Home Security Software For USB Cameras - Motion Sensing

[911paramedic]

I only really need to cover one area of my house right now, so I'm only using one camera and my computer. Down the road I may purchase a complete DVR solution but for now I just need motion sensing webcam software.

I've tried about ten, all but two really sucked. I'm currently using "Vitamin D" but it limits the resolution and functionality with the trial edition, and I don't want to pay for it unless it works. And I can't get it to work anything like the site says it should be working, and It has pretty simple instructions. (Bonus)

The other was Argus DVR Software which worked pretty well but again, hard to tell with the trial editions. This one at least let you use better resolutions which was a bonus.

The problem with both, is the motion sensing/triggering doesn't seem to work very well. I can turn on some "boxing" thing and it will follow people or animals around, so I know it recognizes them, but it doesn't record just them. It records (they) non-stop and it's up to you to find any motion.

tl;dr

Need good motion sensing software for usb cam that works. I will pay around $50 for it if it works. The cheaper the better of course, if it works.

It needs to work.

TIA :hmm:

 

[Red Squirrel]

Look at using IP cameras. I tried the USB route but it's a royal pain in the ass. Problem is, when a USB device is detected it just registeres as /dev/videox where x can be any random number. It normally starts at 0 but then it might later on register as 1 then back to 0. This will be a pain to configure.

At least with IP, you set a static and it stays.

I don't have much experience with it myself, but you can look at zoneminder. It's a pain to get it going but just follow the wiki page and google issues as they pop up and eventually you'll have it installed. I never managed to get it working with my USB camera but ended up buying an IP one. It has not been put into production yet though, was more or less just messing with it.

 

[911paramedic]

Thanks for the input, at some point I am either going to get some IP cameras, or an entire boxed setup with DVR and cameras.

I tried a few more today and actually ended up with one that seems to be working so far. It has a ton (too much) of customization features and was working even as I was setting up all the different areas. Caught three dogs trying to use my yard with no owners in sight, which is one reason I'm doing this. No pun intended, but that shit is getting returned to the owner.

http://www.h264soft.com/index.html this is the software, no frills and ten year old graphics, but it works like a champ. It came with four remote cams working (Europe I'm guessing, it was dark and snowy) so you could already see that it worked. Withing minutes I had my camera recognized and running. I doubt that I'll need all 32 camera slots, but who knows...maybe I'll open a casino.

(I also tried out four more total duds, ugh.)

I'm going to keep on using the trial version for 21 days and decide if I want to buy it for the $25-35 bucks he's asking for it. It's well worth that price if it continues to work.

 

[Scouzer]

I'm pleased with Gotocamera. I've been using it for over a year. The free version has all essential features.