CCTV with XBox

[Martin Howell <martin.howell@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

A recent spell in hospital, leaving SWMBO alone at home, has brought
forward my plans for rigging up external and internal cameras around the
ol' homestead.  I'm attracted by the idea of using one of the 50 quid
Argos Xboxes as a base, because its a) cheap, b) quiet and c) small-ish.

I have no experience with these boxes, so I could do with some guidance
from those who have done this kind of thing before.  My understanding is
that in addition to hacking the 'Box, I will need a TV (or a monitor
with some kind of TV/VGA adaptor); a wireless bridge or similar hooked
into the 10/100 port (I already have a wireless network running round
the house), and some kind of keypad/keyboard to be able to steer the
beast. It will also need some software to monitor the cameras and sound
alarms and start recording when movement is detected. A couple of
immediate questions spring to mind:-

- what do I need to do the hack the Xbox, and where is the best place to
get the bits from?
- any suggestions for suitable cameras and monitoring software -
ideally, the cameras would be wireless IP to minimise the plumbing and
allow them to be seen from other PCs on the network
- can I use the speakers from the TV for sound from the cameras, or
would I need to rig up separate speakers?
- what are my options for a keyboard of other input device - the box
will only be used for this purpose, so don't really need a full
keyboard/mouse arrangement

Lots more questions in the pipeline, no doubt.  I have a soldering iron
and a selection of suitable hammers, so am not afraid to take the lid
off and start hacking about, but I need to understand the scope of what
I'm getting into first - what looks like a cheap solution may end up
being just as expensive as building up a PC from bits in my junk box.

Thanks
Martin