Posted on Thu, May 17, 2012 @ 08:37 AM
VIDEO
Otherwise known as wireless network cameras or simply network cameras, IP cameras connect directly to your home's Internet network with the need for a computer. There are no shortage of IP cameras on the market today and many consumers find it difficult to choose the right IP camera for their needs and it's imporant to you to know that not all IP cameras are created equal .
Go into any store or look online for an IP camera and you'll see many different looking cameras with a varied amount of features but the most important thing you need to know is there are generally two types of IP cameras and the difference between them is the video compression format.
MJPEG IP cameras are cheaper because they don't provide as good picture quality and have less of a "brain" than H.264 IP cameras. For this reason, MJPEG is quickly becoming old technology.
H.264 IP cameras use the same video compression format used by popular online video platforms like YouTube and although they cost a bit more right now, prices are declining. H.264 IP cameras provide better video analytics (eg: motion detection), image quality and have more processing power on the camera - which is why they tend to cost more.
Homeowners making choices about which IP camera they buy based solely on price will often end up being dissapointed in the end or find that their IP camera's software isn't as good as they'd like. I should also say that IP camera retails and manufacturers won't often include this information in an easy to see place so you have to be sure to check the camera specifications carefully or ask.
If you want to read my post on the difference between an MJPEG and H.264 ip cameras , I provide more detail on the subject. If you don't know the difference between a webcam and an IP camera , I have also written about that as well.
Posted on Wed, May 09, 2012 @ 07:16 AM
VIDEO
There are generally two major differences between a webcam and IP camera. It should also be said that IP cameras are also called wireless cameras or wireless network cameras.
Price
A webcam will general cost about $30 to $60 if have buy one for your computer. Most laptops sold these days have one built it and most PCs will include one.
IP cameras cost between $100 and $300 dollars. The reason why the range is so wide is that there are MJPEG and H.264 IP cameras and because the cost of IP cameras seems to be decreasing rather quickly.
Convenience
The biggest difference between a webcam and an IP camera is convenience. A webcam requires a computer or a laptop to be "ON" in order to record or broadcast video while an IP camera can connect to your home's network via an Ethernet cable or wirelessly to your wireless router at a distance of about 100 feet.
Because IP cameras don't require any sort of computer to be "ON", they are much preferred by people who are serious about seeing what's happening around their house. Webcams may work great for a quick, short-term situation but if you computer goes to sleep or shuts down, you'll lose the ability to monitor the situation.
If you'd like more information about the difference between a webcam and an IP camera, I have written a few more blog posts on subjects related to using a webcam or IP camera for home video surveillance:
Read this before using your webcam for home security
Using a webcam for home security
iWatchLife IP camera security
Posted on Wed, May 02, 2012 @ 10:50 AM
I read about home video surveillance every day in the news. Most of the time, it is because a homeowner was burglarized and managed to record the crime on video. Needless to say, that means that home video surveillance is becoming a big deal for the average homeowner.
However, most people don't know these 5 important things about home video surveillance:
It's moving to "the cloud" : Today, most people have systems that connect the cameras to an on-site DVR unit that records video 24/7. The newest trend in home video surveillance is a system that sends footage to remote servers using the home's Internet connection (this is called using 'the cloud') so that footage is secured and available from anywhere. Motion detection is becoming obsolete : Motion detection simply tells you when there was motion in the camera's frame and means that users either turn motion detection off or record everything so that they don't miss anything. The industry is moving towards what is called "video analytics" or in simpler terms, being able to determine context of what is happening in the camera's frame. For example, your child coming home from school or a package being delivered. It's about more than the home : Right now, most people are watching their house for burglars but more and more, people are using home video surveillance to watch their pets, kids and elderly parents. In the same way that we have moved from talking on the phone to video chatting over Skype, we are starting to use home video surveillance to watch over our lives so that don't have to stay home to make sure the contractor shows up on time.Costs are going down: I have to admit that even I am surprised and how fast costs of the equipment are coming down. As manufacturers in Asia learn how to make quality wireless cameras, retail prices are falling and so home video surveillance will be available at a price nearly everyone can afford. It's about 3 screens : Industry analysts often talk the "3 screens" (TV, web and mobile) and so home video surveillance solutions are adapting to take advantage of how people now live their lives across these 3 screens. It used to be that you could only see home video surveillance footage on a dedicated monitor. Now, companies like iWatchLife are able to show you what's happening on your Smart TV , your smartphone or tablet and on any web-browser .
In the end, it's a great time to install or to think about installing a home video surveillance system.
