Low cost security camera software for home use?

[TwoBearCatz]

I've got a few basic CCTV cameras wired into a computer in my house.
I'm running Vista 32-bit and would ideally like something that would
integrate with Vista MCE - but if it doesn't that's OK too. The
problem is I can't seem to find any decent and/or low cost software to
do recording, motion detection, etc. I've tried Argus which is OK (not
even that good) and it's over $100 just for the license for 8 cameras.
I tried VideoSpy and it barely even works. Thanks so much for any
suggestions. SInce this is a home setup I don't want to pay a lot for
the software, but I'd be willing to pay a reasonable amount if the
software is good.

 

[Matt Ion]

I've got a few basic CCTV cameras wired into a computer in my house.
I'm running Vista 32-bit and would ideally like something that would
integrate with Vista MCE - but if it doesn't that's OK too. The
problem is I can't seem to find any decent and/or low cost software to
do recording, motion detection, etc. I've tried Argus which is OK (not
even that good) and it's over $100 just for the license for 8 cameras.
I tried VideoSpy and it barely even works. Thanks so much for any
suggestions. SInce this is a home setup I don't want to pay a lot for
the software, but I'd be willing to pay a reasonable amount if the
software is good.

Most "decent" software of this type is tied to hardware sold by the same
manufacturer. I could suggest several different packages, but every one
of them will only work with their specific capture cards (in most cases,
it's actually the SAME type of card, but the software is specifically
coded to work only with its own branded cards).

Since you don't mention what sort of hardware you're using to connect "a
few" cameras to your computer, it's really hard to suggest any
particular software. Since your average media PC supports only one,
MAYBE two composite video inputs, the reasonable assumption is that
you're using some other sort of capture hardware to support "a few" cameras.

 

[TwoBearCatz]

Most "decent" software of this type is tied to hardware sold by the same
manufacturer.  I could suggest several different packages, but every one
of them will only work with their specific capture cards (in most cases,
it's actually the SAME type of card, but the software is specifically
coded to work only with its own branded cards).

Since you don't mention what sort of hardware you're using to connect "a
few" cameras to your computer, it's really hard to suggest any
particular software.  Since your average media PC supports only one,
MAYBE two composite video inputs, the reasonable assumption is that
you're using some other sort of capture hardware to support "a few" cameras.

Oh! I didn't realize that it was that hard to do I already have a
dedicated MCE machine I use for movies and TV. I have quite a few DVR
devices attached. Mostly Hauppage PVR-150's 350's and a Pinnacle card.
There is actually a lot of software out there that supports these
types of devices - but it is all rather costly. I did get a rec for a
cheaper package on Yahoo Answers but it doesn't look to be of very
good quality.

Also, I suppose a "dedicated" camera/capture/software solution might
be better but I'm just trying to utilize what I have. I'm even able to
use the video-in ports on these card while simultaneously using the
tuner ports for recording TV so I'm still going to try with what I
have. If it winds up being too unreliable I guess I'll have to spend
the $$$ for a better solution.

At any rate, to answer the last part of your post. You CAN have more
than one or two such inputs on an MCE. We've been doing it for years.
That's how we can record multiple shows. Just add more capture cards
or USB devices!

 

[Crash Gordon]

you can get an inexpensive 4 input capture card and software for 100 bucks
and not have to screw around. I bought a cheap Lorex card (comes with
software) for a client (no money) and I was very surprised at the features,
quality and ease of installation. Actually, I was shocked. However, I did
real cameras not the cheap Lorex ones.



--
**Crash Gordon**

 

[Matt Ion]

Oh! I didn't realize that it was that hard to do I already have a
dedicated MCE machine I use for movies and TV. I have quite a few DVR
devices attached. Mostly Hauppage PVR-150's 350's and a Pinnacle card.
There is actually a lot of software out there that supports these
types of devices - but it is all rather costly. I did get a rec for a
cheaper package on Yahoo Answers but it doesn't look to be of very
good quality.

Well, the main problem there is spreading the duties across multiple
devices. Your PVR software may have no problem with them (I know
BeyondTV has no issues recording simultaneously from my HVR-1600
dual-tuner card *and* my All-in-Wonder), but that software isn't really
suited to what you're trying to do here... most surveillance-type
software, even the really generic stuff, isn't designed to use multiple
capture devices. It probably COULD be... it just isn't, because it's
typically used with a single multi-input (4-, 8-, 16-channel) device.

It comes down to the economy of scale: there's very little market for
surveillance/security recording software to use a number of different
consumer-grade capture devices on a single machine... so there's very
little software that will do it, and even less that's going to be
anywhere near "cheap".

Remember that surveillance recording has different criteria than
recording TV shows... specifically, long-term recording of multiple
inputs requires that video take as little space as possible, which often
means smaller resolutions and higher compression ratios than "TV"
video... and almost always means FAR lower framerates (typically 1-3fps
vs. 30fps for standard video).

At any rate, to answer the last part of your post. You CAN have more
than one or two such inputs on an MCE. We've been doing it for years.
That's how we can record multiple shows. Just add more capture cards
or USB devices!

I know it CAN be done (as noted above, BeyondTV handles it nicely)...
but again, that's software designed with a different criteria.
DVD-quality video take a LOT more space and processing power than
surveillance video.