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Home > How to set-up a cheap home surveillance system so you can keep an eye on your pet while at work
October 04, 2008
By: Lynn Bryant
Have you considered installing a home video surveillance
system to keep an eye on your pet, but are not sure you want
to invest too much into it? An inexpensive alternative to a
traditional home surveillance system that you might want to
consider is to utilize a standard webcam and a unique video
phone service called
SightSpeed. You will get much of the same functionality
provided by dedicated webcam surveillance software, without
all the setup headaches, for a mere fraction of the cost.
The idea behind this surveillance approach is to utilize
SightSpeed's free video phone service through a remote web
browser to place a simple phone call to your active webcam
that is setup in your home. This creative adaptation of a
video calling service allows you to see directly through
your web camera from a remote location.
SightSpeed system installation and setup process
The entire process of downloading and installing the
SightSpeed application is very simple. The setup process is
comprised of three basic steps and can be completed in less
than five minutes. The steps include: account setup,
software download, and system configuration, all of which
are described in further detail below. Before you get
started however, make sure you have your web camera properly
plugged in and setup on your home PC.
Account setup
The first thing you will need to do is download the
SightSpeed application onto your home PC, and create your
own personal SightSpeed account. See SightSpeed's
signup and download instructions for complete details.
Software installation
After you have downloaded the software and completed the
account set-up process, you will need to configure
preferences within the SightSpeed application. Please refer
to SightSpeed's
preferences wizard instructions for a detailed
description of the process.
Once the configuration process is complete, you will be
presented with a console screen similar to the one that
appears below. This console acts as the control center for
the entire SightSpeed system, and video from your web camera
can be viewed directly from here.
As already mentioned, SightSpeed's main function is as a
video phone and video conferencing system, not as a home or
pet surveillance system. In order to utilize this
application for video surveillance of your home or pet, you
will need to modify some configuration settings within the
system itself that will allow you to do so. This is
described in further detail below.
System settings for pet or home video surveillance
The first step to configure this system so that you can
have access to your home web camera through the remote video
calling feature is to adjust some of SightSpeed's optional
system settings. To do so, click on the Settings link at the
top of the SightSpeed console and select Optional Settings.
A separate window will open, similar to the one shown
below.
Under Call Options, select 'Accept incoming calls
automatically' and 'Keep video window on top during call.'
Selecting the first or former setting will cause any video
call requests that are made to your active SightSpeed
account at home to be automatically accepted. If you are
able to train your dog to come to the webcam when the PC
speaker rings, you will also want to select 'Allow PC
speaker to ring on incoming call.'
Under Program Options, select 'Load SightSpeed on
computer start' and unselect 'Set status to idle after 5
minutes of inactivity.' Unselecting the second or latter
setting will ensure your home account does not automatically
log out after a period of inactivity.
How to access your home webcam from a remote setting
If you want to have access to your home web camera at any
time throughout the day, you will need to log into your
SightSpeed account from your home PC, and remain logged in.
Doing so will keep your home web camera active, and allow
you to be able to call your web camera anytime to monitor
your pet remotely.
To access your home webcam remotely, simply input your
"My SightSpeed" web address people.sightspeed.com/YourEmailAddress into your browser. An ActiveX control will automatically be
installed on the computer system you are using, and an
anonymous call will be placed to your SightSpeed account.
Within moments, you will be able to see live video through
your webcam at home, right from your browser window. Your
browser view will be similar to that shown below.
We successfully tested this solution using Internet
Explorer 6.0. Unfortunately, this will not work with later
versions of Internet Explorer, like 7.0 or any other
competing browsers like Firefox. The only way around this is
to install SightSpeed on both your home and remote PCs, and
use two different SightSpeed accounts to place the video
call.
It is also important to note that if you utilize a
router in your home, you may need to modify the port
forwarding settings to accommodate the incoming video call.
Please review SightSpeed's
home router support page for the
appropriate settings.
You may have never thought to utilize a video phone
service in a surveillance type capacity, but it can very
easily be adapted to act as a simple home surveillance
system. The advantage of this approach is that you are able
to get remote video accessibility without the need to invest
in a lot of equipment to do so. In addition, you will be
very impressed with the video quality you will get through
SightSpeed's system.
If you are interested in finding an inexpensive video
surveillance system to monitor your home remotely, you
should really try SightSpeed. You will be amazed at how
simple and effective the entire system is.
About the Author
Lynn Bryant is a successful freelance writer and
contributor to Video-Surveillance-Guide.com. Your
definitive guide to video surveillance equipment, CCTV
cameras and wireless security systems for home and business.
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