The rapid development of Internet technologies has provided ample opportunities to control what is happening at remote sites.

The owner can be hundreds of kilometers from his home, but at the same time, control everything that happens there.

This is facilitated by modern video surveillance systems, which can be ordered from specialized companies or made by hand.

A high quality surveillance system can be easily created using a digital and Android device in the form of a regular phone or tablet.

Features of video surveillance via phone

Where can you apply?

Video surveillance using a smartphone has wide practical applications.

This is due to the ability to transmit video and audio in real time over long distances in order to monitor what is happening on the site.

In addition, IP cameras can be connected to a motion sensor. In this case, it will be possible to view what is happening on the object at the moment when a moving object appears there.

Among the main areas of practical application should be highlighted:

• use as a baby monitor;
• remote monitoring of security at the facility;
• remote viewing of images from;
• control over the order of the perimeter of the object when an outdoor video camera is used;
• covert observation of the object.

It is important to note that a smartphone can be used not only as a device that reproduces the video signal received from the camera on its screen, but also as a video camera. The built-in camera of the phone can be used as a device for shooting, and video playback can be carried out on another phone or on a computer using a special Web service for this.

The phone will be useful in the case when you need to quickly make a video surveillance system with your own hands, and an IP camera is not available.

This will require a minimum of time and financial costs, and the functions will be almost the same as when using special digital cameras.

IP camera setup

The main device that provides a high-quality video picture is an IP camera.

A different type of connection of these devices to the Internet can be used - it can be a wired connection or a Wi-Fi connection.

For the subsequent configuration of the camera and the connection of the camera to the smartphone, a static IP address is required. You can get it from a company that specializes in providing Internet services in the region.

After receiving the static address for the video camera, you need to type it in the browser line and you will get access to the video broadcast from the object.

In case more than one camera is used, you need to additionally install a router through which the connection to the Internet will be realized.

When obtaining static addresses from the provider, you also need to take care that the Internet channel provides the required bandwidth.

What you need to organize remote video surveillance

If, in order to view the situation at the facility, a smartphone will be used as a surveillance camera, you need to download a special application for mobile devices, install and configure it for yourself.

Android Apps

If the smartphone is running the Android operating system, the simple and very functional IP Webcam program would be the best solution.

It will turn the built-in Android camera into an effective covert surveillance tool. It can be used both indoor and outdoor surveillance camera.

While configuring the program, you can set:

1. video resolution;
2. quality;
3. picture orientation;
4. the ability to transmit an audio stream;
5. prohibition of switching to sleep mode of the smartphone;
6. disable alerts.

It is important to remember that the higher the resolution and quality parameters are selected, the greater the load on the processor of the Android device, and the greater the traffic of the Internet channel. It should be borne in mind that significant delays can occur with the transmission of audio, which can be several seconds.

Optionally, the program allows you to set a username and password to use additional functions.

It is also possible to change the port through which the cameras installed at the facility were connected.

After all the settings are completed, video recording starts and its broadcast to the Internet using a wireless type of WiFi connection.

To access the video, you need to enter the address and port of the server through which the broadcast is implemented in the line of the Internet browser.

IOS Apps

For devices running iOS, there is a special Presence application.

With this simple program, an ordinary cell phone can be turned into a high-quality video surveillance system that can transmit video and sound.

Having several iOS devices at hand, you can shoot and receive video - the first device acts as a camera and will transmit video, and the second is connected as a display.

Data transmission and reception can take place using 3G or WiFi. It is important to remember that a mobile communication channel cannot provide access at a sufficiently high speed, therefore, for the best picture quality, it is better to watch the video transmitted via WiFi technology.

The Presence program will allow you to view video from two cameras of the device. One touch is enough to switch between them.

The program interface is easy to use and does not require any special instructions to work.

The Presence app can also support Motion detection, which activates the recording process when a moving object appears in the frame.

In this case, the program generates a video of 5 seconds duration and sends it to the user's e-mail. It will also be possible to set up and continuous recording using the digital Camera of the smartphone.

Conclusion

Video surveillance from a telephone via the Internet significantly expands the capabilities of modern video surveillance.

With its help, you can always be aware of the events that take place at home, using a regular mobile phone.

