Wireless Camera for Baby Monitoring?

cwinterb asks: "A friend of mine and his wife are expecting their first born. My friend is a commercial airline pilot flying all over Europe and frequently spends two or three nights away from home. He already has ADSL (256Kbps up/512 down) and 802.11b in the house, via a Draytek Vigor 2600We (draytek.co.uk). What he wants is a wireless webcam, with a built in server, so that as long as he can get web access he can see his wife and child. Streaming video would be nice but bandwidth and cost rule it out. A good quality static image that updates a few times a minute would be ideal. Audio is not required. A camera that works well in fairly low light conditions would also be a bonus."

"Privacy is obviously important. The camera should not have to be on all the time, his wife should just be able to switch it on and point, maybe with the camera on a mini-tripod. Username/password protected access to the server would be good, but SSL is overkill. One option is to use the VPN facility on the router. He already has a domain registered so we ought to be able to sort out access via an easy to remember URL and a dynamic DNS service (static IPs cost extra on most UK residential ADSL services).

What cost effective, secure and simple solutions have other Slashdot readers deployed?"

Comments

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[Tyrdium]

An X20 camera with ninja mount will do perfectly! And since we've stuck this in your face, you obviously want to get one! If you order now, we'll throw in a free multi-tool kitchen doohickey!

;)

Three points

[orthogonal]

1. The X-10.com video cameras (yes, the ubiquitous pop-up adds) apparently broadcast over the same spectrum as 802.11b, and 802.11b receivers can monitor them.

2. The above comes from a Slashdot article on "war watching": monitoring other people's wireless camera transmissions, but I can't seem to find it searching Slashdot. An important point comment made in that article (not by me) was that without encryption, a camera can reduce your security, by showing a potential intruder what the inside of your home looks like, when you're not in it, and how to avoid vbeing captured on camera.

3. It's still unresolved what wireless transmission in the 802.11b bandwdth can do to human brains. I'd hesitate to use on in a baby's room, even though it's probably safe, preferrring to err on the side of caution where the developing juvenile brain is concerned.

Addressing point 2, does anyone know of a feasable way to encrypt an X10 camera? I have one I bought on a whim just to see what it could do, but I've never used it except for testing, becuase of point 2.

Re:Three points

[bobthemonkey13]

802.11b receivers can monitor them

It's my impression that, while 802.11b and X10 cameras use the same 2.4 GHz spread-spectrum technology (as do many other devices like cordless phones), they don't have anything in common at higher levels -- it's not like X10 cameras implement the Ethernet spec or anything (are they even digital?). The Slashdot article I remember about "warwatching" mentioned an apparatus made from an X10 reciever module and a small LCD TV -- no 802.11b equipment or computer involved at all. If there are devices that are capable of monitoring both 802.11b and X10 transmissions (and getting interesting data from them), please post links -- I'd be interested in such a thing.

As for encrypting an X10 camera, it seems really unlikely that it would be worth the effort and expense. It would probably be much more efficient to get a plain old webcam and attach it to an old machine with a WiFi card. Then, you have the flexability to use whatever encryption/security you want. You could also perhaps buy an (expensive) network-attached webcam like the Axis webcams and plug it into a wired Ethernet to wireless adapter with WEP, or find a webcam that has 802.11b built in. If you are going to rely on WEP for security, however, please be aware of its *ahem* less-than-stellar record.

Re:Three points

[Kalak]

While Babies may actually find the sound of the computer relaxing, I'm guessing the parents may want to set the camera up in different locations, at different times w/o having to lug a PC around to do it!

An old notebook w/ a 802.11b card in it might work, but that's still adding to the number of things that can fail, and the amount of stuff that has to be lugged around the house. Also, when the kid grows, it adds to the number of cords that you have to "Child Proof". (Adult proof is more like it, the kids will still pull on the cords, press all the shiny buttons, etc...)

As a parent with computers around the house, unless your friend is a computer geek, ignore the "get a PC" posts and suggest that he go with as close to an all in one solution that seems reasonable. The line "if your friend is a pilot..." also goes to thet he sould be able to spend the money on an integrated solution. It's money well spent. Simplicity in the lives of new parents is a good thing. The child will make things complex enough.

Re:Privacy? who needs it?

[orthogonal]

You know what's surprising? I listed all these cameras on various web directories and they rank #1 on several google searches, but I still don't get all that many hits.

Somehow I'm not surprised.

Invite over some hot young chicks.

I can look at a hairy geek who'd wire his house for no good reason with a much more convenient low-tech device with a far higher frame rate. It's called a mirror.

Re:Privacy? who needs it?

[zcat_NZ]

Oh yeah.. in reply to your question!

I'm using a cheap PAL camera, bt878 capture card, and motion software, plus a cron job to copy the fixed picture to the web server. I used to use a java applet at the client end, but I haven't really got around to setting that up again yet.

