Video Surveillance Question

We will soon own a small condo-hotel unit that will not be rented out. The
unit will have built in wired/wireless internet access similar to that found
in may hotels. I assume it will be password protected.

We want to cover our area with an internet-accessed surveillance camera
when we are not there.

Questions:

-what kind of camera do I want (brand or feature specific if possible,
please)

-assuming that I can install the camera with my computer when I'm at the
site, how do I actually access the camera (though a hotel firewall?)
(reaching my hotel unit and not a different one) when I'm away? In other
words, what url do I type to reach my camera?

I can go wired or wireless, it doesn't matter.

I'm not a techie so please keep it straight forward.

Thank you.

You can't just slap a camera in someplace and start typing IP#s.

You have to hunt down (shop) and buy a Security System that is designed to
do this and has features specifically designed to support what you want to
do,...and has a Support Staff reachable by phone to help "fix" it when
something goes wrong. The system doesn't do you any good if it doesn't
record what it sees and makes it available to be "dubbed" so you can get the
material to the police if they want it.

One such possibility is http://www.swann.com.au/ (don't forget the ".au" on
the end or you 'll get to some poor starving artist's site). Not all of
Swann's systems can be "dubbed" out.

Another possibility might be http://www.axis.com/solutions/index.htm

I'm sure there are many others,...but we use a setup from Swann here.


--
Phillip Windell
www.wandtv.com




The views expressed, are my own and not those of my employer, or Microsoft,
or anyone else associated with me, including my cats.
-----------------------------------------------------
Technet Library
ISA2004
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/l...chNet.10).aspx
ISA2006
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/l...chNet.10).aspx

Understanding the ISA 2004 Access Rule Processing
http://www.isaserver.org/articles/IS...cessRules.html

Troubleshooting Client Authentication on Access Rules in ISA Server 2004
http://download.microsoft.com/downlo...7/ts_rules.doc

Microsoft Internet Security & Acceleration Server: Partners
http://www.microsoft.com/isaserver/p...s/default.mspx

Microsoft ISA Server Partners: Partner Hardware Solutions
http://www.microsoft.com/forefront/e...epartners.mspx
-----------------------------------------------------

"its_my_dime" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> We will soon own a small condo-hotel unit that will not be rented out.
> The unit will have built in wired/wireless internet access similar to that
> found in may hotels. I assume it will be password protected.
>
> We want to cover our area with an internet-accessed surveillance camera
> when we are not there.
>
> Questions:
>
> -what kind of camera do I want (brand or feature specific if possible,
> please)
>
> -assuming that I can install the camera with my computer when I'm at the
> site, how do I actually access the camera (though a hotel firewall?)
> (reaching my hotel unit and not a different one) when I'm away? In other
> words, what url do I type to reach my camera?
>
> I can go wired or wireless, it doesn't matter.
>
> I'm not a techie so please keep it straight forward.
>
> Thank you.
>
>

Hi
There are certain topics that when the user is ignorant about them it is
best to hire a consultant, security cameras is one these topics.
Jack (MS, MVP-Networking)

"its_my_dime" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> We will soon own a small condo-hotel unit that will not be rented out.
> The unit will have built in wired/wireless internet access similar to that
> found in may hotels. I assume it will be password protected.
>
> We want to cover our area with an internet-accessed surveillance camera
> when we are not there.
>
> Questions:
>
> -what kind of camera do I want (brand or feature specific if possible,
> please)
>
> -assuming that I can install the camera with my computer when I'm at the
> site, how do I actually access the camera (though a hotel firewall?)
> (reaching my hotel unit and not a different one) when I'm away? In other
> words, what url do I type to reach my camera?
>
> I can go wired or wireless, it doesn't matter.
>
> I'm not a techie so please keep it straight forward.
>
> Thank you.
>
>

"Jack (MVP-Networking)." <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:%(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi
> There are certain topics that when the user is ignorant about them it is
> best to hire a consultant, security cameras is one these topics.
> Jack (MS, MVP-Networking)
>
> "its_my_dime" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>> We will soon own a small condo-hotel unit that will not be rented out.
>> The unit will have built in wired/wireless internet access similar to
>> that found in may hotels. I assume it will be password protected.
>>
>> We want to cover our area with an internet-accessed surveillance camera
>> when we are not there.
>>
>> Questions:
>>
>> -what kind of camera do I want (brand or feature specific if possible,
>> please)
>>
>> -assuming that I can install the camera with my computer when I'm at the
>> site, how do I actually access the camera (though a hotel firewall?)
>> (reaching my hotel unit and not a different one) when I'm away? In other
>> words, what url do I type to reach my camera?
>>
>> I can go wired or wireless, it doesn't matter.
>>
>> I'm not a techie so please keep it straight forward.
>>
>> Thank you.
>>>

I'm reallly not trying to reinvent the wheel here! I want a simple camera
where I can log in to occasionally check on an unoccupied room in a secure
hotel enviornment in case a window breaks or the hotel staff decides to let
their friends camp out. No VCR; no police reports. Surely their has to be
information on this.

