Setting Up Webcam Security The Free Way

This is not easy to set up, but once done it works fantastic.

Requirements: At least one webcam, 32-bit Windows XP (Service Pack 2 or greater), 32-bit Windows Vista or 32-bit Windows 7. It is unknown whether this software works in 64-bit Windows.

This tutorial will teach you how to set up your webcam to snap a photo every time it detects something move, and store all those images in a directory, ordered by time and date.

The software needed to do this is a free utility called Dorgem. When you go to that web site, yes it is discontinued software and hasn’t been updated since 2005 – however I’ve tested it both in Windows XP and Windows 7 and it works perfectly without any problems at all.

Dorgem looks easy on the surface, but is difficult to set up and that’s where this tutorial comes in.

Step 1. Make sure your webcam is plugged in.

Step 2. Install and launch Dorgem.

Step 3. Choose the appropriate webcam and check for a picture.

Above: Click the Preview button. If the cam activates and you see a picture, wave your hand in front of the cam to make sure it’s working (even if slightly delayed). If it works, go to the next step.

If you see nothing, check to make sure your webcam is plugged in. If not, close Dorgem, plug in the webcam and restart the software. If you still don’t see a picture when clicking Preview, click the drop-down menu to see if there is more than one choice. If there is, choose the next choice and click Preview to see if you get a picture. If after all that there is no picture, you will need to reinstall your webcam drivers.

Step 4. Position your webcam to the desired location.

It’s best to position the cam where there is some actual movement. If you’re just testing the software, point the webcam where there is something moving, such as a television, rotating fan or anything where there’s something physically moving in the frame of view.

Step 5. Create a directory where you want your security images to be stored.

Create a directory called Security under My Documents no matter which version of Windows you are using.

Step 6. Adjust Store Settings.

Click Store Settings.

Click Add.

Click File, then OK.

In the Name field, type a friendly name you will remember, such as "Security".

Check off Enable.

Set the interval to 10 seconds.

Click the button … (it is three dots) next to the filename field.

When the location box pops up, navigate to My Documents and then Security. This is the folder you created a moment ago. The Security folder will be blank. In the File Name field, type:

security_%G_%g

It will look like this:

%G means date in yyyymmdd format, such as 20100901 (year 2010, month 09 September, day of month 01).

%g means time in hhmmss (hour/minute/second) 24-hour format, such as 151040 (hour 15, minute 10, second 40).

Every image written as shown above will be like this:

security_20100901_151040.jpg

The image it takes 10 seconds later, if there were any movement, would be:

security_20100901_151050.jpg

..and so on.

When finished, click Save. You will go back a screen. Click OK. You will go back another screen. Click Close.

At this point Dorgem is already snapping photos, but that’s OK and we’ll take care of that in a moment.

Step 7. Setting timestamp captions.

Click Caption Settings.

Click Add.

Click Text, then OK.

Set Name as "Date" (type that word in that field).

In the Text field, type the following:

%G %g

Be sure to include the space.

This, exactly like the file name, will set a caption of date first, time second.

Click OK then Close.

Step 8. Enable motion detection.

Click Options.

Check the box Use Motion Detection and click OK.

Step 9. Close Dorgem temporarily.

Click Exit to close Dorgem.

Step 10. Clean out your Security folder.

Go to My Documents then Security. You’ll see some images Dorgem took. Examine them if you wish. When done, delete all the images there.

Step 11. Restart Dorgem.

The moment you start Dorgem it will start snapping photos if it detects any movement and check once every 10 seconds.

Things to know from this point

Motion detection in Dorgem is a bit too good at times.

The way Dorgem uses motion detection is that if the image it sees is any different from the last image it took, it will snap another photo. This is both good and bad. It’s good because it never misses anything, but bad because if you point the webcam outside where there are trees waving, that does count as actual motion as far as Dorgem is concerned.

If on the other hand the webcam is pointed at an area that normally has nothing moving in it save for people walking in and out periodically, the motion detection is perfect for this use.

It’s all too easy to have your Security directory chock full of webcam security images, and unfortunately there’s no way around that. However it is better than nothing at all. Fortunately the images are small and can be managed easily, although you may want to clear out/backup that folder at least once every few days. The best thing to do is to make it a nightly routine to examine the photos, and if nothing is there of interest, delete them.

The best way to view the photos is with a photo editor that can show slideshows such as Windows Live Photo Gallery or Picasa. This will allow you to view the images as if you were watching a videotape.