IP Network Cameras

[Kaw1000]

Hi Folks....I'm starting a business and need a security camera for the property.....what I want is a camera I can use on my computer at home to watch the property
  I'm having a puter built and it is not wireless...ie..its roadrunner.  
 
                                  Thanks for any Input

Also It need to be cheap!!!  the lower the better

[bj229r]

CCTV and cheap do not belong in same sentence, alas.....do you want pan-tilt-zoom control over said camera?

edit: There is web site that has stuff SOMEwhat similar to what security companies install, and prices aren't bad supercircuits .... If you want long-term hard drive storage of said video, you will want a dvr (which has network interface, thru which you could control said cameras(s)...they have software/firmware that can cram weeks of video onto a 600 gig hard drive.... lotsa stuff to consider
(oops) Is said camera(s) indoors or outdoors?

[Kaw1000]

Thanks BJ...Its going to be an out door camera

[Kaw1000]

Bump for any more advice!

[JB73]

I believe Linksys or Dlink makes some....

my company was looking into a few different options.

and outdoor camera needs special housing, and electrical heat, depending on your climate and local.


about $350+ per, not set up or anything is what you are probably looking at.

[eagl]

I hated those X10 ads early in the life of the internet, but X10 might have a setup you could use.

http://www.x10.com/homepage.htm

This would probably work:  http://www.x10.com/products/xx16a_ed_cam_41806_promo_1019_ta.html

There are many cheaper solutions but the one I linked has 2 color cameras, 2 low-light B&W cameras, a bunch of wireless stuff, and the software to run it for $279ish.  They have smaller bundles too.

The only concern with these things is that they are typically not very secure if you go wireless.  Handheld or portable wireless video camera scanners can be built for $40ish and they let anyone watch whatever wireless video is being broadcast.  Whether you care or not is a different question, and I'm not sure if X10 has an encryption option.  They may have wired systems though, and that would pretty much fix the privacy issue if you are able to run a cable from the monitoring computer to the camera.

[bj229r]

Originally posted by Kaw1000
Thanks BJ...Its going to be an out door camera

--Outdoor--if ya want to see stuff at night, have to pay a bit extra and get a "Day-night" camera: it switches to black and white optics at night (B&W needs 1/10th the light that color needs for a decent picture) ALSO, B&W can be lit well by invisible infrared light--such floods are fairly cheap, OR ya can get a camera with the stuff built in. ALSO....ya don't have to limit yourself to the family of I/P cameras, there are stand-alone modules that convert the video to a I/P address