The important thing is that you can create such surveillance systems yourself, using available tools in the form of modern smartphones and special plug-ins that can be downloaded via the Internet.

Video: Setting up video surveillance for viewing on a smartphone

In the era of active consumption, it is considered good form to change mobile phones at least once every one and a half years. It's not that smartphones stop working, they just become obsolete and can't function properly with modern software. The flagship two years ago is already starting to slow down when working with current programs, and a budget phone that has worked for a couple of years generally starts to stick at the slightest touch. In principle, such devices are already asking for the trash, but you can squeeze something out of them, give one more chance for existence.

A modern smartphone is not only a high-tech device with a screen, battery and microcircuits. This is a real mini-computer equipped with video cameras, display, wireless communication and other useful devices. And on top of that, it's almost free. Many people buy devices like the Raspberry PI, and then use them as miniature computers for certain simple tasks. And here, imagine, you already have a complete solution, you just need to program it in the required way. Of course, a used phone can be sold to buyers, disposed of, or try to smelt valuable metals from the phone's electronics. But I have a better idea.

A BU smartphone on the Android platform can be successfully turned into an IP-surveillance camera with Wi-Fi connection. All you need is ... A few programs and that's it. So let's get started.

LG Optimus L7 II Dual P715

As a test device, a smartphone LG Optimus L7 II Dual P715 appeared on my desk. For its time, the device is quite good, although far from being top-end. The phone can work with two SIM-cards and supports 3G communication. Among other things, a microSD card can be inserted into it, and a microUSB connector is used for charging. In general, the device is fully operational, although it slows down noticeably when working with a network or in high-capacity applications, for example, cards.

LH Optimus P7 II Dual P715 Smartphone

In order to transform the phone into something useful, you need to do some shenanigans with it. Some of them are optional and can be simply omitted. Below I present the steps that were taken for the P715 phone, but in general they are suitable for any of the similar devices.

Step 1. Flashing.

So, in my hands I have a phone on which the Android operating system version 4.1.2 is already installed. By today's standards, the system is already old and it is advisable to update it to something more modern. Surprisingly, as the version of Android rises, phones tend to run faster. An update built into the phone shows that the phone already has the latest firmware available for the phone. But if you look at the content of the forum w3bsit3-dns.com, you can see that there is a more recent firmware based on Android 4.4.2. In addition, there are variants of this firmware with already obtained root rights, installed by BusyBox and CWM recovery. In the future, these additional gadgets will allow you to customize the phone more subtly for the needs of video surveillance. Therefore, I install just such a modified firmware with CWM already installed and obtained root-rights.

Of course, you can do without flashing your phone. This operation is non-trivial, in the process, if suddenly something goes wrong, you can get a non-working unit. And if someone does not feel the strength to take such a step, then it is better to refrain from it. And instead of flashing the phone, just reset the settings to the factory settings.

Step 2. System cleaning.

So, the phone has the latest firmware installed, Wi-Fi is connected and the initial setup is done. Now is the time to clear the phone of unnecessary junk, including programs unnecessary for video surveillance. Looking ahead, I will say that you can safely skip this item, especially if you have not received root rights on the phone.

In my firmware, KingRoot is installed as the superuser manager. The program not only allows you to manage application requests for superuser privileges, but also has some capabilities to remove system applications and disable programs at startup. With the help of KingRoot, we can safely remove and disable what, in our opinion, does not apply to video surveillance, Wi-Fi, and camera work.

After testing KingRoot, it seemed to me that there were still some applications in the system that were simply superfluous on the CCTV camera. Moreover, I was constantly asked to accept the license agreement from LG. I had to additionally use Root Uninstaller and take out everything that arouses suspicion in the slightest degree. In the process of uninstalling unnecessary applications, it is important not to get angry, otherwise you will have to reset the phone again.

Step 3. Additional software.

Since it is assumed that a surveillance camera is usually installed at some inaccessible distance, it needs to be able to somehow remotely control it. A phone turned into a camera is no exception. For remote control, not complete, but at least partial, I installed an SSH server on the phone. Now, using the client application, you can remotely connect to the phone and perform some actions to control it.

