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Turn your iSight webcam or MacBook into a home surveillance system

If you have a webcam lying around and don't know what to do with it, here is an idea.

I must admit, despite the age of buzzwords such as global warming and energy efficiency, I leave my computers running most of the time. My Ubuntu machine acts as a file and media server. The MacBook I leave on because I tend to access it through remote desktop when I need to retrieve files or do any kind of work.

The MacBook has a built in iSight camera and so it would be perfect for a cheap and basic home surveillance system.

What you will need is Iris, available for download here. The free version has some limitations, which we will discuss shortly.

The great thing about Iris is that it allows you to do several things with your webcam:

• Take Snapshots
• Make Movies
• Record TimeLapse Movies
• Detect unwelcome visitors, with Motion Detection, and Email Alerting [10 minute time limit in the free version]
• Broadcast your video over the web, with Iris's built in WebCam
• Browse your snapshots and movies in Iris's built-in Gallery. Send them by email, upload them to Flickr, or export them to view on your iPod, Apple TV, or iPhone.

Using Iris, you can capture your feed and stream it over HTTP which allows you to monitor your home using a browser and no additional software wherever you are. You won't need to spend money on security systems or security software.

Installation

To install Iris simply drag it to your Applications folder.

Set up

Once launched, you will immediately see the preview window with a live feed from your webcam, as well as several icons for various features.

Clicking on the webcam icon gets you to the preferences for this mode.

The settings are quite self explanatory:

Webcam Size: you can choose between two modes, 320x240 or 640x480

Maximum Frame Rate: the default value is 10, I increased it to 30 and have not noticed any issues (of course the fluidity will also depend on the internet connection you use to view the feed)

Advertise WebServer using Bonjour: using this option you should be able to see the Webcam in the sidebar in Finder, assuming you're on the same network.

WebServer Name: give your server a descriptive name.

Listen on a Specific Port: you should enter a specific port number here and set up port forwarding on your router so that you can view the feed when you aren't home. Otherwise Iris will use random ports.

Require login to view Webcam: it is very advisable to set a username and password, otherwise anyone can view the feed if they know which port is being used.

Show Webcam via: here you have three options, Server Push, Java Applet Meta Refresh according to the manual the differences are:

The "Server Push" and "Java Applet" methods are suitable for high frame rates (fast updating), with small numbers of viewers, over fast internet connections. The "Meta Refresh" method is suitable for slower updating, with large numbers of viewers, over slower connections.

I decided to go with Server Push and since I am the only one using this I had no problems so far.

Click Ok and turn on the webcam, you should now see the url at the bottom of the preview window:

If you double click it, your default browser will opened and you should see your webcam feed in your browser.

Now to view your feed from outside your home, and provided you set up port forwarding, simply visit http://your-external-ip:your-port/