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Type of site | Webcam Network |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Created by | Brian Cury (CEO andFounder) |
| URL | earthcam |
| Commercial | Yes,advertising andlicensing of its proprietary webcam content. |
| Launched | March 27, 1996; 28 years ago (1996-03-27) |
| Current status | Active |
EarthCam, Inc. is a company based inUpper Saddle River, New Jersey, United States, that provideswebcam content, technology and services. Founded in 1996, EarthCam.com is a network of webcameras offering a complete searchable database of views of places around the world.
As the company grew, EarthCam expanded beyond building its network of tourism cameras and extended its reach into other industries by developing and delivering technology for many applications in verticals including construction, transportation, and surveillance. Expanding beyond the pages of its main site, EarthCam.com, EarthCam's network of websites has grown to include WebCamStore.com, EarthCamMobile.com, and most notably EarthCam.net, a site for businesses and organizations to purchase webcams and EarthCam's proprietary software to manage their camera networks. Mobile applications for accessing EarthCam's live webcams and for clients to control their private cameras are available forApple Inc. orAndroid (operating system) devices.
EarthCam and other live webcam services have a huge impact on entertainment and business, allowing for online "travel,"meetings, and easy access to knowledge.[1] Virtual travel also became possible with webcams located at major worldwide tourist attractions such as London'sAbbey Road,[2] theEiffel Tower in Paris, Rio de Janeiro'sCopacabana Beach,Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles and the "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign".
Brian Cury, CEO and founder of EarthCam, Inc., launched EarthCam.com in 1996 to build a network of webcams offering views of destinations throughout the world.
In 1999 it was claimed 20 people per day were adding their webcams to the website.[3] By 2006 the website was aWebby Award Winner in the Tourism category.[4] It is viewed by fans in 192 countries and ranks among the top 1% of all websites, according toAlexa.com.[5]
One of the first highly publicised events that EarthCam produced, labelled "Webcast of the Century", featured celebrations from around the world at the turn of the new millennium on New Year's Eve 1999 / New Year's Day 2000. 100 cameras were located across the world, taking pictures every 30 seconds, viewed using an interactive world map on EarthCam.com.[3]
In October 2011 EarthCam built and installed the 'TorchCams', custom camera systems that generate live video and widescreen images, giving visitors panoramic views from theStatue of Liberty torch, the location that has been closed to the public since 1916.[6][7][8] The five cameras were donated to the National Park Service by EarthCam, Inc.[9][10]
In May 2015, EarthCam announced that it had chosen Davis Brody Bond - Architect of the 9/11 Memorial Museum - to design its new 10-acre campus in Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.[11]
To ring in the new year in 2017, EarthCam installed4K live streaming video cameras in Times Square in order to broadcast the first-ever 4K stream of the Times Square celebration live onYouTube.[12] Through the years, EarthCam’s streaming video quality has evolved, from stillJPEG images updating once every 60 seconds in 1996 to 4K "ultra-high definition" streaming video today.
EarthCam.net provides live streaming video, megapixel, wireless, and solar-powered camera systems, along with managed services, for corporate clients and government agencies worldwide, including theGeneral Services Administration (GSA). Powered by EarthCam's Control Center 8 webcam management service that is delivered as a user-controllableSaaS (Software as a Service) interface, EarthCam's professional webcam technology is used to view, document, and promote projects. Additional advanced imaging technology services are offered includinggigapixel images and most recently, EarthCam Air,aerial photography which combines EarthCam’s webcam technology withUnmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) services to produce geospatial images.
By visiting EarthCam, viewers have the capability to see historical places and landmarks around the world, especially in the US. EarthCam cameras located at theMartin Luther King Jr. Memorial[13] in Washington DC, theFlight 93 National Memorial[14] in Shanksville, PA, Seattle'sSpace Needle, Wall Street's notableCharging Bull and more deliver unique views, both live and archived. The archived images can be edited together to producetime-lapse videos such as theGround Zero 10-year time-lapse[15] which was created from images captured at the site from September 2001 through September 2011.
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