Suggestions please on CCTV - video surveillance system for a house

MarcosSantiago said:
Thinking about CCTV for my house but not sure if it is worth it. Take a look at these prices: $1,500 and $2,200...

http://www.skywiresecurity.com/newsfeed1.php

Any suggestions? Which one to buy, $1,500 or $2,200? I hate the idea of cheaping out now and getting low quality video later, in case one day in the future I need the resolution...

Or DIY (example, from Costco)?

Thanks!
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DON'T, DON'T buy the no name China stuff. Its pure garbage.

Like with most things in life.... "you get what you pay for"

Buy from a place Professionals shop, like Tri-Ed or Adi-Burtek. They have lower end stuff and high end stuff. But they don't sell junk, and even if their stuff does crap out, they'll exchange it no questions asked.
 
The link I posted is from a company I found in HomeStars
They are supposed to be reputable and sell the best brands available: Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, Bosch, Speco, etc
http://homestars.com/companies/2779...wire-security-and-surveillance&widget=reviews

BUT... As much as I'd like a top of the line system, and as much as these guys can sell it... my budget is not $3,200 + (as quoted in their website for the "Elite" package)...

What other options do I have? any one here have done a self - install?
 
MarcosSantiago said:
The link I posted is from a company I found in HomeStars
They are supposed to be reputable and sell the best brands available: Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, Bosch, Speco, etc
http://homestars.com/companies/2779...wire-security-and-surveillance&widget=reviews

BUT... As much as I'd like a top of the line system, and as much as these guys can sell it... my budget is not $3,200 + (as quoted in their website for the "Elite" package)...

What other options do I have? any one here have done a self - install?
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Im not sure if they still offer it, but ADI has/had a Honeywell system with 4 cams and a decent DVR for $2000.

I've used the Speco and the Honeywell stuff. Fantastic bang for the buck.

I've never "heard" of SkyWire, but I can tell you that ADI has 100 locations across Canada, are owned by Honeywell, and are a multi million dollar company. TriEd is pretty big company too.

Just visit ADI or TriEd, they sell to professionals, but will sell to walk ins too. They can guide you and educate you on the best system to buy within your budget, and they regularly have promotions and sales on decent products. They dont sell junk!
 
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I don't know much about standalone CCTV systems but if you go PC based there's a pretty good app called Vitamin D. It can monitor specific actions in the video (doors, people, cars, etc) and mark these points in the video to make reviewing a breeze. I believe it can also be setup to send e-mail notifications when it detects certain events. Free to try: http://www.vitamindinc.com/
 
MarcosSantiago said:
Thinking about CCTV for my house but not sure if it is worth it. Take a look at these prices: $1,500 and $2,200...

http://www.skywiresecurity.com/newsfeed1.php

Any suggestions? Which one to buy, $1,500 or $2,200? I hate the idea of cheaping out now and getting low quality video later, in case one day in the future I need the resolution...

Or DIY (example, from Costco)?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Look at Dlink DCS-942 cameras. They are wireless (and no, they are not open to anyone listening). Dlink has recording software for the pc called dviewcam. Great for a home setup. No issues with Burtek either if you don't mind paying a bit more.
 
AF4iK said:
I don't know much about standalone CCTV systems but if you go PC based there's a pretty good app called Vitamin D. It can monitor specific actions in the video (doors, people, cars, etc) and mark these points in the video to make reviewing a breeze. I believe it can also be setup to send e-mail notifications when it detects certain events. Free to try: http://www.vitamindinc.com/
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+1. My friend has a skateboard store and uses this with some ACTi cameras. He has one on the door, one on the till and 2 at blind spots in the store. It can also do things like trigger alerts if someone is moving around in the store after hours. Reviewing is also really simple.

The ACTi are pretty good as they use the consumer grade Ambarella chips.

Really the only downside is that you need to dedicate a cheap workstation and if Windows bluescreens you're toast :-)
 
Delboy said:
Really the only downside is that you need to dedicate a cheap workstation and if Windows bluescreens you're toast :-)
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That can be avoided by running Zoneminder on Linux ;)
 
Don't get analog cameras, they are so "last year" :) Try and find one megapixel IP cameras minimum, if you really want quality!

If Windows is your thing there's free software called J-Surveillance that can record up to 25 cameras (make sure when buying the cameras they are ONVIF compliant), lets you log in with your smartphone (android or iPhone), can text you pictures when there's motion when/where there's not supposed to be, etc.

You can use wireless and wired cameras. The wired cameras can be powered right over the network cable you use to connect them (be sure to specify PoE when ordering the camera), and even if camera doesn't have PoE you can still pull the power from the network cable and feed the camera with it, it just isn't as pretty (called external PoE) :). Of course if there's a power outlet near the camera, you can just plug it into power (they come with power adapters).

