How to turn an Android phone into an intelligent video security system

If you have an old Android phone lying around you can create a fairly powerful home security system. There are two steps: First, turn the phone into a camera. Second, set up the security software on a PC or Mac.

1. On your android device:

Download IP Webcam from the Google Play Store.
Run the app and select "Video preferences" from the IP Webcam settings screen.
Change the video resolution to 1280x720 for HD video, or keep it at 640x480 for older devices.
Go back one screen to the main IP Webcam settings.
It’s a good idea to set up a login and password under Connection Settings.
Scroll down the list of settings and click “Start Server”.
The app should start displaying a video feed and show an IP address and port number near the bottom of the video preview screen. Make a note of those numbers -- you will need to refer back to them shortly. (e.g., http://192.168.0.161:8080)

2. On your computer:

Download Sighthound Video at www.sighthound.com/products/sighthound-video and open the program.
In the menu bar, click Tools -> Add Camera
Change the Camera Type dropdown to “Network (IP) Camera”, Manufacturer to “Android Device”, and click the Next button.
Select "IP Webcam" from the dropdown box next to Camera Type.
Enter the following for the camera settings:
- IP Address: The numeric IP address shown on your IP Webcam screen (e.g., 192.168.0.161)
- HTTP Port: 8080 (Or the unique number following the colon after the IP address shown on your IP Webcam screen)
- Username/Password: If you set up a user name and password in IP Webcam, enter them here.
- Scale video to: Select the video resolution you chose in IP Webcam's Video Preferences
- Click Next

You should now see a preview of the camera’s video from within Sighthound Video.
- Click Next and give the camera’s location a name (e.g., Front, Garage, Pool, etc.)
- Click Next and Finish to save your newly added camera.