SSH is commonly used to manage, configure and monitor servers running Linux operating systems. Android is a close cousin to Linux, so it can be completely managed over an SSH connection. The only thing to know about Android infrastructure commands and applications. Although he is a relative of Linux, they have a different set of programs. SSH started working a little slow, there is a delay between pressing and the phone's response, but the phone remotely executes my commands, the shell works.

The SSH interface is textual, you need to work with it through the command line. If it is still convenient to give commands to the phone in this way, then for the usual crawling through catalogs, some kind of window or panel manager is required. For Linux, the Midnight Commander (MC) is considered to be the only common version of such a manager. It is I who additionally install it on the phone for greater convenience.

Well, as a final chord, for very neglected cases, when a camera phone is installed in a place with difficult maintenance, and sometimes it would be good for it to be rebooted, I install Tasker. Tasker is not just a scheduler, but a whole set of triggers that allows you to set up many actions when certain events occur. But, as part of the implementation of an IP camera, I just need to configure a regular restart of the phone, which is easily done using Tasker.

In practice, you can safely do without all this additional software, but it is somehow more reliable with it.

Video surveillance software

After preliminary preparation of the phone for the video surveillance function, you can, in fact, proceed to the organization of the video surveillance process itself. There are three main ways to enter here.

Way 1. We use cloud observation.

In the field of cloud video surveillance, where data is not stored locally or on a camera, but somewhere out there, in the cloud, there are several companies, but I will focus only on one of them. iVideon is, works and performs its functions. There is nothing more to say about him. Let's move on.

Way 2. We use professional video surveillance.

As a PRO product, I tried to apply the solution for the Android platform from the FelenaSoft company. The Xeoma video surveillance complex can be easily installed on the phone, launched and even works. Here I consider it my right to note that Xeoma for Android is exactly the same product as for Windows or Linux. By installing Xeoma on your phone, you get a complete industrial standard video surveillance system.

This has its advantages. This allows you to organize the use of the built-in camera in various ways. You can simply broadcast the stream from the camera in the RTSP standard to the network. You can transfer a video stream to another Xeoma, where it will be processed, motion detection and recording to the archive. Alternatively, you can detect motion directly in the phone, and upload recorded videos via FTP to a network resource. And of course, the user has an option using autonomous video surveillance, when the video stream is recorded directly to the phone using the motion sensor. This approach is convenient because the phone can be placed somewhere where there is nothing else besides an electrical outlet. And then connect to it via Wi-Fi and watch the recorded video. It is clear that due to the small amount of memory in the phone, you should only write video using a motion detector.

But the use of such an all-in-one combine on the phone has its own, very significant, disadvantages. The processor installed in the LG P715 is powerful enough to pull Xeoma, a motion detector and other smartphones. And in conditions of power supply from a stationary network, we are not particularly interested in battery consumption. But during operation, the processor heats up and catastrophically decreases its performance. This makes it completely impossible to use Xeoma. Alas, you need to look for a more lightweight solution or do some modding of the processor cooling in the phone.

Way 3. Organize the broadcast of the RTSP stream from the phone.

It was this path that was subsequently recognized as the most efficient option for implementing the video surveillance function on a smartphone. To implement it, you need to install a program on your phone that will broadcast video from the phone's camera to the network according to the RTSP standard. There are many such programs, but I liked IP Webcam. The program, on the one hand, is lightweight, does not overheat the processor, on the other hand, it does what is required of it and even more.

IP Webcam organizes a Web server on the phone, with which you can view some information from the phone, and at the same time observe what the phone "sees". You can record what you see in a video file or take photos. In extreme cases, the video stream can be recorded on the phone itself, and then the recorded from it can be taken. Although I prefer another option, when only stream broadcasting is enough from the phone. The stream itself is already processed by a full-fledged solution, for example, the same Xeoma or iSpy installed on stationary PCs. The program interface contains several examples of connecting to popular video surveillance systems.

It was on this option that I stopped. It is possible that IP Webcam is generally the best solution for video surveillance from a phone, since the functionality of the product is at least impressive, and at the most worthy of sincere admiration.

