Setting up a Webcam Studio

[vittle]

I have a location for a small webcam studio in the valley. Looking for someone (local) with experience setting everything up.

Hit me up at admin AT webventuresmedia.com

[DHDChris]

I'm not in the valley, so I'm not who you're looking for. However, I have set up a webcam studio, and here are a few pointers:

1. Pay in cash at regular intervals (daily?)
2. Lock down the interface
3. Use HD-capable cameras and software, with high-speed connectivity
4. Have a discreet office exterior

Details:

1. If you pay by check on a bi-weekly or weekly basis, then you'll find that the models will "call out" the next few days because they are flush with money. They might also complain about getting checks in the first place, instead of cash. Their attitude is that they can make XX/day working, so they don't have to keep working to save up or be responsible, because "hey, money grows on trees over there at vittle's studio!"
   
   If you pay with cash, they get used to the regular, smaller infusions of money they can use. If they want to save up (say, for rent, car payments, etc), they'll have to come back tomorrow and work.
   
2. Don't let the models browse MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, etc. This looks bad to the end-user, kills productivity, and introduces potential software threats to your computers.
   
3. On most webcam sites (I'm familiar with Streamate, but pretty sure this is true for the other big ones), there's an indicator to the end-user that a model's channel is in HD. This attracts a lot of traffic, so it's worth the investment.
   
4. For your safety, and the safety of the models, don't have signs on your exterior advertising what you do.

Some, or none of this may not apply to you, because you have a different universe of potential models to choose from. However, in Las Vegas, I was dealing with a lot of strippers.

[Ethersync]

Originally Posted by DHDChris

I'm not in the valley, so I'm not who you're looking for. However, I have set up a webcam studio, and here are a few pointers:

1. Pay in cash at regular intervals (daily?)
2. Lock down the interface
3. Use HD-capable cameras and software, with high-speed connectivity
4. Have a discreet office exterior

Details:

1. If you pay by check on a bi-weekly or weekly basis, then you'll find that the models will "call out" the next few days because they are flush with money. They might also complain about getting checks in the first place, instead of cash. Their attitude is that they can make XX/day working, so they don't have to keep working to save up or be responsible, because "hey, money grows on trees over there at vittle's studio!"
   
   If you pay with cash, they get used to the regular, smaller infusions of money they can use. If they want to save up (say, for rent, car payments, etc), they'll have to come back tomorrow and work.
   
2. Don't let the models browse MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, etc. This looks bad to the end-user, kills productivity, and introduces potential software threats to your computers.
   
3. On most webcam sites (I'm familiar with Streamate, but pretty sure this is true for the other big ones), there's an indicator to the end-user that a model's channel is in HD. This attracts a lot of traffic, so it's worth the investment.
   
4. For your safety, and the safety of the models, don't have signs on your exterior advertising what you do.

Some, or none of this may not apply to you, because you have a different universe of potential models to choose from. However, in Las Vegas, I was dealing with a lot of strippers.

Good advice. Why did you close your studio?

[Barry-xlovecam]

Best of luck with your new studio.

What was said about HD cams above is true, we have the ability to sort out models appearing in HD as well as use an icon to indicate that the model is broadcasting in HD.

We pay our studios 45% (50% if they can prove they are responsible for Payment of VAT taxes). We are a Netherlands corporation with with a large existing base of French speaking customers among others.

However according to Google, our US traffic has increased from #10 to #6 in the past few months — as you indicated the "valley" — what valley? SFV?

[minniesoporno]

I remember the days I use to run a studio I am thinking of running one again in Canada.

weekly or biweekly pay is the best to stick with it. basically like any other office job out there.

logitech makes great HD cameras. highest internet package you can afford.