"its_my_dime" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:%23fqEE%(E-Mail Removed)...
> I'm reallly not trying to reinvent the wheel here! I want a simple camera
> where I can log in to occasionally check on an unoccupied room in a
> secure hotel enviornment in case a window breaks or the hotel staff
> decides to let their friends camp out. No VCR; no police reports. Surely
> their has to be information on this.

And what if the room is occupied?,...and it isn't recorded? Then you could
find yourself arrested if customers complain that you were watching them in
their rooms. A system that always records when the camera is on is your
proof (or at least strong indication) that you were not watching them. No
recording means you can't prove you are innocent,...or course it doesn't
prove you are guilty either,...but by then the news media has got ahold of
it and your hotel is out of business,...guilty or not.

In Hotels/Motels you can only have cameras in the open hallways,...and they
must always record so what they saw is always proven and the Time Code
(being unbroken) proves there was nothing "watched" that was not recorded.
In other types of buildings they can be in other rooms besides the hallways,
but not in bathrooms.

--
Phillip Windell
www.wandtv.com

The views expressed, are my own and not those of my employer, or Microsoft,
or anyone else associated with me, including my cats.
-----------------------------------------------------

its_my_dime wrote:
> We will soon own a small condo-hotel unit that will not be rented out.
> The unit will have built in wired/wireless internet access similar to
> that found in may hotels. I assume it will be password protected.
>
> We want to cover our area with an internet-accessed surveillance camera
> when we are not there.
>
> Questions:
>
> -what kind of camera do I want (brand or feature specific if possible,
> please)
>
> -assuming that I can install the camera with my computer when I'm at the
> site, how do I actually access the camera (though a hotel firewall?)
> (reaching my hotel unit and not a different one) when I'm away? In
> other words, what url do I type to reach my camera?
>
> I can go wired or wireless, it doesn't matter.
>
> I'm not a techie so please keep it straight forward.
>
> Thank you.
>
>

This newsgroup and others like it should not be a place to seek or
provide legal advice. Nevertheless, such advice is often sought and
given here (typically concerning Microsoft licensing issues). If you
have legal questions, you should seek advice from a lawyer. If you
follow legal advice from a purely technical expert, you're only asking
for trouble.

Jack's advice to seek assistance from a security consultant is good -- a
competent security consultant ought to be familiar not only with
technical issues but also with legal issues concerning this area. If
were me, however, I'd still at least talk to my lawyer about potential
issues.

As far as the technical issues are concerned, what you are asking about
is commonly referred to as a "webcam." There are many how-to sites
available:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...earch&aq=f&oq=

The first hit from that search not only explains how to set up a webcam,
but also gives reviews of several cameras. I have the one pictured
there (a Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000), and it works just fine.

--
Lem -- MS-MVP

To the moon and back with 2K words of RAM and 36K words of ROM.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
http://history.nasa.gov/afj/compessay.htm

"Phillip Windell" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:u54%(E-Mail Removed)...
> "its_my_dime" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:%23fqEE%(E-Mail Removed)...
>> I'm reallly not trying to reinvent the wheel here! I want a simple
>> camera where I can log in to occasionally check on an unoccupied room in
>> a secure hotel enviornment in case a window breaks or the hotel staff
>> decides to let their friends camp out. No VCR; no police reports.
>> Surely their has to be information on this.
>
> And what if the room is occupied?,...and it isn't recorded? Then you
> could find yourself arrested if customers complain that you were watching
> them in their rooms. A system that always records when the camera is on
> is your proof (or at least strong indication) that you were not watching
> them. No recording means you can't prove you are innocent,...or course it
> doesn't prove you are guilty either,...but by then the news media has got
> ahold of it and your hotel is out of business,...guilty or not.
>
> In Hotels/Motels you can only have cameras in the open hallways,...and
> they must always record so what they saw is always proven and the Time
> Code (being unbroken) proves there was nothing "watched" that was not
> recorded. In other types of buildings they can be in other rooms besides
> the hallways, but not in bathrooms.
>
> --
> Phillip Windell
> www.wandtv.com
>
> The views expressed, are my own and not those of my employer, or
> Microsoft,
> or anyone else associated with me, including my cats.
> -----------------------------------------------------
>
I guess I'm still not getting through. While this is a "hotel-condo" in
principal, we are not putting our unit in the hotel rental pool. It is our
condo unit . . . like our home. There should be no one living in our condo
but us when we are present. There are no "customers", only potential
trespassers.