Posted on Thu, Apr 19, 2012 @ 09:10 AM
A recent article in HeraldNet warned homeowners about the fact that burglars seem to prefer breaking into homes during the daytime. To be more specific many prefer to do their work between 10am and 3pm when they figure most homeowners are going to be away. In fact, 49 out of 50 recent breakins in one neighborhood happened during these times.
Thieves seem to prefer relatively quick jobs and I have read before that most breakins last only one minute. Thieves will often enter homes through unlocked doors or windows and when required, kick a door open grab gold, electronics or small valuables and get out quickly.
The article went on to share 20 great tips for protection your home during the daytime , here are my top 5 selction from a list of over 20:
Trim any shrubs, bushes or trees around the doors and windows so thieves don't have a place to work that is sheltered.
Obviously, lock all doors and windows - even if you are leaving for a short period of time.
Don't post photos or information on social media sites indicating that you're not at home. More and more, thieves are turning to social networks for information about when people are away.
Never give keys to people working at your house. Keys can be copied easily and used for crime later.
Keep your ladders in the garage or padlock them outside so that thieves can't use them to get to upper floor windows or doors.
For more great tips, be sure to visit the original article . Have you ever had your house burglarized during the daytime? Do you have any tips for keeping your home safe during the daytime?
Posted on Thu, Apr 12, 2012 @ 08:46 AM
There are plenty of apps for both Android and iOS that will allow you to see a webcam or an IP camera from your smartphone or tablet. The team here at iWatchLife launched ours last year.
Here's what you need to get started:
1) Smartphone or tablet that is running, at a minimum, iOS 4.0 or Android 2.2. Most people will tablets won't have issues because tablets are newer and tend to have higher specs (like memory and processing power) than some of the smartphones on the market. If you have a smartphone, make sure it can at least run Adobe Air 3 by checking your specs against those for Adobe Air and keep in mind these are bare minimum. I have spoken to people who are using fairly basic phones (LG Optimus was one) that despite being on Android 2.2, couldn't run a mobile monitoring app. This is because the phone's memory and processing power couldn't handle live streaming, so the apps might "choke" when you try to launch it.
2) Webcam or IP camera , or a group of cameras, set up so you can see what's happening at home. If you're not sure which is the best solution for you, read my previous post on the subject .
3) Mobile monitoring app: Once you have your system set up at home, you'll need to download an app to your smartphone or tablet. Most apps require that you set up the system and create an account on a PC, then go to the app and enter your login credentials so that you can access your account on the smartphone or tablet.
Some tips to make mobile monitoring work for you:
Based on my experiences using a smartphone or tablet to watch my house, there are a few things you should know:
1) Watch your bandwidth usage: Watching your live feed if you're on a 3G or 4G network is going to use up your mobile data plan's bandwidth so I would recommend trying to connect via WiFi if you're going to be watching lots of video or your live feed.
2) Use and adjust motion detection settings: Constantly watching your live feed isn't a very practical solution and even though I have pointed out the problems with motion detection before, it can help you make sure you you don't have to watch your live feed all the time. A properly setup and tuned video surveillance system will save you lots of headaches down the line and ensure you don't miss anything important.
The future of mobile monitoring
Right now, all of the apps let you see your the cameras you have in your home from smartphone and/or tablet. In the future, you're going to be able to incorporate your mobile phone's camera into the mix and turn your smartphone or tablet into a surveillance camera.
If you have any questions about using your smartphone or tablet to see your webcam or IP camera, just let me know in the comments.
Posted on Wed, Apr 04, 2012 @ 09:33 AM
Setting up your Axis M-1031 & M-1011 IP camera with iWatchLife is easy and takes less than 3 minutes to complete. When customers have issues with the IP camera setup, the most common issue that they aren't waiting long enough for the IP camera to connect to their wireless network (it usually takes a few minutes).
However, in some cases, users may required to perform a hard reset. This will be required when you see "not accessible" or "incomplete" during setup/configuration process. Here's a screenshot that shows what that looks like:
Hard resetting your IP camera removes any firmware on the camera (think of firmware as software that runs on the IP camera that tells it what to do) so that it can be re-installed. The Axis IP cameras that iWatchLife is compadible with are H.264 IP cameras , so they are smarter than other IP camera types . iWatchLife has developed our own firmware for the Axis cameras and we did this so that we can provide better motion detection and use 4 times less bandwidth.
Hard resetting your camera involves to primary tasks
1) Hard-resetting the camera to remove any firmware on the camera
2) Re-installing iWatchLife's firmware on the camera.
How To Hard Reset Your Axis IP Camera
Before you start, make sure that your camera isn't plugged into either the router or power outlet.
1) Press and hold the control button on the back of the camera. It's a small round button shown in the picture below. Hold the control button until step 3 is completed.
