How to use your PC and Webcam as a motion-detecting and recording security camera

Xitanto – you’re right. I’ll update this in a bit, a couple of webcam vendors do include software similar to this. I *think* Creative Labs does too.

Nice….gonna try this out right now!

Lam – for sure. As Xitanto mentioned, Logitech Imagestudio has similar features. I’m pretty sure that some of the d-link webcams come packaged w/ another app that does the same. Mine was OEM and didn’t come w/ any software (other than a windows driver).

“is there a way to set the sensitivity?”

Would be very sweet if this was implemented!!!

Anyways I was wondering if this will work as a service (I know there is some way to make any software run as a service but I forget how to )

If not, that would be one nice feature, that way I can log off the current user and the application still will work (at least the app I have been using for security requires the user to stay logged on)

Anyways keep up the good work, oh, and adding uploading would (not sure, maybe you have this) be the best… imagine someone steals your PC, at least u can go to an FTP or email and get some evidence!!!

Nice app.

http://members.tripod.com/acls2001

Link:
http://gspy.sourceforge.net/

I have a similar setup using Pryme (http://www.hilo.dk/pryme.php) had some problems with auto capture, but solved those using AutoHotkey.

It’s basically the same as this, with the addition of being able to set sensitivity.

A nicely integrated product similar to this is the TrackerCam (www.trackercam.com). They have a motorized pan/tilt base for USB webcams that is controlled via USB. It can be set to follow a moving object and record video. Other software will let you record multiple video streams, and includes motion detection control.

They also have a product that controls pan/tilt and zoom for certain digital video cameras with a firewire interface.

I have used TrackerCam’s USB product, and it works pretty much as advertised. (no affiliation with the company, just a customer)

TJ -

Yes, it does.

Derek -

I think those are ‘partial’ uploads – as the image is being uploaded it might have a .temp extension until the entire file is done uploading. Do the .temp files stay around?

yourmom -

Yes, I’m pretty sure. There is an .avi output, but I haven’t played with it (yet). I’ll be updating this document before the end of the weekend and I’ll see if I can get the .avi thing to work and then outline it as well.

Cheers!

Ross

Ross – thanks for your reply.
Yes the file stays. If I chop off the .temp, it seems to be a fully formed JPG.

The .temp extension seems to be coming from the Dorgem. I’ll try it with a different FTP server though.

That camera takes some great pictures. Seems to work better than a sensor. How would you use this for a camera than scans from left to right?

I’ve pretty much cleaned up my neighborhood of the junkies and crackheads using surveillance and my website http://www239.pair.com/nanden00/chc/
The detectives love it. I just burn them off a cd of the activity and off they go to court with the evidence. Real simple.

I have a labtec camera which comes with a motion detection routine…
I like the fact that you can set the sensitivity on it to stop leaves or whatever from triggering it.
Only supports the one cam though…
So Dorgem wins on that one, just wish it had sensitivity control

This is a great tutorial. But does it only work well with Windows, and not with other programs? It would be more helpful if it’s not limited to Windows only.

Dryl,

I’m a firm believer in the “no such thing as stupid questions” phrase – yes, your computer has to be left on (if you want to capture images 24/7. The monitor can be turned off.

Thanks.
The info provided is really useful

I’ve emailed Daniel but I thought I’d post the info here too in case someone else has a similar problem -

–

1. Are you turning lights on and off? I’ve tried this w/ 3 different webcams so far, and the Creative Labs N10225 is REALLY sensitive to light. Even a window in the background can cause the camera to capture images when a cloud passes by.

2. What did you set the “File store settings” interval to? Try 5 or 6 seconds.

3. Does it start taking pictures when there’s motion, and then not stop? Or does it just immediately start taking pictures? If it doesn’t stop AFTER it detects motion, try placing a check in the “Reconnect if no motion is detected for x minutes” (step 7 way above). That’s not REALLY the purpose of that check box, as it seems the ‘reverse’ might be happening to you.

4. Is the Webcam being moved somehow? (vibrations? is it sitting on a sub-woofer? )

Hope this helps -

Ross

a really great software package i’ve been using for a couple years is Supervisioncam. very flexible code, and FREE.

of course it motion senses, and it also will post captured jpg’s to a website along with an html file to let you view them conveniently.

great stuff

http://www.supervisioncam.com

is there a wireless webcam which u can connect to your pc. and can u use multiple wireless webcams if thereare any

intel – yes there are a few. I’d suggest checking amazon.com, just search for wireless webcam. While I don’t have one (and can’t confirm for sure), I’d expect you could use multiple wireless webcams the same way you would multiple ‘wired’ webcams. That’s a lot of w’s.

boing – you’re more than welcome!

Hi If you remove the Infra-Red blocking filter from the webcam, in my case the Toucam, it can be used in complete darkness with the area you are surveiling illuminated with an IR lamp.

I got many pics in my documents when the puppy just walked by but I can’t see anything. It’s dark. The camera is in the window. Also in the dropdown box my camera isn’t listed.

