Cool network camera, on-sale.

[AutomatedOutlet]

I think one of the main benefits of an IP camera is that you can just plug them in to any eithernet connection. They can be speadout throughout the house, thoughout multiple locations, and all viewed on the same screen. Moving cameras is also easier because you don't have to pull wire to a video server everytime you want to add a camera.

 

[markthomas]

Just so nobody gets confused, the $226 computer has no slots, so this idea won't fly with that machine. But the concept is still valid.

Good catch. Let me come up with something actually viable.

A nice barebones system (I'm partial to little aluminum cube cases). This one's $150.
Add a Pentium 4 ($50), RAM ($40), and a HD ($50) (source: PriceWatch) to give you a pretty sweet and complete cube PC for $290.

I wouldn't skimp on the card; you can get sub-$100 cards with four inputs that split the frame rate between them, or get a quad-chip card such as this: I-Tuner for $395.

Add Linux ($0) and ZoneMinder ($0) or Motion ($0) to complete it.

In total, this uber camera server ranges from $390 - $690, but can do a lot more than the $1000+ dedicated IP servers, such as detecting motion, recording, triggering automation systems, etc.

 

[Chakara]

Or for the price of the above I could have 2-5 camera's on my network. It's all a matter of what you want to do.

 

[markthomas]

I think one of the main benefits of an IP camera is that you can just plug them in to any eithernet connection. They can be speadout throughout the house, thoughout multiple locations, and all viewed on the same screen. Moving cameras is also easier because you don't have to pull wire to a video server everytime you want to add a camera.

Even then, I'd take high-quality Greyfox cat-5 cameras over the typical IP cameras.