diff --git a/filter/basic.go b/filter/basic.go
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..587facfe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/filter/basic.go
@@ -0,0 +1,217 @@
+/*
+DESCRIPTION
+  A filter that detects motion and discards frames without motion. The
+  filter uses a difference method looking at each individual pixel to
+  determine what is background and what is foreground.
+
+AUTHORS
+  Ella Pietraroia <ella@ausocean.org>
+
+LICENSE
+  basic.go is Copyright (C) 2020 the Australian Ocean Lab (AusOcean)
+
+  It is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify them
+  under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the
+  Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your
+  option) any later version.
+
+  It is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
+  ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
+  FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License
+  for more details.
+
+  You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+  in gpl.txt.  If not, see http://www.gnu.org/licenses.
+*/
+
+package filter
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"fmt"
+	"image"
+	"image/color"
+	"image/jpeg"
+	"io"
+	"os"
+	"strconv"
+	"sync"
+
+	"golang.org/x/image/font"
+	"golang.org/x/image/font/basicfont"
+	"golang.org/x/image/math/fixed"
+)
+
+const debugfile = "motion.mjpeg"
+
+type pixel struct{ r, g, b uint32 }
+
+// Basic is a filter that provides basic motion detection via a difference
+// method.
+type Basic struct {
+	dst    io.WriteCloser
+	img    image.Image
+	bg     [][]pixel
+	bwImg  *image.RGBA
+	thresh int
+	pix    int
+	w      int
+	h      int
+	file   io.WriteCloser
+	motion int
+	debug  bool
+}
+
+// NewBasic returns a pointer to a new Basic filter struct.
+func NewBasic(dst io.WriteCloser, debug bool, t, p int) *Basic {
+	bwImg := image.NewRGBA(image.Rect(0, 0, 0, 0))
+	var file io.WriteCloser
+	var err error
+	file = nil
+	if debug {
+		file, err = os.Create(debugfile)
+		if err != nil {
+			panic(fmt.Sprintf("could not create debug file: %v", err))
+		}
+	}
+	return &Basic{dst, nil, nil, bwImg, t, p, 0, 0, file, 0, debug}
+}
+
+// Implements io.Closer.
+func (bf *Basic) Close() error {
+	if bf.debug {
+		err := bf.file.Close()
+		if err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("file cannot be closed: %w", err)
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// Implements io.Writer.
+// Write applies the motion filter to the video stream. Only frames with motion
+// are written to the destination encoder, frames without are discarded.
+func (bf *Basic) Write(f []byte) (int, error) {
+	// Decode MJPEG.
+	var err error
+	bf.img, err = jpeg.Decode(bytes.NewReader(f))
+	if err != nil {
+		return 0, fmt.Errorf("image can't be decoded: %w", err)
+	}
+
+	// First frame must be set as the first background image.
+	if bf.bg == nil {
+		bounds := bf.img.Bounds()
+		bf.w = bounds.Max.X
+		bf.h = bounds.Max.Y
+
+		bf.bwImg = image.NewRGBA(image.Rect(0, 0, bf.w, bf.h))
+
+		bf.bg = make([][]pixel, bf.h)
+		for j, _ := range bf.bg {
+			bf.bg[j] = make([]pixel, bf.w)
+			for i, _ := range bf.bg[j] {
+				p := bf.img.At(i, j)
+				r, g, b, _ := p.RGBA()
+				bf.bg[j][i].r = r
+				bf.bg[j][i].b = b
+				bf.bg[j][i].g = g
+			}
+		}
+		return len(f), nil
+	}
+
+	// Use 4x goroutines to each process one row of pixels.
+	var j int
+	j = 0
+	var wg sync.WaitGroup
+
+	for j < bf.h {
+		wg.Add(4)
+		go bf.process(j, &wg)
+		go bf.process(j+1, &wg)
+		go bf.process(j+2, &wg)
+		go bf.process(j+3, &wg)
+		j = j + 4
+		wg.Wait()
+	}
+
+	// Will save a video of where motion is detected in motion.mjpeg (in the current folder).
+	if bf.debug {