[JustDaveXxx]

Originally Posted by DHDChris

I'm not in the valley, so I'm not who you're looking for. However, I have set up a webcam studio, and here are a few pointers:

1. Pay in cash at regular intervals (daily?)
2. Lock down the interface
3. Use HD-capable cameras and software, with high-speed connectivity
4. Have a discreet office exterior

Details:

1. If you pay by check on a bi-weekly or weekly basis, then you'll find that the models will "call out" the next few days because they are flush with money. They might also complain about getting checks in the first place, instead of cash. Their attitude is that they can make XX/day working, so they don't have to keep working to save up or be responsible, because "hey, money grows on trees over there at vittle's studio!"
   
   If you pay with cash, they get used to the regular, smaller infusions of money they can use. If they want to save up (say, for rent, car payments, etc), they'll have to come back tomorrow and work.
   
2. Don't let the models browse MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, etc. This looks bad to the end-user, kills productivity, and introduces potential software threats to your computers.
   
3. On most webcam sites (I'm familiar with Streamate, but pretty sure this is true for the other big ones), there's an indicator to the end-user that a model's channel is in HD. This attracts a lot of traffic, so it's worth the investment.
   
4. For your safety, and the safety of the models, don't have signs on your exterior advertising what you do.

Some, or none of this may not apply to you, because you have a different universe of potential models to choose from. However, in Las Vegas, I was dealing with a lot of strippers.

Great advice.

Dealing with cam models can be a pain in the ass. And if you are trying get porn girls to be cam models, thats an even bigger pain in the ass.


Good luck with your project.

[2MuchMark]

Originally Posted by DHDChris

[*]If you pay by check on a bi-weekly or weekly basis, then you'll find that the models will "call out" the next few days because they are flush with money. They might also complain about getting checks in the first place, instead of cash.

This is a big mistake in my opinion. If you payout by cash you will have a very hard time when tax time comes around. As someone who has dealt with audits and taxation, I can tell you that you want documentation, and proper accounting and balance sheets.

Also, You will never want to be be placed into a position where chat models will claim they haven't been paid when in fact they were. In the event of any other dispute, you will have no proof whatsoever.

Originally Posted by DHDChris

Their attitude is that they can make XX/day working, so they don't have to keep working to save up or be responsible, because "hey, money grows on trees over there at vittle's studio!"

This will happen with anyone, regardless of how they are paid. The smarter models will take the job seriously and work with you to earn as much as possible. The ones who screw around instead will make less. You win because the smart ones will rise to the top and stick with you for years because you do things properly.

[xsabn]

Originally Posted by Barry-xlovecam

Best of luck with your new studio.

What was said about HD cams above is true, we have the ability to sort out models appearing in HD as well as use an icon to indicate that the model is broadcasting in HD.

We pay our studios 45% (50% if they can prove they are responsible for Payment of VAT taxes). We are a Netherlands corporation with with a large existing base of French speaking customers among others.

However according to Google, our US traffic has increased from #10 to #6 in the past few months ? as you indicated the "valley" ? what valley? SFV?

there is no true HD webcam streaming yet.. you have one of the best video quality, but this doesn't mean its HD . No offence. HD starts from 740p (1,280×720) or at least 480p http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/480p, which is not HD, but HQ.

You sort models by resolution and frame rate, which is not fair for many good models.

For vittle, i wish you success with your future studio , you should take in consideration the sponsor from my signature.

Put your girls on 4-5 sites (no more than 5). For webcam splitting use Webcam Splitter (you don't need the pro version) http://very-soft.com/ its like 20$. There are some free alternatives, but this is the best one i have used. AWE (livejasmin.com, the sponsor from my signature) used to give free licenses of vCam http://www.e2esoft.cn/vcam/ , a pretty good webcam splitter but with lots of bugs, not recommended.

Quality its important! Buy at least quad core PC's. You will need them if you are going to stream on maximum quality on 4 or 5 sites. Encoding takes a lot of your CPU power.

For 5 stations you will need at least 15 mbps upload bandwidth.

Use DeepFreeze (it cost you some money but will save you a lot of nerves), this software will remember and restore all your default settings you make on a webcam station.

