Security Camera

[undesign]

Can anyone recommend a security camera connected to an iMac from 50ft that does NOT rely on an internet connection? I've got a restaurant which has an office in the back that needs a view of the front entrance.

I currently have a Dlink DCS-933L however it sucks up a LOT of bandwidth which is redundant considering I don't require a view from anywhere but the restaurant office. Dlink doesnt offer any software for the mac to view the camera using a LAN connection (stupid!)

Any suggestions? Perhaps a simple RCA cable security camera running to a small 13" TV? Could this be done through something like an ADVC55 with Vidi?

Thanks!

 

[protoxx]

As long as you are willing to run wiring/cabling it shouldn't be too hard. Even the cheap Foscam I had that is wireless has a standard internet cable connection that it can use. I needed it to get it initially setup. Not to mention any number of systems with a dvr. Ranging from cheap to very expensive.

 

[Switchfoot]

If I understand you correctly, you want the camera on your LAN but not sucking your internet bandwidth. Do you need it to record? Motion detection? Or does the person in the office just need a live view of up front?
Will you need sound? Or video only?

Also, you mentioned the RCA camera- is there already a network cable from point A to B? Or are you going wireless with the current camera? If you don't mind, could you give us a quick run down of the network you have in place (differentiating wired/wireless).

Just to give a quick answer, I've had an exceptional experience with Dahua IP cameras- able to view locally, great quality- their HFW2100 or 3200s bullets will do the job for you, let you see it from your local iMac (via free PSS software or a browser), and you can set it up to view from your phone or computer anywhere, only using bandwidth when you connect and not anytime else.

Let us know some of the other things and I may be able to suggest something different (and maybe cheaper). I would double check on not being able to see the DLink locally as well- it's possible a program that supports ONVIP cameras would be able to view its stream.