void stop() {
     * Return the ImageSourceStreams.
     public PullBufferStream[] getStreams() {
     return streams;
     * We could have derived the duration from the number of
     * frames and frame rate. But for the purpose of this program,
     * it's not necessary.
     public Time getDuration() {
     return DURATION_UNKNOWN;
     public Object[] getControls() {
     return new Object[0];
     public Object getControl(String type) {
     return null;
* The source stream to go along with ImageDataSource.
class ImageSourceStream implements PullBufferStream {
     Vector images;
     int width, height;
     VideoFormat format;
     int nextImage = 0;     // index of the next image to be read.
     boolean ended = false;
     float frameRate;
     long seqNo = 0;
     public ImageSourceStream(int width, int height, int frameRate, Vector images) {
     this.width = width;
     this.height = height;
     this.images = images;
          this.frameRate = (float)frameRate;
     format = new VideoFormat(VideoFormat.JPEG,
                    new Dimension(width, height),
                    Format.NOT_SPECIFIED,
                    Format.byteArray,
                    (float)frameRate);
     * We should never need to block assuming data are read from files.
     public boolean willReadBlock() {
     return false;
byte[] input_buffer;
byte[] imgbytearray;
byte[] imgusebyte;
int camWidth = 320;
int camHeight = 240;
URL url;
long timeStamp;long timeStamp0=System.currentTimeMillis();long resultTimeStamp;
     public boolean urlFetchJPG()
          String ipcamserver = "146.176.65.10";     // examples 146.176.65.10 , 62.16.100.204 , 194.168.163.96 , 84.93.217.139 , 194.177.131.229 , 148.61.171.201
          try
               url = new URL("http://"+ipcamserver+"/axis-cgi/jpg/image.cgi?camera=&resolution=320x240".trim());
          catch(Exception e){System.out.println("Exception url "+e);}
          try
               if(input_buffer==null)input_buffer = new byte[8192];
               if(imgbytearray==null)imgbytearray = new byte[camWidth*camHeight*3];
               URLConnection uc = url.openConnection();
               uc.setUseCaches(false);
               //uc.setDoInput(true);
               //uc.setRequestProperty("accept","image/jpeg,text/html,text/plain");
               BufferedInputStream in;
               int bytes_read;
               int sumread=0;
               in = new BufferedInputStream(uc.getInputStream());
               while((bytes_read=in.read(input_buffer, 0, 8192))!=-1)
                    if(sumread+bytes_read>imgbytearray.length)
                         byte[] imgbytearraytemp = new byte[sumread+bytes_read+8192];
                         System.arraycopy(imgbytearray,0,imgbytearraytemp,0,imgbytearray.length);
                    System.arraycopy(input_buffer,0,imgbytearray,sumread,bytes_read);
                    sumread=sumread+bytes_read;
               in.close();
               imgusebyte = new byte[sumread];
               System.arraycopy(imgbytearray,0,imgusebyte,0,sumread);
          catch(Exception e){System.out.println("Exception urlFetchJPG "+e);}
          return true;
     * This is called from the Processor to read a frame worth
     * of video data.
     public void read(Buffer buf) throws IOException {
     // Check if we've finished all the frames.
     if (nextImage >= 20) //images.size())
          // We are done. Set EndOfMedia.
          System.err.println("Done reading all images.");
          buf.setEOM(true);
          buf.setOffset(0);
          buf.setLength(0);
          ended = true;
          return;
///     String imageFile = (String)images.elementAt(nextImage);
     nextImage++;
//     System.err.println(" - reading image file: " + imageFile);
     // Open a random access file for the next image.
///     RandomAccessFile raFile;
///     raFile = new RandomAccessFile(imageFile, "r");
     byte data[] = null;
     // Check the input buffer type & size.
///     if (buf.getData() instanceof byte[])
///          data = (byte[])buf.getData();
          urlFetchJPG();
          data = imgusebyte;
     // Check to see the given buffer is big enough for the frame.
///     if (data == null || data.length < raFile.length()) {
///          data = new byte[(int)raFile.length()];
          buf.setData(data);
     // Read the entire JPEG image from the file.
///     raFile.readFully(data, 0, (int)raFile.length());
//     System.err.println(" read " + raFile.length() + " bytes.");
     buf.setOffset(0);
///     buf.setLength((int)raFile.length());
          buf.setLength(data.length);
     buf.setFormat(format);
     buf.setFlags(buf.getFlags() | buf.FLAG_KEY_FRAME);
///          long time = (long)(seqNo * (1000D / frameRate) * 1000000);
          timeStamp = System.currentTimeMillis();
          resultTimeStamp = timeStamp - timeStamp0;
          long time = resultTimeStamp * 0xf4240L;
          buf.setTimeStamp(time);
          buf.setSequenceNumber(seqNo++);
     // Close the random access file.
///     raFile.close();
     * Return the format of each video frame. That will be JPEG.
     public Format getFormat() {
     return format;
     public ContentDescriptor getContentDescriptor() {
     return new ContentDescriptor(ContentDescriptor.RAW);
     public long getContentLength() {
     return 0;
     public boolean endOfStream() {
     return ended;
     public Object[] getControls() {
     return new Object[0];
     public Object getControl(String type) {
     return null;
{code}