I'm extremely new to doing video capture. I've played around a bit with my friend's Hauppage PVR-150, and that's about it. I'd like to get a hardware setup to experiment with several different video projects (one would be a security setup in my house using Zoneminder), here are my rough requirements:
1. be able to capture multiple sources at once (at least 2, not more than 4)
2. easy access to the video stream being captured, ideally just being able to do something like:
cat /dev/video0 > video_dump
or
mplayer /dev/video0
3. halfway decent native resolution and framerate: 480p @ 24fps should probably be fine, but higher is always better
Do you guys have any recommendations? My main concern is ease of access to the video stream. In addition to Zoneminder I'd like to do some experimenting with realtime video processing.
I kind of like the idea of cameras that work over Ethernet, since I have a nice gigabit switch and a bunch of cat6 cable lying around, but I'm just not sure if the quality and price of these cameras is there yet.
looking for hardware suggestions for a 2-4 camera setup
Re: looking for hardware suggestions for a 2-4 camera setup
ZM can do this easy.fannus wrote:1. be able to capture multiple sources at once (at least 2, not more than 4)
Not possible with ZM running.fannus wrote: 2. easy access to the video stream being captured, ideally just being able to do something like:
cat /dev/video0 > video_dump
or
mplayer /dev/video0
Search for interlacing on the forum. aka lines in video.fannus wrote: 3. halfway decent native resolution and framerate: 480p @ 24fps should probably be fine, but higher is always better
Quality is certainly there if you buy a quality cam but the price is there tofannus wrote: I kind of like the idea of cameras that work over Ethernet, since I have a nice gigabit switch and a bunch of cat6 cable lying around, but I'm just not sure if the quality and price of these cameras is there yet.
If you want to go IP, I would suggest Axis at a minimum but you can always check our HCL in the wiki.
I've looked at ZoneMinder and it definitely will suit my needs for the security bit of what I'm trying to do, but I also plan on using the card/cameras for other projects outside of ZoneMinder, which is why I want to make sure I have easy and open access to the video streams.
What I'm really clueless on is the hardware end of things. It seems like people here have a lot of experience with different brands. You mentioned Axis, are there any makes/models that you can recommend that would suit the needs I have outlined?
Does anyone else have any recommendations for quality cameras, or capture cards they think are especially good? I'm on a 'home project' budget, but I'm willing to lay down a good chunk of change if there is a quality solution that won't be outdated in 5 years.
So here are some additional questions:
* What are the tradeoffs between IP Cams and standard CCTV cameras? Are there good websites where I can browse prices/models/specs of each? Can IP cams easily be accessed via v4l?
* Like I said, I'm a fan of progressive video, I've spent too much of my life manually deinterlacing video with pulldowns, bob filters, etc. it's a pain. I'd like something that captures natively in progressive (like a digital film camera). Is this the case for most CCTV or IP Cams? I've noticed some list that they can capture in both NTSC and PAL. Are the PAL modes just an interlaced signal that they pass through some pulldown/filter?
* Let's say I want to capture above standard NTSC/PAL resolution, what kind of options are there?
* Firewire Webcams: these seem kind of neat as a very cheap solution, can anyone recommend any good models?
My 'dream' hardware solution would be a Camera that captures 720p video at 24fps, plugs into a gigabit ethernet port, and has a simple driver that allows me to access the video via some device file stream (like /dev/video0). I don't care too much what format the stream is encoded in, but I would imagine most solutions would use either MPEG2, MPEG4 or h.264, all of which would be fine with me. Does anything close to resembling this exist?
What I'm really clueless on is the hardware end of things. It seems like people here have a lot of experience with different brands. You mentioned Axis, are there any makes/models that you can recommend that would suit the needs I have outlined?
Does anyone else have any recommendations for quality cameras, or capture cards they think are especially good? I'm on a 'home project' budget, but I'm willing to lay down a good chunk of change if there is a quality solution that won't be outdated in 5 years.
So here are some additional questions:
* What are the tradeoffs between IP Cams and standard CCTV cameras? Are there good websites where I can browse prices/models/specs of each? Can IP cams easily be accessed via v4l?
* Like I said, I'm a fan of progressive video, I've spent too much of my life manually deinterlacing video with pulldowns, bob filters, etc. it's a pain. I'd like something that captures natively in progressive (like a digital film camera). Is this the case for most CCTV or IP Cams? I've noticed some list that they can capture in both NTSC and PAL. Are the PAL modes just an interlaced signal that they pass through some pulldown/filter?
* Let's say I want to capture above standard NTSC/PAL resolution, what kind of options are there?
* Firewire Webcams: these seem kind of neat as a very cheap solution, can anyone recommend any good models?
My 'dream' hardware solution would be a Camera that captures 720p video at 24fps, plugs into a gigabit ethernet port, and has a simple driver that allows me to access the video via some device file stream (like /dev/video0). I don't care too much what format the stream is encoded in, but I would imagine most solutions would use either MPEG2, MPEG4 or h.264, all of which would be fine with me. Does anything close to resembling this exist?
First off, ZM does not support MPEG2, MPEG4 or h.264 capture, so if your want to use ZM, stay clear of any thing that does these formats only. For IP cams, most are progressive so no interlacing involved. As far as being out dated in five years, yes it probably will be, that's the nature of progression in electronics. If you go the IP cam route, then look for a cam that can stream mjpeg (there is no standard set for mjepg so it's hit or miss if it works with ZM) and some will do mpeg4 as well (most newer axis cams do). Check the HCL in in the contents section of our wiki for supported cams/cards etc. If you use a capture board, they will interlace as the size you want, thats the nature of CCTV.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interlace
IP cams don't require a capture card so you can save a bit of mony there, but for a decent IP cam you going to spend >200 USD each there is no way around it, you get what you pay for. Axis documents their products well and they are good quality so I'll let you read the specs and you can find what suits you. It will also give you an idea of what to look for should you decide to go with something else.
http://www.axis.com/techsup/cam_servers/index.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interlace
IP cams don't require a capture card so you can save a bit of mony there, but for a decent IP cam you going to spend >200 USD each there is no way around it, you get what you pay for. Axis documents their products well and they are good quality so I'll let you read the specs and you can find what suits you. It will also give you an idea of what to look for should you decide to go with something else.
http://www.axis.com/techsup/cam_servers/index.htm