It was not totally black. I could see the street light in the back ground. Let’s just say I only knoew my puppy was there because he barked and then the camera started taking pictures. When I click the preview button it is also very dark. The camera is not being used by another program Ross. It says Microsoft WDM Image Capture (win32). My camera is a Logitech.

thanks works just fine and great, i use zoneminder in linux but this is great for the windows pc i have.
thank u

Last night it worked fine. Today I open it and the preview is pitch (how doe’s that sound) white. I closed it and restarted. I also tried to take a capture piture and it worked. I went to the folder and there were pictures. Unfortunately they were also solid white.

Great Program!!

Can I play a sound file when motion is detected? For example, I could create an alarm or say something like “you’ve just been photographed” when motion is detected.

Thanks, John

step by step how to on video surveillance with a vcr and/or a dvr.

can we use even a mobile phone with built in camera in this fashion

I will be waiting for your answer

Regard
Das

I think the USB connected web cams have a wire length limitation of about 15 feet at the longest and probably shorter in many cases.

As far as I know the process of extending the wire length can be one of the following:
1. Use active extender modules that are good for 15 feet each (up to 5). They run about $25 and don’t always work well for every knid of application.
2. Use a fiber optic extender (150 feet, $200). Problem there is that (far as I know) they only run USB 1.x (slow)
3. For each web cam use a server box ($80) with a USB port and connect over WiFi. Might be a little hairy.
4. Use the new wireless USB standard. Limited distance (a few meters at full USB 2.x speed, 10 meters at USB 1.x speeds.
5. Use Bluetooth (slow, need the special longer range flavor of Bluetooth – compatibility?).

I’m listing all this because I like the idea and with the hope someone comes back with a long connectivity solution.

You can do similar things with regular digital cameras USB connected, but only with certain models.

For Canons:

http://www.breezesys.com/products.htm
(here’s their pitch)

Why Use PSRemote?

PSRemote enables Canon PowerShot camera users to:

Control the camera from a Windows PC
Operate the camera from a distance and in inaccessible locations
See live viewfinder display on PC screen
See large high resolution previews of shots on the PC within seconds
Take better product shots for eBay and other online auctions/stores
Improve exposure control in tricky lighting conditions
Gain unrivalled control of camera settings in tethered operation
Create time lapse sequences over short or extended periods
Use motion detection to automatically take pictures for wildlife photography and security applications (requires Webcam Zone Trigger which must be purchased separately).
Use the large preview image to display:

Flashing highlights to indicate over-exposed areas
Grid overlay to assist accurate alignment

For CanonG1, G2, G3, G5, G6, G7, S30, S40, S45, S50, S60, S70, S80, S1 IS, S2 IS, S3 IS, SD100, SD110, S230, S400, S410, S500, A30, A40, A60, A70, A75, A80, A85, A95, A300, A310, A400, A510, A520, A620, A640

Someone (first post) mentioned Logitech Imagestudio as having motion triggering which is true. Unfortunately (reading the Logitech forum) only some older models can run it. Imagestudio got incorporated into QuickCam after version 8.0

So after version QuickCam v7.6 (current version is QuickCam v10.5 ) they disabled the motion feature.

Cameras like the QuickCam Fusion, QuickCam Ultra Vision, QuickCam Orbit etc. can’t run it. If anyone knows a workaround for this please let me know.

great tutorial,but why not instead of taping the light on your webcam,take advantage of it…like this:
replace the led-usually green- with an ir led (cant remember what they are called exactly but they luminate in the invisible to human eye ir spectrum),camera lenses should be sensitive to this light…haven’t tried it yet,the thoought just hit me…

I just have one question. My computer has audio and video ports just like a TV. Would my computer be able to use this software for a infared security camera that uses these ports?

Can a wireless modem work with this scheme? Would it be more expensive that a standard phone line? Is a computer required if wireless modem is used? Advantages and disadvantages…your thoughts please. I appreciate your efforts, thanks.

Ben Lynch needs to review instruction step #11. Settings need to give digital images different file names for each capture – for this program or any other!

My question – can this be made to run in stealth mode??

how to take photo in webcam?

Now that I have my webcam ftp’g images to my server, is there a tutorial on how to create a webpage that will:
1) take my .jpg images (all of which have unique filenames) and allow me to view them in the browser, and maybe pan back and forth between the newest and oldest images
2) is there a way to set my ftp site to delete images older than 10 days old? Otherwise I’d have to constantly be in there deleting old images that I no longer need.
3) how do I set the ftp so that it ftp’s into a specific directory on my webspace? There doesnt appear to be a “Host Directory” setting in Dorgem. Otherwise, it will drop all these .jpg files onto the root of my site.

can i use my web cam as home secruity and also as a web cam to chat online to friends do i need to change settings every time or buy 2 web cams ? how would this work?
thank 4 ur help

Example of many webcams from around the world:

Excellent tutorial – must have taken a while to write and compile all the screenshots

This will be helpful since my office has been broken into twice this week. Today I spent 7 hours repairing the skylight instead of finishing orders and making money. The outdated camera system we have is crap so as a temporary internal measure, a webcam & website should make life a bit easier

Thanks again, Paul Wilson, Uk

I just got a Creative Live Cam notebook pro after reading this (cheap on craigslist). The included software will do all this stuff and you can adjust sensitivity with an easy slider.

