web cam recordings

[emderpenguin]

Does anyone know if this is possible or how much it would cost?

I want to set up a web cam downstairs to record what the dogs are doing during the day. Not in the 'live stream to a website sense, but a record to hard drive sense.

The reason I ask is OH has now gone back to work, and I want to see if my 2 are behaving and not barking the nieghbourhood down. I go home and check on them at lunch, but still. The neighbours are currently too nice to say (even though I've asked them to!) but i know ours bark when we're at home and they hear things.

We also have a lot of other dogs in the area that bark during the day (so maybe the neighbours don't know who's barking) but would like to be able to proove it's not my lot setting them off when i'm not there.

We have a wireless network and there is a plug socket close to where I'd put the camera for power, so that shouldn't be too much of an issue..

I deff need something to record the sounds, as they also have a dog flap to the garden and i can't set the camera up to see both rooms and outside

[LizH]

Really interested in this thread - it's something I would like to do too

[Robbie34]

Look on the Maplin website for CCTV equipment. http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=98258&C=Newsletter&U=09P05-5&T=603153

You are looking at around £100 for equipment.  This stuff is wireless so you won't have wires trailing around.  If you have a PVR you will be able to connect this and record what they have been up to.

[kalem]

Hello,
Kathy's son here. They're are a few ways i know off. Depends what webcam you have, and also ill do some looking around and see if they're is any software the compres' the video to divx or mpeg. Should be. I'll reply back to this post if they're is. As far as i know you should just place your webcam looking at your dogs, get something called amcap (Here is the link http://download.cnet.com/AMCap/3000-13633_4-10504734.html) now follow these instructions to set it up ;-):
1. Once you've got it open it, you should see your self depending on when your webcam is placed.
2. Click capture along the top of the AmCap window then setup.
3. Click browse under the 'capture to UN allocated files'. Click say 'my documents' click the folder you want to save the files in once thieve been recorded.
4. Click 'capture both audio and video' near the bottom of the setup page.
5. Along the top click the tab named 'compression' under 'windows media 9 blah blah blah' :-) click video in the drop down window select 'medium (VBR 75)' and for the audio click 'Medium (VBR 50)'. (This is just essentially making it more compressed so it doesn't take up as much space of course the higher the VBR (VBR = Variable Bitrate) the more space is allocated.
6. click 'Still capture' Tab along the top. Now set where you will put the still captures you can just click 'my documents' again.
7. Click 'OK' at the bottom of the setup Your done setting it up.
8. If your using my documents as your capture folder it will say 'My Documents is a read-only folder do you still want to continue' click yes.
9. Restart Amcap.
10. Click 'capture' then 'start capture' Or alternatively click 'CTRL+C'. It's gonna ask you if you wanna start the capture in the folder you told it to, click 'OK' it will start capturing. Then when you come home simply click 'capture' then 'stop capturing'.
11. now you can go to my documents and see what your dogs were up to.
--
Jamie, Hope this helps. ;-).
P.s if you were looking not to do this from a webcam it would cost around £70-£100 to do it wirelessly or even wired.

[emderpenguin]

thanks for the instructions! at the moment I don't even own a web cam (never bothered with them, so it's all new to me. OH is quite techy though, so am gonna give him the challenge after next pay day of finding something for me

[Jeeves]

Don't know if it's any help, but I bought a new webcam last weekend - its a Microsoft one, and it has an in-built recording facility plus it can record audio and take still pics as well.  You'd just need to put it somewhere out of doggie reach and set it going!