Comparison

Distant Surveillance vs CH3 Camcorder

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Distant Surveillance

Features
Read full description

Turn your iPhone and iPad into surveillance cameras that send you notifications with videos anytime they detect some changes, so you can feel safe at your place and can leave your house, rental, Airbnb with the mind at peace. Contrary to the other surveillance, security and CCTV apps, with Distant Surveillance you don't need to own several iPhone/iPad devices, to purchase another camera, nor need to download any third party software to watch your surveillance cameras; you already have everything you need! Just install the app on your iPhone/iPad, and you are ready to go! Absolutely no setting required to start the surveillance! Open the address internet provided by the surveillance camera, using any web browser on any platform, to watch it! Get notified of any change and receive videos of what has been detected on your iPhone/iPad, on any phones, tablets and computers. Download the videos and use them as evidence in case something happens. Special features: - Turn any iPhone and iPad into a video surveillance camera. Keeping an eye on your house, your baby sleeping or your pets has never been so easy. - Zero setting required to start the video surveillance wherever you are: just connect your device to internet and you are ready to go! - Watch your surveillance camera using any web browsers on any platform, or using app on another iPhone/iPad. - See all your surveillance cameras currently online at once. - Get notified on any platform of any change and receive videos of what has been detected. To receive notification on your iPhone/iPad, just scan the QR code of the camera using the app. If you use another device, share the QR code with your computer, or scan it with your phone or tablet camera and register, its web browser so it will be notified. - Select which devices the surveillance camera will send notifications to - The app record videos anytime it detects changes during the surveillance; the videos are saved locally in the device camera roll and also sent to the notified devices so they can also keep copies as eventual evidences. - Secure the connection to the surveillance camera with your own password - Up to Full HD 1080P video surveillance with audio If you have a question, an issue or a suggestion, just drop us an email at support@seb-appstore.com Notes: - it is recommended to keep your device plugged and charging while doing video surveillance, as it could drain its battery - the app detects all changes even the very subtile ones: the app detects fire flames, electric arcs but also curtains and trees/plants movements - the recorded videos are accessibles remotely with the web browsers only when the camera is currently doing surveillance.

About

CH3 Camcorder

This app transforms your phone into a 1990s VHS camcorder, capturing footage in real-time with authentic vintage effects. It offers a suite of adjustable parameters to simulate the entire VHS signal chain, from visual distortions to audio processing. Recordings are stored in an in-app library with VCR-style playback and can be saved or shared.

Highlights
  • Real-time VHS recording
  • Authentic 90s camcorder look
  • 25 adjustable VHS signal parameters
  • VHS timestamp burn-in
  • VCR-style playback library
  • No account or tracking required
Read full description

Feeling nostalgic? CH3 turns your phone into a 1990s camcorder. Everything runs in real-time. What you see in the viewfinder is what you record. No post-processing, no filters applied after the fact. THE CAMERA 4:3 aspect ratio. 24fps. Low resolution. Portrait orientation with a landscape crop, just like holding a real camcorder. The on-screen display is rendered inside the viewfinder, just like the real thing. THE EFFECTS 25 adjustable parameters that simulate every stage of the VHS signal chain: - Chromatic aberration, chroma smear, and chroma delay - Tracking distortion and head-switch noise - Scanlines, interlace combing, and scanline drift - Film grain, tape warp, and glitch - Bloom, vignette, soft focus, and luma ringing - Brightness, contrast, saturation, warmth, and split-tone color grading - VHS timestamp burn-in and night vision - VHS audio processing: low-pass filter, wow/flutter, tape hiss, and saturation THE PRESETS Built-in presets to get you started. Pro users can create and share their own. Presets sync across devices via iCloud. THE TAPES All recordings are saved to an in-app tape library with VCR-style playback controls: play, pause, fast-forward, and rewind. Save tapes directly to your photo library or share them. PRIVACY Remember when apps didn't know your name, your location, and what you had for breakfast? Good times. No account. No sign-up. No analytics. No tracking. No ads. No data collection. No third-party SDKs. No internet required. The only permissions CH3 asks for are camera and microphone, because it's a camera. Your recordings never leave your device unless you share them yourself. That's it. UPGRADE TO PRO No subscriptions. No nonsense. One payment and it's yours forever. - Unlimited recording duration - No watermark - Full preset editor - Combine multiple tapes into one - Custom preset sharing - iCloud preset sync

Screenshots

Distant Surveillance4 screens
CH3 Camcorder4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: CH3 Camcorder at every 3 days against Distant Surveillance's every 2 months. Distant Surveillance's advantage is device support (3 vs 1). On price, ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Distant Surveillance sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per month and CH3 Camcorder sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Distant Surveillance ships an update every 2 months, CH3 Camcorder every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Distant Surveillance versus CH3 Camcorder: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDistant SurveillanceCH3 Camcorder
PriceFreeFree
Rating—5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—3 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
Monetization—Free with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size32 MB4 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSebastien BUETAlan Kahn

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Distant Surveillance

Subscriptions1
  • Monthly Subscription$1.991 Month
1 purchases

CH3 Camcorder

One-time1
  • CH3 Camcorder Pro$1.99

Questions

Is Distant Surveillance free?
Distant Surveillance is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is CH3 Camcorder free?
CH3 Camcorder is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Distant Surveillance or CH3 Camcorder have ads?
Neither Distant Surveillance nor CH3 Camcorder shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Distant Surveillance or CH3 Camcorder?
Distant Surveillance ships an update every 2 months, and CH3 Camcorder every 3 days. Most recently, Distant Surveillance was updated on October 25, 2026 and CH3 Camcorder on October 9, 2026.

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