Question Need a camera to view locally on PC

imported_blip

Senior member
Dec 13, 2004
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Not sure what I'm looking for, or the best forum, so here goes. I need a camera that I can connect wirelessly to my PC so I can point it at a birds nest my kids are watching. My PC doesn't have wi-fi but will be connected to the same network as the wi-fi (PC connects to router/modem over ethernet). I don't need anything that records motion, or texts me when I get a delivery, etc. Just live streaming to the PC. What's the easiest and cheapest way to get a camera to do this? The first few I found seemed to work mostly over phone apps, which my kids don't have. We use Win10 if that matters. It's not close or easy enough to hardwire. Thought? Thanks!
 

SamirD

Golden Member
Jun 12, 2019
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www.huntsvillecarscene.com
Almost any old cheap IP camera can do this--find one with 640x480 resolution and you should be good. Even newer commercial ones should be good. If you can't find them wireless simply use a wifi adapter for it (gaming adapter, etc), and that should make it wireless.
 

mxnerd

Diamond Member
Jul 6, 2007
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IP camera by it's name of course means it's got an IP address.

A simple search on Amazon.

Although it says outdoor & waterproof, you better use it under covered patio or use some cover over its top.
 

imported_blip

Senior member
Dec 13, 2004
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IP camera by it's name of course means it's got an IP address.

A simple search on Amazon.

Although it says outdoor & waterproof, you better use it under covered patio or use some cover over its top.

Thanks, yes it will be under a covered porch. Reading through some camera descriptions, look like some send traffic through different servers? Security concern? Any way to get one that only works locally? Thanks!
 

mxnerd

Diamond Member
Jul 6, 2007
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Not a security camera expert just deal with some products in the past.

Didn't know the product provides cloud storage.

Cheaper models on Amazon could provide local storage on SDCard or on your PC only. You have to research yourself or wait for others' recommendations.
 

SamirD

Golden Member
Jun 12, 2019
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www.huntsvillecarscene.com
I don't where to find one like this anymore, but I have this that does what you want:

I use it to keep an eye on the front door at night.

For $50, this one should be able to do what you need:

And to block its access to the Internet, assign it a dhcp reservation (so it always has the same IP address) and then set up a static route where so that when that IP tries to reach any other IP other than local it reaches 127.0.0.1 (a loopback IP) or 0.0.0.0 (an invalid IP). This will keep it off the Internet.
 

mxnerd

Diamond Member
Jul 6, 2007
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As what @SamirD has said, assign a static IP for the camera, and don't set gateway & DNS IP addresses on the camera, then the camera will not be able to access the internet.
 

LucyaSmity

Junior Member
Feb 16, 2021
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Hmmm. Honestly, I would recommend you Ajax. But I am not sure they have an opportunity to monitor the system through an app. I have this system installed in the house. It is a professional home security system. But you do not need to order all the devices the company suggests. I've chosen that because of the security level and the simplicity of operating. The installers connected our old cams there. So, we can monitor everything through a phone application. You'd better check if there is an opportunity to use a PC.
 

JackMDS

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Oct 25, 1999
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Be aware that a lot of the current cameras can not be streamed easily (or at all) to a PC. "Naturally" the sales pitch on line doe not disclose it. They do work well through the manufacturer supplied Cloud account but can be viewed only using iPhone type unit.

Best thing to do is to target one Then try to find detailed pdf manual online. Such a manual would have instructions to stream to PC (if possible).

:cool: