Is there a home security camera that doesn't require an internet conn.?

August 26, 2016 5:30 AM

This might be a tough one. I've looked and haven't been able to find what I'm looking for anywhere. All of the residential security camera systems I have found (whose video is viewable on cell phones and pc's) require an internet connection. But I don't need to view my camera while I'm offsite so, for privacy reasons, I'm looking for one that does not require an internet connection (and therefore it doesn't need to send our camera video to some company's server).

Need:
- outdoor capable (under house eave)
- live feed viewable on LAN networked pc and LAN networked Android cell phone (Marshmallow)
- priced about with regular home security cameras at Best Buy
- use normal home router's wifi or ethernet ports


Don't need:
- dvr or recording ability
- can run video wiring


Thanks in advance!

posted by atm to Technology (17 answers total)

Pretty sure the Synology NAS boxes have camera plug-ins & are used as semi homebrew CCTV solutions by lots of people. Same for any of the other mid->up market NAS boxes (QNAP?) probably.
posted by pharm at 6:07 AM on August 26, 2016

Best answer: There are lots of these - and I'd argue that the majority of the products on the market are like this, even if cloud-based solutions like Dropcam/Nest have become popular in recent years. Just search for Outdoor IP Camera on Amazon, and virtually everything that comes up can be assigned a private, internal IP address that you can then visit in a PC app or with a smartphone client to view the live feed - sending to the outside Internet is optional. Are you looking for something like this?
posted by eschatfische at 6:28 AM on August 26, 2016

We've got the Logitech 750e and 750i cameras. The 750e are for outdoors and have pretty decent night vision. They're at least 4 years old, so they may have been updated/replaced by later versions.
(We also have the Logitech Homeplug Powerline adapter, which enables ethernet over power lines so you don't have to run endless lengths of cat5/6 cable. This is awesome)
They'll want you to install their logitech software and probably register with them so you can view your stuff online, but it's not a requirement. Set up a webserver at home with a local lan address (192.168.1.something, usually) and you'll be able to view the cameras from any device that is on the same network.
posted by 8dot3 at 6:32 AM on August 26, 2016

Response by poster: Thanks guys!

I'll look into your suggestions specifically, but I think I've found one of the biggest hanging points is trying to get a system that is viewable using my Android phone while also not needing to use the internet.
posted by atm at 6:36 AM on August 26, 2016

Response by poster: Also, I'd rather not use POE ones because I only have a standard home wifi/LAN router and I'd like to avoid buying the POE router, if possible.
posted by atm at 6:37 AM on August 26, 2016

Response by poster: Edit to my original question format. I should have said that I don't need a camera to be wifi. Since I have to run power wires anyway, I can also run video wiring at the same time.
posted by atm at 6:40 AM on August 26, 2016

Best answer: If you get the logitechs, I highly recommend purchasing the app suite BlueIris for viewing the feed. I haven't used the Android app, but the ios app is amazing. The full PC version, which you need for multiple cameras, is $60. The ios app was $10, which is one of the more expensive apps I've ever used, but it's so much better than the default logitech software.
posted by 8dot3 at 6:41 AM on August 26, 2016

The logitechs don't need to use POE, you can just use regular ethernet cables to the ports on your router/switch.
posted by 8dot3 at 6:44 AM on August 26, 2016

Best answer: I got an Axis M1034-W for this purpose. It's wireless and runs standalone. It has a simple browser interface you can connect to and watch the video. From what I've read Axis makes the more high end cameras for serious installations. Pricier, but higher quality.

I also wanted a Linux server to record motion, I ended up doing a crappy solution using motion which worked fine. ZoneMinder is the more serious open source option for home security video, but it was too much work to set up for me.

Don't let power-over-ethernet worry you btw; you can always just get a small POE injector to plug into power+device itself.
posted by Nelson at 7:29 AM on August 26, 2016

Best answer: Check ebay for ip cameras. None of them need internet connections, and you can make sure they can't access it via your router firewall (if you're nerdily-inclined).

Most IP Camera apps on Android or iOS will work to view the view stream when you're connected to your home network, and not outside it.
posted by blue_beetle at 7:42 AM on August 26, 2016

Best answer: "Also, I'd rather not use POE ones because I only have a standard home wifi/LAN router and I'd like to avoid buying the POE router, if possible."

Just a small fyi but, just so you know, you can get a multi-port PoE injector. For 10/100 mbit connections you can get one for around 20 bucks and for gigabit connections you can get one for around $40.
posted by I-baLL at 8:26 AM on August 26, 2016

Any IP camera connect to your server and work without an internet connection.
posted by humboldt32 at 1:38 PM on August 26, 2016

Response by poster: Just to make sure I'm understanding, it seems like people are saying that basically all IP cameras can be viewed by entering their LAN address into a browser, and no special software is required. Correct? So, they have web servers built into them?
posted by atm at 2:43 PM on August 26, 2016

Best answer: Well, there is software. It's usually run by the camera.

You enter the local IP of the camera (192.168.1.xxx) and you'll get a dashboard showing the feed and then an area to adjust settings.
posted by humboldt32 at 3:32 PM on August 26, 2016

Yeah, the Axis camera has a web server built in. Whose main purpose is to give you, via HTTP, access to the live video feed. Also some control options. I don't think the Axis itself does motion detection or stores video where it's detected motion; I'm using software on a Linux server for that, which in turn is grabbing an MP4 stream off the Axis camera's firmware server.
posted by Nelson at 5:04 PM on August 26, 2016

Best answer: Most of the quality cameras will have a web server built in. This was amazing to those of us who adopted these things early on (still have some Axis NetEye 200/2100's from ~1996) ... but these days is a normal feature for a standalone camera. The documentation will tell you for sure. There are cameras that are designed to integrate into a networked system that may not have a web server, but even then, will usually have software that can be used to access the camera directly on the network, often as an installation and adjustment tool for the installer.

There's been a tendency towards a cloud based model for these cameras, partly because so many cameras are stuffed away behind NAT gateways (that thing people mistakenly refer to as a "router"). With a camera that is behind a NAT gateway, it would be relatively difficult for a typical user who just wants to "see their camera" to get connected to it without some sort of cloud rendezvous mechanism, or reconfiguration of the NAT device, which is beyond most average users. However, continuous streaming of video over an Internet connection is still bandwidth intensive enough that this isn't the exclusive method for access for most cameras, and it would definitely be unusual for a camera to force you to send image data to "the cloud" unless it was being requested from remote.

If you're only interested in access from the local LAN, or aren't frightened by the words "port forwarding" on your NAT/router, you are likely to be just fine.

You very likely do want a PoE camera. PoE eliminates the need for running two wires to the camera, and you can usually inject power at a convenient point with a midspan injector.

Be aware that some of these camera products have been the target of various security concerns over the years, and that this may reflect on the overall quality of the product.
posted by jgreco at 6:41 PM on August 26, 2016

Response by poster: Thanks for all of the help, everyone!
posted by atm at 8:07 PM on August 27, 2016