First of all, yes, I know about Quicktime and how it can be used for screen recording but it won't work in this instance (explained below) so I'm looking for alternatives that will do what I need but I'm coming up empty.
So here's my situation. I have a very, VERY basic "security camera" setup outside my house that I installed because I was broke and couldn't afford paying 10x as much for the real thing. The setup consists of an outdoor analog CCTV camera that I run a cable from the camera outdoors to inside the house. I then use an analog-to-digital converter and the software that came with the converter (meant to be used to convert maybe 1-3 hours of VHS tape footage to digital video formats, not for 24/7 home security) to capture and record the feed from the camera. It's plugged into an old Macbook that a relative gave me for free once they upgraded to a new computer.
After recording for a day or so I'll stop the recording software, skim through the footage (it's a constant live video feed, not motion sensor/1 frame per 5 seconds etc) and check for anything out of the ordinary. The video footage is not actually saved at this point, the software just allows you to skim through it and crop out the pieces you want to keep. I originally got this after someone stole a package from my front steps while I was gone but have not had any further trouble or actual home invasion attempts in the year or so since...until this Thanksgiving and then again the next day (yesterday). I had left a day earlier to visit family and just returned tonight, leaving me with 73 hours of footage when I returned.
When I got back I skimmed through the footage as usual (and with such a long file moving the mouse forward a tiny bit skips about 20 minutes of material so the only way to see those 20 minute skips is to sit there and manually watch them for 20 mins each. I happened to notice a stranger sneaking around and at one point actively trying to break in (unfortunately at the furthest point from the camera where the resolution is poorest). Then I noticed (what I assume to be) the same guy back the next day. He must have realized my car was out of the driveway, my lights were off, and I was away for the holidays. Both instances are about 24 hours apart in the 73 hours of footage. Not only is it important to save that video footage, I don't know if I missed even more attempts from this guy to break in (perhaps where he got closer to the camera and I'd be able to get a better look) somewhere in those 20 minute skips. Once this is saved as a video file I know of software I can use on the video file to much more easily scan through ALL of the footage without skipping such major time gaps so that's the other reason why I need this saved.
But of course there's a problem. No matter how much space is available on the HDD, the software will only allow a MAXIMUM of about 18 hours of footage to be saved before it just freezes, leaving no saved video footage at all. I've had this happen on 16 and 17 hour videos as well occasionally, despite adequate HDD space. Anything 15 hours and below I've never had a problem with. It's the analog-to-digital software that does this, as confirmed by the company when I called them, and they told me it's not meant to save such long video files. But since this guy appeared at least twice, possibly more, and the appearances are over 24 hours apart, I cannot save the video...just skip through the video (with 20 minute time gaps) or play back the entire 73 hours in real time. I've already taken screenshots of the two times when I did happen to catch him appearing, but like I said, they're low-res as he's so far away.
So the only thing I can think of is to get a screen recorder, press play, let the footage run real time, and record that portion of the screen for about 32 hours when I know he was there. (32 hours is the time frame he could have been there, as there was fresh snow coating the entire ground on the 26th, the day I left, and my footsteps leaving were the only thing that disturbed it before it melted entirely on the 27th - the first time he showed up - and then it snowed again on the evening of the 28th and remained totally undisturbed until I returned tonight, the 29th).
So, back to the obvious solution of using Quicktime to record the screen instead...problem being, due to either my QT version or my OS version mine won't allow me to drag a selection to record and only allows recording the ENTIRE screen instead of just the small video playback I need; the output file of the entire screen being recorded is approximately 1.5GB per hour. Since I recorded 73 hours of video with the digital/analog conversion software I'm already running lower on HDD space than necessary, even with absolutely everything possible backed up onto an external HD and then erased from the Macbook to leave as much available space as possible. I also can't save the Quicktime recording to an external HD with more room as this option is greyed out for some reason and it will only save to the Macbook HDD. FYI here are the stats on Quicktime and my OS: Quicktime Player 10.0 (118.1) and Mac OS X Version 10.6.7. Quicktime appears to be from 2010 and the OS appears to be from 2011 according to the dates for each.
I guess I could painstakingly record the entire screen for a few hours, stop, backup that recording to an external HD, delete it from the Macbook for more space, then start again until all 32 hours are recorded, but this would take forever and seems impractical. Plus, I'm sure I'd forget at one point, record for too long and run out of HDD space (which typically causes the Macbook to crash and makes me have to force quit everything, thus losing all the footage).
So what are the other solutions?
Essentially I'm looking for a screen recorder that will:
With the precise 8 hour blocks I'd move each block of recorded footage to an external HD to free up more room and start in on the next 8 hour block until all 32 hours were covered. Alternatively, a screen recorder that would just be able to record to an external HD, but I think the reason QT won't save to the external HD is because it's formatted for a PC, as are all the rest of the external HDs I own (I'm only able to back things up to this particular external HD after installing MacFuse and another program, but it appears recording to the same external HD won't work).
Sorry for the super lengthy post. Just not sure what to do here as I live alone, have valuable equipment in this house, no security system or protection (though I will try and invest in these as soon as possible) and need to save this footage ASAP without potentially losing it. Finally, I can't see anything with the camera now that the software is stopped and in "Crop/Playback/Save" mode, so anything currently going on out there is NOT being recorded and won't be until I'm able to save this video and start recording again. Hope someone can help. Thanks for reading!!
