TECH PING Looking at Camera Security for my House. Seems Expensive. Your expreiences?

chickensoup | 072723 | chickensoup

[eyeamok]

We have the ultimate Security System at our houses
Great Dane and a Mastiff
Glock
Sig Sauer
Smith&Wesson
Baretta
Winchester
Mossberg
Ruger

[jigsaw]

Been using SimpliSafe for many years.

I don’t use the door alarms much but the following are wonderful:

- Fire alarm ... peace of mind.

- Water leak alarms under water heater and numerous sinks. Several months ago one alerted me that the basement water heater had just sprung a leak that I probably would not have discovered until the basement was soaked.

- Temperature alarm ... useful in winter when we’re away.

- Control unit messages me when power is lost/restored which is helpful when we’re away.

It’s amazingly easy to set up and run. All wireless. We love it.

[Faith65]

BFL

[RainMan]

I got the AvertX 16 Channel NVR setup. Bought from Costco (current price is $2500). Then had another few hundred for wiring. So ... why did I spend so much? First, cheap cameras are usually battery driven. This system uses power over the cabling, so I NEVER have to change a battery. This was especially important because I was putting my camera in places where I really couldn't get to them later. Way out of the range for a random trespasser to be able to knock them out.

Next, I wanted cameras that I could turn remotely. There is not a huge range of motion, but there IS a range of motion.

Next, I was concerned with night vision. These cameras were 4K color night vision cameras, that could pick out a license plate from 400 feet away in the dark ... which was another feature ... automatic license plate detection and focus.

I also wanted a long-term storage option, and the NVR was at my house, so I was not relying on a cloud contract. In fact, there was zero monthly contract. System came with 8TB of memory.

Finally, I wanted a system that would alert me wherever I was, and that I could monitor remotely. I could also easily share video with the police if necessary.

Yes, I did share video with the police once, and yes, I did capture all sorts of interesting shenanigans around my house including bears, cougars, porch pirates, illegal drone surveillance, etc.

[Zathras]

On a bit higher end system:
Hardwire it for CAT5 and then run your cameras on POE.
Take the time to plan all your runs as you want to do it once.
Don’t need an electrician but you need someone who knows how to wire ethernet.

Spend more time planning as if you miss something you want, it just costs more.

[ansel12]

Any male who is handy can install this for you and anyone who has cameras or who is comfortable on computers should be able to show you how to see it online without paying for a service.

It is one of those things that appears baffling and complex but is not really, so anyone who is handy or who has installed one already can help you if you know that kind of guy.

If you hire a handyman make sure he has installed them before and make sure he gets the cameras directed the way you want them directed, personally, I put a couple on the roof to pick up the city lights and the mountains and the streets around me. Some for security but also for the views.

[FreedomPoster]

Need pics of the cougers.

Oh, wait, you meant critters?

😜

[Chickensoup]

POE is P somethng O something Ethernet?

[Chickensoup]

Is there audio with it?

[Blood of Tyrants]

The installation is likely to be the biggest cost.

[Eccl 10:2]

Winner! Thanks for the laff...

[1FreeAmerican]

POWER OVER ETHERNET.

[1FreeAmerican]

Where does the power come from - batteries?

[Falconspeed]

“Is this doable?” Easily.
I have three Eufy wired Outdoor Cam Pros in my back yard and they are easy to figure out. I set the cameras to “high sound detection” and “medium motion detection” and then watch the 30 second clips in the morning in my iPad, save a few to my iPad and transfer the few clips to my desktop computer. Yes, it would be nice if someone else sorted through the 90 boring clips each day but it just take a little time to find the clips worth keeping. Look for patterns, such as same cat walking by at 3am or same truck revving motor at 4am.

[Justa]

Not a fan of blink. Perps know how to defeat them. Its night IR illuminator is visible and if it’s covered no night vision. Also its motion sensor can be defeated by walking slowly towards it then turning underneath and proceeding to the next camera identified by its night illuminator using the same manner to ID and defeat that one. At night the red IR light shows them where the cameras are.

A better solution imo is Ring doorbells + wifi-enabled invisible-IR game cameras. The game cameras are about $100 a pop but great for quick-on IR and motion sensing recording.

[Lurker]

“could you put that into English for me?”

I’ll try. A static IP address is one that doesn’t change. It’s used for servers and modems so you can find the wanted device on the vast World Wide Web. Most cable internet providers use what’s called a Dynamic IP address that changes from time to time.

Think about it this way. Your mailman can find your house every day because your street address doesn’t change. That’s a static address. Now imagine if the USPS decided to change your address every so often for whatever reason. That’s a Dynamic IP address.

In order for your cell phone app to find the address of your video surveillance system it has to know the address of it. If that changes your app won’t be able to find the video server. Some cable providers will sell static IPs to home users but many will not.

Does that make sense?

L

[Albion Wilde]

bump

[ClayinVA]

You could use the POE cameras, they run off of ethernet and go back to central server. The part people are doing now depending on your internet is upload footage to the cloud. What good is security cameras if they steal the DVR as well? That is what you are normally paying the service for.

Ask the electrician about what he uses at his shop. Most low voltage distributors carry this stuff in stock now.

[abigkahuna]

Havent done this, but check out Harbor Freight. They have cameras and recording systems—this is something I am considering too.

[gitmo]

I installed SimpliSafe. It has paid for itself a couple of times, not for the burglary aspect but because if detected massive water leaks and warned me.

I have 4 indoor cameras and 4 outdoor cameras. I’ve been pleased with the service and the cost.