This article will discuss how to upgrade an analog CCTV camera system to an HD security camera system. The following questions will be covered. Can I use my existing CCTV cameras? Can I use my existing DVR? Can I use my coax or CAT-5 cables. Do my existing power supply boxes work with HD security cameras?
A couple of bullet-style CCTV cameras, a small LCD monitor, and a video switcher make driving an RV motorhome much safer by providing a live side view video feed to the driver. CCTV Camera Pros was recently visited by one of our customers that built a driver view camera system for his motorhome. We love…
Here is a simple Raspberry Pi project that uses a burglar alarm PIR motion sensor to trigger a mobile push notifications to iOS or Android apps. I use a mobile push service called Pushover that I found to be very reliable. I also use an LED that lights up when motion is detected.
AHD CCTV stands for “analog high definition”, it is a new video standard for CCTV cameras and DVRs. This article compares 960H CCTV vs 720p AHD CCTV camera video resolution.
If your CCTV DVR or network IP camera supports email alerts, then you can also send push notification messages to mobile apps from these devices. Pushover, a mobile push message platform for iOS and Android, assigns accounts a special email address. This email address forwards the email message as a push notification to their apps. So,…
The HCPRO-SD380 smoke detector security camera works great in hidden video surveillance type installations. CCTV Camera Pros has supplied this camera to businesses and homeowners that require a convert camera to monitor different types of situations. This camera has been successful in monitoring cash registers to track theft, sensitive areas of business operations that contain valuable property, and as a home nanny cam to watch what is going on inside your home while you are away.
Using crimp-on style F connectors with BNC screw on connectors is a popular method or preparing RG59 coax cable for CCTV system installations. This post contains step-by-step instructions, images, and a video that teaches how it is done.
You can enable Power over Ethernet for Raspberry Pi by using a passive PoE injector / splitter system, and the best news is that they are very inexpensive. CCTV Camera Pros supplies them for $6.99 at the time of this writing.
Most surveillance system owners want a convenient way to view the live video from their security cameras on a TV. Apple TV and Google Chromecast provide an convenient wireless alternative to hard wiring a spot monitor output to a television or monitor.
Here is a super easy way to setup video streaming on Raspberry Pi so that you can access live video from iOS, Android, Windows, and Mac. The best part is that it actually takes less than 5 minutes to setup.
Want to compare 2 megapixel to 5 megapixel IP security camera resolution? Here is a quick blog post that contains surveillance snapshot images that we captured at CCTV Camera Pros office to show you the difference.
In this project, I program my Raspberry Pi (using Python) to take a picture using a Pi camera, then share the photo via Twitter when a button is pressed. I use the Twython python library to integrate with the Twitter API.
The PIR-BL7 is a CCTV camera with PIR motion detector lights and alarm relay input and outputs. A few months ago, I began testing the PIR-BL7 CCTV camera. I was really excited, as I always get when I am testing out a new product that has some unique feature or ability that make it special. This camera has several features that make it special: built in PIR motion sensor, 30 white LEDs make up a security light, and alarm relay output / alarm inputs.
This article explains how to use a IP security camera and free open source video editing software to create a time-lapse movie. Please note that this process is not completely automated and does require some manual processing, but not much. Also, if you are going to do this project, I assume that you have a…
This project demonstrates how to setup Raspberry Pi as a security camera system that can take a photo snapshot send the image to mobile phones using MMS text messages. The action is triggered by an GPIO alarm input. I use a magnetic door sensor to trigger the alarm in the Python application that I wrote, but…
This goal of this article is to document how to enable mobile push notifications on any CCTV DVR using Raspberry Pi. The problem that this project aims to solves is this: many surveillance DVRs that are currently installed around the world were manufactured before the invention of push notifications for iOS and Android mobile devices….
This project demonstrates how to send push notifications from Raspberry Pi to iOS and Android devices using a free push app. The idea is to trigger the event of sending the push message with a magnetic door sensor. When the door opens, the Raspberry Pi sends the message.