Like JustDaveXxx say, don't let girls on facebook, hi5, myspace, yahoo messenger, msn etc. Block these sites from router.

Make clear rules for the girls. I don't pay them daily, i don't think its a good ideea (tested) but its very very important to pay them on time (when you say you'll pay, pay!). I pay them on 2 weeks.

And yes, dealing with cam girls its a real pain in the ass, but you can make pretty good money and sometimes its fun. Don't hire any bitch! Few good girls like 10 can make you money like 50! Go with quality not quantity.

In my city are like 40 studios, i still survive

[Ethersync]

Originally Posted by xsabn

there is no true HD webcam streaming yet.. you have one of the best video quality, but this doesn't mean its HD . No offence. HD starts from 740p (1,280×720) or at least 480p http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/480p, which is not HD, but HQ.

You sort models by resolution and frame rate, which is not fair for many good models.

For vittle, i wish you success with your future studio , you should take in consideration the sponsor from my signature.

Put your girls on 4-5 sites (no more than 5). For webcam splitting use Webcam Splitter (you don't need the pro version) http://very-soft.com/ its like 20$. There are some free alternatives, but this is the best one i have used. AWE (livejasmin.com, the sponsor from my signature) used to give free licenses of vCam http://www.e2esoft.cn/vcam/ , a pretty good webcam splitter but with lots of bugs, not recommended.

Quality its important! Buy at least quad core PC's. You will need them if you are going to stream on maximum quality on 4 or 5 sites. Encoding takes a lot of your CPU power.

For 5 stations you will need at least 15 mbps upload bandwidth.

Use DeepFreeze (it cost you some money but will save you a lot of nerves), this software will remember and restore all your default settings you make on a webcam station.

Like JustDaveXxx say, don't let girls on facebook, hi5, myspace, yahoo messenger, msn etc. Block these sites from router.

Make clear rules for the girls. I don't pay them daily, i don't think its a good ideea (tested) but its very very important to pay them on time (when you say you'll pay, pay!). I pay them on 2 weeks.

And yes, dealing with cam girls its a real pain in the ass, but you can make pretty good money and sometimes its fun. Don't hire any bitch! Few good girls like 10 can make you money like 50! Go with quality not quantity.

In my city are like 40 studios, i still survive

720p, not 740p. Good post and good advice though. You are right about bullshit claims of "HD". The minimum would need to be 960x720 (4:3 ratio vs. 16x9) and no one offers that. The bottleneck is on the studio side. Encoding in real HD takes a powerful PC just for one site and models are on many sites at once. Then there is the bandwidth issue... Also, sites are built for 320x240. No one has build a good looking high resolution (640x480) chat room yet.

[comeplay]

Originally Posted by **********

This is a big mistake in my opinion. If you payout by cash you will have a very hard time when tax time comes around. As someone who has dealt with audits and taxation, I can tell you that you want documentation, and proper accounting and balance sheets.

Also, You will never want to be be placed into a position where chat models will claim they haven't been paid when in fact they were. In the event of any other dispute, you will have no proof whatsoever.

Why can't you just keep a log where they sign for their daily pay?

no legible signature no money bitch

[Ethersync]

Originally Posted by **********

This is a big mistake in my opinion. If you payout by cash you will have a very hard time when tax time comes around. As someone who has dealt with audits and taxation, I can tell you that you want documentation, and proper accounting and balance sheets.

Also, You will never want to be be placed into a position where chat models will claim they haven't been paid when in fact they were. In the event of any other dispute, you will have no proof whatsoever.

Make them sign for the cash. Not a big deal.

Originally Posted by **********

This will happen with anyone, regardless of how they are paid. The smarter models will take the job seriously and work with you to earn as much as possible. The ones who screw around instead will make less. You win because the smart ones will rise to the top and stick with you for years because you do things properly.

Maybe you should listen to what he has to say. You have been in business 10+ years and I have never seen more than a half a dozen or so models on your site...