On practice

When implementing a project to create an IP-surveillance camera from an ordinary smartphone, thoughts constantly swarmed in my head about the expediency of the very idea of \u200b\u200bimplementation. On the one hand, there is a free phone, which is simply a pity to throw away, since it is still quite functional, on the other hand, there are some limitations of this unit, which can leave an imprint on a negative scenario of use.

Firstly, connection to a mobile phone network is possible only via Wi-Fi, and we are not considering the option of connecting via a mobile network at all. The LG model being disassembled has a maximum LAN connection speed of only 54 Mbps, which makes it possible to push MJPEG videos with a frame rate of about 5 frames per second and a resolution of 800x600 pixels or so more or less tolerably over a wireless communication channel. On the other hand, the modest performance of the phone does not allow raising the resolution higher, although it is capable of recording video in FullHD format, but slightly different codecs are used there. But even with such a flow, gigabytes of information are pumped for knocks, I managed to intend about 35 gigabytes of traffic from the phone to the network.

Secondly, the lifespan of the device received. In theory, electronics without moving parts will not wear out. But this is only in theory, but in practice, everything is subject to gradual wear and tear. For this reason, it is impossible to vouch for the long term use of the phone as a camera. It is possible that he will work in this mode for 3-5 years, but no more. Another reliability factor is the lithium battery that comes with the smartphone. The term of its use is even less than the term of the phone. It is capable of storing rather large amounts of energy, and sometimes ignite or explode. A device left unattended with an old battery is alarming. You can use the phone without a battery in most cases, but after any power outage you will have to turn on the phone by hand.

Thirdly, practically limited outdoor use. I would not risk using such a device without an external protective casing outdoors. There is a very high risk of its premature failure due to excess moisture in the case. But the impact of just a negative temperature, for example, in winter, will not bring a noticeable change in the performance of the device. Manufacturers limit the temperature range of using phones due to the catastrophic loss of battery capacity at negative temperatures, followed by inadequate operation of the battery controller, plus the LCD screen simply will not display information when all its liquid crystals are corny freezing. However, both are not critical if you do not use the screen, which is not needed and you use a low-power charger that does not exceed the dangerous limits of the charging current.

conclusions

The project to create an IP camera for video surveillance from an ordinary smartphone is quite feasible and efficient. But it is not entirely advisable, it is better to try to adapt the phone for any other tasks, for example, to work as a touch screen for a smart home system. And worries about video surveillance are best left to specialized solutions. They cope with this task much better. And yes, you should not build a system with video transmission based on a Wi-Fi network, it is better to use a proven Ethernet-based solution. And summing up: making an IP Wi-Fi camera from an old smartphone is possible, but not necessary.

Viewing video information from a surveillance camera has become very common from a mobile phone. It is difficult to imagine a modern person without a smartphone in hand, which is why the remote security function is in such great demand. In this case, the organization of the workflow can be configured in several ways.

In general, the transmission of the resulting image is possible to any device equipped with the Internet. But for this to be possible, for example, on a smartphone, it will need to be configured accordingly, and then the data will become available. Typically, the setup process is straightforward.

To ensure the connection is as simple and convenient as possible, it will be necessary to use special software, created just taking into account the peculiarities and nuances of connecting a mobile phone to IP cameras. Depending on the specific software, the mobile connection function may be free and included in a pre-indicated price, and in some cases it may be provided as an additional option on a paid basis.

Principle of operation

In the workflow of connecting a mobile phone to a video surveillance camera and further tracking the information received, everything is relatively simple. At the same time, such systems in which there is only one tracking device have the maximum simplicity. In this case, you can even try to do without Wi-Fi. To connect, you will need to use a cable from an Internet provider connected directly to the camcorder.

For the connection to be possible, you need to make sure that your ISP has provided a static IP address. If this is not the case, you need to agree with the service provider about this possibility.

At the next stage, you will need to open a mobile browser on your smartphone, and enter the address of the surveillance camera in IP format in the address bar. In the event that all steps are performed correctly and correctly, a video image will appear on the mobile phone screen, which is broadcast by the surveillance device. However, before that, you will need to configure all the devices in the system accordingly.