2) While holding the control button, plug the camera into the power outlet.
3) Watch the ring around the lens on the front of the camera, you need to hold the control button until it turns orange .
4) Release the control button and wait until the ring turns green.
Once the ring turns green, your camera has been hard reset.
Re-installing iWatchLife Firmware
1) Plug your Ethernet cable into your camera and into your router.
2) Go to https://my.iwatchlife.com and log into your account.
3) Go to "My Dashboard", on the bottom left and click on "Add/Install Camera(s)"
4) Follow the prompts and the iWatchLife firmware will be installed on your camera.
5) Go to "Live View" and make sure that your IP camera is connected to your account and broadcasting a live image.
6) At this point, you have two choices. You can leave your camera plugged into your router via Ethernet or your can go to "Camera Settings" and configure your camera on your wireless Internet network and only then should you unplug the Ethernet cable.
Posted on Thu, Mar 29, 2012 @ 11:50 AM
More and more, people are using cloud-based video surveillance systems for their home. Cloud-based video surveillance systems differ from traditional video surveillance systems in that they use your home's Internet connection to send video footage to remote servers for storage instead of sending the footage to an on-site digital video recording (DVR) units.
Advantages of Online Video Storage
Online video storage has a few advantages over traditional DVR storage. The first being that storing video online means that you don't have to worry about damage or tampering of the DVR unit itself because the footage is safely stored offsite. The other advantage of online video storage is lower setup costs. With an on-site DVR, you have to run wires and that can be difficult or expensive for the average homeowner.
Disadvantages of Online Video Storage
The primary disadvantage of using online video storage is that you need a reliable broadband Internet connection so that your camera's feed is always able to access the servers "in the cloud".
Having said that, many people wonder how much online video storage their video surveillance system will require.
Online Video Storage Requirements
Most cloud-based video surveillance systems quantify online video storage in terms of hours, minutes and/or days while most DVR systems talk about megabytes or gigabytes.
When thinking about how much online video storage space you'll need, consider the following:
Are you using motion detection? I have blogged about the issues with motion detection before and if you are using it tell when you something is happening, make sure you have everything recorded so you don't miss anything.
Do you really need video footage? Not all situations will require video. If your video surveillance system can email you snapshots, perhaps you can be notified when somebody arrives by having a picture emailed to you. Some systems are designed to record 24/7 but the reality is that there is no point paying to store video that is showing nothing important.
Can you manage your storage limit? Check to see if you can delete any online video that is saved so that you can manually manage your online video storage limit. It may require that you do a bit more work but it will save you money in the long run.
If you have any questions about how much storage you'll need for your cloud-based video surveillance system, just comment below.
Image Credit: Kalleboo
Posted on Wed, Mar 21, 2012 @ 11:08 AM
Samsung expects to sell about 25 million Smart TVs in 2012 and with millions of Samsung Smart Tvs already sitting in living rooms all over the world, it's only natural that people want to do more with them than watch Netflix or chat with friends on Skype.
It is for this reason that iWatchLife recently released an app for Samsung Smart TVs in Canada (US coming soon) that lets people see any usb webcam attached to their PC or laptop, or one of iWatchLife's IP cameras attached to their home's Internet network for video surveillance purposes. The picture above is a screenshot of what our Samsung Smart TV app looks like.
We are working on being able to integrate with cameras attached directlly to the TV but for now, users will have to use a webcam attached to their PC/laptop or use an IP camera .
What You Need to Get Started
To get started, you'll need:
A camera : You can use either a usb webcam attached to your PC/laptop, your laptop's integrated webcam or an IP camera. The Samsung Smart TV app : You will need to download and install the iWatchLife app on Samsung Smart TV. You can find it in the Lifestyle section of Smart Hub. (Currently, only available in Canada)An iWatchLife account : Once you download the iWatchLife application on your Samsung Smart TV, you will get a 5 digit activation code. Go to your PC/laptop, visit www.iwatchlife.com/samsung and if you don't have an account, create an iWatchLife account. Enter your activation code and setup your camera(s).Launch iWatchLife Samsung Smart TV app : Once you go back to your Samsung Smart TV and open the iWatchLife app, your iWatchLife account will be connected to your Samsung Smart TV and you can see your iWatchLife account on your TV.
What Your Can Do with iWatchLife on Your Smart TV
iWatchLife's Samsung Smart TV app (and I should mention here that we have an app for LG Smart TVs in both Canada and the US) you can do the following:
Watch live camera feeds : See your live camera feeds on your Samsung Smart TV in real-time. For example, you could be reading in the living room and watching your child sleep in his/her room. Record live video and take snapshots: If you are watching your live camera feed and you see something you want to record or take a snapshot of, you can do this with the touch of a button. View events and recorded video: If you have setup iWatchLife's smart event detection to have your camera(s) watch for specific events like somebody walking through your front door, you can view your events and any video of those events on your Samsung Smart TV.
