Home security surveillance

[Evilviking]

Father in law wants to add a home surveillance system to his house (outside cameras). Can anyone recommend/have any experience with a DIY system?

Edit
Ended up buying a POE Amcrest system. 4x 3mp cameras. NVR with 2tb drive

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B013VS7TQK/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1458516368&sr=8-1&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=amcrest+poe&dpPl=1&dpID=41MVhpa6DpL&ref=plSrch

An ass ton of cat5 in a pull box. Cat5 crimper. UPS battery backup.

Thanks for all the help

 

[NutBucket]

Get POE cameras. Have fun pulling cat5.

 

[jtvang125]

Wireless would be the easiest on installation but might be unreliable due to the nature of Wifi. The truly wireless ones will run on batteries so they'll need ongoing changing. Others will still need a wired powered source.

Wired systems will provide the best performance and reliability. I would avoid systems that rate the video quality with TVL since these are considered legacy. Newer systems are now rated in Megapixels and offer much better IQ. Systems using POE (power over Ethernet) would be the easiest to install since data and power are carried over a single Cat 5 cable to each camera.

 

[Zivic]

Get POE cameras. Have fun pulling cat5.

I just installed a ubiquiti unifi system at my farm building. I am very happy with it. It will require someone with some techie skills to set it up. I had previously bought a more expensive system from Lorax that I returned due to them sending me a used NVR... Lorax has HORRIBLE customer service. I would not buy ANY lorax system regardless of how good or what any review states. They are a HORRIBLE company to deal with. I cannot stress that enough

Anyways here are the components I have:

Unifi NVR

Unifi Micro camera (it's about the size of golf ball cut in half)

Unifi UVC 720P camera
^^I opted for the 720P over the more expensive UVC-Pro camera for about 1/3 the price.

I have the micro camera inside and within the same room as my wireless access point. night vision is pretty decent with it. the UVC cameras have acceptable to pretty good resolution in daylight. if night vision is of concern make sure you have exterior lights. In an outdoor environment the UVC cameras aren't all that good in complete darkness. I have one installed without a light around and you can see when vehicles drive by, but not really make out much detail. I have another installed with a wall pack light in proximity and it's acceptable in terms of what you can see.

The UVC-Pro cameras are a much more substantial camera... optical zoom, 1080p, built in heater for colder temps, and I would guess they have better infrared system for night vision.

to be fair, my UVC cameras are mounted about 17' up in the air. A lower mounting position would likely offer a little better night vision with the infrared based on what I see with the micro camera inside.

I will note that I am DIY type of tech guy. I can build computers, setup routers and bridges and what not, and I could not set this system up. Once setup I am can easily add more cameras and change settings very easily, but initial setup was out of my league.

I read tons of reviews of different systems and all have good and bad reviews out there. this system met my budget and I am overall happy with it. You definitely want to buy the Unifi NVR if you decide to go with this system. I have read people have LOTs of negative things to say about it trying to use the cameras without it.

and to note the system uses POE and comes with the adapters for their UVC and UVC-Pro cameras. the micro camera has a standard power plug in, no batteries and connects to the system wirelessly

 

[NutBucket]

I'll have to look into the Unifi for future installs. I installed a Lorex system for a family member last year. I didn't need to contact Lorex so I guess I was OK? Plus I bought it from Costco so there's always a contingency plan

Anyway, seems to work well enough. One camera doesn't seem to be happy when it rains so I have to investigate that. Hopefully water didn't get inside the housing.

 

[Evilviking]

Thanks for the info. I was looking at this combo and would add a couple more cameras

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B019N...6_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=poe+surveillance

But I'll read up about the unifi too

 

[Red Squirrel]

Been looking into this myself, it's actually kinda frustrating that 90% of cameras are wireless now. Wireless for security cameras is pointless, you still need to bring in power from a central location that has battery backup anyway not to mention a decently powerful wifi jammer would disable them before the person even sets foot on the property. POE makes the most sense. The Unifi ones seem kind attractive feature and price wise. You also want to go with at least 720 but HD is better. Security footage is useless if you can't make out a license plate or face.

Also ensure the wiring is not within reach or they can just cut it. I'm thinking the easiest is to just fish the wiring in the soffits then have a central area that is within camera view where EMT conduit comes down and goes to the basement.

Edit: That qcam system actually looks pretty good! I like the fact that it runs on 48v as well.

