X10 Community Forum
📸Cameras & Camera Software => AirSight Cameras => Topic started by: Python49 on November 19, 2011, 12:04:10 AM
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I am interested in purchasing an IP camera that I can access/view from the internet at all times. The location that I want to set the camera up however is on a job site with no internet connection of our own. Are the IP cameras self-sufficient and accessible directly? As in, set the camera up and just access it through laptop or phone? Or does that functionality not exist? Also, if a network connection is required for an IP camera, if the owner of a nearby network allowed use of theirs, this would work, correct?
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AFAIK, X10 doesn't have exactly what you're referring to.
I went with a D-Link DCS-930L. $89cdn at Best Buy.
Comes with the camera, and a wall wart for power.
Plug it in, set it up, and you have CLEAR video from anywhere in the world, assuming you have net access.
And yes, you DO need to have it within wireless range, and have access to that router.
It does also support wired, but you can only run cat5 about 1000ft (which is still more than wireless mind you).
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Ok so the location of where the camera itself is needs to be able to access a wireless network that's YOURS? The job site in question is a construction site where we do not have internet set up but surrounding neighbors do. Would I have to use their network in order to set the camera up? The steps would be set up camera at job site, set up router, connect using neighbors internet to router, then connect to router from anywhere in world where I have internet? I was looking to not have to use neighbors internet but think they may be fine with it if I ask.
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if u go thru their wireless network and not ask them, it is stealing: u can get in trouble with the law or at least hurt your conscience (I hope :) )
if u ask them and tell them u will be having a nearby camera to watch for THIEVES I bet they invite you in fast!
yes, u can use someone else's internet connection to get to the internet. IIRC from my IP camera, it required some port settings to get thru the router to access a static IP domain that u go to in order to see ur pix.
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Wireless routers are inexpensive. I've a Belkin N-150 that cost $25-30 which can be set to only allow predefined MAC addresses access to the LAN but it allows any WiFi enabled device to access the Internet. Buy one and give it to a neighbor. They can control access to their LAN (or just leave it unconnected to their LAN) and you get to the webcam. Plus, the thieves can only steal the webcam.
http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-Wireless-150N-Router-F6D4230-4/dp/B001V72S06
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As said above, plus....
I got an e-flyer from ... X10 this morning! (OMG! that just never happens! <-- intense sarcasm BTW).
Seem that THEY now have an IP camera, that has integrated tilt & pan (my D-link is a fixed base) as well, for only $99.
So, that made a quick liar out of me on THAT aspect. ;)
Anyhow, that aside, hopefully you can borrow someone close by's wireless.
And you WILL probably need physical access to it, since it'll probably be WEP (MAC, etc) locked down, so you'd need to enter the MAC address of the device, or at a minimum get the WEP (etc) key from the owner.
With luck, this new IP camera X10 has will be decent ( ::) sigh...). I've only got one D-link device right now, so I'm not really married to the system. I'm going to take a stab at one of these new X10 just for the heck of it. They better not jack the price up more than 10-20% after this 'introductory price' though I tell ya!!!! You listening x10?!?! I'll be way pissed if I jump on board then they go up 50% or something!!!
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http://www.x10.com/promotions/airsight_wireless_ip_camera.html?SN
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This appears to be the same camera that is available from several suppliers on the internet for $55 to $70. The software seems the same, and I'm not sure that it will function with any X10 commands at all. (Just my opinion.)
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{unrelated musing}
It appears X10 is slowly switching the web store from X10 manufactured products to, similar in function, 3rd party manufactured products. I guess once they liquidate all the wall switches, Lamp Modules, and Appliance Modules, they will essentially be just another web based reseller. :'(
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Ya, but, I bet they don't become just another reseller of other's stuff; they will be a reseller of other's stuff BUT WILL LIMIT ITS PERFORMANCE AND especially RANGE TOO! And offer tech support by folks who don't..... STOP ME!... sorry... fade.....
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Ya, but, I bet they don't become just another reseller of other's stuff; they will be a reseller of other's stuff BUT WILL LIMIT ITS PERFORMANCE AND especially RANGE TOO! And offer tech support by folks who don't..... STOP ME!... sorry... fade.....
???
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http://www.x10.com/promotions/airsight_wireless_ip_camera.html?SN
This camera still requires a wifi connection in the fascinity of the physical camera though, right?
I was planning on asking my neighbors of course to use their internet, but how easy would it be to set up? Would it involve needing them to set it up from their computer or can the router that's purchased with the camera just connect to their network with their consent, and then it's working?
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Like any wi-fi product, you need to be in radio range.
And as for hooking to the neighbors router, it will totally depend on how they happen to set up their particular unit.
This certainly is a rebadged Foscam (or one of it's many clones!).
I just bought a clone one yesterday. FAR far better than my D-link (see above) which is getting returned today!
