FitsCast 2.2

Standard webcams like e.g. Philips ToUcam have been used for webcasts (also astronomical events).
A lot of software exists which can save individual webcam images as JPG-files for immediate broadcast to a website via FTP file transfer.
High quality CCD cameras like the Artemis have a lot in common with webcams.
They are computer controlled and save images continously on the computer hard disk.
However, the software interface and file formats are different from webcams.
High quality CCD cameras can usually produce files in the FITS format (FITS = Flexible Image Transport System), suitable for astronomy.
The FITS format is not directly suitable for webcasts, however, because of the large file sizes and general incompatibility with web browsers.
Also, images in FITS files generally need some processing before they are ready for viewing.