I still come back to my original issue . . . what kind of camera do I need
to connect to the system that I can access through the web?

Thank you.

"its_my_dime" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> I still come back to my original issue . . . what kind of camera do I need
> to connect to the system that I can access through the web?

The two links I gave in my first post......


--
Phillip Windell
www.wandtv.com

The views expressed, are my own and not those of my employer, or Microsoft,
or anyone else associated with me, including my cats.
-----------------------------------------------------

I sure hope the original poster is still reading...

I'm really surprised at how poorly the responders read/understood your
request...

There are no legal issues. The OP is putting a camera in a residence they
OWN. They will be the ONLY people in the unit. They have every right to have
video surveillance on their own property.

That said, you are looking for a network camera. There are a ton out there
of varying quality. These cameras have built-in webservers, so you can
access them remotely. Some might be able to record video over the internet
to a remote storage device--not sure though. If you want a solution with
recording capability, you might need to have a digital video recorder on
premises--these too are remotely accessible via web.

Other considerations: low light capability, color or black & white, do you
want "night vision"? What do you do if the camera for some reason goes
off-line? Possible low-tech solution is to use something like an X-10 device
between the camera and outlet which could be controlled via telephone to
power cycle the camera (you'd also need the appropriate device for the phone
interface).

What about power outages? Do you still want video? Then you'll need an UPS
of some sort.

Anyway, some ideas for you to research...


"Lem" <lemp40@unknownhost> wrote in message
news:Oe$(E-Mail Removed)...
> its_my_dime wrote:
>> We will soon own a small condo-hotel unit that will not be rented out.
>> The unit will have built in wired/wireless internet access similar to
>> that found in may hotels. I assume it will be password protected.
>>
>> We want to cover our area with an internet-accessed surveillance camera
>> when we are not there.
>>
>> Questions:
>>
>> -what kind of camera do I want (brand or feature specific if possible,
>> please)
>>
>> -assuming that I can install the camera with my computer when I'm at the
>> site, how do I actually access the camera (though a hotel firewall?)
>> (reaching my hotel unit and not a different one) when I'm away? In other
>> words, what url do I type to reach my camera?
>>
>> I can go wired or wireless, it doesn't matter.
>>
>> I'm not a techie so please keep it straight forward.
>>
>> Thank you.
>>
>>
>
> This newsgroup and others like it should not be a place to seek or provide
> legal advice. Nevertheless, such advice is often sought and given here
> (typically concerning Microsoft licensing issues). If you have legal
> questions, you should seek advice from a lawyer. If you follow legal
> advice from a purely technical expert, you're only asking for trouble.
>
> Jack's advice to seek assistance from a security consultant is good -- a
> competent security consultant ought to be familiar not only with technical
> issues but also with legal issues concerning this area. If were me,
> however, I'd still at least talk to my lawyer about potential issues.
>
> As far as the technical issues are concerned, what you are asking about is
> commonly referred to as a "webcam." There are many how-to sites
> available:
> http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...earch&aq=f&oq=
>
> The first hit from that search not only explains how to set up a webcam,
> but also gives reviews of several cameras. I have the one pictured there
> (a Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000), and it works just fine.
>
> --
> Lem -- MS-MVP
>
> To the moon and back with 2K words of RAM and 36K words of ROM.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_Guidance_Computer
> http://history.nasa.gov/afj/compessay.htm

"Marc" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>I sure hope the original poster is still reading...
>
> I'm really surprised at how poorly the responders read/understood your
> request...

I gave him links to two products in my very first post. They may be
"higher-end" than what he wanted, but that is his choice.

All the "legal speak" and other stuff came in later posts because the
building *is* a "Condo/Hotel" and even if he doesn't want to rent it out
"today" doesn't mean he won't change his mind "tomorrow" and he needs to
keep such issue in mind.

--
Phillip Windell
www.wandtv.com

The views expressed, are my own and not those of my employer, or Microsoft,
or anyone else associated with me, including my cats.
-----------------------------------------------------