Need help with crazy idea - dog monitor / isight / ichat

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djbeta

Registered
Hi there,

I will be moving into an apartment and must leave my dogs there during the day. I'll get home to walk them, but want to monitor them for a few weeks when I'm not there for a few reasons. (primarily to make sure they're not barking incessantly which could lead to my eviction)

I was thinking of getting an isight, hooking it up to my G5, and leaving ichat running. Then I could login with another account and connect to the computer at home. I might need to VNC into the computer to accept the connection...
but aside from that, does it sound like this is a reasonable way to setup a doggie monitor with isight, ichat, etc. ??

The funny part of course would be seeing their expression when I tell them to stop barking!
 
Anyone know if I can use my Sony HC20
firewire mini DV recorder as the webcam ??

and possibly.. even control it somehow remotely (zoom, pan, etc.)
 
I am using an old laptop (Windows) running WinVNC and my MacBook running ChickenOfTheVNC to monitor my driveway when I'm working away from home. My place is really remote and it's nice to know there are no vehicles in the driveway, no cattle has broken the fence and no forest fire burned down the house. Internet is via 2 way satellite and always on. I like your idea about monitoring the dog(s), but I would also need a way to remote-feed ;-)
 

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djbeta said:
Hi there,

I will be moving into an apartment and must leave my dogs there during the day. I'll get home to walk them, but want to monitor them for a few weeks when I'm not there for a few reasons. (primarily to make sure they're not barking incessantly which could lead to my eviction)

I was thinking of getting an isight, hooking it up to my G5, and leaving ichat running. Then I could login with another account and connect to the computer at home. I might need to VNC into the computer to accept the connection...
but aside from that, does it sound like this is a reasonable way to setup a doggie monitor with isight, ichat, etc. ??

The funny part of course would be seeing their expression when I tell them to stop barking!
Click to expand...

Can you please briefly describe what "VNC into the computer" is all about?

I myself have been interested in monitoring my various pets when I'm not home.
 
VNC stands for Virtual Network Computing and allows you to remotely control another computer. Chicken of the VNC is a client that will allow you to log into another computer and see that computer's screen (and control it of course). The computer you are login into will act (or is?) the server, the client is the computer you are using to view the remote machine.

http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/networking_security/chickenofthevnc.html

I tried using Windows Remote Desktop and Remote Desktop Connection for Mac without success. Didn't realize you need XP Pro to log-in.
Chicken of the VNC solves that problem. It works great and I'm using it daily... if not for the remote camera set-up I'm using it to access my music on a PC in my office, while I have my MacBook with me in the living room or outside. Absolutely flawless and log-in is fast and easy... just a mouse click!

Someone else might be able to add to this...
 
Here's a screen shot of my VNC connection... almost looks like running Windows in Parallels.
 

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djbeta said:
Anyone know if I can use my Sony HC20
firewire mini DV recorder as the webcam ??

and possibly.. even control it somehow remotely (zoom, pan, etc.)
Click to expand...

It's firewire, so it should "just work" with iChat and other apps. VNC will allow you to see the remote computer's desktop, so you can check to see if your dogs are surfing the web, and see the camera feed going into the computer.

OS X comes with VNC access built-in. Just enable "Apple Remote Desktop" in the sharing pane of system preferences, and make sure the "VNC users may control screen with..." is filled out.

From there, you'll have to make the feed accessible from outside your house. Hopefully you have a static IP - one that does not change. If you don't you'll need something like dynamic DNS, which will forward traffic to your dynamic IP, or upgrade to a static IP. Once you find your IP, make sure that you've port-forwarded the required VNC ports, adjusted your firewall, and have a good password on the VNC feed.

From there, the VNC feed should work from anywhere with internet.. in theory.
 
Thanks... VNC though won't allow me an audio feed.. so my plan is to use VNC to connect to the machine, but only to initiate an iChat AV audio/video connection to my machine at work, and then monitor the dogs through iChat AV, so, even if they're not in the camera's field of view, I'd still be able to hear what's going on in the apartment.

Does that sound reasonable ?
 
Yep. Hopefully iChat will play nice with the long chats, make sure you're using a wired connection there to avoid interference and a sudden drop of chat.
 
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