Question: I am interested in having the ability to capture motion stills to the
internet from a webcam in my home, for security. I am also interested in being able to go on the internet from anywhere
in the world and connect to the webcam and see what's happening in my
home. I currently have one regular security camera that I bought which isn't
a webcam type, but is the type that connects to a VCR and tells the
VCR when to start and stop recording (when it detects motion).
Can I use this camera also for the internet captures and remote
Surveillance? That one I have is actually a wired camera, but I was
just interested if I could also connect it to my system for that
purpose, besides, or in addition to it being connected to a VCR?
I would like to have a small wireless webcam in one room in my house
to start with, and to then expand the system to have more later. Is
it possible to have more than one? Which can be the best way to use
Home Security Surveillance Camera?
I also, wondered whether it was possible to have a set up where I
don't actually need to have my home computer system switched on for
the cameras to work? Is it possible for the camera to work without
the computer being on, and to capture from them to the web when motion
is detected, and to dial into them? Or would the system need to be on
the whole time I was away? Is there also anything that can send a text message alert to a mobile
phone as well? Finally, what things should I be looking at in order to do any of the
above (if possible) at the lowest cost, without sacrificing quality,
or getting a product that needs avoiding? I have not researched into this sort of stuff for a while so all I
really know a tiny bit about is the X10 stuff. Cheers very much for any help
Answer:Don't use any of the X10 stuff that purports to do this - it's all junk.
What you want is a video server/DVR. Search ebay for "video server" for
lot's of options. I currently use a Sanyo unit that I picked up on
ebay. It supports 4 cameras and has a built in motion detector and has a
video loop out to a VCR or monitor. You can use your existing cameras.
It records to a Compact Flash card and can send emails when motion is
detected on any camera. It plugs into my router and is accessible over
the internet.
The CF card has limited capacity and is slow so I just ordered a new
unit that does all the same things but has a hard drive instead of the
CF card. I haven't received it yet so I can't tell you how I like it.
While you could buy a card for your PC that does the same thing, the
beauty of these units is that they don't use a PC at all, don't rely on
Windows, and you can leave it off when you're away. That being said, you
could use an older PC that may be in the closet, add the video server
card which you can find on ebay cheap, and save some money.
The Sanyo unit is rock solid and their customer service is superb.
However, given that the price for the unit I just bought with the hard
drive is less than the Sanyo and other similar units you should check it
out at: http://tinyurl.com/4xvnq
