[Archish]

Hi.

I have a office cum home. With a small production unit right next door. I was having my office in the production unit. But since i wanted to be more involed in accounts and admin I shifted my office in the second floor of the building along with accounts and admin department.

But now, I am not able to monitor what is going on in the front office which is in the ground floor and the production unit next door. These office assistants and driver sit here and there and most of time i have keep walking up and down and i m not able to get the work done. Otherwise i have ask where they are using the intercom. So, i decided to setup 3 cameras to monitor where every one is. And i approached ppl who setup security cameras. These ppl are asking 25k and 30k. I dont want such a costly setup.

I want a system by with i can install 3 webcams in these places and run wire to my PC from which i can see where these ppl are. Is it possible to do this. Do i need any spl hardware? I dont want to record or anything. Just want to view these places.

Pls help me.

[abhiram7912]

hi Archish i do not see any other option except to go with the security camera guys. or you can buy the system itself and set it up your selves.

i think you can use 2 - 3 webcams and connect them to you PC you will need really long cables to connect the webcams. there are wireless web camera's but they cost a bomb like 150$ and above.

or may you can find some of those pen cameras you fit in cars, but i m not sure about the resolution of those cameras.

[NetfreakBombay]

Webcam connects to PC through USB and that USB cable wont work for more then a few feet (in theory USB cable can be 5 meters, but not in practise).

You can stretch that to 20 meters by adding USB Hubs in series but its near impossible to maintain.

You need an "IP Camera" instead of a Webcam.

You would need to spend around 5 - 6 thousand on such a setup.

These camera connect to LAN cable. And you can use then pretty much like Webcams.

Camera itself would cost 4 -5k. Add 1k for running the cable from your PC to Camera.

One such camera:

DealExtreme: $93.23 Standalone Security Surveillance TCP/IP Network Camera with Remote Panning Motors

[NetfreakBombay]

Hey,

Came across another Chinese "Invention" on Ebay.

This cell phone has a wireless camera that can transmit images / video to cell phone.

Looks interesting.

eBay India: CCTV Mobile Phone Wifi Camera recording JAVA 1GB Free (item 250398086195 end time 08-Apr-2009 19:47:08 IST)

[WasavaTyres]

Serach around on Ebay.in too, i had bought a wireless door security cam which was hooked up to my TV set for around Rs.2,000 couple of years back. It would be something like this here eBay India: CCD Video Camera in Smoke Detector Shape:Surveillance (item 230333916118 end time 04-Apr-2009 22:21:34 IST)

[Glass]

If you can have all the 3 camera within 10 metres of a pc, I would suggest having a cheap/old pc on the floor and three usb webcams connected to it. There are some freeware apps that can display multiple webcams on a single screen. I guess you can monitor this pc from your computer via remote login apps such as pc anywhere. There are some freeware apps here too.
This would be the cheapest way to do it.

[Switch]

TBH you should get a professional solution rather then a DIY for your office. There is a DVR box available for Rs 9500 and you can connect about 10 analog cameras with that. The DVR box can be fitted with a HDD of desiered size and you can either hook it up with a TV or a PC monitor. What it does is either save the auido+video or video or pics from all the three different cameras whensoever there is a movement in front of the camera. I saw the same with SMC in Nehru Place in Delhi.

But if you really dont want to spend money then there are other tools available which works with a webcam as well as IP and LAN cameras. The following is just one of the DIY guides which are freely available on the net. How to use your PC and Webcam as a motion-detecting and recording security camera - Simple Help

The cheapest solution would be to buy a analog camera(Available in palika for less then 2K) and connect it directly to a TV via a long AV cable. But that only works for one camera. Buy a distribution box and you can easily hook upto four camera's on the TV but you wont be able to record anything. The box would cost about 3K-5K.

But do trust me that nothing beats a professional solution. I have been there.

[SirAlec]

First thing is do you want recording also or just to view only.

[DerAlte]

Check with Texonic (Athipatan Street, Mount Road) if they have the small security cameras with wired Ethernet interface - cost a few K each. If they don't, they will be able to tell you who has. Wire these cameras with Cat5 cabling (you will need an electrical socket too for powering each one of them). Connect them to a cheap 4 or 8 port switch which can be coupled to your office network. They usually give a rudimentary software for monitoring multiple cameras. Each camera gets it's own IP address (DHCP or static) and has its own admin page through which you can configure it.

[Surprise]

Originally Posted by Switch

The cheapest solution would be to buy a analog camera(Available in palika for less then 2K) and connect it directly to a TV via a long AV cable. But that only works for one camera. Buy a distribution box and you can easily hook upto four camera's on the TV but you wont be able to record anything. The box would cost about 3K-5K.

But do trust me that nothing beats a professional solution. I have been there.

This would serve your purpose well

PS:


But why do you want to monitor your employees by their physical activities, I feel better way is to monitor their productivity output.

TRUST is the key word here.

Have grown up in such terrific work atmosphere and have learnt that many will raise the bar to live up to level of trust kept on them. This applies to all people at all levels. There might be exceptions, but always we should not care or design for those exceptions.

[bigman]

Originally Posted by DerAlte

(you will need an electrical socket too for powering each one of them).

Not if they support power over ethernet (POE), then your normal cat5 cable will supply power as well.

[DerAlte]

That's the costlier alternative, @bigman!

@surprise, 'trust' does not work with many people who are "differently abled" intellectually. For those with a penchance for goofing off, there is an appropriate saying in all languages (reflecting centuries-long experience). They have no concept of pride - if they did, the only thing one needs to do to improve productivity and quality is inputs on how to work better. @archish would be very lucky to get the kind of people you describe - what you have seen and felt is more the exception than the rule in SSIs.

Of course, more than that, @archish wants to be able to quickly locate his resources to get a job done.

[kannan666]

Originally Posted by Archish

Hi.

I dont want to record or anything. Just want to view these places.

Pls help me.

Originally Posted by SirAlec

First thing is do you want recording also or just to view only.

He has already mentioned that he wants to view only !

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Surprise

Have grown up in such terrific work atmosphere and have learnt that many will raise the bar to live up to level of trust kept on them. This applies to all people at all levels. There might be exceptions, but always we should not care or design for those exceptions.

As DerAlte mentioned, people are wired differently. When I started running my company I had to relearn how I judge and manage people. Managing of bunch of software engineers vs blue-collar workers is very different. They completely defy your way of thinking. For example, giving a good hike to one office boy turned him from humble hard worker to arrogant, insubordinate and reluctant worker. Only the threat of firing got him back on track.

[SirAlec]

Just buy a camera. and a small tft or tuner card for laptop. this is the simplest solution.

1. color cctv camera./dome Rs.1500/-
2. supply for camera....Rs. 150/-
3. cable Rs. 9 per meter.
4. USB tuner for laptop. Rs. 1200/-

OR/
Cheap chinese tft or copact tft tv. Rs.2500/-

5. BNC connector for camera..Rs.25
6. RcA jack Rs. 10/-
7. Camera mount if Dome not purchased... Rs.100/-

I think this is the simplest and most hassle free solution. and a professional one.

ALso if recording is needed. 4channel DVR Rs. 10500 Plus 250gb hdd: Rs. 2100/-