Charles Jones wrote: > On Tue, May 11, 2010 at 8:30 AM, Chris Palmer <[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > > I'm in the hunt for a security DVR system for our small office > (just 2-4 > cameras max, etc). I keep finding all these lovely systems that > can be > accessed "Via the Web" only to find that their idea of the Web is > IE on > Windows, and their idea of Mac/Linux compatibility is VMWare with > Windows in > it. > > Does anyone know of a security DVR setup where there's actual > cross platform > web compatiblity? We're 95% Mac/Linux here so IE only is just not > worth it. > > > My fiancee has a retail store, and I built a security system for it using: > * 7 HD webcams (Logitech Quickcam Pro 9000) > * 4 "active" USB extension cables (need these if going over 25') > * One Centos5 file server, with RAID5 array composed of 3 2TB drives. > * Zoneminder (http://www.zoneminder.com) > * mjpeg-streamer > (http://sourceforge.net/projects/mjpg-streamer/develop) to turn the > USB cams into web cams (not really needed since ZM can access them > directly, but also enables other scripts and such to hit the cams if > needed). > > The end result is a "free" (minus the hardware) DVR system that has > all the features Zoneminder has to offer, including: > * Record Mode - Record only when there is motion (adjustable threasholds) > * MoCord Mode - Record constanly,but also mark motion events so that > you can jump to them > * Monitor Mode - Don't save images to disk, but can be just viewed via > web and accessed via API/scripts > * Easily defined "Zones" (by just clicking coordinates on the image). > Zones are used for things like, exclusion zones - draw a box around a > tree that sways in the wind, so it doesnt cause false alarms. There > are many zone types including ones that only trigger if another > defined zone has also triggered. > * Ability to tag and archive specific events > * Automatic cleanup of old events as your disk gets full > * All events timestamped and can also add any other overlay text you wish > * PTZ auto-follow with the right camera and script to go with it > * Easily change modes via web or cron jobs (record only at night, etc) > * Web GUI that can be accessed with any browser, streaming live video > seems to work best with Firefox > * Ability to set triggers to email or perform an action upon motion of > a particular camera/zone > * Ive noticed several iPhone apps support Zoneminder source cameras, > ones that I have personally used are "Cam Viewer", and "IRA Pro". > * zoneminder / zm is already in many linux distro repositories. > However I recommend installing the newest one from their site for the > newest stable features. > > This probably sounded like an advertisement for Zoneminder :) It is > very versatile and I have used it for many different situations from > security DVR, catching people stealing things from my desk at work, > triggering a script when the snail-mail arrives, etc. YMMV
Just one thing to note: Depending on your organization, you may have a security or police department that claims dominion over all surveillance operations. I spent a little time checking into apps that would work on the Mac, and it was pretty slick, because we basically have free cameras all over the place. There is an iMac in the server room that works as a terminal server with serial connections to all the consoles. So, I could easily log the camera on the iMac and see if anyone entered the server room. However, when I mentioned this at one of our sysadmin meetings, I was told that campus police regulate all surveillance. You can't do it. If you want it done, you have to ask them. Some larger corporations may have similar attitudes. Since it is a potential privacy and legal issue, be sure to check this out before proceeding. I understand that both posts quoted above were small businesses. Just wanted to make the statement for others. Also, in the EU, privacy is the ultimate constitutional trump card. Unlike in the U.S., it over rules free speech, etc. So considerations in the EU are more stringent with regard to surveillance. -- --------------- Chris Hoogendyk - O__ ---- Systems Administrator c/ /'_ --- Biology & Geology Departments (*) \(*) -- 140 Morrill Science Center ~~~~~~~~~~ - University of Massachusetts, Amherst <[email protected]> --------------- Erdös 4 _______________________________________________ Tech mailing list [email protected] http://lopsa.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/tech This list provided by the League of Professional System Administrators http://lopsa.org/