For cheap ($57 including shipping) wireless (camera supports wired too) 0.3mp (i.e. 640x480@15fps progressive scan) cameras I always use these for my customers: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free...twork-IR-NightVision-IP-Camera/449395708.html (doesn't support ONVIF and comes with pretty goofy software to record/alert you. You can use your iphone/android to connect directly to any one of the cameras though, to view it live, works great). They have an absolutely amazing picture for only being 0.3MP, makes ANY analog camera look silly! They are encrypted so nobody could ever connect wirelessly to the camera to see the video.

They have a wide angle 3.6mm lens (approx 70 degrees hFoV) and work great both during the day and at night (comes with I.R. nightvision) and work amazing outdoors and inside too (they are weatherproof and survive the cold perfect and don't fog up).

For my customers that want top of the line, insane quality, I go with this $157ish camera: http://www.aliexpress.com/item/WDR-Sensor-720P-Day-Night-4x-zoom-2-8-12mm-Varifocal-Lens-Car-Plate-Read-Function/685848710.html

It's 1280x720p@25fps progressive, comes with a super spiffy adjustable zoom lens, can go from retarded wide angle (90 degrees hFoV, great for mounting in a corner!) to tight zoom! Has a feature called WDR which is mind blowing. It stops things like light reflections, the sun, bright windows, etc. from washing out the picture. It doesn't matter if you pointed the camera right at the sun, you could still see the clouds perfectly, that's how amazing WDR is. Once you use a camera with it, you'll never use one without! Supports PoE for easy powering in goofy locations, and ONVIF for great recording software compatibility. I'm setting up one of those exact cameras as a streaming traffic camera for a customer right now in case you wanted to check out the quality (this stream is at half resolution/360p due to my crappy internet upload bandwidth): http://tafb02.click2stream.com



-Jamie M.
 
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If you're going with a bunch of PoE cameras and you want a network switch to connect them to, TP-LINK sell a nice 8 port (4 of them are powered) PoE switch! http://www.ncix.com/products/?sku=69415&vpn=TL-SF1008P&manufacture=TP Link - would allow you to connect 7 cameras, 4 of them being powered from the switch, the other 3 required to plug into a wall socket. If your router has any free ports you could plug cameras in there too, as well of course if your cameras are wireless you can add as many as you want ;)

Let me know what you decide to go with and I can help you get it all set up!

-Jamie M.
 
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SunnY S said:
Just visit ADI or TriEd, they sell to professionals, but will sell to walk ins too. They can guide you and educate you on the best system to buy within your budget, and they regularly have promotions and sales on decent products. They dont sell junk!
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+1 for ADI. Tell them what you need and they'll spec you out a system and give you pricing.


AF4iK said:
I don't know much about standalone CCTV systems but if you go PC based there's a pretty good app called Vitamin D. It can monitor specific actions in the video (doors, people, cars, etc) and mark these points in the video to make reviewing a breeze. I believe it can also be setup to send e-mail notifications when it detects certain events. Free to try: http://www.vitamindinc.com/
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Any good security recorder has motion capture.


I dont camera's much but have used speco and digital watchdog in the past and been happy. I have worked with Cricket, and Digimerge recorders. The cricket was old but worked really well. The digimerge works well when it works but have had to RMA one and have had other random issues with it.
 
N3WMAN said:
The digimerge works well when it works but have had to RMA one and have had other random issues with it.
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Same experience here. Tried DigiMerge DVR for the first time a few months ago. It had issues right out of the box. Never again.

Try the Honeywell next time. Excellent build quality and bang for the buck.
 
I had a distributor just send me a pamphlet with IP-addressable cameras with a VDR, for four cameras, the VDR and a couple 2TB drives I think the bill was around $1300, came with software to not only record but view & edit on a computer. Quite nice and the price is outrageous.
 
N3WMAN said:
Any good security recorder has motion capture.
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I'm sure they do. Like I said, I have little knowledge on the subject. All I know is I liked the ability to draw selection marquees on the screen to monitor only certain events so that random movement (eg, blowing leaves) won't trigger false positives. But I'm sure other systems probably have similar capabilities.
 
Aver media sells pc cards for analog cameras, along with powerful software that will turn your pc into a dvr.

Most analog cameras are powered by 12vac, which can be run through the coax with the signal. This means you don't need to worry about electrical code, much less trying to find 120v near your camera.

Analog cameras are more cost effective when you want to run multiple cameras.

I don't know what your requirements are, but you can set up a camera for a wide field of vision or high detail, but never both.

My experiences when I set up a system for my business.
 
Get a doberman and put a go pro round it's neck...deterrent/recording/attack-retribution all in one.
 
jc100 said:
Get a doberman and put a go pro round it's neck...deterrent/recording/attack-retribution all in one.
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Some extra yard mtce required, though. ;-)
 
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