So, I recently, basically ran through my plans and such for my recently acquired security cameras. The physical cameras are only half the equation. I only ended up making one box, and the other two I simply mounted up under the eaves in the appropriate positions.
The second step is the software. I’m currently using three pieces of software to monitor these cameras. First was the included myDlink service/software. This software is most useful for accessing the cameras from outside the house. It includes some basic notification ability but it doesn’t have an easy to way to record based on those notifications, at least not that I can tell. The cameras themselves can push files to an FTP, but it’s sort of an all or nothing deal based on a schedule. Running 1 shot a second creates a TON of files that are mostly useless. The Phone app is good though (works with Windows Phone even!)
So I set out to find a better solution for capturing during motion. I already run a private in house web server for testing, so I set out to find something that I could host there, on Ubuntu. I came across a nice piece of software called Zoneminder. It’s an OpenSource solution that will monitor cameras for motion and save files based on this activity. I believe it can also record actual video though I am just doing short term recordings. It may be a feature that I have not found, but my main issue is that I can’t bring up a view of all three cams at once. I’m also having the usual issues with the server and IPs, internal vs external, etc. It’s also tricky to set up.
For multicam monitoring I’m using some Windows Software called IP Camera Viewer. This simple software allows me to add IP based cameras and view them in a grid as desired. Simple, and effective.
Josh Miller aka “Ramen Junkie”. I write about my various hobbies here. Mostly coding, photography, and music. Sometimes I just write about life in general. I also post sometimes about toy collecting and video games at Lameazoid.com.