The WebCam Market at $3.4 billion in 2014 is expected to grow to $15.2 billion by 2021. Strong growth is triggered by the increasing availability of broadband and Internet connectivity. The Internet protocols of Ethernet dominate all networking.

Next generation webcams multifunction webcams are very sophisticated, they can do facial recognition, they are used in security systems, and for on line education. They are used for 3D mapping, commercial pipeline observation, border patrol, package delivery, photography, and agriculture are more energy efficient, last longer and when connected to automated analytics have a significantly lower cost of operation than manned security systems.

WebCam markets promise to grow significantly because of the more economical visualization and navigation provided by systems. Visualization includes mapping from the air, inspection from the air, surveillance from the air, and package delivery from the air. The unmanned aircraft equipped with cameras are able to do things that cannot be done in any other way. This bodes well for market development.

The webcam industry is characterized by short product life cycles, continual performance enhancements, and rapid adoption of technological advances. It is intensely competitive. There are retail and OEM market segments. There are security, travel, and online education segments among others.

Price sensitivity characterizes the OEM market. Virtually every tablet and smartphone will have a webcam going forward. WebCams are used in combination with instant messaging programs. YouTube is a premier video site. Microsoft Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, SameTime, and Skype support video chat. Broadband connections support streaming video. Installation, image quality and performance are ways to measure the substance of the WebCam experience.

Imaging depends on quality and usefulness. Picture quality is an ongoing issue for webcams. Sample photos from each Web camera need to be tested in a variety of lighting conditions provide a good measure of quality. The standard high-resolution setting is measured in pixels and is constantly shifting for video.

Resolution used for video, e-mailing and posting on the Web varies. A Web camera includes software to help present and adjust the picture. WebCams can take high quality still pictures, with a lower quality for video. The resolution that works well for video is lower than that for still pictures that require higher resolution. Anything higher quality, anything matching the quality of the still pictures in the video would be a huge drain on the processor, and reduce resolution for this reason.

The frames-per-second (fps) rate determines how quickly a webcam can capture and move video. The fewer frames per second, the choppier the picture. Full-motion video is generally 60 frames-per-second. Instant messaging software and servers are improving in this regard.

WebCam video broadcasts are limited by the speed of Internet connections and instant messaging servers. Streaming video works best with a high-bandwidth connections. Transfer rates can be limited by instant messaging servers. Skype and MSN Messenger is offering smooth video. Skype's video chat service is increasing its user base on a daily basis.

WebCam controls include focus dials, lens covers, and pan, tilt and zoom capabilities. Computer sound cards and microphones mean the Webcam includes a built-in microphone or comes with a headset. WebCams come bundled with video-conferencing software. Packages include software for video editing, surveillance, stop motion, video conferencing or email.

Security systems provide alerts.

Inherent value of video communication is enabled. Google, YouTube, Facebook, and Skype are some of many social media applications that provide high quality free video communication. There is plenty of motivation to purchase webcams as people seem to enjoy social media as much as anything. Video conferencing is poised to become ubiquitous.

According to Publisher, “Security applications are promising to continue to grow rapidly. The ability to remotely monitor one room away or across the world using the Internet provides stunning new functionality that is enormously significant because of the automated process that implements intelligent systems. This intelligence capability promises to be used by everyone for security, security for people in their homes, businesses, police departments, universities, hospitals, and all organizations with a campus.”