Security Cameras

[Martin]

Hi Group, Sooner or later I will be installing security cameras around the perimeter of my house. I want to access these cameras remotely from the internet, therefore (not that it would be impossible) I am ruling out conventional CCTV.

I've considered USB Web but with the limitations on cable lengths 5 metres this is not practical. USB repeaters would get me 25 - 40 metres but that's a lot more expense and I don't like the idea of having repeaters under the floorboards. This option also requires that a PC with multiple USB port be switched on at all time.

I believe the best option is Network Cameras like the ones

do but these are a bit expensive, especially for the outdoor versions. These cameras simply connected to your home network (ADSL router / switch) and are then accessible via the internet and also any PC within the home.

So does anyone have any other suggestions?

What rules in terms of privacy are there regarding cameras monitoring your home.

Thanks in advance Martin.

[Mark]

Depends on your budget. Will you have a PC on 24/7? If not, then you may find a DVR a better option, some of these have remote accesss. If you already have a home PC on all the time, install a PCI video capture card and connect CCTV cameras using coax cable, or even go wireless. I believe you will need to display a CCTV notice on your property if the cameras capture greater than 640x480. I have no links to any of these companies, havent even bought any of this stuff yet but its on my wish list. Some web links you may find useful:

(check out the forums on this site, maybe even the mailing list) this helps, Mark.

[Andy Hall]

There are solutions which use a video card in a PC and will do what you describe. You hook up conventional video CCTV cameras (or hidden ones if you want) via normal 75 ohm video coax and supply with power.

One example is

than Axis.

If you want something cheaper still, and have the ability to hack and integrate, then there are the basic software pieces to do this for Linux which will work with similar hardware.

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

[Robin Davies]

You can see a server demo at

[Harry Bloomfield]

Andy Hall wrote on Sunday (22/02/2004) :

You can also buy PCI cards with 4 x video inputs designed for security purposes quite cheaply.

[Andy Hall]

Sure. The issue is the software and that seems to be a case of chargeable stuff for Windows and free but requiring some technical skill for Linux.

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

[Steve Firth]

OTOH they are a very good solution, *but* rememberthe "A" in ADSL stands for assymetric. You really don't get the bandwidth to stream video from several cameras from your house to the internet.

Axis also sell "camera server" PCI cards which offer the same TCP/Ip access tot he camera but allow you to use your own security cameras. If you get your arse over to Aldi in a hurry, they are selling security cameras in weatherproof housings for £30 each.

I was thinking of getting a couple to let me watch the wildlife that prowls around the garage.

[Sam]

SupervisionCam at

is quite cheap and works quite well. That said I have been told by a Linux nerd that video capture and security cam software in Linux is far superior than in Windows.

Sam

[Mark]

I've written windows device drivers for pci video capture cards, one based on the bt878 chip (just like the wintv cards), and also a more specialised device. Dont have any experience in linux tho.

Mark.

[Mark]

Decent software should be able to record, buffer and compress the live video while streaming at a lower rate the moving parts of the image. True enough, you may not get several cameras at once, but an ideal solution would be to switch between them.

[Sam]

As I have very little knowledge of Linux - installed various distros but have always given up on them in the end - I can't say, but he mentioned something about limits on the numbers of bt878 type devices in Windows whereas Linux can support 256 devices - rather academic I suppose. He reckoned there was far less slow down using multiple video feeds in Linux as well, but then as a die hard advocate of Linux he would say that.

On the subject of Windows support of bt878 cards I have hell and all trouble getting a Pinnacle and a Hauppauge card working in Windows. The Hauppauge and Pinnacle drivers won't let each others card coexist. So I use the

driver. But getting them to install is a pig though. iirc - I haven't done it for a while - to get them to install I have to remove one, install the other, disable it, then put the other back in, install that, then re-enable the first, then they will live together. As you obviously have knowledge of such things can you think of a better way?

Sam

[Andy Hall]

In the Linux environment, you can just run the bare minimum of drivers and software if you like, and not the GUI and other stuff that comes up with Windows - hence more of the system resource can be dedicated to dealing with the job at hand.. Any graphical stuff can be run remotely, for example.

If you are using Win2k or XP, then the stability begins to become respectable. Win9x and derivatives are not really stable enough for this application where everything needs to be rock solid for weeks and months on end.

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

[Andy Hall]

True, but for a surveillance application you could use Motion-JPEG or similar codec for the compression and arrange that all frames are captured to disk but perhaps only one a second or even less are sent on a low bandwidth connection.

There are packaged professional systems that do this with an ISDN connection to a monitoring centre.

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

[Mark]

It was a fair while ago (on NT4) that I tackled the bt878 driver and in the end the project was scrapped due to the chip's insufficient capabilities. Sorry I cant be of much more help. Mark.

[tony sayer]

In article , Andy Hall writes

You say that Andy, but we do have some PC's that have been up for about a couple of years now on WIN98 Ver 2 but to be fair they don't exactly do much!..

[Andy Hall]

I think that that is the point. Video is a pretty onerous application requiring a lot of memory buffer handling. Win9x especially, because of its legacy architecture, does not do this well and ultimately the memory leaks become a problem and the thing grinds to a halt. As you say, though, on relatively simple applications it is OK.

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

[Steve Firth]

And if you have MacOSX you just plug the cameras in.

[Owain]

"Martin" wrote | What rules in terms of privacy are there regarding cameras monitoring | your home.

IANAL but:

If the cameras *only* view your private property and are *not* to be used for gathering evidence, then a warning notice is not required, as gathering data for personal and domestic use is generally exempt from the DPA requirements.

If the cameras view public areas or *are* to be used for gathering evidence, then the DPA requirements must be met, including registration with the Information Commissioner and following their CCTV Code of Practice - google their website for details; it's a very informative PDF.

Note the requirements are quite stringent - if a system is installed for the purposes of gathering evidence then sufficient quality for facial recognition will be required; there are requirements for the traceability of evidence; you will have to have the equipment in a secure area and secure all the tapes; if you want internet access you would have to use appropriate security and encryption across the internet; and if someone serves a Subject Access Request on you you have to supply a copy of the images of the subject but *not* anyone else simultaneously captured - so you may have to pay a lab to blur out any passers-by. (You cannot pass on these charges to the data subject, you can only charge up to the maximum fee of £10).

Particular restrictions apply if the cameras view areas where people have a greater expectation of privacy eg if your cameras can see into a neighbour's back garden or bedroom.

Owain

[Huge]

Not DIY, but I can recommend this bloke;

[Andy Hall]

"... This is a Unix system!...... I know this!"

Jurassic Park (1993)

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl