Merging Video with Computers, cont.
A while ago I mentioned the effort I was going through to try to capture the video signal from closed circuit TV in the foaling shed, and have this beam over the internet so I could check on the mares from afar. You can purchase an IP network camera to do this, but they are expensive and not durable enough for my tastes. So instead I purchased a computer TV tuner and TV signal beamer. There was a lot of experimentation and special encoding software needed, etc, but I did get it working. However, in the last setup to the camera at the farm, I just could not get the Tuner to capture the signal. There are reasons for that, but the bottom line is that I was using an old laptop as the web device and the laptop and tuner were not very compatible. The good news is that I was able to use the TV beamer to send a signal from the kitchen to mom and dad's bedroom so they could check on the mares at night without havng to get up and head to the kitchen.
Recently I saved enough money with the part time job to buy a new computer. Hooked the tuner and TV beamer to that and it works beautifully! The short story is that I can play satellite TV on my computer (up in the corner of the screen) while I plug away on other programming tasks. Sound is great and picture is lovely. Next year I'll hook up cameras at the new barn and tie it in to the system here over wireless LAN. Technology is really something nowadays.
