[PLUG] Wired security camera systems (was Wireless video cameras?)

[Chuck Hast]

Neal,
I have looked at all of the stuff that you find out there and seems that
you have
to aim pretty high to get to what ZoneMinder does. ZoneMinder is just one of
the applications that can run on the Linux box, though I generally dedicate
a
box to ZoneMinder because I want it to leave as little trail as possible.
It can
email/text or do other automated alarming and file transfer. There is at
least
one published use of it as a way to record those speeding through a
neighbor-
hood area. I believe there is still a link to it somewhere on the ZoneMinder
page. Being open source if you want you can go in and mod it to whatever
you need if you feel you have the knowledge. And there is a very active set
of forums for it, where you can usually find someone that can give you an
answer or get you going in the correct direction.

I usually run it on Ubuntu Server or CentOS. (been a while) No gui needed
as it is all handled through the web browser. There viewers out there for
it so
you can view it from an Android or iOS device. It works quite well on FF and
Chrome browsers, and I guess the newer MS browsers, for a long time I.E.
needed some additional stuff to work. But it looked like the south end of a
north bound horse.

Just the fact that ZM is LInux based and runs so well (It is one of those
devices
you forget exist until it tells you something happened) is a tribute to
FOSS in
general.

I look at the stuff at Costco, Fry's, Walmart and anyone else that sells
those
things and it looks nice on the shelf but in real life I have never seen
one that
gave the quality that I have found I was able to get with ZM. NOTE, like
audio
equipment, your signal quality is only as good as your cameras, cheap
cameras
cheap video, but ZM does allow you to even squeeze reasonable video out of
some pretty bad cameras.

You can even put it on a RPi it will handle probably only one camera, but
that
is a cheap way to get started. Or if you have a spare computer laying around
put it on there and start playing.

Beware, it as a LOT of knobs and tweaks, but once you get it running it will
run well as is, as you learn it you can go in and start adjusting things.

On Tue, Mar 14, 2017 at 12:42 PM, Neal <nsedell at gmail.com> wrote:

> On Tue, Mar 14, 2017 at 8:46 AM, Chuck Hast <wchast at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > When I did security camera installs I put the DVR on a box hidden away
> > some-
> > where and we used a "baitbox" older PC running all of the camera screens
> on
> > it located someplace so if the bad guys broke in, they found that device
> > and
> > took it for the DVR. Running ZoneMinder headless is one of the great
> things
> > about that product.
> >
>
> Thanks for the great idea Chuck. Sounds like the perfect application for an
> old laptop.
>
> I'm re-doing the home security DVR based on a Zmodo cheapie (~$100) from
> Woot!) bare bones system that came with w/4 cameras. Have been running two
> cameras with motion detection triggered capture aimed at the cluster
> mailbox across the street. After 4 years the spare 320GB drive I threw in
> it is only about 75% full. We don't have much traffic on our street so it
> only captures a couple dozen 60 second clips a day as a point of reference.
>
> The one time it would have paid off the picture was too blurry to tell if
> the suspected perp had the missing item in his hand or not. The cameras
> that came with the DVR have a very narrow angle field of view, one thing to
> watch out for in these package deals.
>
> Not paranoid, just curious, mostly. Makes it possible to tell if the
> postman/postwoman/postLGBTQ has been by for the day if nothing else.
>
> If anyone has integrated one of these puppies such that the Linux server
> handles the texting/emailing of events vs. letting the DVR do it I'm all
> ears & eyes. I haven't looked since I first got it and I am going to look
> into it as soon as I can get a round tuit.
>
> NealS
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-- 

Chuck Hast  -- KP4DJT --
Glass, five thousand years of history and getting better.
The only container material that the USDA gives blanket approval on.