Webcam and stuff

[Gerryd]

Hi all,

So.........Let's assume for a minute that I had the following goals:

1. Setup some type of web cam and I guess a website so myself and folks I choose (anyone really) can visit the site and get either:

a. real time vid feed
or
b. archived video selection by date that I could supply

On a VERY high level I think I need the following:

1. A video camera of some type.
2. A pc or computer of some type
3. A website
4. A way to feed the live video to the web site.
5. Storage and retrieval.viewing of archived video.

Mostly interested in a live feed so I can sign on and check the tank whenever I want.....See if the cats are swimming or the filter stopped or lights not on/off as expected. Stuff like that.

If anyone has done this and could point me in the right directions I would appreciate it.

Assume that I want to do bare bones setup to get a working prototype and then upgrade from there.

You can PM me if this subject is off topic...

Thanks

Gerry.

 

[Jim Miller]

You can buy IP cameras. Just google for them.

Realtime is pretty easy. You might want to consider how to limit access however. You probably don't want everyone to know your daily routine.

Websites are easy. The link to the video camera could be at the site. The video doesn't need to "come" from the site. The site could be hosted anywhere.

Not sure how to go about archiving. Again I doubt you'll want 24/7 archiving as there is likely some stuff you don't want saved and it will take a lot of storage space.

Jim

 

[Tom Barr]

Hi all,

So.........Let's assume for a minute that I had the following goals:

1. Setup some type of web cam and I guess a website so myself and folks I choose (anyone really) can visit the site and get either:

a. real time vid feed
or
b. archived video selection by date that I could supply

On a VERY high level I think I need the following:

1. A video camera of some type.
2. A pc or computer of some type
3. A website
4. A way to feed the live video to the web site.
5. Storage and retrieval.viewing of archived video.

Mostly interested in a live feed so I can sign on and check the tank whenever I want.....See if the cats are swimming or the filter stopped or lights not on/off as expected. Stuff like that.

If anyone has done this and could point me in the right directions I would appreciate it.

Assume that I want to do bare bones setup to get a working prototype and then upgrade from there.

You can PM me if this subject is off topic...

Thanks

Gerry.

I'm sure there's an IT guy you could call to do the hook up

Most small web cams can do it, or as Jim mentioned IP cameras, surveillance etc.........
The hook up is not too tough.

 

[dutchy]

IP camera is perfect, even you can do it, Gerry I'm also thinking about buying one myself....

 

[feh]

Yeah, this is quite easy. This can be done with cheap web cams too... just a matter of image quality there, but bandwidth needs to be taken into acct as well.

 

[nickc]

You may want to look at a Neptune apex or Digital aquatics reefkeeper. I was going to setup a webcam but then i realized all it could tell me is if the lights were on and the tank was in one piece.

I went for a Neptune apex and it lets me log in remotely to a secure webpage and check things like PH, temp, and power draw real time. It also graphs the data over 24hrs and 7 days so you can see trends in PH & temp swings(10 min logging intervals).
Can manually shut off outlets remotely as well if needed(can time things like lights on/of, fans on/off based on temp, all sorts of stuff). Makes water changes nice as i can turn off the heaters and pumps via a laptop then siphon/replace water and turn everything back on. No more unplugging things and no more timers!

A controller is way more expensive than a webcam but to me is much more useful, a wireless stand alone webcam will run about $100+.
Something like a Cisco-Linksys WVC54GCA would work as a stand alone (no pc needed) but you need basic networking know how to set it up, this would let you check up on the tank visually.
If you want to archive video that's a whole new level, you would need to decide how you are going to store it, how long to keep it, quality, then have a PC with enough storage and processing power to encode it real time(30 days of mp4 compressed video is ~450gb of data). For the money spent on the PC + cam you could get a really nice auto topoff and a controller like the apex/reefkeeper.

 

[Gerryd]

Hi all,

Thanks SO much for all of that great information....

I will do some research and see what is available with my budget...

As far as a controller and the webcam only showing the tank in distress and not being able to DO anything about it, as compared to setting the lights and changing water remotely, I would be happy with the former as it is more than I have now

So, even being able to sign online and see the LR and the tank would be nice. I can at least CALL someone to get over there....

I don't mind the expense of the controller (well not yet anyway) but I don't really want/need a lot of automation for an apt.

As far as security I would not do a 24.7 webcam. that was stupid. But I would turn it on at published times for any possible viewers..

I OF COURSE would have 24/7 accesss

Thanks again for all the great replies, info, and suggestions...

Saved me a lot of effort and gave me some nice starting points..