Raspberry Pi B+ webcam server

[unijab]

So I figured out two ways to use my raspberry pi for home security using an old webcam.

 

 

Way 1: (barely uses cpu and bandwidth)

apt-get install fswebcam

made script to take a picture , move it into my www directory, set it to loop every 5 seconds

created a basic html index page that auto refreshes every 5 seconds

 

 

Way 2: (uses much more bandwidth and cpu)

apt-get install motion

configure the daemon for the fps and jpeg quality you want

start the service

connect to port 8081 (with firefox)

[burnttoastnice]

Writing to your memory card very often will make it wear out quickly - sources below

https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=20505

http://raspberrypi.stackexchange.com/questions/169/how-can-i-extend-the-life-of-my-sd-card

 

I would strongly recommend moving your www folder to temporary system storage, and direct the webcam output there also - at /run/shm. This will wipe itself on shutdown because it's stored in RAM, so on boot, run a script to copy your index files from the sd card to the ram folder.

 

Edit: Above I'm talking about fswebcam. I have never used the motion package so i don't know anything about that.

[unijab]

motion doesnt write it just streams

 

Im going to mount another 16GB sd card  and mount it under the www dir I plan to store the pictures on... Im going to switch to the first way in case I want to review the pictures.

[burnttoastnice]

motion doesnt write it just streams

 

It comes down to the application though. If you're just using the device as a webcam monitor and nothing else, I'd pick the motion package since it sounds like something built for real-time monitoring.

[unijab]

Motion will also create video and/or pictures if you like... you just gotta configure it.

[unijab]

I ordered the Pi 2 so I could see how awesome the quad core is...