Webcam based security system

Forum 2005-2010 (read only) General Bar Sport
1

I hope this isn't too off-topic even for Bar Sport but I hope I can get some advice.

A friend of mine wants to set up a video surveillance system at their business. They're looking into the normal commercial options -- a digital recording box, 4-8 cameras that plug into the box, and a monitor. But they're looking at $4-6000 for such a set up.

I want to suggest a more DIY and cost-effective solution. A nice quality 1600x1200 web-cam goes for $150 now, so even 8 of those are only $1200. But my problem is finding suitable software to run the system. There is a ton of freeware to $50 shareware out there, but all they seem to do is give motion detection and then snap images to store locally or via ftp.

Does anyone know of software the gives the same functionality as a commercial system...basically record the 8 video streams whenever something is happening, give good playback and search controls (the main thing that's missing on what I've seen), and allow remote monitoring via the internet.

Also I imagine with 1 TB hard drives under $100, I should have no trouble storing 8 cameras worth of data for a month, but if anything does happen, I want it to be very easy to package up the relevant video and burn a record to DVD.

Thanks.

2

Do a google search for linux security camera dvr

The first page of results will include a link to ZoneMinder, an ubuntuforums.org thread with some suggestions, and a couple of commercial vendors (about which I know absolutely nothing) promising great deals.

I also have a friend who works as a small-business IT consultant who's recently set up some camera systems for businesses in the area. He's been buying stuff from China (mostly through ebay) and has some knowledge of who's naughty or nice among suppliers. He was just telling me this evening about a package deal he found that included a DVR (which I'm pretty sure was internet-enabled) and 4 cameras for less than the price many others were charging just for the DVR.

Drop me an email, and I'll see if I can hook you up. But, keep in mind that he does it for a living, and may want to charge for his advice (or may not: I'll leave that to you two to work out).

Ran