[CentOS] security cameras

[Chuck Munro]

On 02/24/2011 09:00 AM, centos-request at centos.org wrote:
>  On 02/23/2011 01:36 PM John R Pierce wrote:
>> >  On 02/23/11 10:16 AM, Keith Roberts wrote:
>>> >>  I think you will get far better video quality using CCTV
>>> >>  cameras than a webcam on a USB port.
>> >
>> >  you may think that, but those solutions you mentioned are all NTSC
>> >  composite video, while even a $30 USB webcam now days is 2 megapixels or
>> >  higher.
>> >
>> >  anyways, the OP wants cameras that connect to the network and get their
>> >  power off the ethernet cable, not a USB or a CCTV camera.
>> >  ....
> Yes.  True.  I'm not interested in either USB or CCTV.  Ethernet cams
> are much better and smarter technology and, from what I hear, easier to
> install and set up.

 From experience I can attest to the fact that PAL/NTSC CCTV cameras are 
significantly inferior to modern digital security cameras.  I have used 
devices from Axis, who appear to be the largest and most diverse 
manufacturer (www.axis.com) but they're not the cheapest.  As an aside, 
Axis cameras run embedded Linux.

The newer Ethernet-enabled cameras can use POE (power over Ethernet) but 
you'll need either a power supply that you insert somewhere along the 
cable run, or a POE-enabled switch which supplies power to its Ethernet 
ports.  Several brands are available.

Using POE makes a lot of sense and saves a lot of trouble, but make sure 
your Ethernet cable installation is of high quality.

Open-source software such as ZoneMinder works with cameras from several 
manufacturers, and runs on CentOS.  I personally haven't tried it, but I 
understand it works well.

Chuck