+		err := bf.saveFrame()
+		if err != nil {
+			return len(f), fmt.Errorf("image can't be encoded for debug video: %w", err)
+		}
+	}
+
+	// If there are not enough motion pixels then discard the frame.
+	if bf.motion < bf.pix {
+		return len(f), nil
+	}
+
+	// Write all motion frames.
+	return bf.dst.Write(f)
+}
+
+// Go routine for one row of the image to be processed.
+func (bf *Basic) process(j int, wg *sync.WaitGroup) {
+	for i, _ := range bf.bg[j] {
+		n := bf.img.At(i, j)
+		r, b, g, _ := n.RGBA()
+
+		// Compare the difference of the RGB values of each pixel to the background image.
+		diffR := absDiff(r, bf.bg[j][i].r)
+		diffG := absDiff(g, bf.bg[j][i].g)
+		diffB := absDiff(g, bf.bg[j][i].b)
+
+		diff := diffR + diffG + diffB
+
+		if diff > bf.thresh {
+			bf.motion++
+		}
+
+		if bf.debug {
+			if diff > bf.thresh {
+				bf.bwImg.SetRGBA(i, j, color.RGBA{0xff, 0xff, 0xff, 0xff})
+			} else {
+				bf.bwImg.SetRGBA(i, j, color.RGBA{0x00, 0x00, 0x00, 0xff})
+			}
+		}
+
+		// Update backgound image.
+		bf.bg[j][i].r = r
+		bf.bg[j][i].b = b
+		bf.bg[j][i].g = g
+	}
+	wg.Done()
+}
+
+// Writes a visualisation of the motion being detected to file.
+func (bf *Basic) saveFrame() error {
+	col := color.RGBA{200, 100, 0, 255} // Red text.
+	d := &font.Drawer{
+		Dst:  bf.bwImg,
+		Src:  image.NewUniform(col),
+		Face: basicfont.Face7x13,
+		Dot:  fixed.P(20, 30),
+	}
+	var s string
+	if bf.motion > bf.pix {
+		s = strconv.Itoa(bf.motion) + " Motion"
+	} else {
+		s = strconv.Itoa(bf.motion)
+	}
+	d.DrawString(s)
+	return jpeg.Encode(bf.file, bf.bwImg, nil)
+}
+
+// Returns the absolute value of the difference of two uint32 numbers.
+func absDiff(a, b uint32) int {
+	c := int(a) - int(b)
+	if c < 0 {
+		return -c
+	} else {
+		return c
+	}
+
+}
diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index dfa6f093..35f29b69 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -12,5 +12,6 @@ require (
 	github.com/pkg/errors v0.8.1
 	github.com/yobert/alsa v0.0.0-20180630182551-d38d89fa843e
 	gocv.io/x/gocv v0.21.0
+	golang.org/x/image v0.0.0-20200119044424-58c23975cae1
 	gopkg.in/natefinch/lumberjack.v2 v2.0.0
 )
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 1b06d678..9a4cad8a 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -56,7 +56,10 @@ go.uber.org/zap v1.10.0 h1:ORx85nbTijNz8ljznvCMR1ZBIPKFn3jQrag10X2AsuM=
 go.uber.org/zap v1.10.0/go.mod h1:vwi/ZaCAaUcBkycHslxD9B2zi4UTXhF60s6SWpuDF0Q=
 gocv.io/x/gocv v0.21.0 h1:dVjagrupZrfCRY0qPEaYWgoNMRpBel6GYDH4mvQOK8Y=
 gocv.io/x/gocv v0.21.0/go.mod h1:Rar2PS6DV+T4FL+PM535EImD/h13hGVaHhnCu1xarBs=
+golang.org/x/image v0.0.0-20200119044424-58c23975cae1 h1:5h3ngYt7+vXCDZCup/HkCQgW5XwmSvR/nA2JmJ0RErg=
+golang.org/x/image v0.0.0-20200119044424-58c23975cae1/go.mod h1:FeLwcggjj3mMvU+oOTbSwawSJRM1uh48EjtB4UJZlP0=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.0.0-20190913121621-c3b328c6e5a7/go.mod h1:h1NjWce9XRLGQEsW7wpKNCjG9DtNlClVuFLEZdDNbEs=
+golang.org/x/text v0.3.0/go.mod h1:NqM8EUOU14njkJ3fqMW+pc6Ldnwhi/IjpwHt7yyuwOQ=
 gopkg.in/check.v1 v0.0.0-20161208181325-20d25e280405 h1:yhCVgyC4o1eVCa2tZl7eS0r+SDo693bJlVdllGtEeKM=
 gopkg.in/check.v1 v0.0.0-20161208181325-20d25e280405/go.mod h1:Co6ibVJAznAaIkqp8huTwlJQCZ016jof/cbN4VW5Yz0=
 gopkg.in/check.v1 v1.0.0-20180628173108-788fd7840127 h1:qIbj1fsPNlZgppZ+VLlY7N33q108Sa+fhmuc+sWQYwY=
diff --git a/revid/config/config.go b/revid/config/config.go
index 1793215e..cc94c082 100644
--- a/revid/config/config.go
+++ b/revid/config/config.go
@@ -106,6 +106,10 @@ const (
 	defaultMOGMinArea   = 25.0
 	defaultMOGThreshold = 20.0
 	defaultMOGHistory   = 500
+
+	// Basic filter parameter defaults
+	defaultBasicThreshold = 45000
+	defaultBasicPixels    = 1000
 )
 
