Date: Fri, 18 Oct 2013 07:37:35 +0200 From: Polytropon <freebsd@edvax.de> To: Gary Kline <kline@thought.org> Cc: FreeBSD Mailing List <freebsd-questions@freebsd.org> Subject: Re: no, not gng paranoid, but.... Message-ID: <20131018073735.142829c0.freebsd@edvax.de> In-Reply-To: <20131018001820.GA6179@ethic.thought.org> References: <20131018001820.GA6179@ethic.thought.org>
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On Fri, 18 Oct 2013 00:18:20 +0000, Gary Kline wrote: > does anybody know of any hardware for FBSD for a closed-ckt camera? I'd suggest using an ordinary CCTV camera. Used ones can be obtained for few money, and they are usually still good. You will probably want to use a B/W model because they tend to have a better contrast even during darkness. (On the other hand, you could always add an "invisible" IR lamp.) Those cameras usually come with a BNC connector, it's a normal asymmetric wire. Any compatible video grabber card or USB dongle should work fine. I've been using something similar in the past with the following configuration: "Old-fashioned" CCTV camera in exterior housing, BNC cable, BT-878 based TV card (Haupauge WinTV) on FreeBSD, and mplayer. With mplayer, I could bring up a window showing the video feed (I had mapped that to a key), and with mencoder it was possible to record and encode the feed, or make stills at defined intervals (every 2 seconds, once per minute and so on). Compatibility? No issues here. Of course, obtaining and installing PCI TV cards isn't that easy anymore (with "modern" PCs). But there are several kinds of USB dongles that act as a video grabber (they are often sold under that name, "TV grabber" or "video grabber"). But as I have no experience with them (PCI card still installed and working!), I can't be more specific to recommend a brand and model for this. To extent the idea of grabbing stills: It would be possible to obtain a "sample" showing "nobody at the door" and then have mencoder obtain a still at the rate of, well, let's say every 5 seconds, and then compare it to the "predefined sample". In case it does _not_ match, an audio signal could be emitted (e. g. by playing an MP3 file) and if needed, start a continuous recording which can be deleted later on (if nothing criminal happened at the door). All this (!) works easily with FreeBSD. > my wife's mother is still here and scared of her shadow. Add more lights. :-) > im no > fool [...well...:-) ] ... but I hesitate to swing open the front > door if somebody unexpectly knocks. the lens to see out is for > somebody standing. that's hard for me to do. In addition to my idea explained above, there is a nice way to avoid cabling: Some years ago, I bought a 2 GHz A/V link system (for 15 Euro at a typical "el cheapo" store). The camera can be connected to the transmitter device. It will be installed near the door. The receiver device will then be connected to the TV card or USB video grabber. The emitted power is few enough so the signal will be fine indoors, but won't easily be interceptable from the outside. -- Polytropon Magdeburg, Germany Happy FreeBSD user since 4.0 Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, ...
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