How to independently connect a CCTV camera to a mobile

Most owners of houses and other important premises trust only themselves as much as possible. Therefore, connecting the broadcast from an IP camera to your mobile will be an ideal way for such people to control everything that will happen in their absence. And for such control, there is absolutely no need to purchase complex devices at exorbitant prices.

The independent connection of the mobile to the video camera will include a clear algorithm for installing these devices and some other devices. By connecting the entire video surveillance system to the Internet, it will be possible to watch the broadcast from the IP camera, even being on the other side of the world. In this case, observation can be carried out not only through a mobile phone, but also through a tablet or laptop. In such systems, the security level of the transmitted data is distinguished by high parameters, so there is no need to fear that attackers will connect to the channel during the broadcast.

We watch the video of connecting the camera to the phone

View IP Camera on Phone

The easiest way to ensure that the picture from a security camera is viewed on your phone is to operate devices that have the P2P option. The firmware of such devices contains the corresponding software and a unique list of digits that represent the ID number. To connect to this video camera, you will need to connect it to a switch or router that will provide access to the network.

In the connection chain, the mobile phone will act as a monitor and also assist in system management. Therefore, you will need to download the appropriate software on your smartphone. In modern versions of security cameras, such software is in the usual factory configuration.

When the application is installed, you will need to launch it, and then read the QR code written there from the box or the body of the video camera. Having opened the next bookmark, you will need to specify the ID number there. In most situations, cameras have the ability to save data to an SD card so that video can be viewed when needed.

Programs for the phone "IP-camera"

There are a large number of applications that help you use your mobile phone to control everything that a security camera captures. Such utilities differ in their capabilities, options, and additional functions.

Developer Ubiquiti Networks offers a professional offering called UniFi Video. This tool allows you to organize a high-quality mobile tracking system. In addition to computer operating systems, this utility also supports mobile firmware - Android and iOS.

When the setup process is complete, you can add all the IP addresses of the required cameras to the application. After that, the owner of the software will have the following options:

• adjustment of the shooting mode;
• display of video broadcast parameters;
• image setting;
• switching between all cameras;
• pan-tilt-zoom technology, which provides the ability to rotate;
• sound control.

The UniFi app delivers high-quality performance without major disruptions, as well as extensive customization and management options. Due to the fact that for work, you will definitely need an NVR, which is a special Internet recorder, then it will be possible to use this application in an office or a country house.

The network video recorder allows you to connect up to fifty different video surveillance cameras. In the case when there will be one or a pair of devices in the network, it is recommended to organize the process without using a recorder. Such savings will reduce the cost of equipment, as well as reduce the cost of subsequent maintenance of the entire video system. To be able to view the broadcast picture after shooting, in this application, you can set up the function of recording to an SD card or saving to a disk on a cloud service.
Using a mobile application called TinyCam Monitor will allow you to simultaneously observe what is happening in the field of view of several IP cameras at once. The program interface is designed for the maximum connection of video cameras in the amount of sixteen devices. In the paid version, called TinyCam Monitor Pro, the possibilities are significantly expanded. For example, options such as:

Firstly, I will note as an educational program that an IP camera allows you to connect remotely from another computer to a smartphone camera and even record everything on video. Surprisingly, these cameras cost from about $ 50 in the markets (more or less high-quality model). But we always want to save money, and therefore we can even make a normal IP surveillance camera from an old unnecessary Android smartphone. You just need to install a special application and you will have a simple security camera in your hands. In the same way, you can make a baby monitor out of your phone.

So without further ado, let's get down to the instructions. You will need IP Webcam, a free application that can be downloaded from the Google Play store. For work, you only need Wi-Fi Internet.

The best choice

IP Webcam works best if you are connected not to the mobile Internet, but to a Wi-Fi network. All this is because most mobile operators set restrictions on some IP, including the IP Webcam service. Therefore, make sure you are connected to an available Wi-Fi internet. After installing the application and connecting, all computers, smartphones and phones within the same network will have access to the video through a web browser.

IP Webcam setup:

If you are far from home ...

