WebCam as Security Camera [DIY]

Surveillance systems can relieve your worries, but, they can also relieve your wallet. Why fall for expensive equipment when you can build your own at Fraction of cost ?

You can use a cheap Web Cam as a good Security camera that does almost everything that professional equipment does. I’ve been trying few softwares that would serve the purpose by securing my roof and the main door. Here is the softwares I’ve finally shortlisted and thought you would be interested in.

Vitamin D: This is an exceptional product that has an exceptionally intelligent motion-detection algorithms. This software does it all right by differentiating between different kinds of motions.

It lets you customize “the size” of the objects that would trigger events and even let you set up detection windows to only monitor activity in specified areas of the video frame. like wanting a door to be monitored for people leaving, or a parking lot to be monitored for vehicles arriving.

Apart from what is said, here some additional features:

  • Email and cellphone notifications
  • Define the Trigger area intelligently
  • “Highlights reel” function to allow you to Replay all  the activity triggers from the day.
  • Available for free for Windows and Mac.

Perhaps, there’s another good one for the Mac OS:

periscope

Periscope: Apart from how Vitamin D triggers, you can trigger camera with Periscope in several ways: motion detection, noise detection, via Apple Remote, or even with a timer.

It doesn’t do videos, but rather capture images and videos that can be uploaded to  Flickr, e-mail, FTP, iPhoto. It can also embed time-stamp or other watermarks to those pics.
By time-stamping images throughout the day you can have a complete record of events throught the day at your desk, or at your door.

The only downside is it’s hefty price. I don’t want to scare you, you can check on your own.

Older related Post: Build Motion Sensor Security using Laptop

We write Tech Guides, DIY, HowTos and more, get live updates via @taranfx on Twitter or subscribe below:

GD Star Rating
loading...
GD Star Rating
loading...

5 thoughts on “WebCam as Security Camera [DIY]”

  1. Thanks for sharing! You might want to check out ZoneMinder too, it's a very good solution for video surveillance.

    GD Star Rating
    loading...
    GD Star Rating
    loading...
    Reply
  2. I believe that only houses in Toronto have security problem. The further north you go, the fewer problems you have. In the Inner North America, we’re so tough we don’t need smoke alarms, we just huff and puff and blow the fire out. Unless of course you’re lighting a fire in a nice cozy house in Germany, then you’d have problems, because the Polezei would soon issue an inflammatory arrest warrant. Anyways superb on residential alarms, it is good one.

    GD Star Rating
    loading...
    GD Star Rating
    loading...
    Reply

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.