Turn your Mac into a CCTV system with SecuritySpy 5.0

Your Mac becomes a CCTV hub you can even access from your iPhone

I’ve been a fan of SecuritySpy for years, and it continues to improve.

Developed by independent UK developer, Ben Bird, it’s a fantastic way to create a CCTV system to protect any office or home, and the software was recently updated to version 5.0.

SecuritySpy 5.0 is a major update

Available in July 2019, SecuritySpy 5.0 is NVR (Network Video Recording) software that will enable you to quickly set up an effective video surveillance system of any size, from home or office installations to large-scale professional systems with hundreds of cameras.

Developer Ben Bird seems to have deployed Apple’s much improved object detection API’s within CoreML in this release.

“With the integration of a new AI-powered object detector, SecuritySpy is now smarter than ever,” he said in a press release.

(The AI-powered smart motion detection can recordings as well as email alerts, audio alarms, iOS push notifications and external devices.)

“By training our neural networks on hundreds of thousands of real CCTV images, we are able to achieve excellent accuracy for the new computer vision features,” Bird also explained.

With an easy to manage UI, there’s a bundle of features in the software, including smart motion detection powered by Artificial Intelligence, flexible recording features, remote monitoring, and support for the ultra-efficient H.265 (HEVC) video encoding format.

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The built-in secure web server allows remote monitoring of live video and captured footage, as well as configuration of the software, from over the Internet using a web browser or mobile device such as an iPhone, iPad or Apple TV.

The software supports virtually all IP cameras on the market, including the popular Axis, Dahua Technology, Canon, Samsung, Sony, Amcrest, Hikvision and Vivotek ranges.

The cost depends on the number of supported cameras, peaking at $890 for unlimited camera support.

What are the features of SecuritySpy 5.0?

• AI-based smart motion detection for exceptional detection accuracy and elimination of false triggers
• H.265 HEVC video encoding format support for high-efficiency streaming and recording
• Support for automatic generation of official “Let’s Encrypt” certificates for the secure web server
• New Dashboard feature for visual display of performance metrics
• Browser bookmarks, for easy annotation of each day’s recorded footage
• Browser file tagging, with Finder integration
• Dark mode support, including for the web interface
• Efficient software design allows one Mac to handle high numbers of cameras
• Built-in secure web server for remote monitoring and administration
• Automatic DDNS, port forwarding and SSL/TLS certificate generation for easy web setup
• Flexible scheduling options for recording at particular times of the day or week
• Browser feature for synchronised multi-camera playback of captured footage
• Supports industry-standard media formats (H.265, H.264, MPEG-4, JPEG, AAC)
• Hardware-accelerated video compression and decompression for low CPU usage
• Companion iOS and tvOS apps for viewing on iPhone, iPad or Apple TV
• Notifications including alarms, emails, scripts and iOS Push Notifications
• Pan/Tilt/Zoom (PTZ) support using virtual joystick
• Secure off-site backup of captured footage
• Integration with home automated systems such as Indigo and Control4
• Supports non-IP cameras such as built-in cameras, USB webcams and Blackmagic devices

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