At one point I also restricted access using .htaccess and .htpasswd, which is trivial to set up and probably all you need.

The cool thing about motion is that it detects when there's changes in the picture, and can record full-motion mpeg clips whenever something happens. It can also beep, page you, email you, or anything else you care to put in a script, so it'd make a pretty good baby-monitor.

I don't know about wireless.. the same setup would work with one of those 2.4GHz X10 cameras I guess, but be aware that the signal is unencoded and travels for miles, so your pervy neighbours might have access to the full video and sound..

Dlink DCS-100W

[philosophyandrew]

The Dlink DCS-1000W network camera is a great option for this: the camera is inexpensive (under $300), has a built-in 802.11b connection, uses interchangable standard (CCTV) video lenses, and is robust and reliable. We've used this camera for over a year so that grandparents who live far away could view their granddaugher; the camera has made a real difference, and has performed flawlessly. This page contains some sample images from the camera.

Dlink also makes a model that streams audio in addition to video, the DCS-2100+

LinkSys

[MImeKillEr]

As much as I hate LinkSys, they actually have a wireless 802.11b net camera with a built-in webserver. Supports 4 connections

See it here.

Re:Privacy? who needs it?

[zcat_NZ]

Buy a cheap 'composite' camera (NTSC or PAL) and BT878 capture card on ebay. You can run the signal 100m or more through cheap audio coax with no visible degradation.

Re:Security?

[Anonymous Coward]

...are you considering some form of password access?

Of course he is. Password access will be granted for a mere $19.95/month, billed discreetly to the credit card of your choice.

Re:Most Important Question

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't worry. If he is running MS, we will all soon know.

D-Link DCS1000w

[carpediem55]

I use the Dlink DCS1000w (http://www.dlink.com/products/?pid=41) in my business. Its a IP based webcam with built in 802.11b. It supports encryption to whatever base station that you use, and you can access it from anywhere on the web, with a username and password. You can get decent streaming over a good dsl connection. Or simply look at a screenshot. Its a very nice device, if you are willing to spend the money.

Axis

[200_success]

You don't want to put a lot of noisy equipment in the baby room. Axis makes an all-in-one solution. Their webcams include the camera and webserver, with password protection. Output is JPEG, which is easily viewable from any browser.

The 2420 model looks promising. Let's review the requirements:

• UK compatibility: yes. Needs 9-15V, 10A AC or 8W DC power supply, which should be possible. As a bonus, it has analog output in PAL (or NTSC).
• Wireless: optional.
• Built-in server: yes.
• Good quality static image: up to 704x536 at low frame rate, or up to 25 frames/sec at low resolution.
• Audio: optional
• Low light bonus: down to 1 lux. Infrared version also available for 0.5 lux.
• Not always on: It has motion detection. Or, the wife could just disconnect a cable. (If you really need privacy, why are you using 802.11b?)
• Username/password protection: yes

Plus, it runs Linux inside!

I've never used one, but I think this has everything that you want, and more, for a low low price of USD 1240! It comes with a 30-day trial period. If it's out of your price range, you might want to compromise a bit on your requirements and check out their other models.

A few remarks

[Kj0n]

Being the proud father of a nearly three month old daughter, I'd like to add the following:

When you need electronic devices to monitor your child, you're simply too far away: when your child needs you, you will hear it, even when you're at the other side of the house. When you want to see your child, sit next to it instead of watching a webcam.

What about your wife? She now needs a caring husband instead of someone in the basement messing around with cameras and web servers.

Re:A few remarks

[UncleRoger]

Okay, so maybe you're rich and can afford to simply laze about while your child is pampered by the servants...

For those of us in the real world, naptime can be an opportunity to get some work done. As can early mornings or late nights when the kid's asleep. Unfortunately, at least in my case, I can't hear the kid downstairs when working in my attic office. So I have a standard audio monitor. When I hear the kid waking up, I zip downstairs. (Two and a half flights of stairs takes only a few seconds.) I would love to supplement the audio with video over the network.

So, I don't have the luxury of being able to sit next to my kid 24/7. Perhaps my work during naptime will get me there someday though. Until then, I too am looking for a camera.

As for my wife, she works too, and certainly doesn't want me hanging out in her classroom all day. Her home office is three stairs from mine, so if we're both working at home, sitting with the servers is near enough, yet out of her hair. Again, I would love to have your life where the three of you spend every hour of every day together, walking white sand beaches hand-in-hand... but I live in the real world. Sucks to be me.

Actually, my wife knows that the most caring thing I can do right now is work to pay the mortgage and put food on the table. Sitting on my tuckus all day wouldn't help the kid or the wife, either in the long or short term.

Re:Panasonic makes one too...

[UncleRoger]

Here's a mfr link and a write-up at Tom's Hardware. Here's a website detailing one person's experiences with it.