Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Joe Barr Gives ZoneMinder A Thumbs-Up

Posted by timothy on from the watching-the-non-watchmen dept.

I've been interested in the Free software home-security software called ZoneMinder for a while, but strictly as a lurker, checking out the project's site whenever I noticed it crawl down the Freshmeat home page. Joe Barr of NewsForge, though, recently had reason to install the software, which manages one or more home security cameras (which can be any Linux compatible camera -- he used some common D-Link wireless ones), watches for movement (generating alarms based on user configuration), and lets the camera output be streamed elsewhere, so a thief can't usefully just rip out the recording system. (NewsForge and Slashdot are both part of OSTG.)

4 of 110 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Can't Tell You by Mr+44 · · Score: 4, Informative

    IF you look at the website, you can (graphically) define exclusion zones within each camera's view.

    The software is really quite powerfull.

  2. Another good app.. by smclean · · Score: 4, Informative
    I've been playing around with my X10 wireless cam and Motion.

    Motion has motion detection and whatnot, and it's a pretty nice program, extremely configurable and extensible. Makes a nice webcam with java streaming .

    --

    "'Yrch!' said Legolas, falling into his own tongue."

  3. Re:Can't Tell You by _Shorty-dammit · · Score: 3, Informative

    "Multiple Zones (Regions Of Interest) can be defined per camera. Each can have a different sensitivity or be ignored altogether." http://www.zoneminder.com/documentation.html

  4. Re:Cool idea by mikael · · Score: 3, Informative

    According to the article, the maximum resolution is 640x480. To accurately recognise a number plate, you need to recognise around 8-10 characters with at least 8x8 pixels per character. Assuming the field of view is 45 degrees, you'd need to have a number plate at least two feet away to be fully visible, and then the visible size would halve every time you doubled the distance. You'd probably be able to get 16 feet range if this were the case.

    The lighting would be up to you. These cameras are sensitive to infrared light (Some buildings actually have infrared lamps on the outside, which appear not to be working to us, but will make the scene appear illuminated to a video camera). You'd probably want to have motion activated outside lighting before you had a camera for night-time protection.

    Although, I hope the cameras also save the time and date on the display. Some courts won't accept such evidence unless it is timestamped.

    --
    Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads