cctv to computer

[kka]

i am thinling about putting some cameras on the outside of my own home, i would like to wire them (three in total) into my home computer systerm, can i do this ?, how ?, and what equipment would i need ? . thank you for any advice.

[Rich]

You can connect cameras into your home computer yes, but there are lots of things to consider.

Option 1)

Firstly you will need 3 external cameras or external housings and normal cameras.

The cameras should also have auto iris lenses, usually people prefer to use the IR cameras in waterproof housings for their homes it seems.

you will need to run a coax (rg59) to each camera back to the computer.

plus you will need to fit BNC connectors to each end of the cable.

Some cheap cameras use a multi core cable and some screw in plug connectors, it depends what cameras you get.

you will need to run cable to carry the required power, usuallly 12 volts DC or 24 volts AC, and connect them to the power supplies.

For the computer you will need a video capture card, usually they have 4 bnc inputs, you pc will need to be powerfull enough to run the card and then record the camera images onto the hard drive. You will also need some decent stable software compatable with your operating system to make it all work, called DVR software, which with the capture card turns your computer into a digital video recorder.

Option 2)

You will need the cameras and cable as option 1, but instead of using a video capture card you could use a LAN enabled digital video recorder for 4 cameras and then network that into your computer. The recording would be done on the DVR but you would then be able to view the cameras via your PC and also download the required recordings to your PC for burning onto a disk. you could also use a seperate monitor for the DVR in this case too.

Option 3)

Use IP network cameras in external housings, connect them using network cable to a router or switch and network that to your PC, again you would also need software on your PC to act as a DVR but you would only need a network card connected to you router to get the images onto the PC.

[kka]

You can connect cameras into your home computer yes, but there are lots of things to consider.

Option 1)

Firstly you will need 3 external cameras or external housings and normal cameras.

The cameras should also have auto iris lenses, usually people prefer to use the IR cameras in waterproof housings for their homes it seems.

you will need to run a coax (rg59) to each camera back to the computer.

plus you will need to fit BNC connectors to each end of the cable.

Some cheap cameras use a multi core cable and some screw in plug connectors, it depends what cameras you get.

you will need to run cable to carry the required power, usuallly 12 volts DC or 24 volts AC, and connect them to the power supplies.

For the computer you will need a video capture card, usually they have 4 bnc inputs, you pc will need to be powerfull enough to run the card and then record the camera images onto the hard drive. You will also need some decent stable software compatable with your operating system to make it all work, called DVR software, which with the capture card turns your computer into a digital video recorder.

Option 2)

You will need the cameras and cable as option 1, but instead of using a video capture card you could use a LAN enabled digital video recorder for 4 cameras and then network that into your computer. The recording would be done on the DVR but you would then be able to view the cameras via your PC and also download the required recordings to your PC for burning onto a disk. you could also use a seperate monitor for the DVR in this case too.

Option 3)

Use IP network cameras in external housings, connect them using network cable to a router or switch and network that to your PC, again you would also need software on your PC to act as a DVR but you would only need a network card connected to you router to get the images onto the PC.

thank you very much