LAN Camera Review

xulphlux writes "The guys over at Tom's Hardware have an excellent review of 4 LAN cameras. While not currently commonplace as of yet, they have good potential for relatively low cost security uses. Keep an eye on the kids outside, your sports car out front, or the good looking girl next door... A couple even have built in 802.11b so no need for wires."

Comments

Too slow

[abhikhurana]

Following up on our discussion of 802.11b, the kind og bandwidth that one can normally get from 802.11b is not reaally enough for high quality video. So if U are just monitoring ppl, then its fine...but if U really wanna see them( like in the case of the neighbourhood girl), I guess 802.11b wont really work for me :-)

Warpeeping?

[Hobbex]

How about rather than pointing a camera like this at the girl next door, you just give her one of the 802.11b units so she can secure her house, and then sit back and pick up the signal through your Pringles tube?

I mean seriously, given it's notorious lack of security, isn't mounting a _security_ camera via 802.11b suicide? Broadcasting who is in the building out over the entire neighborhood seems _slightly_ counterproductive for burgulary protection (not to speak of privacy!) It seems to me that security should be the prime concern for any such purchase, yet I find little or no mention of it in the article (the D-Link unit mentions WEP passing, but we all know how great that is...)

Re:Warpeeping?

[mmol_6453]

Indeed. there's a reason you'll see "This building covered by closed circuit television."

It means it can't be jammed or overpowered.

Just thinking about the wife ten years from now discovering porno among my old security tapes...<shudder>.

Privacy?

[AnnaBlack]

Keep an eye on ... the good looking girl next door

Hang on.... here we are on Slashdot, where every mention of possibly privacy-invading technology provokes an intense discussion involving civil liberties... and this phrase gets posted in a headline story?

Just a little sexual politics for y'all - pointing hidden cameras at girls (or anyone else for that matter) is not nice. It's offensive. It's rude. It's an invasion of privacy.

Anna B

Why have a LAN camera?

[cr0sh]

I can see very little need for any of these cameras by home users. In the commercial realm, there are more uses, but they still seem waaay overpriced for what you get, compared to what it would cost to build a comparable system.

A wired LAN camera (with built in web server) is only really needed if you are doing something where you have a nearby network connection and don't want to run a long run of coax or other cable for video (though CAT5 should handle video fine), same for the wireless (though it is better if you need such a camera in an area where you can't get wires to AT ALL). I can see using these cameras for a quick setup/takedown for a "fly-by-night" live-webcam porno operation, or in a warehouse, or on a remote ranch - but not much else. Maybe I am short-sighted - where else would these be justified for the expense that a cheaper system wouldn't be worth it?

At home? You have to be kidding. This winter I plan on installing security cams in my house - I am going to use cheap b/w (maybe a single color cam for the front door) cams, most "single-board", which supply 1 Vpp composite video, and need a 12VDC hookup, all of which can be run over CAT5. I will terminate the cameras back at a central location where I plan to hook them up to a custom parallel port driven relay (or IC) based switcher, and into a video capture card for recording. I plan on running the wires in the attic - no big deal. I figure the total cost of this thing will be in the realm of $200 total - the computer is free (junk from work), the video capture card I have lying around, the cameras cost about $25.00 - $50.00 each - why should I buy a LAN camera?