Dedicated CCTV box

[Railw 0]

I have two Foscam FI9821W and an old PC I want to turn into a deducted CCTV box.

 

Can anyone recommend some software to monitor the two cameras?

[MaxIcon 0]

I have two Foscam FI9821W and an old PC I want to turn into a deducted CCTV box.

 

Can anyone recommend some software to monitor the two cameras?

 

Doesn't Foscam provide software for recording? Most manufacturers do.

 

Assuming you're on a budget and not looking for corporate/industrial features, since you have Foscams, it's hard to beat Blue Iris for inexpensive, well supported software. It's not recommended for MP cams on old, low power PCs, so whether your 2 720P cams would be too much for your PC would depend on the PC's power. You can download a demo version to try out.

 

If you check the BI user forum at cam-it.org, you'll see lots of issues with Foscams maintaining their frame rates, dropping out, etc, so you should test it out first.

 

There are other free and cheap software NVRs that others can recommend.

[fenderman 0]

I have two Foscam FI9821W and an old PC I want to turn into a deducted CCTV box.

 

Can anyone recommend some software to monitor the two cameras?

 

Doesn't Foscam provide software for recording? Most manufacturers do.

 

Assuming you're on a budget and not looking for corporate/industrial features, since you have Foscams, it's hard to beat Blue Iris for inexpensive, well supported software. It's not recommended for MP cams on old, low power PCs, so whether your 2 720P cams would be too much for your PC would depend on the PC's power. You can download a demo version to try out.

 

If you check the BI user forum at cam-it.org, you'll see lots of issues with Foscams maintaining their frame rates, dropping out, etc, so you should test it out first.

 

There are other free and cheap software NVRs that others can recommend.

MaxIcon is right on. One other thing to consider is depending on your old pc it could be drawing significantly more power than a newer box. For example 100 watts at idle and with recording software 150-200. Running that 24/7 could cost you more than buying a newer intel system (third or 4th generation) drawing 30-35w at idle and 70 or so under medium load.

[buellwinkle 0]

What do you mean by monitor? I monitor my cameras via a smartphone app on my phone and tablets.

 

If you want to record, have an older PC, I would recommend Milestone XProtect Go, it's free for up to 8 cameras, supports a wide range of cameras, stores up to 5 days of recordings and has very good smartphone apps and a remote browser interface. it's a little complex to setup, but if you stick with it I bet you will like it.

 

Other's that are free are Axxonsoft (16 cameras), iSpyConnect (Windows open source), Zoneminder (Linux open source), but are more CPU intensive, but 2 cameras shouldn't be a problem. Some of these also have smartphone apps.

 

I would try all free choices before spending money, but BlueIris is pretty good for $50 (+10 for smartphone app), but I wouldn't say it better than any of the above.