Some Tips for Using iWatchLife's Samsung Smart TV app
Here are a few tips to make sure get the most out of iWatchLife on your Samsung Smart TV:
Use an IP camera : Using a webcam will mean that your PC or laptop will have to be "on" all of the time. Our IP cameras connect directly to your home's Internet network with an Ethernet cable or wirelessly so you can place the camera in more convenient locations and they will always be broadcasting. Use intrusion zones to reduce false alerts : Motion detection simply alerts you to motion inside of the camera's frame and means you'll be bothered by false alerts. Use iWatchLife to draw intrusion zones that focus our advanced software on the part of the frame you decide upon so you are notified only when something important happens. For example, draw a zone above your child's crib or on your front door so you'll only be notified when your child stands up in the crib or when a package arrives.
As always, if you have any questions, please contact us .
Posted on Tue, Mar 13, 2012 @ 08:00 AM
you can use a home video surveillance system to watch your contractors.
Why It's a Good Idea
Dealing with contractors and getting renovations done around the house can really stressful. You spend lots of time selecting the right contractor (here are some good tips ), checking references and scheduling the work to be done. Once the job begins, you are trusting somebody with the single biggest investment you will ever make (your home). So it only makes sense that people are starting to think about how they can adequately protect the investment they have made in their homes.
The best part about using video surveillance to watch your contractor is that you may be able to recover the cost of the system in just one job. iWatchLife customers have received discounts between $500 and $1000 on renovations and made back their investments in iWatchLife with just one renovation.
How Video Surveillance Helps
When you're getting renovations done, there are a number of concerns homeowners have and video surveillance can help with each of these:
Are the contractors showing up on time?
Is the work I'm paying for being done properly?
Are the right materials being used?
Is my property being respected?
Instead of staying home from work and spending your days watching the work being done, homeowners can now use video surveillance to keep an eye on their contrators.
What You Need
The first thing you'll need is a webcam or an IP camera. I have blogged before about the difference between the two but I would recommend to people making a significant investment in a renovations get an IP camera or a group or IP cameras . They are more convenient to use and offer more flexibility in terms of camera placement.
The next thing you'll need is a web-based surveillance camera software (disclosure: iWatchLife offers this type of solution) to monitor your cameras and give you access to your camera views and recorded video from outside your home. This type of software is really handy for use when you're at work or if you're around town and using your smartphone.
Setup and Usage Tips
Here ere are a few tips for setup and usage that will help you get the most benefit from your home video surveillance system to watch your contactors:
If you are worried about your contractors arriving on time, watch the entrances to the job site to see when your contractors arrive. Get email notifications with pictures so you can settle any disputs that may arrise.
If you are concerned about the quality of the job or materials used, place the camera close to the area where the work is being done so you can see what exactly the contractors are doing. Use video recording to make sure you get footage of what is happening.
If you are concerned about your property and any valuables you have, place your camera in the specific areas of your household you are concerned about.
Using a video surveillance system to watch the contractors is a great way to adapt the same system you could be using to watch your children, pets or property.
What problems have you had with contractors doing work at your house?
Posted on Thu, Mar 01, 2012 @ 10:26 AM
lots of coverage in the press in the past few months and it feels good to have others say such great things about iWatchLife. Afterall, we have worked really hard on the technology that is the basis for iWatchLife and we're seeing years of hard work paying off.
The Gadget Professor
Don Baine, The Gadget Professor , takes time to record a video podcast with iWatchLife CEO Charles Black where he provides an overview of our Axis-made IP camera and service. Scroll to the 11 minute mark to see what Don has to say about iWatchLife. Here are a few of Don's comments:
"I have never seen a camera that has these many features."
"It works and it works really really well."
The Globe and Mail
Chad Sepieha, technology reporter for the Globe and Mail tests iWatchLife and compares it to Stem's iZon and says:
"iWatchLife, by comparison, feels like home monitoring system for people who take security seriously".
And also says "... iWatchLife is pretty hard to beat."
Hendrik Pape - The Ottawa Citizen Blog
Perhaps the most comprehensive discussion about iWatchLife was done recently with Hendrik Pape, blogger for The Ottawa Citizen .
Mommies Love iWatchLife Too
We've also had a number of great reviews from mommies including Cool Mom Tech and Mommy Momment .
If you've tried iWatchLife, we'd love to hear your feedback. What did you think?