It will upload to FTP and/or send you an email (with a snapshot if you like) when motion is detected. It can also stream the video through your Yahoo Messenger account (not sure how that works but you can do it).

hi
do you know if and how you can use dorgem to record like a video camara

I want to have one webcam installed in our park that will allow me to look at the park anytime over the winter months when we are in Florida? I currently have wireless X10 cameras installed in the park but these are not connected to the internet. Do I need a dedicated computer connected to the internet at all times for streaming video? What program is required for this. Your help would be appreciated.

i am having problumes with this every time it takes a pic it just replaces the one that it has already taken so i would never know if someone has been here or not so can you please help

1. What wireless webcam camera do you reccomend, if I put the camera near an inside window and some approaches the outside part of the window would moat cameras get triggered ?
2. If I use Blat to auot send an email after the camera has been triggered what are the coomands I need to add ?

If I already have a website is there a way to view my camera remotely ?

[quote]hello guys,

can anyone of you tell me or give me direction on how to view live using this software. I do not want to store images, but instead I want to view what my webcam captures in live, real time.

Thankyou[/quote]

Just open up the utility and click preview.

can u tell how to use a mobile cam as a webcam?is it possible to use a mobile cam like that

Nice tutorial!
This is how you can play a beep sound with Dorgem if s.th. moves:
Storage type “External program” and command:
sndrec32 /play /close “C:\Windows\Media\ding.wav” -%s

Any recommendations on webcam? Do i purchase a standard or motion detection webcam?

Hello , i have install correctly , i think dorgem . But there is a problem. I can’t see an series of images but only one , the last , and the others are cancelled automatically . Can you help me ? thank
u

what it the power was shut off or the PC re-start. how does it work again. or how will the software return again to its surveilance?

finally I will be able to find out how my basement mysteriously gets rearranged; is it the landlord or Sam Fisher?

What if i just want to take a picture from my webacm remotely trough my pc? can this program work?

can you suggest a program that would do? tnx a lot.

thanks i set this up as soon as i saw it works great the women a cross the street broke in my house so next time i got her fat crack @$$ thanks to my lil toy poodle save the nite she dont bite but she is a hell of a barker

i want a moving detecting software to record videos capturing through a capture card. only the movements must be recorded.

http://www.camseyes.com provides the possibility to forward you directly the pictures in your inbox.

The site is under construction and is NOT harvesting emails for spam purpose. Terms of services will be added soon.

For all the folks getting ‘continuous streams of pics,’ you probably have set filename%G%g, -and- have turned on the Auto Capture checkbox. At least that’s the effect I got.

question 118 above, asked about a window popup message that said “couln’t capture Temporary BMP FILE!”. I am getting the same message every time.

I setup the file store and I copied exactly like your instructions; C:\patio\patio-capture%G%g.jpg

When I check mark auto capture it happens repeatedly. What are we doing wrong??? please help us…aggh…

Thanks,
Murster

Hi, I love this program! I live in a townhouse complex and we have another townhouse complex behind us, but because the other townhouse complex is a little bit harder to get to, they take our parking spots and walk down a hill to get to their house. We’ve put notes on some cars but a lot still park here, so I’ve set up my web cam with this program. What I’d like to know is what is the best way to go about capturing images during the night time. Our parking lot has few lights, so I’m wondering how I could make it easier to see people coming up from the hill in front of out parking lot. If you think you can help me, email me at mjoyce91@gmail.com, and I can send you some pics so I can make it a little bit more clear for you.

Thanks for this great download and super tutorial. This was exactly what I’ve been looking for to set up as a security camera as well. I bought a really, really inexpensive webcam some time for that purpose and never could get the software that came with it to work right. This is so easy and very doable. I want to check my yard when I’m away…wish I had this a couple of years ago.

Ok a couple of question: I finally was able toset this to capture to my ftp site. However, does it just give you one pic when you downloadd the file? Or am I missing something. I’d like to be able to get a “video” of what goes on when I capture this. Is this not a video capture or rather a still capture? And, by that, I think I may have just answered my other question.

But if you or anyone else gets to change to respond by sending an email, I would appreciate it. Thanks for this and for your great tutorial!

I just set this system up and mounted the camera above the group workspace. Wow. No I can pinpoint the slackers from my bedroom!

Next step: installing a mic so I can tell if they’re talkin’ about me.

hi.i want to do a project in my computer course.im plannin 2 use webcam instead of regular ‘mouse’ for detecting motion or ‘mouse clicks’ as we call…can anybody help me with it?

Thanks for you very detailed tutorial.