[Barry-xlovecam]

First of all, I misspoke Saturday night ? XLoveCam's current definition is HQ as in high quality.
My apologies for that ...

As for the statement

Originally Posted by xsabn

[Y]ou sort models by resolution and frame rate, which is not fair for many good models. ...

This is the customer's selected default sort ? non-HQ models appear after the HQ models available. This is not the default sort of XloveCam? this is the customer's selection.

Rule #1 ? The customer is always right, in the end ? he pays his money ...

Here I must disagree ? customers expect and demand better cam quality and "good models" will supply it. The "good model" will obtain or be provided with compliant broadcast equipment and facilities for the reason of greater profits for the model's efforts ? after all, this is a business not a hobby, on this I am sure you would agree ... Capital expenditure is part of running a business.

Details of XloveCam's Flux Manager for "High Quality" broadcasting.

• We currently have 320x240 and 640x480 image upload capacity.
• Bandwidth settings that are available currently to broadcasting cams; 100, 200, 320, 480, 650 kbs or a 2.5 mps (2500) maximum accepted send bandwidth.
• At 2.5 mps Xlovecam accepts a very high send rate competitive or exceeding current industry standards.
• User selected values of 15-20-30fps are available
• With a maximum of 30 fps we are at the top end available currently.

We are currently testing true HD=1280x720 in a pre-alpha stage with release by mid 2011 a hopeful possibly.

[FreeHugeMovies]

Why would you pay them in cash? Aren't you writing their time off as a biz expense? You can't write anything off if you are paying cash??

[xsabn]

Originally Posted by Barry-xlovecam

First of all, I misspoke Saturday night ? XLoveCam's current definition is HQ as in high quality.
My apologies for that ...

As for the statement

This is the customer's selected default sort ? non-HQ models appear after the HQ models available. This is not the default sort of XloveCam? this is the customer's selection.

Rule #1 ? The customer is always right, in the end ? he pays his money ...

Here I must disagree ? customers expect and demand better cam quality and "good models" will supply it. The "good model" will obtain or be provided with compliant broadcast equipment and facilities for the reason of greater profits for the model's efforts ? after all, this is a business not a hobby, on this I am sure you would agree ... Capital expenditure is part of running a business.

Details of XloveCam's Flux Manager for "High Quality" broadcasting.

• We currently have 320x240 and 640x480 image upload capacity.
• Bandwidth settings that are available currently to broadcasting cams; 100, 200, 320, 480, 650 kbs or a 2.5 mps (2500) maximum accepted send bandwidth.
• At 2.5 mps Xlovecam accepts a very high send rate competitive or exceeding current industry standards.
• User selected values of 15-20-30fps are available
• With a maximum of 30 fps we are at the top end available currently.

We are currently testing true HD=1280x720 in a pre-alpha stage with release by mid 2011 a hopeful possibly.

You put HQ icon only on 30 fps. I think 24 fps are enough for a clear video feed. 30 fps takes much more CPU and bandwidth.

And yes, quality is important but happy models are important too

[PXN]

I love Built To Converts, they always converts for me. When you guys have a cam site coming out let me know, looking forward to promote it too!

[Forest]

you couldnt pay me enough to run a studio anymore

did it for 4 years. that was looonnnggggg enough



good luck with it

[Forest]

Originally Posted by FreeHugeMovies

Why would you pay them in cash? Aren't you writing their time off as a biz expense? You can't write anything off if you are paying cash??

sure you can

pay them in case and have them sign an invoice for receipt of the cash

[Ethersync]

Originally Posted by Barry-xlovecam

First of all, I misspoke Saturday night ? XLoveCam's current definition is HQ as in high quality.
My apologies for that ...

As for the statement

This is the customer's selected default sort ? non-HQ models appear after the HQ models available. This is not the default sort of XloveCam? this is the customer's selection.

Rule #1 ? The customer is always right, in the end ? he pays his money ...

