Looking for a solution when I have a slow internet connection

[Marieau]

I have a cabin in a somewhat remote location and can only get DSL with a .5 MB connection (that's one half of a megabyte - don't misread it). I'd like to get a camera system that I can use to monitor my cabin, but, as you can see, I don't have a lot of bandwidth. Is there a system out there that will email a snapshot at a specified time (not based on movement)? Or, if I put a cellphone there and set it up as a wi-fi hotspot, how much data does a camera system use per hour to broadcast? I've thought about setting up a router on a timer and have it connect only at certain times of the day so I could limit the data usage. I know that it would limit what I can watch, but it's an idea, anyway. Or, if anyone has any other ideas, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

[jjreynolds]

You would have to hook up some kind of device to the alarm input relay that triggers on certain times and program Events:Alarms to send an email. It should be a normally open type input I believe, but I haven't looked into it. Who knows if it even works. You can test it with a paper clip.

[Melvin]

Hello Marieau,

0.5 upload bandwidth is very low even for 720P cameras. Using your phone as hotspot is also not a good solution. You can use a 720P camera and lower the resolution and bitrate etc. It will not use much data unless you view it remotely from a phone or computer. It can email snapshots based on motion detection but not on regular intervals.

[MD99]

Best is to FTP the files over a slow network. You need a home FTP destination which many stand alone hard disk drives do now.

[Marieau]

jj, MD, and Melvin,
Thanks for your input. I spoke with the most likely DSL provider yesterday and they said they recently received a government grant to bring high speed internet into that area. They are expecting to be able to provide service within the year. I've waited for three years, so I guess one more won't hurt. Thanks again.