Affordable Home Security Camera Software Solutions
Adding a motion detecting video surveillance system to your home or apartment is easier, and cheaper than you might think, and the solution lies right in your PC.
Something like this could be a lifesaver, when it comes to checking up on your family, home, children and pets or untrustworthy babysitter, landlord or repairman.
Given all the security breaches in companies like Wyze and Nest recently, any video surveillance camera system that you yourself control that isn't connected to some corporation's cloud, is as easy as connecting a webcam, or your digital security camera to some free or very affordable video management software.
Here are some solutions for Windows, macOS and Linux operating systems.
Blue Iris (Windows only - paid)
Blue Iris is a video security software management NVR solution which stands head and shoulders above the rest, as the leading advanced video security and webcam platform designed to streamline security procedures for businesses through its integration of live camera feeds and remote access capabilities.
This system empowers residential renters, homeowners and businesses alike with the ability to monitor activities, take screenshots, and centrally store both audio and visual records. Blue Iris also works with almost ever conceivable security camera on the market!
This versatile software supports up to 64 cameras, including webcams, network IP cameras, analog cards, or even your Windows PC's desktop. It offers flexibility in capturing media, allowing for JPEG snapshots and video recordings in a variety of formats such as standard MP4, AVI, advanced DVR, or Windows Media formats.
Blue Iris enhances security monitoring by employing motion or audio detection to initiate recording, providing options for continuous or scheduled recording sessions.
It also allows for the addition of overlays, such as the current date/time and customizable logos or text, on your footage.
Audio recording is an optional feature, enabling comprehensive surveillance solutions.
For enhanced operational control, the software includes a timer for system activation, ensuring the security system is armed according to schedule.
The platform is capable of generating alerts through several channels, including loudspeakers, email, instant messaging, voice phone calls (complete with automatic redial), or even external programs/scripts, to ensure prompt notification of security events.
Moreover, Blue Iris is designed to operate as a Windows service, offering exclusive control over its functionality on a shared computer, thereby ensuring a secure and efficient security operation.
SecuritySpy (Mac - paid)
SecuritySpy is a robust Network Video Recording (NVR) software, crafted to facilitate the swift establishment of a comprehensive video surveillance network. Whether you're outfitting a small home or office or deploying an extensive professional system with hundreds of cameras, SecuritySpy stands ready to meet your needs.
This software is equipped with versatile recording options, delivering top-notch continuous or motion-activated recording capabilities.
It enhances security measures by offering motion-triggered emails, notifications, and alarm functions, allowing for immediate awareness of any disturbances.
Moreover, SecuritySpy empowers users with remote monitoring capabilities, ensuring you can access and manage your surveillance system from any location globally.
At the heart of SecuritySpy's functionality is its intelligent motion detection technology, driven by AI. Utilizing deep neural networks, the software meticulously analyzes video footage to accurately trigger recording and notifications, significantly reducing the likelihood of false alarms.
SecuritySpy is designed to leverage the full computational power of your Mac, incorporating hardware-accelerated video processing, multi-threading, and other efficiency enhancements. This optimization ensures superior performance, even with extensive camera setups.
Furthermore, SecuritySpy boasts broad compatibility, seamlessly integrating with nearly all IP camera models available on the market, ensuring a versatile and user-friendly surveillance solution.
Xeoma (Windows, Mac, Linux - free & paid)
Xeoma is a comprehensive video surveillance software, encompassing a broad spectrum of camera projects, including those leveraging Artificial Intelligence. It boasts compatibility with 99% of camera models and is operational across all major operating systems.
Xeoma distinguishes itself with its user-friendly interface, customizable plug-and-play configurations, and complimentary, responsive technical support.
Its array of professional features extends to advanced AI-powered video analytics, capable of identifying license plates, faces, emotions, age, and gender as well as recognizing various object types and sounds.
It can also detect the presence of medical masks, safety equipment, abandoned or missing items, system health issues, crowd formations, loitering instances, line crossings, and offers functionalities like visitor and passenger counting, PTZ tracking, heatmaps, and much more!
Additionally, Xeoma provides interactive floor plans, intelligent management of record storage across multiple disks, sophisticated access controls, integration with point-of-sale systems, options for custom branding and API access, the capability to establish your own cloud service, and the flexibility to develop features based on specific requests.
It supports a smart home ecosystem, allows for an unlimited number of servers, and delivers over 100 functionalities, catering to both basic and advanced surveillance needs.
Xeoma is compatible with any type of camera, including webcams, analog, and WiFi CCTV cameras, as well as IP cameras supporting various protocols and resolutions, ensuring a comprehensive coverage whether your setup is wired or wireless.
It allows for screen capturing from multiple monitors, offers customizable sound settings, and supports connecting up to 2,000 cameras on a single computer.
The system facilitates remote viewing through mobile devices, enables online streaming of camera feeds with sound, and provides full remote access to settings, archives, and cameras, including internet broadcasting and solutions for dynamic IP addresses. It also offers the capability to embed live camera feeds into websites, ensuring versatile and robust surveillance solutions.
Xeoma website
motionEye (Linux-only - free)
motionEye is a very user friendly video surveillance software that you can manage on your home computer running a desktop Linux distibution of your choice (most of the popular Linux distributions are extensively documented).
The intial overview of the wiki instructions might seem a bit daunting at first, but it is quite easy to set up and well documented. It is a graphic front end of the original "motion" software, a free and open source video surveillance program, named for its accurate motion detection.
motionEye can also be setup to run as a Docker container on a server as well.