Home Automation - Setting up a couple of cameras

I have an elderly father (83yrs.) that is living in his two story home and will not move into a single story. His bed and full bath are upstairs and it can take him several minutes just to get down the steps to the main floor.

I would like to get a few cameras that I could from set up in the house to be able to check on him. One set to check the bottom of the stairs, another in his easy chair and one at his desk. He has cable for his interrnet sevice that is alwasys on. I would like to be able to access the cameras through the net.

Has anyone set something like up in there home? I would like to do this wirelessly if possble? Any suggetions?

Thanks for such a great site and for any help.

There are many different IP cameras that make great webcams but I don't know of any that are wireless. The camera will need power, so there will always be at least one wire.

The most frustrating thing I have encountered is that there are a lot of companies selling security and spy cameras and most are useless. They just buy from Asia and re-sell and don't know much more than how to get your credit card number. The only company that I have consistantly had good results with is Super Circuits. They import most everything like everyone else but they are very professional and are there with tech and waranty support.

Hi, Im looking to do something similar for our dog while we're at work. I dont have any experience, nor good product advice like above, but Im sure its possible. Like said above, probably not wireless and you'd need power for the camera. But they sell cheap cameras at respectable places like Best Buy. Essentially the camera would need to be wired to a router, and if your father has hi-speed internet, theres a good chance he already has a router with multiple ports that his PC connects to the internet with. Im thinking you would run some ethernet cable from that router to the camera. Then there's probably some software to install that would allow you to access the image via an internet site or IP address. I would think you could do it wirelessly, but I cant say that Ive seen any.

They're somewhat pricey, but look up Axis web cams. I believe they do have wireless models. They have a built in web server so all you have to do is be able to get to the IP externally and you can view them from anywhere.

I have 14 cameras set up at my home.. ( love toys not paranoid) 7 inside and 7 outside. Panasonic makes several models including wireless and wired. Both are pretty easy to set up. Set up requires a PC rather than a Mac ( I am a Mac person but have a PC for just this reason) Once configured, they remain connected wirelessly or wired to your internet service. In addition, Panasonic makes models that can pan and tilt so one camera can see quite a large area which may make it less expensive than setting up multiple cameras. In addition, Panasonic provides a free website where you can access your cameras ( up to 14) using a password so only those you wish to access them, can, from any computer, including Mac's. I did such a thing on a cruise!! The cameras come in many configurations with various options. They start around $100 for a fixed position camera but one that can zoom and increase to over a thousand for one that pans, tilts and zooms remotely. Hope this helps..

If you want an idea of the resolution of the pictures you will see, feel free to email me and i can remotely take a picture of any of the cameras and email it to you.

Also to clarify one point someone asked about the wireless cameras, they do require a standard power outlet, so you will have to put them somewhere where they can access 110 volt.

I would NOT recommend the tiny wireless cameras widely available for $79 bucks or so, they are not built terribly well, can cause electrical interferrence with other wireless products and are not reliable.. been there...done that.

Thanks all!! Still in the decision mode...

Used a Panasonic IP Cam BL-C30A, which is wireless and really easy to set up... I used it to monitor the jobsite of a new house I was building.... It drove the contractor nuts, but it saved me a lot of money being able to keep and eye on things... I was in Minnesotta monitoring my house being build in New York in realtime.... Anyway, it doesn't have audio, but i didn't need it... you can get ones that do... cost me about $250... Good picture...