Holmfirth Webcam

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Louise Lawrence

Dedicated Member
Has anyone had a look at the Holmfirth webcam lately? It's fine in the day but it's positioned right next to a very bright light so at night, you can't see anything. It was okay until 3 weeks ago so, I don't know what has happened
 
I am guessing it is one of the Christmas lights on the outside and until they remove them it is going to be rubbish at night
 
I have just looked at the Holmfirth webcam again. The Christmas decorations have been removed but there is still a very bright light shining onto the webcam. I think the bright light is from the hardware store (J W Kaye Ironmongers).
 
Louise Lawrence said:
I have just looked at the Holmfirth webcam again. The Christmas decorations have been removed but there is still a very bright light shining onto the webcam. I think the bright light is from the hardware store (J W Kaye Ironmongers).
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The light at night could be either a light in their own shop window reflecting, or I suspect more likely it is the reflection from the infra red lights built into the webcam for night viewing
 
I emailed Virtual Huddersfield about it this morning, after examining the daytime image for an external source. If I recall correctly, the problem appeared immediately after the Christmas lights were installed. The new cam predated the lights by at least a few weeks.
 
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maltrab said:
... I suspect more likely it is the reflection from the infra red lights built into the webcam for night viewing
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I think you're right, Terry. The glare starts at dusk as a circle of small circular lights, as in the attached screen grab. The time shown in the lower right corner is my local time, so the time in Holmfirth is five hours later. About three minutes after this screen grab, it was dark enough for the lights to have consolidated into a single bright light.

This is a fairly new problem. I don't think it began with the new format. Do you suppose they changed the camera lens after the wider angle and more frequent updates had begun?
 

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Marianna said:
I think you're right, Terry. The glare starts at dusk as a circle of small circular lights, as in the attached screen grab. The time shown in the lower right corner is my local time, so the time in Holmfirth is five hours later. About three minutes after this screen grab, it was dark enough for the lights to have consolidated into a single bright light.

This is a fairly new problem. I don't think it began with the new format. Do you suppose they changed the camera lens after the wider angle and more frequent updates had begun?
Click to expand...

Normally in the software settings for the camera you can select the option Infrared on or off, all that is happening here is the IR is reflecting in the window and ruining the picture
 
Here's what Virtual Huddersfield has to say on the subject: "We are aware of the problem and it’s causes. Hopefully we can fix it this week. So you know, the camera defaults to IR on when power is disrupted ie staff member unplugs. We are working on a solution."

He also pointed out that we're not the intended audience and that the web cam is just an adjunct to Virtual Holmfirth that supports the businesses by allowing potential customers to either stroll among the shops, street by street, or to find the location of a particular shop. He wondered if I'd like to donate to web cam upkeep, but I pointed out that I'm in Holmfirth relatively frequently for a foreigner, staying for up to a week at a time and patronizing some of the businesses.

Apparently, we distant fans are the squeaky wheels who contact him when something goes wrong with the web cam. I wonder if that indicates that local people aren't paying any attention to it.
 
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A big thank you Marianna for helping to solicit an explanation it is very much appreciated . Does his response imply that this is not the local council who pick up the tab for promoting Holmfirth/Huddersfield but himself paying for the upkeep of the Webcam and the Electricity it uses . It does suggest his reaction to us being the Squeaky Wheels that he is perhaps paying for it and we are adding to his woes when we request him to fix any issues . If the Council do not contribute it is merely further evidence that they have conveniently forgotten what LOTSW did for the town borne out by the lack of acknowledgement to the show but for plugging the Cafe and Nora's in their guides and literature .
 
It's more likely that the equivalent of the local Chamber of Commerce pays for it, since the Virtual Huddersfield web site (including Holmfirth, Lindley, Marsden, Honley, Slaithwaite and Almondbury) is designed as advertising for the local businesses. I doubt if Kirklees Council is at all supportive of business. Most of what I read about the Council's actions in the Huddersfield Examiner sounds unhelpful at best.
 
I stand corrected. Virtual Huddersfield is a 19-year-old private company.

They object to being informed of faults in the display, claiming that it's monitored so they are aware of them. This implies that they drag their feet when it comes to correcting faults. We're to feel free, though, to tell them how much we enjoy it. I don't think so!
 
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It's still there, just a bit up and left of where it was. About at the second floor up, and
just above the railing. If the red car is still there, just up from it.
 
I see the street light just around the corner of Kaye's building from their entrance. I also see a row of small white and colored lights that appears to be along the front of the first building on the left side of Victoria Street, just below the top floor windows. Neither of them bears any resemblance to the reflection from the infrared built into the lens that we had been seeing for just under six weeks.
 
Now, almost two hours later, the row of white and colored lights has been turned off. The cam seems to be back to normal
 
Just had a quick look , its just after 11 am and poor Colin???[ I think that is the name of the man who does the Summer Wine Bus tour but stand to be corrected] is standing by the bus in what I imagine is cold weather and at the moment he has no takers for the trip . Well I suppose not many people want to travel around on what looks a very grey day but I do hope someone turns up imminently because he is keeping our great show alive and deserves a full bus on such a cold day!
 
Oh dear looks like one guy climbed on board and the bus has just departed , symptomatic of the times and the time of year perhaps , hope better times are ahead .
 
More likely the time of year than anything else. The tour is usually completely filled for nearly every run during the warmer months.
 
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