What is the best BNC connector type? This article will discuss some of the most popular options that are available and present videos on how to connect different types of BNC connectors to RG6 and RG59 coax cable.
What is the best Mac compatible CCTV DVR software? This is a questions that I have heard countless times since I started CCTV Camera Pros with my business partner. Being a Mac user myself, I have always sought out to find the best surveillance software and security systems that works well with Macintosh computers. My…
What is the best iPhone app to view CCTV cameras remotely over the Internet? Mike Haldas, co-founder of CCTV Camera Pros, reviews the apps that he most recommends to iOS users that enable remote security camera viewing and video playback.
The Android app for iDVR-PRO CCTV DVRs supports pan tilt zoom controls for PTZ cameras. The PTZ controls from the mobile app work over WIFI and cellular connections (3G, 4G, LTE). The app supports all iDVR-PRO model surveillance DVRs, which currently come in 4, 8, and 16 channel models. The app allows users to view the cameras connected to the DVR in single, four, nine, and sixteen camera grid view on one screen. To control a PTZ camera, the user must switch to that camera in single camera mode, then tap on the screen and select the PTZ controls. Once selected, the PTZ controls for up, down, left right, zoom in, and zoom out appear.
The iPhone app that is included with iDVR-PRO surveillance DVRs from CCTV Camera Pros has outstanding support for PTZ cameras. Users can control PTZ cameras from the iOS app, which works with iPhone, iPad, and iTouch devices from Apple. The Android app also supports controlling PTZ cameras. The pan tilt zoom controls work over WIFI and cellular networks (3G, 4G, LTE, etc.), so users can access their camera and control movement on the local network where the camera and DVR is located or from remotely over the Internet.
960H is the latest video resolution used by analog CCTV camera surveillance systems. The “H” in 960H stands for “horizontal” and 960 is the number of horizontal pixels in the video resolution. 960H is 960 x 480 video resolution. Unlike the generation of CCTV cameras and DVRs before 960H became a standard, 960H uses the 16:9 widescreen aspect ration which makes it more suitable for use with modern monitors and HDTV, almost all of which use a 16:9 aspect ratio.
The iDVR-PRO Viewer App for Android lets uses view all of the security cameras connected to any iDVR-PRO surveillance DVR from any Android mobile or tablet device. Users can view their security cameras in single, four, eight, nine, and sixteen camera grid views. The app works in landscape mode to take advantage of the 960H widescreen CCTV format supported by the latest iDVR-PRO models.
The Mac software for iDVR-PRO lets users view the CCTV cameras connected to iDVR-PRO surveillance DVRs from any Macintosh computer. All iDVR-PRO model recorders works with this viewer software and users can configure multiple DVR locations to be monitored. If you are a business owners with multiple locations, the iDVR-PRO software lets you view cameras from multiple locations on a single screen.
I recently finished a project where I integrated the digital output / sensor controls of Zavio IP cameras with the iCamViewer mobile app for iOS and Android. In the project, I tested turning a light on and off from remotely over the Internet using the app.
The images in this photo gallery show the live remote camera viewing capability of the Android Mobile CMS app for iDVR. This Android app allows users to connect to one of more iDVR surveillance DVRs and view live streaming video from the CCTV cameras that are connected. The app supports single, four camera, eight camera,…
The Mobile CMS DVR viewer app for Android now supports push notifications based on motion detection from CCTV cameras and other triggered alarms. Business owners and homeowners using iDVR-E and iDVR-RT16 surveillance DVRs can now get push notifications in real time sent directly to their Android phone or tablet device. Here is how it works….
My first Google Glass app is almost ready for public beta testing. I am integrating Zavio IP cameras with the Google Mirror API so that alarms will trigger a push notification alerts to Google Glass that include a snapshot image of the event that caused the alarm (captured by the IP camera). There is more…
CCTV Camera Pros has been testing the use of power line Ethernet adapters as an alternative solution to wireless IP camera systems. For those that have never head of them before, power-line adapters allow standard electrical power outlets and cable to be used to connect devices to a network. The diagram in the picture below…
