Seaside Park Looking to Expand Webcam Network, Introduces New Live Stream

A late-night screenshot of Seaside Park’s webcam. (Screenshot)

Seaside Park’s boardwalk has long been home to a live webcam, and officials recently inked a deal with a new provider that will improve picture quality while reducing costs for the borough. A second camera is also planned.

The new camera feed, provided by Coastal Camera Network, will replace the feed that has long run on EarthCam. The new live stream is significantly higher in quality and provides better vision at night, plus a more clear picture of the beach when zoomed in. The feed is already live on the borough’s website.

“With EarthCam, we had to buy the equipment, plus we had to pay EarthCam $250 per month for hosting,” said Borough Administrator Karen Kroon. “With this service, they own the equipment, they take liability for it, and they take $50 per month.”

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An agreement with Coastal Camera Network allows the company to either begin a membership program or sell advertising on its website, however Seaside Park’s website will always host the live stream for free. The stream is available for between 90 seconds and two minutes before a user must refresh the page in order to avoid the stream being utilized on a constant basis – for example, a live feed on permanently in a store or at a public display – that would consume large amounts of bandwidth.

“It is very nice, and we’re going to have an additional camera along the bay,” said Councilman Joseph Connor.

Kroon said the exact location for the impending second camera is yet to be determined, but there have been plenty of suggestions.

“Residents have voiced that they’d like to have a camera, possibly near where the osprey nest is, or so they’ll be able to see a sunset,” Kroon said. “This agreement contemplates that as well – we’re not paying for it now, but they’re aware it’s something we’d like.”