security camera's and linux

[Mike]

On Mon, Mar 2, 2009 at 12:26 PM, Robert Brockway
<robert-5LEc/6Zm6xCUd8a0hrldnti2O/JbrIOy at public.gmane.org> wrote:
> On Sun, 1 Mar 2009, D. Hugh Redelmeier wrote:
>
>> Your message suggests that you are thinking of real-time monitoring
>> with only one camera.  If that is the case, why do you need a computer
>> at all?
>
> One idea I have pondered is delta monitoring.  The idea is to send an alert
> if consecutive images differ by more than a small threshold.  The tricky bit
> would be figuring out an efficient way to do the delta calculation.
>
> This approach is not compatible with indoor cats.  Of course this problem
> applies to many security systems.
>
>> How quickly do you expect "authorities" to responds?  My guess is that
>> most burglars have evolved behaviour that is quick enough that they
>> are done before police respond.  (But maybe I've watched too much TV.)
>
> I understand a burglar normally spends an average of about 3 minutes inside
> a house so catching them in the act is very difficult.
>
> OTOH, police are normally familiar with the "likely suspects" in any given
> area and may be able to use video footage to identify the person well enough
> so they know who to call on.
>

I've just started using a program named "motion" (debian etc. packages
available):

http://www.lavrsen.dk/twiki/bin/view/Motion/WebHome

It does a good, easily and flexibly configurable job of monitoring
/dev/videoX, be it a webcam or an NTSC capture.

Cheers,
ML
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