Remote Monitoring. Video Surveillance

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gumdigger

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# 38013 22-Jul-2009 22:34

Hi
Planning to put a surveillance camera at my shop, though i would also be needing to monitor it form home. including rewinding and forwarding videos. so faar i have thought of remote desktop. is there a proper way of doing this.

xpd

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# 238133 23-Jul-2009 07:57

I monitor our work IP cameras via RDP using NetCam - its been fine, and best thing is that its locally produced so support is good :)

XPD / Gavin / DemiseNZ

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gumdigger

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# 238151 23-Jul-2009 09:37

xpd: I monitor our work IP cameras via RDP using NetCam - its been fine, and best thing is that its locally produced so support is good :)

Do i have to have a IP Camera to do remote monitoring?

CYaBro

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# 238157 23-Jul-2009 09:59

gumdigger:
xpd: I monitor our work IP cameras via RDP using NetCam - its been fine, and best thing is that its locally produced so support is good :)

Do i have to have a IP Camera to do remote monitoring?

Not if you have a system where the cameras connect to a DVR device (recommended) which has a network port on it or into a card in a PC.

sbiddle

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# 238166 23-Jul-2009 10:57

Where in NZ are you based? I've done a lot of CCTV installs so could help if you were in Wellington.

First option is to decide what sort of hardware you want. There are plenty of Linux based standalone PVR units, many odf which have ethernet ports for remote viewing.

The other option is to go for a PC based solution which will also give you remote monitoring.

There is no need for IP cameras.

xpd

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# 238181 23-Jul-2009 11:14

We only use IP because of the distance between the recording server and the camera....

XPD / Gavin / DemiseNZ

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ZollyMonsta

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# 238188 23-Jul-2009 11:27

I use a all in one box at home... with 4 cameras attached. I can remote to it over the internet and view what's going on at home inside and outside the house with playback capabilities also.

The software isn't that hot, but works for basic monitoring remotely. It's an Avermedia unit, going from memory... and has hard disk inside it, so no need for a dedicated PC. On the back, TV monitoring output/VGA monitoring output, Ethernet jack, 4 camera inputs (I think also an audio input). THe unit works on motion detecting, plus you can set a schedule for it to constantly record.

gumdigger

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# 238253 23-Jul-2009 14:03

xpd: We only use IP because of the distance between the recording server and the camera....

perfect explanation

gumdigger

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# 238256 23-Jul-2009 14:08

sbiddle: Where in NZ are you based? I've done a lot of CCTV installs so could help if you were in Wellington.

First option is to decide what sort of hardware you want. There are plenty of Linux based standalone PVR units, many odf which have ethernet ports for remote viewing.

The other option is to go for a PC based solution which will also give you remote monitoring.

There is no need for IP cameras.

i am in auckland, i will be using the pc based solution as there is only 1 camera in the shop. i am not too sure about hardware but i was suggested by my friend that i use a camera which produces 500 lines atleast.
are you able to suggest me what sort of camera i should go for and what else i would need. will it come with software that allows remote monitoring?.

sbiddle

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# 238492 24-Jul-2009 04:49

What hardware and software are you using on the PC?

As for the cameras there is no simple answer - it depends what your requirements are.

You ideally want a minimum of 470 lines, most cheap CCTV cameras do 330. You then get 420 and then 470 and high end stuff that will do 500+ lines. If you're feeding a 500+ line camera into a recorder that does less (most of them) then there are no real benefits.

You also need to decide on the type of camera - box style or dome? What sort of lens do you need? Wide or zoom? Are you trying to place a camera somewhere where light conditions change? if so you'll need an auto iris lens.

With a single camera in a store you're probably after a wide angle lens to cove a large area. Doing this will mean recogniging a face will be virtually impossible. Unless there are very good reasons for only installing a single camera I'd recommend at least 2-4 to cover a store if you want the ability to actually see what is happening, and more importantly for it to actually be useful if you do need detailed images of people.

There is a lot to understand about CCTV and you really need to plan what you want. Anybody can go and buy a cheap (and exceptionally poor quality) Swan CCTV system and install it. Most people who do will find the system is of absolutely no use.

BlueToothKiwi

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# 238498 24-Jul-2009 06:25

sbiddle: There is a lot to understand about CCTV and you really need to plan what you want. Anybody can go and buy a cheap (and exceptionally poor quality) Swan CCTV system and install it. Most people who do will find the system is of absolutely no use.

I partially agree with that - but the top end Swann cameras with Infrared are pretty good. you can get a clear view of the person's face in front of the camera from about 2 meters away. They are relatively cheap.

But the question was about Remote monitoring.

The thing that amazes me about people doing their own installation is that they buy a DVR / PC with a datacapture card and plug the cameras in and remote desktop to it from outside. Then they get a break in. One of the items that always dissapear after a break-in is the actual DVR / PC hidden in the loft / under the stair / cupboard. So you have no record of the actual break-in as the evidene dissapears when the hardware you are recording dissapears!

Anyway back tot he topic - So to answer your question - either use one of the monitored alarm companies to do the video recording [Usually the recording is triggered by the PIR sensor]. Or if you got a web server, create a secure folder (password protected) and configure the recording device to save the snapshots (640x480 digital image) every 2 seconds. Hopefully the software you have allow you to configure this (including saving the credentials for remote saving from the premises you want to monitor).

Just my 2c from someone who does not do this for a living - but did my own.

Tim

Tim M, Auckland
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