 

[Zivic]

I'll have to look into the Unifi for future installs. I installed a Lorex system for a family member last year. I didn't need to contact Lorex so I guess I was OK? Plus I bought it from Costco so there's always a contingency plan

Anyway, seems to work well enough. One camera doesn't seem to be happy when it rains so I have to investigate that. Hopefully water didn't get inside the housing.

the system I bought from lorex was a much higher end setup than what I have seen at costco. it all started with a defective fan on the NVR. Upon further investigating, they sent me previous gen used nvr and upon talking to customer service about it I got a lot of runaround. multiple managers that could do nothing for me. I was within my return window so I sent it back for a full refund. they took their sweet time refunding me as well...

 

[NutBucket]

Dunno. The set I bought was POE with 8 cameras...was about $1000.

 

[Camilla Petra]

The best i'd adviise would be the pro-grade stuff. You should consider setting a budget.

For around $500, Swann and Lorex make decent 4-camera kits (DVR + cameras) that can be accessed remotely,and assumes you have a good knowledge of setting up networks and maintaining network security. It will be a good idea to use outdoor-rated cameras. The cameras with these kits aren't that great, but should be enough to get you started. It is best to install the cameras under the eaves of the house or under some other weather protection (even though they are "outdoor rated"). IP-network cameras cost a lot more, so it is probably best to stay with analog cameras that connect to a DVR that is on the computer network.

The DVR can be set up to send you email when certain alarm options are set up in the DVR. That way you don't have to stare at the smartphone all day. A special client needs to be installed on your phone - before you buy, check the ratings on the smartphone app and read the manual (download it from the manufacturer you are considering) to be sure it does what you want.

 

[Evilviking]

Ready to buy this weekend

 

[Zivic]

Dunno. The set I bought was POE with 8 cameras...was about $1000.

the setup I bought from lorex was aproaching 1200 with only 4 cameras.

I have about 700 into my ubnt setup, but could use one more camera (so add 130 for comparison cost)

 

[Evilviking]

Ended up buying this

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B013VS7TQK/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1458516368&sr=8-1&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=amcrest+poe&dpPl=1&dpID=41MVhpa6DpL&ref=plSrch

 

[luv2liv]

Ended up buying this

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B013VS7TQK/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1458516368&sr=8-1&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=amcrest+poe&dpPl=1&dpID=41MVhpa6DpL&ref=plSrch

free remote view over the internet? zero fees right? viewable on pc/tablet/phones? im guess it's POE so the DVR unit that was provided is also a POE switch?

 

[Miramonti]

free remote view over the internet? zero fees right? viewable on pc/tablet/phones? im guess it's POE so the DVR unit that was provided is also a POE switch?

I may be wrong but think all ip cameras are going to be freely viewable over the internet/portable devices with port forwarding set in one's router. The images show 8 poe ports on that nvr.

I bought this one when it was on sale this past month:
Q-See 16-Channel HD IP NVR with 3TB HDD, 8 4MP Cameras with 100' Night Vision

The resolution is outstanding and I'm very happy with it. I plan to set up a wifi computer hidden elsewhere in the home to use as a duplicate nvr in case a thief grabs the nvr. Currently it's not hard to find. Q-see includes software to record the streams on a pc, although blueirissoftware.com is a great inexpensive nvr program as well.

 

[NutBucket]

Port forwarding is one thing...then you need DDNS or something. Most of the big names like Lorex basically handle it for you; the NVR communicates through their server so all you need to do the scan QR code of the NVR with the smartphone app and you're done. Zero mess (which is fine for everyone that isn't on this forum I guess).

 

[Miramonti]

Port forwarding is one thing...then you need DDNS or something. Most of the big names like Lorex basically handle it for you; the NVR communicates through their server so all you need to do the scan QR code of the NVR with the smartphone app and you're done. Zero mess (which is fine for everyone that isn't on this forum I guess).

That too, so you always have the right ip address in the remote viewing software. Like you said, it's very easy to set up with most devices now. My previous qsee dvr that used analog bnc cables/cameras was easily viewed over the internet as well, and basically any recorders that have an ethernet port in the back should work.

 

[stormkroe]

I may be wrong but think all ip cameras are going to be freely viewable over the internet/portable devices with port forwarding set in one's router. The images show 8 poe ports on that nvr.

I bought this one when it was on sale this past month:
Q-See 16-Channel HD IP NVR with 3TB HDD, 8 4MP Cameras with 100' Night Vision

The resolution is outstanding and I'm very happy with it. I plan to set up a wifi computer hidden elsewhere in the home to use as a duplicate nvr in case a thief grabs the nvr. Currently it's not hard to find. Q-see includes software to record the streams on a pc, although blueirissoftware.com is a great inexpensive nvr program as well.

I have 8 cams around my property, will never go back the barbaric pre camera days.
pro tip, set up a spotlight with an external infrared light and even the cheapest cameras can 'see' 100s of feet.