In this instance, you could find a very cheap (though old) Mac online to use as a dedicated video surveillance server.

Thankfully, the developers provide a System Requirements Calculator that will estimate what your minimum requirements would need to be.įor example, using a single 1MP camera over USB2, with H.264 compression and recording at 10FPS would only require a Mac with at least a 1GHz PowerPC G4 processor. The minimum requirements for SecuritySpy depend on what your expected usage will be. You can download a demo of SecuritySpy from Bensoftware. Be advised that some features covered may be disabled within the trial. I'll only be using one camera throughout this tutorial though as there is a 30-day free trial, you won't need to purchase any software in order to complete this tutorial. SecuritySpy starts from $50 for a single-camera license, up to $832 for unlimited camera support. SecuritySpy's licensing is based upon the number of cameras you want to use. SecuritySpy provides a fully-functional video surveillance system that runs on the Mac. Compatible with a wide array of USB, FireWire and network cameras.Web streaming for access over the internet or local network.Full motion detection with customisable hotspots.It's an app that turns any Mac into a multi-camera video surveillance system. The software I'm going to use to turn a Mac into a surveillance system is SecuritySpy. Once finished, it will offers features such as motion detection, time lapse, web streaming and more. In this tutorial, I'll show you how to build a budget video surveillance system to protect your home using an old Mac and some ultra-cheap USB webcams.

Unfortunately, these setups can often be expensive and fairly difficult to configure and use. These range from network-connected security cameras that you can place anywhere in your home, providing simple recording and streaming functionality, to dedicated CCTV systems that provide 24/7 recording and streaming from one or more cameras.

Whether you want to keep an eye on the kids or keep watch over your property, there are many different types of security cameras and other CCTV equipment available to buy.

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