Oct 04 2006
Home Surveillance System Mk.I – Part I
The configuration of our home surveillance system has undergone a series of changes as it’s been installed. It currently stands at five perimeter cameras fed through a switcher/multiplexor. The multiplexor feed is wired directly to the televisions within the house (as aux input), a single dedicated monitor and into a DVR computer. The computer also has dedicated feeds from three of the cameras for higher resolution recording of “priority” cameras. The DVR computer is, in turn, networked to my desktop PC for onscreen viewing of any of the recorded camera feeds.
I had originally envisioned using the dedicated computer as little more than a VCR for the multiplexor feed, and it was only as a result of finding a 4 channel video card that I revised this plan on the fly. The use of the 4 channel card would appear to render the switcher and multiplexor redundant, but I prefer a system with less reliance on the computer, and even if the computer crashes or reboots the multiplexed feed continues to the monitors within the house.
The software that came bundled with the 4 channel card allows 24/7 recording of the multiplexor feed, and a “motion activated” recording of the three additional cameras if, and when, required. As a consequence approx 15gig of hard drive space is consumed for 6 days of footage, which is automatically overwritten in an endless loop.
[Camera]
The cameras utilized are 4 low-end CMOS cameras (SVAT secmosbw) and one IR CMOS camera (SVAT secmosir) initially obtained from K-W Surplus at $39.00 each, but more recently sourced from Ebay for approximately half that. Not particularly suited for outdoor use, the cameras were sealed with silicone, then placed inside improvised housings. When siting the cameras I was particularly careful to place them in positions that were not directly exposed to either sunlight or the elements in an effort to extend their lifetime.
[Camera Housing]
This has proven an adequate arrangement to date, with the majority of the cameras having been in place for better than two months with no issues. All cameras are wired, as any benefit obtained from using slightly more expensive wireless arrangements are negated by the fact that I would still have to run wire for power out to the cameras (if I’m running one set of wire, why not two?). I also can’t seem to shake the reservations I have with wireless in general.
Stand by for part two, where we’ll get into a little more detail.
I’m something of a Luddite. No wireless security for me. Apart from the fact that the Biomed group at the hospital would probably have to OK wireless cameras or access control equipment, it just adds another layer of complexity and vulnerability. It was a big leap of faith for me to go to an access control system that runs on a non-dedicated general purpose network.
You have a very nice monitoring system there. Get some intelligent video software and you can extend you storage to a month or more without going to a larger hard drive.
Cool! Probably over my head, though.
[...] [Edited to add: Can’t spot any of the 5 perimeter cameras, can you?] Posted by Mugwug | 5 Comments so far Leave a comment [...]
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