With the rising crime rate combined with the continuing economic problems most business and homeowners are finding it more important than ever to protect their property and investments. Surveillance systems sales have risen dramatically, and as is often the case the price of these systems are rising as well.
While most people consider surveillance systems an investment and are more than willing to pay the price for the added protection such systems offer there are others who, simply can’t justify spending hundreds or even thousands of dollars to protect their property. That means these people either have to settle for surveillance systems that do less than an adequate job or make their own systems.
Home made systems are becoming more and more popular as more do-it-yourselfers with a little electronic knowledge and a lot of determination, have found that by using objects at their disposal and a couple of good new or used cameras, they can build affordable surveillance systems that are better than those they can afford right off the shelf. One of the newest of these homemade systems uses a Tivo box as a recording device and makes use of wireless internet.
What You Need To Make A Wifi Tivo Surveillance System
The most effective business or home surveillance system is one that you can view from on or off, your premises. In order to do this you will need to have your system connected to the internet. Wifi surveillance systems helps to cut down on the number of wires running through your home or business and makes for a safer work or living environment.
If you already have Wifi, then hooking the system up will be simple. You can connect your system to Wifi through your Tivo box. Here is what you will need to build your Wifi Tivo Surveillance system.
* One or more surveillance cameras
* Tivo box that is Wifi compatible
* Computer or Television to use for a surveillance monitor on your premises
* WiFi adapater for your Tivo box
* If desired, you can download a free program from the Tivo site that allows you keep 3 months of twenty four hour programing stored on your computer which you view at any time.
How To Set Up Your Wifi Tivo Surveillance System
Setting up the Wifi Tivo surveillance system is the most difficult part but it is not something that most people can’t accomplish with a little experience hooking up electronic equipment. If you can set up a computer out of the box you then you should be able to set up this system. Here is what you need to do to set up your system.
1. Place the wireless surveillance cameras where you want them inside your business or home. If possible it is best to place the cameras high on a wall in a corner and angled towards the center of the room at a slight downward angle. This will allow you to capture most if not all of a room regardless of how large.
2. Hook the camera’s receivers to the Tivo box through the input port.
3. If you have a computer on the premises you wish to use as part of your surveillance equipment and it is all ready hooked to Wifi then you can simply hook the Tivo box to the computer. Otherwise you need to use a Wifi adapter and connect the Tivo box to Wifi.
4. Turn the Tivo box to channel 0
5. Next you have to have to manually set up the Tivo to record for a 24 hour period, or more, whichever you prefer. The Tivo will then record for the amount of time specified and then record over what was all ready recorded.
6. This will allow you to view your surveillance from on the site with your computer and off site by connecting to the Tivo website and logging in with your passwords. ( You need to pay the monthly subscription of in order to view from a remote location.)
Advantages and disadvantages
There are some advantages and disadvantages to building your own Wifi Tivo surveillance system. One nice thing is that you can fast forward through a 24 hour period, freeze frame and run in slow motion which means that should you have a break-in, you won’t have to watch hours of tape to get to the important video information and then you can freeze the frame allowing the police to get a clear look at the perpetrator.
On the other hand, since this system is used by those wishing to save money, you will need to already own the Tivo box and as much of the other pieces of equipment as possible or be able to pick them very cheaply in order for this system to be worth your while. Keep in mind that a professionally integrated system will more than likely perform better as all it’s parts are manufactured to work in conjunction with each other, making them less likely to fail at a crucial moment in time.
However, for those who have access to most of the equipment necessary to build a Wifi Tivo surveillance system but lack the money for a more costly professional surveillance system, this could at least offer your home or business a bit more protection than some of the cheaper systems do.