Here I must disagree ? customers expect and demand better cam quality and "good models" will supply it. The "good model" will obtain or be provided with compliant broadcast equipment and facilities for the reason of greater profits for the model's efforts ? after all, this is a business not a hobby, on this I am sure you would agree ... Capital expenditure is part of running a business.

Details of XloveCam's Flux Manager for "High Quality" broadcasting.

• We currently have 320x240 and 640x480 image upload capacity.
• Bandwidth settings that are available currently to broadcasting cams; 100, 200, 320, 480, 650 kbs or a 2.5 mps (2500) maximum accepted send bandwidth.
• At 2.5 mps Xlovecam accepts a very high send rate competitive or exceeding current industry standards.
• User selected values of 15-20-30fps are available
• With a maximum of 30 fps we are at the top end available currently.

We are currently testing true HD=1280x720 in a pre-alpha stage with release by mid 2011 a hopeful possibly.

Do you use standard Flash encoding or VP6 or H264?

[Barry-xlovecam]

I can only disclose so much ...

this part is not proprietary;

<encode>
−
<video>
<format>VP6</format>
<datarate>650;</datarate>
<outputsize>640x480;</outputsize>
−
<advanced>
<keyframe_frequency>5 Seconds</keyframe_frequency>

[Barry-xlovecam]

Originally Posted by xsabn

You put HQ icon only on 30 fps. I think 24 fps are enough for a clear video feed. 30 fps takes much more CPU and bandwidth.

And yes, quality is important but happy models are important too

If you are using the Flux Manager program we offer ?

• with default settings;
• 320x240
• 20fps
• 320kbs

Flux Manager Settings:



We tested just for this post to make sure ...



You will meet the minimum requirements to be listed as HQ


Models with equipment that is compatible with our Newer HQ make more privates. More money ? happier models. In this competitive market you need this to attract customers today ? this customers have decided.

[campimp]

Originally Posted by Barry-xlovecam

Best of luck with your new studio.

What was said about HD cams above is true, we have the ability to sort out models appearing in HD as well as use an icon to indicate that the model is broadcasting in HD.

We pay our studios 45% (50% if they can prove they are responsible for Payment of VAT taxes). We are a Netherlands corporation with with a large existing base of French speaking customers among others.

However according to Google, our US traffic has increased from #10 to #6 in the past few months ? as you indicated the "valley" ? what valley? SFV?

great experience with xlovecam from affiliate point of view.... good steady growth there

[xsabn]

Originally Posted by campimp

great experience with xlovecam from affiliate point of view.... good steady growth there

i heard.. i am on a little pause from webmastering since i also run this cam studio

[xsabn]

Originally Posted by Barry-xlovecam

Models with equipment that is compatible with our Newer HQ make more privates. More money — happier models. In this competitive market you need this to attract customers today — this customers have decided.

I am on 640x480 and 25 fps sony camcorders , plenty bandwidth, Flux manager installed correctly on all stations, no HQ icon. but i guess is because i don't used xlove so much for my models (only few have account there). French peoples are pretty different from what i teach the girls to do / act.

And one more thing if we are here. Please be right with all studios, if a girl from other studio comes to me she can't work on xlove for 3 months, but if a girl goes from my studio to another "BIG" studio she can work next day.

[Barry-xlovecam]

By the way xsabn, I would do something about the promotecams.com link in your sig "my webcam sponsors list" — Google claims it is a Reported Attack Page!

[Twoface31]

good luck for setting upi our webcam studio.....

cheers,

[Barry-xlovecam]

Originally Posted by campimp

great experience with xlovecam from affiliate point of view.... good steady growth there

That is great to hear ...

[MediaGuy]

Originally Posted by vittle

I have a location for a small webcam studio in the valley. Looking for someone (local) with experience setting everything up.

Hit me up at admin AT webventuresmedia.com

Do you plan on plugging into a program and getting affiliate revenues or setting up your own site and reaping your own cold hard cash?

:D