Watch YouTube for the upcoming video “This is what your housekeeper steals from you while you’re at the office”.

Thanks! This is just what I needed to find the one who is ruining my car!!

I am really grateful to this howto, Thanks again

Hi Brian,

You can use an IR cam with IR leds to use this program in night mode. Works fine!

Absolutely brilliant tutorial, thank you!!!

Is there any way to set this up to a portable hard drive without incorperating a bulky visible computer?

I have 2 webcams(made by different companies and using different drivers) installed and want to install a 3rd, 4th and possibly more. Do I use the same procedure for multiple cameras but change the target address for the 3rd webcam from c:cam2 to c:cam3 and increments of 1 for each additional camera? Tried using c:cam3 for the 3rd camera and having problems capturing it. Are there any webcams you suggest to use that are easier to setup using this program than others? If I want to install multiple cameras on my laptop is there anyway that I can install several cameras of the same make/model that have the same driver configuration and be able to have them all display at the same time on my laptop screen?

Tks,
Andy

my camera is alittle fuzzy so it like never stops…. any uh sensitivity control?

We are trying to set up a mulit camera feed without using FTP. We followed your instructions to set up the fisrt camera but we are having problems setting up the other three. We are also trying to set up a laptop with a camera to feed into our system.

We’d appreciate your help.

Hello,

It’s a very nice and useful tutorial everything ok except one thing: my camera keep capturing photos! is there any way to reduce the motion capture sensibility?

Thank you.

how can i install 2 web cam i follow already d step but cant work

very funny, i’ll test it

Just installed this and it works really well…BUT, the camera just starts capturing images before there is any motion and just carries on. It’s as if the motion detection bit is not checked, but it is!
Can you help?
David (UK)

I’m sure outside lighting must play a big part in the efficiency of the camera, but it’s still a great idea to say the least.

Thanks for a usefull tutorial. I have a need to
develop this to detect if my daughter has an epelectic fit during the night. Her Neuorologist is also very interested to know if this is possible as it seems a common problem with working out medication when fits are suspected at night.

I noticed one option for the output here is a
program. As my main TV has a RS232 control capability could I then use it with a simple
program to send the code via RS232 to switch over my TV to the PC monitor in if she moves
incase its a fit.

Thanks,

Note to self and others: Don’t have a clock in the picture if you’re using motion detection. It actually picked up that the seconds kept changing.

hey Ross,
can u send me some info about the source code in C language or C++ to compare two images? i’m doin something about motion detection same like yours article.thanks.

Hi..my usage for this camera system is slightly different.. I want to (while I am at home) watch my cat’s movements on the kitchen (he as the nasty habit of stealing food)

How can i place the camera in the kitchen and be on another part of the house?

thanks and great work

Thanks so much! I really needed to know how to do this, believe it or not, to see some birds for a biology course I’m doing.

Thanks,but i have questions: First, if i want to connect multiple webcam from one location and view it through computer at another location is it possible?(long distance monitoring.example when im at home monitor the factory activities?)
If yes explan to me how.
Second:Which is the best camera for factory use regarding the above practise?
Urs
Alfred

ive set it up like u have shown but wen i go to c wat pictures it has saved it just over writeing the same pik not savin all of them just 1

Hello, Ross,

Thanks for your great tutorial. I tried it on my Logitech webcam (Quickcam Communicate Deluxe), but, apparently, its motion sensor is disabled, because it starts immediately taking pictures, even if there is no motion, and then never stops doing so. I presume, I will have to buy another webcam instead. Can you tell me which one(s) has(ve) the best motion sensor ? Thank you.

Marcel

Not sure if you’ll get to read this bout found your guide extrmely helpful and very easy to follow. It now works fine and i now have an amazing security camera from a cheap web-cam so thank you. And thank you again!!! Your brilliant for posting this!!! From Justin

You guys need to read the directions. Adding the variables %G%g to the filename puts a date/timestamp to each new file – that way they won’t overwrite eachother.

Thanks for this software.
Have problem with the second cam.
The Dorgem kept saving images even with no activity. I covered the lens, so that the image is always black. THat way I can verify whether the software is saving even if the image has not changed. But Dorgem kept saving images every second, the interval used.

Hope you can fix this.

Check the contents of the image.
Does the webcam see a clock ?
Is the second hand moving on the clock ?
My webcam faces a neighbor’s front door
and a flag.
When the wind moves the flag, the webcam
takes a picture.

Thanks!

one can remove the lens that came with the webcam, revealing the sensor, (there will be a reddish glass thingey in there its the infrared filter — if you remove this the cam will be IR – nightvision-ish)

then you just need to make a new enclosure, and use a zoom lens from a normal(SLR)film camera (like a 28-55 mm zoom) and position the back part of the lens the same distance from the sensor as it would have been from the film in a camera (you need to measure this distance on the camera who’s lens you use)

and you’ve got a manual zoom on your webcam..

Any update on the AVI feature? I can’t get it working.

