Streaming IP camera on 24hr loop

BenEadir

Hi,

I've had some anti social behaviour outside my house and my neighbours house recently. As a result I want to install an external IP camera with night vision and set it up so that the images are streamed over my broadband connection to a cloud storage service of some sort on an automatic 24 hour loop which I can access and extract a period of time from if necessary before that period of time is automatically over written. I'd also like to have the ability to log in and view the camera from my Android phone and perhaps set up alerts if there is activity in the area covered by the camera say from 1am to 6am.

I'm thinking of getting something like this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Foscam-FI9805W-Wireless-MegaPixel-Outdoor/dp/B00CZ1L3A8/ref=pd_cp_computers_1

Has anyone here any experience of this sort of project who'd be prepared to give me a steer?

I've excellent fibre broadband from UPC and I'm not afraid of tweaking router settings etc so I'd like to do this as a DIY project but I'd really like a mentor who can give me some guidance on setting up the camera once I've had it installed and help me avoid making a mess of things or wasting hours doing the wrong thing.

I've looked over on the CCTV forum but it's dominated by professional installers with very little input from DIY'ers with small single camera type projects on a tight budget like mine so I'm hoping my request for help will get a more sympathetic hearing here.

CreepingDeath

Hi,

I've a lot of experience with internal Foscam cameras, which I just point out the window at my driveway.
I explicitly disable the IR LEDS as they reflect back at the camera through a window, but an external camera wouldn't have that problem.

I've had a cheap Foscam FI8918W and with a bit of Linux hacking got my network NAS box ( a Zyzel NSA325 ) to record the video from it.

More recently I splashed out on a FI9826W (another internal camera).
It has built in motion detection, records video to an SD Card and you can access it over the web/lan.
I wrote a little script to get my NAS box to connect to it and backup the video footage, so I've two copies.

But motion detection is definitely a feature to look for.
Otherwise, you'll be trawling through hours of footage, rather than just seeing when something happens.

Not sure if any IP Cameras let you record directly to the cloud, I doubt it.
They typically require a simple ftp server at least.

regards,
CD

BenEadir

Hi CD,

Thanks for the info.

CreepingDeath wrote: »

I've had a cheap Foscam FI8918W and with a bit of Linux hacking got my network NAS box ( a Zyzel NSA325 ) to record the video from it.

I have an NSA310 but I have zero Linux experience or skills. I'd love to partition some of the 2TB disk and use it for localised storage on a 48 hour auto delete type regime.

CreepingDeath wrote: »

motion detection is definitely a feature to look for.
Otherwise, you'll be trawling through hours of footage, rather than just seeing when something happens.

Great point, I need to include motion detection in my camera selection criteria.

- Wide angle view
- High quality picture
- 20m to 30m night vision
- Waterproof for external use
- Power over Ethernet (preferably as it save running a separate power source)
- Motion detection

I'm not fixated by Foscam equipment BTW, they just seem to do a good marketing job. If there are other brands/models which offer better quality/functionality without getting too expensive I'll happily make the investment.

CreepingDeath

BenEadir wrote: »

I have an NSA310 but I have zero Linux experience or skills. I'd love to partition some of the 2TB disk and use it for localised storage on a 48 hour auto delete type regime.

You don't need cloud storage if you've a NSA310.
That can act as an ftp server.
No need to perform any partitioning, just create a folder.
Mine generally records approx 1Gb of data a day, but then there's a lot of cars going by, people on streets etc.
I could limit this if I wanted.
One nice feature of some motion detection cameras is to mask off an area where you want to detect motion, eg. just your driveway not the entire scene.

BenEadir wrote: »

I'm not fixated by Foscam equipment BTW

Yeah, I've had a love/hate relationship with Foscam.
They launched a new camera a year or two ago, I bought it and it was a disaster... they must've all been sent back and they deleted the model number after that.
I sent mine back but lost money shipping it back.

I haven't used ChinaVasion... but a quick search shows a couple of interesting offerings.