So here's my situation. I have a very, VERY basic "security camera" setup outside my house that I installed because I was broke and couldn't afford paying 10x as much for the real thing. The setup consists of an outdoor analog CCTV camera that I run a cable from the camera outdoors to inside the house. I then use an analog-to-digital converter and the software that came with the converter (meant to be used to convert maybe 1-3 hours of VHS tape footage to digital video formats, not for 24/7 home security) to capture and record the feed from the camera. It's plugged into an old Macbook that a relative gave me for free once they upgraded to a new computer.
After recording for a day or so I'll stop the recording software, skim through the footage (it's a constant live video feed, not motion sensor/1 frame per 5 seconds etc) and check for anything out of the ordinary. The video footage is not actually saved at this point, the software just allows you to skim through it and crop out the pieces you want to keep. I originally got this after someone stole a package from my front steps while I was gone but have not had any further trouble or actual home invasion attempts in the year or so since...until this Thanksgiving and then again the next day (yesterday). I had left a day earlier to visit family and just returned tonight, leaving me with 73 hours of footage when I returned.
When I got back I skimmed through the footage as usual (and with such a long file moving the mouse forward a tiny bit skips about 20 minutes of material so the only way to see those 20 minute skips is to sit there and manually watch them for 20 mins each. I happened to notice a stranger sneaking around and at one point actively trying to break in (unfortunately at the furthest point from the camera where the resolution is poorest). Then I noticed (what I assume to be) the same guy back the next day. He must have realized my car was out of the driveway, my lights were off, and I was away for the holidays. Both instances are about 24 hours apart in the 73 hours of footage. Not only is it important to save that video footage, I don't know if I missed even more attempts from this guy to break in (perhaps where he got closer to the camera and I'd be able to get a better look) somewhere in those 20 minute skips. Once this is saved as a video file I know of software I can use on the video file to much more easily scan through ALL of the footage without skipping such major time gaps so that's the other reason why I need this saved.
But of course there's a problem. No matter how much space is available on the HDD, the software will only allow a MAXIMUM of about 18 hours of footage to be saved before it just freezes, leaving no saved video footage at all. I've had this happen on 16 and 17 hour videos as well occasionally, despite adequate HDD space. Anything 15 hours and below I've never had a problem with. It's the analog-to-digital software that does this, as confirmed by the company when I called them, and they told me it's not meant to save such long video files. But since this guy appeared at least twice, possibly more, and the appearances are over 24 hours apart, I cannot save the video...just skip through the video (with 20 minute time gaps) or play back the entire 73 hours in real time. I've already taken screenshots of the two times when I did happen to catch him appearing, but like I said, they're low-res as he's so far away.
So the only thing I can think of is to get a screen recorder, press play, let the footage run real time, and record that portion of the screen for about 32 hours when I know he was there. (32 hours is the time frame he could have been there, as there was fresh snow coating the entire ground on the 26th, the day I left, and my footsteps leaving were the only thing that disturbed it before it melted entirely on the 27th - the first time he showed up - and then it snowed again on the evening of the 28th and remained totally undisturbed until I returned tonight, the 29th).
So, back to the obvious solution of using Quicktime to record the screen instead...problem being, due to either my QT version or my OS version mine won't allow me to drag a selection to record and only allows recording the ENTIRE screen instead of just the small video playback I need; the output file of the entire screen being recorded is approximately 1.5GB per hour. Since I recorded 73 hours of video with the digital/analog conversion software I'm already running lower on HDD space than necessary, even with absolutely everything possible backed up onto an external HD and then erased from the Macbook to leave as much available space as possible. I also can't save the Quicktime recording to an external HD with more room as this option is greyed out for some reason and it will only save to the Macbook HDD. FYI here are the stats on Quicktime and my OS: Quicktime Player 10.0 (118.1) and Mac OS X Version 10.6.7. Quicktime appears to be from 2010 and the OS appears to be from 2011 according to the dates for each.
I guess I could painstakingly record the entire screen for a few hours, stop, backup that recording to an external HD, delete it from the Macbook for more space, then start again until all 32 hours are recorded, but this would take forever and seems impractical. Plus, I'm sure I'd forget at one point, record for too long and run out of HDD space (which typically causes the Macbook to crash and makes me have to force quit everything, thus losing all the footage).
So what are the other solutions?
Essentially I'm looking for a screen recorder that will:
- Be compatible with my OS
- Record a selected part of the screen
- Be able to record live video (some screen recorders won't do this, though QT is able to)
- Not noticeably degrade the video quality as the resolution isn't great to begin with
- Will be smooth and not choppy
- Can do something like record for a set number of hours. I.E. a block of precisely 8 hours and then it automatically stops on its own without me having to remember to stop it.
With the precise 8 hour blocks I'd move each block of recorded footage to an external HD to free up more room and start in on the next 8 hour block until all 32 hours were covered. Alternatively, a screen recorder that would just be able to record to an external HD, but I think the reason QT won't save to the external HD is because it's formatted for a PC, as are all the rest of the external HDs I own (I'm only able to back things up to this particular external HD after installing MacFuse and another program, but it appears recording to the same external HD won't work).
Sorry for the super lengthy post. Just not sure what to do here as I live alone, have valuable equipment in this house, no security system or protection (though I will try and invest in these as soon as possible) and need to save this footage ASAP without potentially losing it. Finally, I can't see anything with the camera now that the software is stopped and in "Crop/Playback/Save" mode, so anything currently going on out there is NOT being recorded and won't be until I'm able to save this video and start recording again. Hope someone can help. Thanks for reading!!