 // Quality represents video quality.
@@ -128,6 +132,7 @@ const (
 	FilterVariableFPS
 	FilterKNN
 	FilterDifference
+	FilterBasic
 )
 
 // OS names
@@ -300,6 +305,9 @@ type Config struct {
 	MOGThreshold float64 // Intensity value from the KNN motion detection algorithm that is considered motion.
 	MOGHistory   uint    // Length of MOG filter's history
 
+	BasicThreshold int
+	BasicPixels    int
+
 	// If true will restart reading of input after an io.EOF.
 	Loop bool
 
@@ -313,6 +321,8 @@ type Config struct {
 // can be set over the web. It is a psuedo const.
 var TypeData = map[string]string{
 	"AutoWhiteBalance": "enum:off,auto,sun,cloud,shade,tungsten,fluorescent,incandescent,flash,horizon",
+	"BasicPixels":      "int",
+	"BasicThreshold":   "int",
 	"BitDepth":         "int",
 	"Brightness":       "uint",
 	"BurstPeriod":      "uint",
@@ -323,7 +333,7 @@ var TypeData = map[string]string{
 	"DiffThreshold":    "float",
 	"Exposure":         "enum:auto,night,nightpreview,backlight,spotlight,sports,snow,beach,verylong,fixedfps,antishake,fireworks",
 	"FileFPS":          "int",
-	"Filters":          "enums:NoOp,MOG,VariableFPS,KNN,Difference",
+	"Filters":          "enums:NoOp,MOG,VariableFPS,KNN,Difference,Basic",
 	"FrameRate":        "uint",
 	"Height":           "uint",
 	"HorizontalFlip":   "bool",
@@ -524,6 +534,16 @@ func (c *Config) Validate() error {
 		c.MOGHistory = defaultMOGHistory
 	}
 
+	if c.BasicThreshold <= 0 {
+		c.logInvalidField("BasicThreshold", defaultBasicThreshold)
+		c.BasicThreshold = defaultBasicThreshold
+	}
+
+	if c.BasicPixels <= 0 {
+		c.logInvalidField("BasicPixels", defaultBasicPixels)
+		c.BasicPixels = defaultBasicPixels
+	}
+
 	if c.ShowWindows {
 		os, err := osName()
 		if err != nil {
diff --git a/revid/revid.go b/revid/revid.go
index 5dd4a778..9dd04862 100644
--- a/revid/revid.go
+++ b/revid/revid.go
@@ -348,6 +348,8 @@ func (r *Revid) setupPipeline(mtsEnc func(dst io.WriteCloser, rate float64) (io.
 				r.filters[i] = filter.NewKNN(dst, r.cfg.KNNMinArea, r.cfg.KNNThreshold, int(r.cfg.KNNHistory), int(r.cfg.KNNKernel), r.cfg.ShowWindows, r.cfg.MotionInterval)
 			case config.FilterDifference:
 				r.filters[i] = filter.NewDifference(dst, r.cfg.ShowWindows, r.cfg.DiffThreshold)
+			case config.FilterBasic:
+				r.filters[i] = filter.NewBasic(dst, r.cfg.ShowWindows, r.cfg.BasicThreshold, r.cfg.BasicPixels)
 			default:
 				panic("Undefined Filter")
 			}
@@ -439,7 +441,6 @@ func (r *Revid) Start() error {
 	if r.cfg.FileFPS != 0 {
 		d = time.Duration(1000/r.cfg.FileFPS) * time.Millisecond
 	}
-
 	r.wg.Add(1)
 	go r.processFrom(r.input, d)
 
@@ -686,7 +687,7 @@ func (r *Revid) Update(vars map[string]string) error {
 			}
 		case "Filters":
 			filters := strings.Split(value, ",")
-			m := map[string]int{"NoOp": config.FilterNoOp, "MOG": config.FilterMOG, "VariableFPS": config.FilterVariableFPS, "KNN": config.FilterKNN, "Difference": config.FilterDifference}
+			m := map[string]int{"NoOp": config.FilterNoOp, "MOG": config.FilterMOG, "VariableFPS": config.FilterVariableFPS, "KNN": config.FilterKNN, "Difference": config.FilterDifference, "Basic": config.FilterBasic}
 			r.cfg.Filters = make([]int, len(filters))
 			for i, filter := range filters {
 				v, ok := m[filter]
@@ -876,6 +877,21 @@ func (r *Revid) Update(vars map[string]string) error {
 				break
 			}
 			r.cfg.MOGHistory = uint(v)
+
+		case "BasicThreshold":
+			v, err := strconv.Atoi(value)
+			if err != nil {
+				r.cfg.Logger.Log(logger.Warning, pkg+"invalid BasicThreshold var", "value", value)
+				break
+			}
+			r.cfg.BasicThreshold = v
+		case "BasicPixels":
+			v, err := strconv.Atoi(value)
+			if err != nil {
+				r.cfg.Logger.Log(logger.Warning, pkg+"invalid BasicPixels var", "value", value)
+				break
+			}
+			r.cfg.BasicPixels = v
 		case "FileFPS":
 			v, err := strconv.Atoi(value)
 			if err != nil {