This tutorial is appreciatable.

Thanks to Dorgem.

But what i need is a program in which you can use masks.
That is, Detect motion in a selected area only..

If anybody got any ideas, post it…
Thanks to Ross.

Saneem – this may sound crude, but you could try blocking the actual camera hardware in the parts you don’t want to view? I’m not exactly sure what you mean, though.

Ashley – Dorgem has a system requirements list right on their homepage, and cameras will usually have a list on the back of their packaging.

Se – I don’t think it is possible, but you might want to take a harder look at SourceForge. It sounds like a relatively easy code customization to do manually, just change a few lines around, but I don’t know that language… so maybe I shouldn’t talk

it only stored to a signle file that gets replaced or changes everytime it saves another picture. its not very sensitive. can you help me?

Well Done works well for me, even FTP

Look on your keyboard, on the bottom between the Control and ALT, button is a window button. Hit that and “L” together. That requires you to enter password to enter the system, while the computer is still processing its work.

I have had a problem with people setting things alight and leaving them on my front porch when I am not at home. If my motion sensor has been triggered, is there a way that I can be alerted, ie via SMS or fax or any other suitable means. It’s not so much that I want to catch them red handed, though that would be nice. I just don’t want to come home to a pile of ashes. Email is no good, as I do not have access to the web at work. Can I link it to a fax program, telnet, or some such program which will trigger my fax modem to dial my mobile number, so that when I’m not at home and I get a call from my home phone number, I at least have the choice to go home and investigate or locate the nearest computer and remotely log in. Any help would be great.

cannot get web cam to stop taking pixs in motion detector due to light changes in view ? Help!

great stuff. works fine. almost to good. great write-up also. thanks for everything.

This tutorial is the best and works beautifully for me! THANKS BUDDY!

DORGEM is no more effective friday 11 july 08

Hi Ross,
Thanks for an amusing and useful stuff with webcams.
I just have small question…is it possible that while using multiple webcams (with multiple instances of dorgem), we fix a particular instance with a particular cam??..i mean…lets say dorgem-1 always use webcam-topview and dorgem-2 always use webcam-sideview by default, without asking user to select a source at the beginning??
I’ll highly appreciate your comments on it..thnx buddy

Enjoyed your article. Went to your suggested side “Dorgen” but found it was discontinued.

You can find this on download.com now

I LOVE THIS WEB SITE!!!! Thanks, Ross!! I’m having a problem with vandals in the neighborhood….slashing tires and breaking windshield wipers. I set up the webcam and have the perfect vantage point to record the action, but I’m going to need an IR camera. My question is….how far away will an IR cam illuminate? Can anyone out there recommend an IR camera with a good illumination range? I wanna bust these dirt bags!!!!!!

very informitive, thanks alot.
one questian please can this system work if the comuter is is turn off or does it need to sty on all time? excuse my ignorance. thanks again

Hi,

Great site, The above link shows how to make a wbcam see in the dark without buying a specialty camera. It might be of further assistance. Another thing you might want to try (depening on how pissed you are) is printing copies of the images of the people and put them all over town with a caption like, “Have you seen me? I like to ………………”

Gooed luck and thanks for the ideas!
BJ

P.S. I hope that this information hasn’t been presented to you yet>

hello.. so i am in love with the fact this works and its free. But i do have one question… When the pictures are captured and it saves to a folder and you open it and all that good stuff.. there are a TON of files / pictures taken .. do you have to scroll through them all in order to watch it like an actual video? and when i wan to delete them.. is there a way of doing it without having to delete them one by one ?? i hope this question was clear enough.. please reply as soon as you can.. i am having problems with my girlfriends family coming and using my stuff and coming over when we are not home and i want to catch them.. and also, i want to see what my girl is up to when i am at work but i dont really want to have to scroll through a million files because that is almost how many there will be when i get home from work if i leave it running the whole time.. please help!

This is sweet! I set it up and it’s soooo cool. I’m going to use it on my roommate as a prank!

This is HOT!!!! I had to laugh at the folks who didn’t read the setup directions correctly to figure out how to get it to NOT overwrite the files generated..

This SOOOOO solves my issue… I have three cats, and I needed to catch and confirm my suspicions about which one of my cats is engaging in some very nasty and destructive behavior (urinating on the dining room table). I had my suspicions about which cat it is, but before I make a rash decision to send the cat I thought was the offending cat to a cat rescue, I wanted to be darn sure I was targeting the right cat..

I bought a Logitech wireless camera with motion detection capabilities to handle the job.. Spent an entire evening screwing with this thing only to discover that that stupid camera only worked plugged into the router.. (an issue tech support was confounded by — they suggested that I drop my wireless routers security as a solution..) Short story, no woreless and this camera was of no use to me in the diningroom where I needed it.. So pissed off I remembered that a client had given me the webcam that came with his computer.. I wondered if I could get this thing to do what I needed to do.. So a quick Google search later and here I am..

