Our Review

Pros Cheap alternative to hardware video surveillance Works with a wide variety of cameras Use webcams and network cameras Use motion detection on all of your cameras Receive email or SMS notifications on motion detection Cons None

Can be installed easily

Obviously, the first step of getting EyeLine on your PC is to download it. Once you do that, you just need to launch the installer, accept the EULA and you’re set. There’s no additional step you need to take, nor any complicated configuration.

The installer launches the program shortly after being done with the setup process. The downside of this automated setup is that you can find multiple shortcuts created on your desktop and in your Start Menu. Some of them have absolutely no connection to EyeLine itself, as they’re only there to help NCH advertise some of their other products.

Complex, yet simplistic software solution

It’s not that EyeLine is a complicated tool because it’s not. It’s rather a complex one that lets you create a fully-fledged surveillance system on your PC if you have the cameras, to begin with. However, all of its features are intuitive, making it maybe too simple for just about anyone to operate it without a care in the world.

You can add cameras by clicking the big dedicated button and selecting what kind of device you want to use. As mentioned above, you can choose from webcams or cameras that are located on your network. While webcams are detected automatically upon connection to your PC, network devices need an additional configuration.

Thus, you need to type a URL, but also a username and a password for EyeLine to detect network cameras properly. However, you can also configure your webcams in terms of picture adjustment, zoom, focus, and aperture.

Includes a web server and scheduler

If you want to be able to access your surveillance system from anywhere in the world, you can start a webserver directly from the app. Just click the “Connect” button and the app will ask you if you want to start the webserver. From that point, you can configure the web component so that you can access it remotely.

EyeLine also includes a scheduler, that allows you to set your devices to start recording at specific times. Additionally, all of your cameras, regardless of their nature, can be set to pick-up motion and start recording upon detecting it. You can also enable email or SMS notifications that will let you know if your cameras picked up any motion.

The motion detection feature can also come in handy if you don’t have nearly enough space on your HDD. Since your cameras only record when motion is detected, a lot of space can be saved as a result.

Organizes surveillance footage nicely

The “Find and Play” option you can access from EyeLine’s toolbar can help you manage your recordings easily. Once you go there, you can see a list of recordings, filter it and do whatever you want with your content.

For instance, you can burn it to a CD or DVD, or even convert it to another format, if you want. From the same location, you can save your recordings to another folder, play them, or even delete them.

EyeLine FAQ

  • Why is there up to 50 seconds delay when watching a stream on an Android or iOS device?

EyeLine uses HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) to generate streams for mobile devices. This protocol creates several video fragments that are sent to the device, making such delays inevitable.

  • Can a message be sent out on motion activation?

EyeLine can send you either an email or a text message on your phone upon detecting motion on your cameras. Use the “motions” tab in the app’s options window to configure this feature. You can even change the email template that the program sends by default when detecting movement.

  • How does the motion detector work?

The motion detection feature can be used to perform various actions. For instance, you can set EyeLine to automatically change the main display to the camera that’s picking up movement upon detection, and even make it loop through all the cameras that detect it.

Additionally, you can set the cameras to start recording whenever they sense something moving in their field of view. Motion detection sensitivity can be adjusted, so the cameras don’t trigger over insects flying or drafts moving stuff around.

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