I was having my usual trawl through MakeUseOf.com earlier today, and came across this article:-
https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/awesome-d ... nts-linux/
These are supposed to be easy-to-use DIY video surveillance 'clients'. With the exception of ZoneMinder, which most of us know about through rockedge's efforts, the only other one which really caught my eye was this one:-
Xeoma
...which is described as being 'childishly easy to use', and was apparently inspired by the children's construction toy Lego..!
So I decided to have a look at it, and find out if the claims were true.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The website is here:-
https://felenasoft.com/xeoma/en/
You download either the 32-bit or 64-bit Linux packages, and what you get is a tarball.....which when extracted yields a single executable binary, named 'xeoma.app'. Place this anywhere you like (as with any AppImage), then simply click on it to run.
The claim about being 'childishly easy' is no idle boast. Within seconds, the app is starting up and initializing itself. You get some initial screens, which allow you to either go for the paid version, use the 30-day trial, or go to the free version (accessed from the Menu). This has fewer 'options' than the paid version, but for a DIY, 'home-brew' CCTV set-up, works fine.
One nice thing about this one is it will permit the use of ordinary web-cams as a video source item. Most apps of this type require the use of IP cameras, which, as rockedge has explained to me, auto-connect to the 'net by themselves (thus permitting remote operation), and also usually contain their own stream processing hardware, thereby removing the need for the host machine to have to do it.
But for 'cheap'n'cheerful', using free software, and allowing the use of old webcams you may have tucked away, or kicking around under foot, this takes some beating. Within seconds of 'OK'-ing the use of the free version, the app is auto-detecting your cameras, and already beginning to record footage!
It's also highly configurable. There are so many options available even in the free version that I'm not going to try and list them here.
I brought this to rockedge's attention earlier, and the maestro has, so far, given it his 'seal of approval'....!
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Just to make things a wee bit easier to use, I've put together .pet packages for this. I've put the 'xeoma' binary in /usr/bin (you can rename these things, and they still fire up), and merely added a Menu entry for it, so it can be started from Menu->Utility.
You can find 32- and 64-bit .pet packages at my GDrive, here:-
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing
I think, for anyone wanting an easy-to-use surveillance client, that Xeoma takes some beating. See what you think.
Enjoy.
Mike.
![Wink :wink:](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)