If you choose not to go through the hassles of importing one from over seas, the airsight should work well for you.
Set up is fairly easy (though I'm quite technically inclined). If you can add a laptop (etc) to your network, this is really no different.
Operation (on mine) is decent with only minor quirks.
Since these are working with a STANDARD (unlike x10's non standard video), there are many other bits of software that will work with it.
Video is CLEAR, even in the dark (depending on range), and daylight operation is great.
Use over the internet is totally painless, via iPhone or desktop browser.
Can be integrated into a wired alarm.
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This is a clone of the Foscam IP camera, and in fact, an older Foscam model. A previous poster mentioned deals in the $55 to $70 range. I paid $57 about a year ago for what is identical to the "new" X10 camera. Purchased it from ww.dealextreme.com. Just search for IP cameras. No problems other than waiting a couple of weeks for delivery, but shipping was free. No advantage purchasing from X10 since they don't put a premium on customer support anymore.
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The steps would be set up camera at job site, set up router, connect using neighbors internet to router, then connect to router from anywhere in world where I have internet? I was looking to not have to use neighbors internet but think they may be fine with it if I ask.
I am not an expert, but to view the pictures from "anywhere in the world", I believe you will need to configure something called 'port-forwarding' on the router. That isn't easy, but there is a software called PFConfig (https://secure.portforward.com/store/pfconfig.cgi) which can help.
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I am not an expert, but to view the pictures from "anywhere in the world", I believe you will need to configure something called 'port-forwarding' on the router.
You sound pretty expert to me Walt2. Although the camera should come with a setup CD (software) it may or maynot require more expertise than the OP has available. But it would require setup through the "neighbors" router via a computer connected to that router.
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In general, you connect the IP Camera to your router with an ethernet cable. It should be supplied with the camera. Open the router configuration and look at attached devices. You should see the camera, and the assigned IP address. The router will assign an address like 192.168.0.6, or something similar. This is just an address on your router, not your actual internet address. There should be a setting someplace in the router configuration to give the camera this address as a static address. This means that each time your camera connects to the router, it will always be given that IP address. There is also a setting on the camera setup to enter this IP address. Now you have to set up port forwarding on the router. Pick a port number, such as 8040, and set up that port to forward to the IP address of the camera. So now, lets say that your actual internet IP address is something like 36.24.36.1, you would access your IP camera with the URL http://36.24.36.1:8040. Yes, this is confusing, and routers have different setup screens. Hope this helps at least a little bit.
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In general, you connect the IP Camera to your router with an ethernet cable.
I think most of the cameras can use ether a patch cable or setup via secure or non-secure wifi (wireless).
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I forgot to add that once you have your IP Camera working properly with the cable attached, you should be able to restart the camera without the cable and it should connect via WiFi. The cable is only for initial setup.
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also its .3 megapixel.. lol its going to look like crap is my guess....
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I have a Foscam like this and they're meant to be used indoors so you may have to watch out for weather depending on where you mount it. Mine is outside under an overhang and has worked well, but the lens gets fogged up sometimes and I have to point it toward the sun for a day or more to clear it out. (I'm just using mine until it dies and I can replace it with something better.) I read that the pan/tilt will stop working at freezing temperatures, and direct rain will surely kill it for good. The glare will keep you from leaving it inside and pointing it out a window. But putting it inside and watching the interior of a building works great.
They won't work with X10 directly, but the real Foscams have an API that you can use to control the camera with http get requests. The clones may or may not work the same.
This may be more than the OP wanted but I've never seen so many Foscam owners in one place before, so if anyone is interested in the API, I went through several versions of it (some were half in Chinese) to get as many commands as I could and put them in a script which I meant to clean up and make more respectable but never did.
http://a-more-common-hades.blogspot.com/2011/02/foscam-control-script-etc.html
It's for Linux, but wherever you see "${addy}", just replace that with "http://user:password@ip:port" and it'll work from anything that can do http requests, even a browser. The last section was a hastily written help section that may explain the commands a little bit. As haphazardly as it was put together, I've been using the script for a year with my computer and phone. At dusk and dawn, I have the settings change automatically and point in a different direction and with an X10 motion sensor is triggered, the script points the cam in a preset direction, etc.
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fubaya,
Thanks for the script. They really expand the functionality of this camera.
Helpful from me.
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Glad it was useful.
Rereading my post, let me clarify one poorly written part.
"It's for Linux, but wherever you see "${addy}", just replace that with "http://user:password@ip:port" and it'll work from anything that can do http requests, even a browser."
I don't mean the script will work, but you can get the url from the script, replace the addy part with http://user:password@ip:port and that's the url that can be used to control if from a browser or another scripting language or program or whatever. Basically, if you don't use Linux you can still look at it and get a big list of the http commands available.