wireless surveillance and android

[Danluc]

We are expecting our first child in May and I would like to build a wireless system which I can view either on a PC, an Android device or on a monitor at home. I haven't a clue what is needed or best for this. Any advice on devices or building it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You in advance,
Dan

 

[stevech]

Netcams (cameras with built-in ethernet or WiFi and a web server) are plentiful but quite varied.

If you go camera to PC/Android with the data stream, then you need a camera that streams motion video such that there is a readily available software plug-in for each device. On Android, there may be few or none. Many netCams use a proprietary method and require vendor-specific software often windows-only. Careful shopping, and you can get a netcam supporting a microsoft active-X plugin for windows. Fewer yet support an open standard for streaming, and for Android the field gets smaller. But you can google and read forums and find out what netcam can do this with Android support- either as a custom app for android or as a plugin or other means to use the Android web browser.

Another approach...
Some netcams can stream to an Internet host that accepts the stream and then does playback (slight time delay) to web browsers and maybe Android included. Some of these services charge a small fee.

Hopefully you'll find what you need on the net or someone here has some brand name recommendations. I use Panasonic netcams having bought and trashed the cheapies from Linksys, Airlink, and D-Link.

 

[Danluc]

Thank You

Thank Yo Stevech.

 

[stevech]

also... Synology, QNAP and other Network Attached Storage (NAS) products have special software to accept video from many kinds of network cameras, store n days of that on the NAS, and provide access/playback. Check out those vendors' products, perhaps even a single-drive low cost one.

Might be overkill if you don't need a NAS for NAS-sake, and overkill if you don't need an n-hour archive of video from the camera.

 

[kanewolf]

This android software will stream just about any camera. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rcreations.WebCamViewerPaid

It is one of the few apps I have though worthwhile to purchase (twice -- phone and tablet).

 

[moosport]

Do you need night visions too? I used a couple of Dlink IP webcam. You can access the cams through mydlink website. But mydlink is not always reliable probably due to heavy traffic at times.

I have Zoneminder as a backup which I can access it from anywhere without requiring ActiveX to be installed. The only downside is it does not stream sound versus mydlink.

 

[stevech]

My neighbors have a "babyCam" that's simply (cheap) analog video + audio to a handheld display. The radius extends about 75 ft. outside the home, i.e., they can sit on the patio or be in the street chatting with neighbors, etc. The display has a belt clip and a tilting stand. Probably easier than streaming on the web to a phone, given you're a few steps away for safety reasons.