This is such an unbelievably simple yet effective solution.. Now while I haven’t yet caught the suspect in the offending act, I did catch the suspect on the dining room table tonight TWENTY minutes after I left to go to a party.. I am going to do some more monitoring to be sure I have the right cat, but I have no doubt that I will catch it all on tape as it were!!! **LOL**

BTW, for the lady who wanted to know the best way to view the pics captured without having to open them one by one, try using a slideshow viewer. There are a number of decent ones out there, but there is also a simple one that comes with Windows..

Hi I like the software and wanted to take it a step frther and make it activate a sound when motion is activated. Kind of like an alarm system. Any ideas on how to make it play a mp3 file as soon as it detects motion?

What would be the ideal webcam for this setup?

Can anyone supplement the “How to use your PC and Webcam as a motion-detecting and recording security camera”
with
directions with using a wireless motion detecting camera ? (including parts
and pieces) I have heard there is a receiver card with an antena, eliminating
the need for a router ?

The other day I “sumbled” across dorgem and installed in on the primary laptop here. Got everything to work, save for the saving of the motion display frames; waving a hand in front of the camera should have given me several saved JPGs but it didn’t but using that capture now, I did get single, recognizable JPG saves.

Any idea of what a “VFW” driver is?

Tried to install the same little camera on one of the backup laptops – with zero success. The Dell Latitude CPi (an oldie, slow but still offers rock solid performance for basics in both Linux and Win98) just won’t recognize the camera. Keeps telling me it can’t fine the “VFW driver.”

Does any of the above sound familiar to you?

I ask this as we have a lot of vacation homes here in NE Pennsylvania and it’d be nice to make such information (Dorgem) available to these home owners who were nice enough to buy from me over the decades. It doesn’t happen too often but yes, every so often some jackass from out of the area does break into one or two of the homes and it’d be nice to “capture” the idiot while he’s at it and publish his face on the web as well as supply it to the local PD folks.

Questions? Let me know.

ejb

Very nicely done works perfect im hookin up #3 cam right now, Very detailed and organized…..excellent presentation

Odd issue with the FTP settings. I run my own server and I know FTP works with the domain, directory and user I am using. Dorgem “says” it stored successfully to FTP in the status bar but upon checking the site via a browser as well as FileZilla (FTP app) I don’t see anything in toe root or the directory I told it to post to. It’s as if it’s storing, sending and then….nothing.

Thoughts anyone?

@clutch man: sounds like dorgem crashed while you were at work. probably ran out of memory. maybe your capturing is occuring too often?

Fantastic….. I have no tech skills but have done what you say and can get motion dectected files in a folder. Want to be able to share this with grandparents for new baby as they live far away. How can I do this? Can I somehow have these files in a shared place or exported as they come in to a share place? I have played a bit and can see I can publish a movie a attach this to an e-mail – but this is labour intensive so is there an auto way of sending files to place that can be accessed by others remothely?
Sorry if it is a question with obvious answer, but I am stuck.

Cool

a very good program, easy to install, is not heavy … very practical I love!

This information is great. I was also wondering whether or not, using Dorgem, is it possible to detect the motion but instead of say, taking a picture, maybe through my computer in some way have several outputs that enable, say, a light to come on. Even if you are not sure how to do this yourself, it would be greatly appreciated if you could point me in the right direction?

Thank you

Je veux insaller mon webcam et je peux pas si vous aider merci

Well done tutorial!
Of really good help.

heyy!! thank u very much, but I don’t know what’s the problem: it take just one pic every one minute and at the 2nd minute. the 1st pic changed with the 2nd :(
can u help me in that??
thanks again

fati:

This is from step 11 on the How? section:

“Because my camera is taking pictures of movement on my patio, I named the file patio-camera%G%g. This results with images being saved as patio-camera20060926165001.jpg.”

When you provide a file name, make sure you end the file name with a time stamp by entering %G or %g so that your picture files won’t write the file as the same name after each second/minute/hour.

after i launched dorgem but the drop down only had one option. when i enter it, a box came up saying failed to connect. how do i get it to provide the option of the webcam I have? thanks.
i’m not a computer person.

Thank you, I just tested this software and it works great! We will be using this every time we leave the house!

We just had our house broken into 2 days ago. We only went to Wal-mart for 15 minutes and came right back to find our Xbox 360, all of our video games and xbox accessories, digital camera, and mp3 player were missing! They even took my electric razor that was charging in the bathroom! It all happened in the middle of the afternoon too! It all came our to around $1,000 worth of electronics. Luckily they didn’t take our huge flatscreen hdtv or my gaming computer that I just built which are worth far more than what they stole.

We’ll definitely be ready for them next time as I have it set for motion sensor and to upload them via ftp to my website’s server. We’re leaving for Las Vegas next week for 6 days and we’ll be able to download the pictures from the hotel.

My only gripe with this software is that there is no way to adjust the motion sensor sensitivity and this software is REALLY sensitive, so it takes hundreds of pictures of the light moving through the windows.

