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Home Theatre PC
One of the goals for building my Home Theatre PC was to have a Video Surveillance system to record the front door of my apartment. With a camera and a little modding I successfully have built a sleek and capable system. |
The camera I purchased was a PC88WR camera from SuperCircuits. -Link- Specs: 0.0003 lux Basically this camera can still see on a moon-less night by starlight alone, no infrared LEDs needed. |
I wanted the camera to use a single cable for both video and power. CAT5 is perfect for this purpose, and I built a BNC and Power to CAT5 adapter box. But even with the adapter box the connection was bulky, so it wasn't long before I had the camera taken apart. |
There camera only needs three wires, +12volts, GND, and Video |
I de-soldered the old wires. |
I then soldered up a new cable, using a cut-up headphone cable, which was small enough to fit into the camera's hole, and still had three conductors. |
On the camera end a single wire runs to the Cat5 adapter box. I then can use flat CAT5 for easy routing down to the HTPC. At the computer end I built a second adapter box. This box adapts the video to a normal RCA connector, provides power, and a status LED. The status LED is wires as such that it only lights if there is a good connection between the two adapter box's. |
With the camera installed and wired up I can view the camera in three different ways. The first is a small B/W TV that works as a virtual peep-hole, allowing me to view the camera anytime. This also helps my wife who is short and needs a later for the stock peep-hole. |
I can also view the camera from the couch by switching the TV to the right input. |
Finally the camera is connected to the HTPC via a TV card and a security program. After trying out ATI's built in motion program, and Gotcha's security software, I settled on Active Webcam. It is a VERY capable program, but I have not decided whether to get their Pro or Deluxe version yet. It has a built in secure web server that allows me to access my camera from anywhere on the internet. I can even view my front door, live, via my cell phone. |
 
Here you can see the images the PC captures. I also captures video with each motion detection. |
