Author Topic: Will iCam Work For This Use?  (Read 1932 times)

jimmbo

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 5
    • View Profile
Will iCam Work For This Use?
« on: February 06, 2012, 12:56:38 AM »
Forgive the extreme newbie question.

I'm going away for 2 weeks and want to monitor whether my basement floods.

I'd like to set up a cam, leave a light on, and be able to check the feed via iphone.

I'm hoping to buy a cheap USB webcam, hook it up to my macbook pro (its built-in isight camera's not working), set it to never sleep, and have it "just work".

I don't need to store footage for later review. I just want to be able to check in to see if there's water at any given time. I'd rather not fill up my hard drive with hundreds of hours of video files.

Will iCam work for this? Or any of your other software? Anything I need to bear in mind?

Many, many thanks!

rjgvt

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 133
    • View Profile
Re: Will iCam Work For This Use?
« Reply #1 on: February 06, 2012, 05:38:20 AM »
Icamsource should work for you. Just turn off Record Motion Events and it won't save any events. Make sure you check if Icam works on your phone on 3G and WIFI before you leave.

SKJM Support

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1918
    • View Profile
Re: Will iCam Work For This Use?
« Reply #2 on: February 06, 2012, 12:01:46 PM »
In addition to rjgt's advice, currently there is no way to "Start" iCamSource via iCam so you may also want to consider a VNC software to Start/Stop iCamSource remotely in case you do lose connection for some reason (i.e. power outage.) Some of our users discuss VNC in this forum post: http://skjm.com/forum/index.php?topic=2732.0

jimmbo

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 5
    • View Profile
Re: Will iCam Work For This Use?
« Reply #3 on: February 06, 2012, 01:33:14 PM »
Thanks.

Again, I'm using a laptop, which has battery power which I think (?) should bridge any power outtage of under 3-4 hours.

Aside from that, am I good to go?

SKJM Support

  • Global Moderator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1918
    • View Profile
Re: Will iCam Work For This Use?
« Reply #4 on: February 06, 2012, 09:06:19 PM »
If you have tested via local WiFi and 3G and made sure the computer isn't configured to go into Sleep or Hibernate mode after a period of inactivity you should be good to go.

Did you uncheck "Record Motion" as rjgvt suggested?

Also, I would still recommend a VNC program just in case you need to remotely Stop/Start iCamSource for whatever reason.