Technically, the IP Webcam service must be accessible from another network - via the Internet. However, this requires a deeper knowledge of the network configuration - that is, the average user can independently configure the connection, but here everything often depends on the Internet provider, as well as the router in your home. The good news is that there is a very simple solution - use Chrome Remote Desktop (or another popular remote access application - TeamViewer). Using the Google service, you can log into your home computer and view the webcam video through your web browser. In fact, this method is quite convenient and the video runs quite smoothly. The disadvantage of this method is the need for constant work of the home computer.

Additional tips:

• if you are going to often view video using IP Webcam through a smartphone camera, then we recommend purchasing a wide-angle lens for it. This will give you a wide viewing angle in tight spaces.
• if you know how to access the settings of the router, then it is better to find a way to register a permanent IP address for your smartphone, which will act as a camera. Thus, you can visit your home at any time from anywhere.
• can't connect? Apparently your firewall or router interfered with your plans. The problem can be anything, but it is often treated by adding to the "white" list of the IP address of the smartphone with IP Webcam.
• you may want to add motion detection capabilities to your security camera smartphone to automatically start recording. This option is also possible, just look at the IP Webcam settings.

Greetings to blog readers!
Today's lesson about online video surveillance through the phone will be a real guide for novice scouts! After all, in it I will tell and show how you can turn absolutely any phone based on the Android operating system with a simple camera into a real IP surveillance camera, to which you can connect from the Internet and watch what is happening at home or in your office. You can easily leave it unnoticed on a shelf or in a cabinet and it will secretly monitor everything that happens in the room.

The convenience of using the phone as a video surveillance camera is that you do not need to buy any mini cameras that cost a lot of money - the simplest old and unused Android smartphone will do, which no one even thinks that he is spying on.

Online video surveillance from the phone via the IP WebCam program

Let's get started! In order to make video surveillance out of the phone, you will need a wifi router connected to the Internet.

This is an image from a phone camera, and in red I highlighted the address where you can go to view it from the local network. But we will not limit ourselves to this - after all, we want to conduct covert surveillance from anywhere in the world. And for this you need to do something else.

Viewing video surveillance through your phone from the internet?

In order to watch video surveillance through a phone from the Internet from any computer that is connected to it, when requested from an external Internet network to the local network, we were transferred not to a router that is physically connected to this Internet, but to a phone camera, you need will forward the port on which the IP Webcam program is running, that is, my port is "8080", to the internal IP of the phone, that is, I have to 192.168.1.88. How to do this is described in detail in the article about port forwarding and in the instructions for a complete system.

And, finally, register in order to constantly transform our constantly changing dynamic IP address on the Internet (only one "BUT" - it must be white), which the provider assigns with each connection, to the same unchanged domain name. I also told how to do this in articles about the video surveillance system and in the article about.

Entering the 3rd level domain name registered in DDNS, you will also be taken to the page for viewing images from the phone camera, which is called “Smartphone Camera Service”.

There are many viewing options, but the simplest and most accessible is directly from the browser. Although it is written that not everyone supports it, in fact it concerns rather fucking Internet Explorer. I checked in Google Chrome and Firefox - everything works as it should.

To open the control panel of the mini hidden wireless video surveillance camera, click the button above the image. And for sound transmission - to the button below.

Here is such a spy trick - all that remains is to position the phone unnoticed and connect it to the mains or another power source so that it does not turn off at the most inopportune moment.

Setting up a camera phone for covert surveillance via the Internet via Skype

I would like to continue the story about ways to conduct covert video surveillance via the Internet using my mobile phone, considering the simplest and most universal one for any phone, computer or tablet - via the Skype program.

First, we install Skype on the phone whose camera we will use for covert video surveillance. It is desirable that it be small in size so that it can be easily hidden somewhere in a closet or on a bookshelf in order to covertly monitor a room or office. We download Skype to it from the Play Market or AppStore, depending on which OS the phone is running on. Then we launch the program, register a new account and go to the settings.

Here we will need to set three values:

You can also additionally set a low quality video in order to prevent a poor connection, for example, if you will be monitoring via mobile Internet.

Yes, and of course the phone must have constant access to the Internet - via WiFi or via a mobile network.

We save all the settings and go to the tablet or computer from which covert video surveillance will be conducted. We will also install Skype on it and log in under a different account.

We go into the search and find the user under whom we logged in on the first phone.

Open the page of this user and click on the button "Video call"