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Posted: 8/14/2007 7:31:12 AM EST
Kinda like WiLife which was featured in this month's Forbes magazine.  Something that allows you to keep tabs on your place from a remote location.

I have a place that has a pre-installed ADT system but I refused to renew the monitoring service after bad service reports from friends (and some businesses).  

To be clear, I'm not looking for the video surveillance to replace the alarm monitoring system, only to supplement it.  

Thanks!
Link Posted: 8/14/2007 8:40:02 AM EST
[#1]
several bars i've worked used digital witness, which is a web-based system that you can access from any computer, including your blackberry.  we're considering installing it in our summer home.
Link Posted: 8/14/2007 8:41:46 AM EST
[#2]
We install them for police depts and interrogation rooms.
Link Posted: 8/14/2007 8:53:30 AM EST
[#3]
What you would need would depend on what you want to record and when.  If you have plenty of light and are looking for a cheap solution you can setup something like I have.  I have a PC with 2 Sony Handycams attached with firewire to the computer.  I'm using Active WebCam by PYSoft (free).  You want to stay away from USB cameras as they will slow the computer down.  The software will record on motion and has a built in FTP server for copying files to a remote location.  I know it has web streaming but I think you have to pay for that.  

If you need to record at night then you need a lot of light.  I have a huge metal halid light behind my house and that give enough light to record clearly about 30 ft away.  Without a light source like that you need to go with a low lux camera...which you can't connect by Firewire.  You will need to buy a seperate DVR camera card and buy a good low lux camera.  A good 4 channel DVR card will cost you about $350.  Decent low lux, infared supplemented cameras will start around $150.  There is cheaper out there but you get what you pay for.

Then you have the high end systems.  DVR PCs that you can buy fully equipped.  You are talking thousands for the PC and cameras.
Link Posted: 8/14/2007 8:59:32 AM EST
[#4]
Here's one of the PCI cards that cost a little less. We use these at my office:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2984824&CatId=1425

And the cameras we have are similar to these:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1583628&CatId=1928
Link Posted: 8/14/2007 12:02:29 PM EST
[#5]
Thanks for the replies.  

I live in a condo in Philadelphia so no big yard to monitor.  Only the interior of my condo.  So light shouldn't be a problem (have lights on timers).  

I'll have to check out those cards @ Tiger Direct and see if mebbe I can build one ....
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