Gb£45.86 - WiFi camera, 720p, has an SD card slot to record if WiFi connection fails.

https://www.chinavasion.com/china/wholesale/IP_Cameras/Outdoor_IP_Cameras/720p_Wireless_IP_Camera_Flash_-_1_4_Inch_CMOS_Sensor_1MP_Wi-Fi_40_Night_Vision/#specsa


This one has a load of features for Gb£79.74.
- SD slot to record
- pan and tilt to move camera around
- 3x optical zoom, great if you want to zoom in on your car or the like
- usual storage options, ftp to your NSA310

Although I don't see any mention of motion detection.

https://www.chinavasion.com/china/wholesale/IP_Cameras/PTZ_IP_Cameras/HD_PTZ_Wireless_Speed_Dome_IP_Camera_-_3x_Zoom_H.264_720p_Night_Vision_Micro_SD_Card_Slot/#specsa


But tonnes more cameras on that site... Link

Although your original Foscam link is 920 and they are 720, so slightly lower resolution.

BenEadir

Thanks, thats great info CD. If I can figure out how to record to the NAS 1 GB a day is nothing.

I'll do some more homework over the weekend on camera selection.

Do you know if the Power over Ethernet cameras are more hassle than they're worth?

BenEadir

CreepingDeath wrote: »

You don't need cloud storage if you've a NSA310.
That can act as an ftp server.
No need to perform any partitioning, just create a folder.
Mine generally records approx 1Gb of data a day, but then there's a lot of cars going by, people on streets etc.
I could limit this if I wanted.
One nice feature of some motion detection cameras is to mask off an area where you want to detect motion, eg. just your driveway not the entire scene.



Yeah, I've had a love/hate relationship with Foscam.
They launched a new camera a year or two ago, I bought it and it was a disaster... they must've all been sent back and they deleted the model number after that.
I sent mine back but lost money shipping it back.

I haven't used ChinaVasion... but a quick search shows a couple of interesting offerings.

Gb£45.86 - WiFi camera, 720p, has an SD card slot to record if WiFi connection fails.

https://www.chinavasion.com/china/wholesale/IP_Cameras/Outdoor_IP_Cameras/720p_Wireless_IP_Camera_Flash_-_1_4_Inch_CMOS_Sensor_1MP_Wi-Fi_40_Night_Vision/#specsa


This one has a load of features for Gb£79.74.
- SD slot to record
- pan and tilt to move camera around
- 3x optical zoom, great if you want to zoom in on your car or the like
- usual storage options, ftp to your NSA310

Although I don't see any mention of motion detection.

https://www.chinavasion.com/china/wholesale/IP_Cameras/PTZ_IP_Cameras/HD_PTZ_Wireless_Speed_Dome_IP_Camera_-_3x_Zoom_H.264_720p_Night_Vision_Micro_SD_Card_Slot/#specsa


But tonnes more cameras on that site... Link

Although your original Foscam link is 920 and they are 720, so slightly lower resolution.

Hi CD, they both look like good cameras, particularly the first one as I want a bit more than 15M night vision.

I also came across this new camera when doing some more research - http://www.ubnt.com/unifi-video/unifi-video-camera-pro

It looks high quality and from a very reputable company. It's likely to be around €150 (the previous version is £110 from the UK distributor) but as I'm only looking to have one camera I'd like it to be something high quality which also looks the part.

What are your thoughts on it?

CreepingDeath

Specs wise, seems good.
Pro
- 1080p video resolution
- 3x optical zoom ( although that will be limited as there's no pan & tilt )
- motion detection handled on the camera, x264 video
- configurable motion detection zones & sensitivity, so you can just detect motion near your car/driveway etc
- power over ethernet cable
- weather proof
- can use usb/network disks apparrently

Cons
- no pan and tilt, so you can probably only zoom to the centre of the image
- possibly no image masking/privacy zone?

I didn't see anything about a "privacy zone" / image masking.
If you point a camera outside, legally it shouldn't point at your neighbours.
Image masking/privacy zone masks off the image, so you see a black square or the like in your video footage wherever you don't want to record.
For a fixed camera you want to permanently attached to your house, it's more important, unless you deliberately aim the camera strictly on your own land.
It may or may not support it, I just didn't see it in my brief read.

I never had an external camera, and always thought that maybe it advertises or gives the perception that you've money or something to protect.

Not sure what size that camera is, looks small enough though.

regards,
CD

whizbang

Why not just use ispy, Webcamonitor, or similar software. Can do motion detect, stream, Alert email, txt, etc.