Minimal system using cellphone wifi?

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CasaDelGato
Posts: 25
Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2019 1:18 am

Minimal system using cellphone wifi?

Post by CasaDelGato »

I've got a house I'm going to be selling once I finish the renovations. So it's likely going to be sitting empty for a few months.
I'd like to put in a basic camera security system that will notify me when somebody is in the house. (Worried about squatters/vandals, and would like to be notified of Real estate agent access)
Probably 2 wifi cameras. The only internet connection available right now will be a cell phone.
So, what I'd like to do is setup a small computer with Blue Iris, so it can record full video as needed.
I really need it to notify me when somebody enters, and preferably send/upload some photos. (not video, too low a bandwidth available)
I want the video recorded on the computer, just in case it's needed later. Computer will be tucked away in a hidden corner somewhere.

Is this possible with Blue Iris?
How minimal a computer can I get away with?
Matts1984
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Joined: Fri Apr 10, 2020 1:12 pm
Location: Maryland, USA

Re: Minimal system using cellphone wifi?

Post by Matts1984 »

That definitely seems doable, especially if you're only talking about 2 cameras.

As for the actual PC, a lot of it is dependent on the quality of the camera streams but assuming run of the mill and BI tuned so that you're not intentionally trying to kill it, I think you'd be fine with essentially any newer Intel CPU, even an i3 as long as it's after like the 4th or 5th generation. RAM you could probably do with 4GB, possibly lower if you're intentionally trying to get it VERY bare bones. Disk storage just depends on how long you want to retain data. Based on what you're describing, and if you don't want to test and figure out the real math, I would guesstimate around 25GB/camera/day. So you're talking 50GB/day - a 1TB drive would probably give you 3 weeks give or take. It could easily be a month. Basically, since this isn't intended to be a permanent ideal situation solution, you could probably do this all with a laptop (battery backup built in!) with either a big internal storage drive or a decent external drive**.

If you configure BI to have a mail relay server it should be easy enough to configure it to send you an email with an image when motion is detected. It would be fairly friendly to cell data plans too. So anyway, yeah this sounds completely doable and a fun little project to set up.

** If you do go with an external drive, I'd recommend keeping 'New' recordings on the local machine and then shift to the external after every day or something like that.
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CasaDelGato
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Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2019 1:18 am

Re: Minimal system using cellphone wifi?

Post by CasaDelGato »

Ok, finally getting this setup.
Old laptop I have has a Intel Core i7 (4th Gen) 4710HQ / 2.5 GHz
and 16GB RAM, 256GB SSD. I also have a 8TB USB drive on hand.
Portable router should show up in a couple of days.

I'm planning on using some SV-806POE-3MPL-A cameras.
Looking at the house floor plan, I'll actually need 3 to cover all the entrances.
Hopefully the system can handle that.

Are there instructions somewhere on how I'd do the setup I need?
Capture motion video to HD, email (or SMS?) a photo when motion detected.
I'm hoping I'll be able to use the Blue Iris app to check on the system. Looks like I'll need to use a dyndns service?

Since it's a 5 year old laptop with a SSD - i'd rather not stream video to it from 3 cameras.
Could I get 3 cameras at a lower frame rate onto a USB drive? (Note that with the age if this system, it'll be USB 2)
HeneryH
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Joined: Thu Jul 18, 2019 2:50 pm

Re: Minimal system using cellphone wifi?

Post by HeneryH »

Didn't really spend the time to read the details but wanted to comment that you can run a perfectly fine BI system using ZERO internet.

The only reason you need internet is to remotely view your data and that is the only time bandwidth will matter.
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CasaDelGato
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Joined: Sat Nov 09, 2019 1:18 am

Re: Minimal system using cellphone wifi?

Post by CasaDelGato »

yes, I know. In this case, it'll be in an empty house that I want to know if someone breaks in, or if it's being shown.
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