Does Anyone Know Anything About Video Home Surveillance?

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Mar 9, 2025
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Seems like this is a DIY forum, so maybe someone here DIY's their own "Ring" style front door camera.

I want the front door camera as a peephole camera and not something externally mounted 1. because Property Management might have a problem with the camera being fastened to their apartment building, and 2. someone might steal it. Also I suppose 3. because I don't want it obvious that passers-by are being recorded.

I want to install a peephole camera, which replaces the standard front door peephole of my apartment, and it needs to have motion sensing, and it's own power, so I'm not trying to wire-up a camera to a door that moves (opens and closes).

I want the video stored on my home-built Windows PC (via wireless connection), so I'll need some kind of software to manage the system.

What I'm trying to do here is avoid paying a monthly charge to some company, upload the video to their "cloud", and then have to continue to pay in order to have access to the video. I might also want to install a 2nd camera at the back of the apartment later on.

Note: What's driving this is not necessarily the residents that live in the complex, but rather non-residence come onto the property for nefarious and illegal activities, such as vehicle theft and vandalism. But also I've caught Property Management attempting to open my front door without any notice, no knock, and no compelling "story" about an emergency. I don't trust them for several conspiracy theory reasons, meaning it all makes perfect sense to me, but if I tried to explain it all, it would take a long time and I'd appear to be crazy.
 
What's your budget for this?

I'm betting the karate chop solution is a webcam with a USB extender cord on it ( without the case ) + some Home DVR software ( google that ) which runs on linux or windows.
 
I have no knowledge of this.

Peephole camera with ONVIF and local RTSP... Finally!

AI Overview
ONVIF (Open Network Video Interface Forum) is an open industry standard that allows various video surveillance products from different manufacturers to communicate and work together. It essentially provides a common language for IP cameras, recorders, and software to interact. This interoperability ensures that users can easily integrate cameras and other security equipment from different brands into a single, unified system.

RTSP stands for Real Time Streaming Protocol.
 
What's your budget for this?

I'm the cheapest tightwad you have never met. If you ever meet me, I will charge you for the privilege. In fact, I think you owe me money right now, just for the time it takes for me to post this response. In all seriousness, I'd be willing to pay a couple of hundred for high-quality, high-res video with night vision, motion sensing, etc...
 
Take the door knob, deadbolt or whatever has a key to a locksmith. Ask him to make a new key. (re-key)
Note: I tried to do a "multi-quote" but could not figure out how to get this forum software to do it.

This apartment is using KwikSet's "SmartKey" technology, where you can reprogram the lock with another key. I don't need help with physical security, I need help with video surveillance.
 

2MP Wifi Tuya Smart Video Peephole Camera Motion Detection Door Viewer Video-eye Wireless Two-way Audio Home Security Cameras​

I've seen this. Do you have any experience with this camera at all? Do you own one? Do you have any opinions on it's functionality? I know how to use Google. I'm looking for 1st hand, DIY advice for the purposes I've previously described.
 
For a DIY setup like that, there are some peephole cameras out there that run on batteries and connect via Wi-Fi, so you won’t have to mess with wiring on a moving door. Some of them support motion detection and can send video to your PC or phone.
 
I've seen this. Do you have any experience with this camera at all? Do you own one? Do you have any opinions on it's functionality? I know how to use Google. I'm looking for 1st hand, DIY advice for the purposes I've previously described.
I have no knowledge of this.
 
If you're that cheap then you might as well tape a $20 smartphone to the door. There are apps for surveillance like Alfred camera with motion detection.
 
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