FAQ

Do I need to register to view the web cams?

You do not need to register to view the cameras on Africam. It's free!

Why do I need to register?

In order to control the content on the site any person who wishes to publish content or post on the forum is required to register. Registration is free and your details are kept confidential.

How do I register?

Go to user login on the left hand navigation menu and select create new account. Now simply follow the instructions.

What do I do if I have forgotten my password?

Go to user login on the left hand navigation menu and select “Request new password”. You will then be asked for your username or email address. Enter either one. Now select “email new password”. Please note that you are required to use the same email address you used when you first registered.

How do I change my password and other settings under my account?

Once you have logged in select “My account” on the left hand navigation menu. Once your profile has loaded select edit. On this page you will be able to change your password and other settings.

Are all the cameras on Africam live?

The quick answer is no. There are three types of cameras on the site. We have two types of still image cameras. The first type takes live pictures every 30s or more. The second type of camera is a camera trap. These cameras collect images in the field and display them as a slide show in a similar way to how the refresh cams work, except they are not live. The third type of camera is live streaming. It produces live video and audio in real time. For more information on specific cameras please read our “Cam Info” section.

How do I submit pictures to highlights?

This option is only available for the refresh cameras at this point. Once you have selected a camera, a pop up window will appear where the camera image will load. Above this you will find a button marked “Click here to submit this picture to highlights”. Once you click this button a separate window will open. Now simply follow the instructions.

Why does my picture never appear in highlights?

All of the pictures submitted to highlights are sorted by one of our staff members. Often a number of people submit the same picture and as a result we only place the picture that was submitted first into highlights.

How does the picture of the day work?

All of the pictures that are submitted to highlights are sorted daily by one of our staff members. Out of all of these submitted pictures only one is selected to become the picture of the day. This is a subjective process and is based on the quality and content of each picture.

I cannot open the camera windows?

The camera windows work through pop up’s. A pop up is a separate window that opens independently of the initial web browser. Most virus protection software today has a setting on it to prevent pop up’s. If you click on a camera window and nothing happens it is most likely due to this feature.

I can’t view the stream. All I get is media inactive?

Try clearing your cookies and temporary internet files.

When you have completed this, refresh your browser and you should be able to receive video again.

The video feed does not fill the whole window and or is stretched?

The live streaming feeds work using windows media player. You will get different results depending on what combination and version of browser, operating system and windows media player you are using.

I’m getting a “Pirated” message on my camera window?

If you are receiving this message you are accessing the live feed illegally. In the future, please use the link provided on our homepage: www.africam.com

I can see the ads but the camera feed does not load afterwards?

The ad intro before the live feed runs in flash. Once the ad is over the live feed should load automatically. Often viewers have problems related to their cache memory. Try clearing your cache memory and then rebooting. Also, please be aware that the stream is a broadband stream and you will require at least a 384 kb connection to view it. A dial up connection will not work properly.

I am a Mac user. How do I get the live streaming camera to work on my computer?

MAC users need to install "Flip4Mac" on their system. This program will allow Quicktime to stream the live feed.

Still not working? Try this:

1. Turn off your web browser.

2. Install Flip4MAC if you don't have it already.

3. Click on the light switch in your Dock to bring up System Preferences.

4. Go to the browser button in Flip4Mac preferences, and uncheck the fourth last box, which says "Launch Quicktime Player" Make sure the first three boxes are checked on.

5. Go to the player button and check on all of the options especially the option for "create streaming movies".

6. Turn off system preferences by closing this window.

7. Open your web browser and load the page

How do I enlarge the viewing screen?

The full screen mode can be activated by right clicking in the middle of the frame and clicking zoom.

I can’t get the live feed. All I see is a blue screen?

There is a setting in your windows media player that turns streaming video into different colours. Open your windows media player and go to tools-options. Now click on the performance tab. Under video acceleration click advanced. Under settings, make sure "use video mixing renderer" is NOT checked. Now press "ok" to close all of the menus. Finally, refresh the Africam site and your video should play normally.


Alternatively


If you have a virus protection program running, you may want to see if it is set to allow all content from our website.

Problems relating to Windows Explorer 7.

Internet Explorer 7 has tabs and will often see the camera link as a pop up.

You can disable it through the settings on your browser, or by holding down the Ctrl key while clicking on the streaming video link.