Seeking home surveillance FAQ

[Joseph650]

I'm looking to keep an eye on an area outside of my home from about 10 p.m. until about 6 a.m. I need good resolution, IR, a microphone and the ability to record the video output. Wired is OK, and I'm comfortable with keeping a dedicated PC operating to do the recording / DVR functions.

I'm not looking for the info itself, but a link to a decent FAQ or two. Search engines are providing me with a volcano of info, but no matter how specific I search, the results are just a mess. I think search engines are devolving, but I digress...

If anyone knows a source for basic information and/or a usenet group that discusses this sort of thing, please let me know.

Thanks.

[Evan]

Without you disclosing your location it is not possible to give you advice which would be legal in all 50 states...

It is just fine to record video if you post a sign, but when you include audio in your recording several states consider that wiretapping and it is highly illegal...

Best of luck...

~~ Evan

[HeyBub]

I got the el-cheapo model from HF

or Coupled with a video-input card ($17.00) and I have an adequate ability to capture bedroom romps and the setup may be sufficient for your needs. The card comes with rudimentary video-editting software (cut/paste).

As I recall, at high resolution it burns up about 1 GB of diskspace per hour (it's been a while since I HAD a bedroom romp). That's no biggie inasmuch as

40-Gig hard drives are as cheap as $10 on my local Craigslist.