Josh Prowse wrote
How I did that: I put this batch file in the startup folder of the start menu (i.e. created a text file called ‘dorgem.bat’ with the following contents):
> rem @echo off
> start C:\Progra~1\Dorgem\Dorgem.exe /m
> exit
(where the path on the second line is the path to Dorgem using 8.3 file names)

Hi, what is 8.3 file names?

When I do this it says “Couldn’t capture to temporary BMP file.” And I can’t even click the source button! =(. Please help! I’m using a Webcam VX 3000. I really need this. ._.”

Hahaha…
I’ve been programming motion detection games… but that’s an idea that I didn’t have!
Nice job!

Caught the window guy going through my dresser and nightstand. He’s fired. Thanks!

i’m doing my BE PROJECT IN SAME AREA. WOULD U PLZ HELP ME

Thank you so much for the tutorial! My building manager is stalking me and I need proof that he’s been coming into my apartment when I’m not here.

Thanks, i got some thieving T**T with a master key robbing me all the time, now i can finally catch him in the act and beat the living p*ss out of him.
Works great.
Thanks again.

Just thanks a huge lot

Nice one. Works like a dream, Thanks. I need it to spy on myself. I have been sleepwalking but I only know I have been doing it if I hurt myself or wake up somewhere other than my bed. This will let me know how often I really do it and how big of a problem I have. So thanks. This might just save me from falling down the stairs and breaking my neck in the future….

I Know this might sound weird..But we just got robbed by our own farm helps here in Kenya…I setup up everything with a total of 7 web cams handled wirelessly around the farm house…today after lunch in town we came back and clothes were missing!!! From the drying line got pictures of the farm help picking clothes from the line…that settled his story and now my dad wants me to link up the system with his hone and computer at work!!! Thanks Guyz

genius now i can give my friend the security that he needs in his room… halloween night someone stole 160 dollars from his room now we will catch the guy Thanks!

I downloaded dorgem but it wont give me the first option ‘creative’??.. help please?

IR automated home application for turning on lights and music and such?

me and my housemates have been a victim of burglary these couple of weeks. He (since we saw him peeping through our apt window 2 times already) stole shoes, slippers, and maybe other items we still don’t know about. And just a couple of minutes ago, we think he broke in again because I got money stolen from my wallet. This really sucks.
next time, if I catch him, I will rip out his guts and make him drink muriatic acid. I will be monitoring our apt tonight, hoping to catch him and give a peice of my mind.

and thanks for your post, i’ll try to do that

Dorgem on my computer does sometimes work,but most of the times when i have to connect the webcam to dorgem,it just always says :,,fail to connect to device”! What do i do!?
o,i have a windows 7 by the way,just to let you know! e-mail me back as soon as you can! Thanks!

Thanks to this, i was able to figure out which dog would grab food off the counter. I was sure which one it was, but the wife thought it was the other dog. now I have proof

excelente programa

Hey All
Great tutorial , though I am having an issue trying to get the program to recognize my in built web cam ( acer Crystal eye )
Any tips on how I can get the DORGEM program to recognize my web cam ??
Also maybe a stupid question but do you need to have the internet connected for this to continue to take shots ?? I live in Australia and have a very crappy expensive dial up so I cant keep it running all the time

thanks again guys

Hi Ross,
I discovered Dorgem and your tutorial over 2 years ago. I have found a freeware which has FTP, Email and has adjustable motion-detecting: http://www.webcamfirst.com appears to be a good successor to Dorgem which has served me well.
Regards

Walter

I think in order for this to work, we need to leave our computer on all the while. Am I right?
Is there a better option, without having to leave the comp on all the while?

after following the tutorial it automatically takes a picture every second regardless of motion. When i uncheck the autocapture box it stops taking them but also doesn’t take pics when there is motion either.

# Thumbs up

Indeed, that is a great tool. For me I combine its usage with DropBox (2Go free) which automatically synchronize a files between different laptop/network. So when, I am at work, I can be notified instantly if there is any move at home. Please use (more…)
Indeed, that is a great tool. For me I combine its usage with DropBox (2Go free) which automatically synchronize a files between different laptop/network. So when, I am at work, I can be notified instantly if there is any move at home. Please use this link to register: https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTcxMjg1OQ. Each subscription will give me additional 250Mo to my free plan. Thanks a lot.

Can someone please help and give me advice please, as to whether it is illegal to record someone on webcam without their knowledge/consent?

hell yeah i am using my xbox 360 live vision camera, works like a charm! thanks a million!!

