Home Hacking Projects for Geeks

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Part III: Home Security

less cameras don’t have microphones. As a rule, don’t spend more than $50

on your video capture card.

After you purchase the card, install it according to the manufacturer’s

instructions. Generally, this is as simple as turning off your computer, open-

ing the case, and inserting the card into an empty PCI slot. After restarting

your operating system, install the drivers for the card. For more detailed

instructions, refer to the “Install the TV tuner card” section of Chapter 7.

Figure 12-5. The wireless receiver

connects to the computer’s composite

input.

2. Install the wireless video receiver

The wireless video receiver is a bridge from your com-

puter to the wireless cameras using your video input

card. You need to use the piece of hardware that came

with the wireless camera—if there’s another receiver

that works, I’m not aware of it. My receiver is shown in

Figure 12-5.

Use the following guidelines when positioning the video

receiver:

• Take advantage of the length of the composite

cord and position the receiver away from your com-

puter.

• Point the antennas toward the cameras.

• If you have cameras positioned all around the

house, try pointing the antennas straight up.

Of course, there’s only so much tweaking of the placement you can do

before you get the software configured. After the drivers are instal ...