CCTV Help

[csm]

I wasn't sure where to post this so if its in the wrong place please feel free to move.

Ok basically my dad lives down a "private" lane, so no vehicles without access, however it may still be used by the public. No neighbours has its perks, but it also comes with its disadvantages. We've been burgled 9 times now, my dad has had is car stolen, we've had plants ripped up and stuff and graffiti.

Anyway the latest is someone has keyed every single panel on my dads MR2, and slashed the roof. About £3k worth of damage.

I was wondering if I could help him out by installing some sort of CCTV system overlooking the drive. Nothing crazy, maybe something motion detected and on a timer as obviously it need not be on in the day. It would be hooked up to a PC upstairs and the footage recorded to a dedicated HDD.

So anyone with experience or who may have done a similar thing, I would really appreciate your advice as I don't know where to start, nor do I have bags of cash (couple hundred quid is ok, but preferably cheap as poss providing it does the job). Hardware/software basically.

Thanks.

 

[gary996]

You want a DVR and some IR cameras. You have the choice to wire them in RG or Cat5.(cat5 for very long runs) I personally would get the RG59+2 composite (cable for signal and power supply in one). As for cameras you need to know the distance they need to focus to.
The DVR has built in software that you set up to record when something goes across the lens (you can set it up in pixels how much field you want to cover)

 

[Heatsinked]

Hey. Here's some free CCTV / Video capture software which is free and still updated from time to time. It's called Zone Minder and is Linux-based.

Zone Minder Wiki

Hope this helps.