I’m using built in Acer crystal Eye web cam,everything is working,but motin detection is not working,dorgem captures image on interval time only.please help me to solve this problem

hi, i need help. i folow all this steps but when i go to the direction where the software is saveing the pictures there is only one picture and this picture is changing with the last movment. so i whant to ask is there any chanse to save a new picture with every movment becouse if someone steal in my room the only thing i’ll see when i came home is last movment (how he shut the door behind = nothing) please help me if you can. thanks

I wonder if you can help me. A friend gave me a security cam and it has a s-video cord.. I’m wanting to set it up to view outside. I already am using a creative web cam on my PC. Is it poss to set this cam up to my PC using a s-video port. I understand I may not have sound, thats alright.It worked fine on TV using s-video cord but it will not work on my PC. Is there a download I need to run this.
Please, I truly need your help

it works awesome

i use it to see who keeps using my laptop and i found out it was my cousin

two question, first, im using the built in webcam on my laptop and every time i close the Dorgem window it doesnt seem to work so i always have to pull up the app and just leave it is there a way to use it with out having to keep the window open (computer wise on the window part)
second, can i watch what is going on through an itouch

thank you very much!

ok got it all set up works great but was wondering if I can send the images to my email as they come in?

A perfect smart Software

I tested out this program and works, but still pictures aren’t my thing. Does AVI work as well for sounds and other things? I’m planning to use my webcam (Logitech QuickCam E2500) as a security camera attached to my front side of the house to record people speeding at night time and send the file to the police along with the speed of the car, the info, etc.

This software is great, and so is this tutorial. It very simple, works great, and allows multiple webcams, just what I need! Thanks brother

It’s really good for new comers in computer technology who want to try something new.

im doing this to try and find out witch one of my cats keeps peeing in my chair.

btw this works great on windows 7 home x64

I want to do this to see who is stealing my mail every day. Perhaps set up a switch that activates when the mailbox door is opened that sends a signal to the camera and records anwhere from 30 seconds to a minute?

nice job, thanks

my computer has a built in cam

Hello, i heard that there you can emails sent with pics attached for motion, does this do it or what do you recommend if possible? Thanks

Hey I want to set a cam up in an abandoned school to see if anyone is doing anything there that shouldn’t be. I don’t own the school obviously so I want to use the webcam idea with a signal booster to check the images on my laptop about a quarter mile away. Would ur idea with that dorgem system work? Please email me some advice on this. Thank you.

We have some idiot who thinks its cool/fun/who knows what to throw their food garbage into our yard and make our dogs fight over it. Obviously I’m tired of my dogs consuming food that is questionable or downright not safe for them to eat, tired of seeing them get hurt, and tired of paying vet bills. I’m also very tired of having to closely check my backyard and supervise my dogs at all times when they are outside- I can’t safe just put them outside any more.

I plan on setting up this system in our backyard from an outbuilding and hoping to catch the person. The cops told me it was not illegal what they are doing and its up to me to catch them. Animal control told me its up to the cops. Grrrr. Not a happy camper here. Hopefully this will do the trick.

Thanks. I can now catch my mischievous brother trying to tamper with personal stuff as well as my computer in my room when I’m gone

how do you get all pictures saved as every time motion is detected it over laps the previous photo taken?

Thanks,

Doesn’t it takes a lot of disk space if it is running 24X7 ?
Do you know of a way to shrink the video file on the fly ?

Mingki, Amazon sells 10 meter repeater cables for about $15. Buy two of them and you’re got your 20 meters. They work great. I bought some to run my set-up.

Hi, I am trying to set up a security camera using webcams by following below tutorial and I need to store the detected files off-site in case someone steal my computer.
So, to send pictures to a remote location, I’ve learned that I need to use FTP.
Is there any free simple FTP software that works with Dorgem?
I need a step by step procedures to follow.
Thank you.

how can i set up my webcam if it was already in your computer?

i need one

I set this up with a out outdoor cam with a easy-cap connected to my computer. Lookin to catch the guy the keeps trying to break in =p

If I use the example above and have a cam set to FTP with file names that change (cam_image%G%g. This results with multiple sequence of images being saved like cam_image20060926165001.jpg. How can I set up a webpage to display the latest image file? Currently I have a webpage that refreshes and shows the image file “cam_image.jpg”. If the files names always change with date/time is there a HTML code or way to display latest image file? Any ideas? Thanks

How to make this program to run hidden or just in tray not every time after pc restart to open program window?

I am using windows 7.

Hey, I just wanted to give a HUGE THANK YOU for posting this article. So easy to do and it will help me out a ton. Fortunately, I don’t have East Vancouver issues…. just a pet that is destroying my couches.

Thanks again.

 for others who may read this..FTP is what you need to use, “file transfer protocol” that means it will send it to somewhere else, its in the instructions above!

My apartment is right next to a fast food place and people always park in our car park thanks. 

I used this software to watch for my cat that ran away, I set the camera up in my sun room and had the computer in my kitchen. I left the outside door to the sun room cracked with a rope tied to it and coming in to the kitchen. I then placed food inside the door. My cat and a few neighbor strays came to eat nearly every night. Once I figured out about what time she came I set my alarm and then snuck out to my kitchen in the middle of the night. It took a few tries until she was there when I got up. But once I saw her I pulled the rope and she was captured, very skinny, and very glad to see me.

will it work with Windows 7 or 8?