52 Snapshots of Life; Week 36: Technology

Today, I want to write about how I spy on my pets (and my house) when I'm not home.  Actually, the cameras are running all the time, even when I am home!  There are a number of cameras at various locations throughout the house.  I installed them after my house was broken into.  I also had the house armed with an alarm system.

I use two programs for my cameras.  I set the whole thing up myself because I am a nerdy geeky person.  It's the only "DIY" project I am capable of doing from start-to-finish without hiring someone!  I also have a camera connected to the alarm system itself.  Because, if you know me, you know that I am a little obsessive and over-the-top when it comes to technology, video and photography!  One camera is never enough!

To inform the bad guys that they are being watched, there are signs on the doors and windows, and yard signs posted outside; including one that looks like this:

The fun part, for me,  is spying on the pets when I'm not home.  They basically do nothing but sleep all day, and they don't act up at all!!  They save all the acting up for me!!!  Now I am on to them, and realize it's something *I* am doing wrong that makes them get all amped up.  They are perfectly normal animals until I come into the picture (ooo, see what I did there?).

I capture videos quite often, for various reasons.  The computer programs have a feature that allows for video capture, and both programs also automatically save x-number of videos for x-number of days, so I can go back and look at them if I want to, or save them to my hard drive later on.

I captured this video as a download the other day because Charlie was looking right AT the camera!! I was spying on him from work, after the alert system sent me a text message indicating movement at this specific location.

If you'd like information on the technology I use to monitor my home and pets, here are the two products I use.  I am not getting paid to promote these two products, I simply use them, and thought I would share the information if others are interested.  So far, I've had no problems or down-time with either product.  I did drop a camera on the floor and it broke, but that was totally my fault!

The first product "Presence" is free, and can be used via any mobile phone or tablet that includes a camera. You have to keep the phone or tablet plugged in, which is sort of a pain. The app sends you text alerts and you can do a whole bunch of other things with it as well. Check out the PresencePro website for more info.

The other product is VueZone.  They are owned by NetGear, the company best known for wi-fi routers.  The VueZone cameras are pricey, even if you buy them from Amazon instead of VueZone (which I have done).  The batteries are also pricey, and they smell awful (the batteries).  But the batteries do last a long time.  There are no cords, and you can get night-vision cameras or regular ones; you can get motion-activated cameras, or stand-alone cameras.  This system does require a separate VueZone router attached to your internet modem.  There is a monthly fee for VueZone's monitoring.

With both products, you can see the monitoring either on your phone (you have to download an app for each one); or on your computer by logging into your Presence or VueZone account.

Another product which I have not tried is the Butterfleye Cam.  I tried to win one the other night during BlogPaws' Twitter Chat ha ha but no such luck!  Anyway, I hear it's a great product.  Not sure about pricing or any technical details, except it looks really cool.

Again, I am not getting paid to give out these recommendations, just doing it out of the kindness of my heart!!

Sometimes I'll take a break at work and scroll through the captures from the various cameras, and I sit there giggling, looking at what my pets are doing throughout the day.  I also am able to see my caretaker and pet-sitters, deliveries being made to the house, and a whole host of other stuff.  The cameras can be easily moved to other locations within the house any time I want to set it up differently.

Any questions or comments about pet-cam and security monitoring?  Tell me about it below!


This post is part of the 52 Snapshots of Life photo challenge, sponsored by our buddies at The Lazy Pit Bull.