Security cameras

[Stu_2]

my internet is stable enough, my bigger concern is that it is virgin fibre and I could disable it in seconds with a spade even in the dark. most people have sky or virgin and it is rarely a secret where these services enter the house. Anybody with half an idea could see where to cut a line.

I share that concern, but I thought I'd just add 4G failover. However, that's easier said than done, or it was in December when I looked at doing so.

Even if coverage isn't a problem, I found it almost impossible to find a decent router capable of doing it consistently. I always use Asus routers with Merlin firmware, and whilst they have failover, you need to use a USB modem which is not ideal for reception for me. There are some routers that will accept a SIM, but they don't appear to be that reliable, going by reviews. Netgear had device specifically designed to sit between the incoming connection and the router, but it had pretty terrible reviews. Shame, as this would be perfect. The only way appears to be to throw a couple of hundred quid at it, but I'll be having another look.

 

[Dibs-h]

I want something that will work at night and during the day and have a picture sufficient to be able to recognise anybody caught on camera.

I wanted the same a few years ago and having spent ages Googling and reading up on them, I settled on Hikvision cameras and one of their NVR's. These are the cameras I bought -

There's no ring of IR LED's - it's the rectangular thing on the right hand side.

This is what the picture looks like (day & night) -

Easy enough to fit and "hide".

I also bought one of the 8 Channel NVR's with POE.

I paid about 120 per camera and the NVR, which was a mid-level one - I paid around 250 (no drives).

There is an app for phones and also some software for W10 which gives full control over the NVR and cameras.

Setup & config took less than 30 mins.

Edit: The IR thingie is very effective and can hardly be seen (very dull red) from 10m away.

HIH

Dibs

 

[Steliz]

I have the Swann system linked in the first post. A couple of years ago I had an issue with some local youths using my garden as a shortcut and I had a word with them. A couple of days later, one of them decided to leave me a message on my CCTV and dropped his trousers and flashed his bits. This was in broad daylight on a residential street with children around. I called the police and gave them the recording and they were very impressed with the quality of the images including the night time shots of them trespassing. He is now on the sex offenders register.

 

[akirk]

I bought the Arlo system - but sent it back - while it is 'wifi' it has to talk to its own base unit - so, although I have a wifi mesh system across the house / garage / garden, I would have had to build a parallel system for the cameras - it couldn't use the wifi that was in place... replaced it with Reolink cameras which have behaved faultlessly ever since - they hook onto the wifi / can talk to my phone wherever I am - they also can record to built in data cards, and they will talk through the generic CCTV protocol with any number of network based storage systems - so I can record on our Synology box for example.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

oh they are, but the locals are likely to know who is who.

My bigger concern is petty and opportunistic crime where they will take what they can grab easily- the lowlifes and drug addicts looking for a fix. Anybody determined would probably laugh at the security measures as they put a portable grinder through locks and chain, cut the broadband line etc.

My neighbour is a builder. His mate had his van done over and he gave the police the guy's name and a mugshot of him grinning and giving a close up thumbs up to the security camera. They still said they didn't have enough information to identify him as the video wasn't of high enough resolution.

 

[Lons]

Sent you a pm Marcros

 

[CaptainBarnacles]

I wanted the same a few years ago and having spent ages Googling and reading up on them, I settled on Hikvision cameras and one of their NVR's. These are the cameras I bought -

There's no ring of IR LED's - it's the rectangular thing on the right hand side.

This is what the picture looks like (day & night) -

Easy enough to fit and "hide".

I also bought one of the 8 Channel NVR's with POE.

I paid about 120 per camera and the NVR, which was a mid-level one - I paid around 250 (no drives).

There is an app for phones and also some software for W10 which gives full control over the NVR and cameras.

Setup & config took less than 30 mins.

Edit: The IR thingie is very effective and can hardly be seen (very dull red) from 10m away.

HIH

Dibs

I bought Hikvision cameras too (although not this model, mine are the 4MP bullet style cameras) and they have been great for more than 4 years now. I record to a Synology Diskstation, again faultless for 5 years+. I've installed two systems for friends; one was a Ubiqiti system which, after some initial teething troubles, was excellent. It used 8 cameras recording to an old-ish PC running the Ubiqiti software on Window 7 with a couple of 1TB drives. The other was a bundle from Amazon (sorry, can't remember the make) with 8 cameras and an 8 input NVR for about £400 - it was pants! The NVR couldn't cope with 8 cameras, it just didn't have the horsepower. We tried it with just 4 cameras and it was better but I still wouldn't waste my money on such a system.

 

[marcros]

cheers everybody. there is a lot to read through here and look at so I will do so!

Got the PM Bob, will also have a look through the info in that. thank you.

 

[Lons]

Cameras are great really, it occurred to me that if I'm away and get a camera alert I can watch the little scroats on my 'phone in real time while they're nicking my car, can't stop them of course as no coppers anywhere near.

 

[MikeG.]

Lons, what you need is a speaker system in your garage, and some sort of connection back to your phone, so that as the little sods start breaking into your car you can yell at them........."'ere, yes you. Stand still laddie......"

 

[geoffshep]

Marcros, I have a Swann setup similar to your link and it is pretty good. Mine is an older version, which may still be available in certain places, which has wireless cameras and a hard disk for recordings. Current models seem to have a HDD recorder with the wired versions but not for the wireless ones - although can add an external HDD easily enough.

It depends where you want the cameras - if they are on the house they could be wired. If you want them on an outbuilding or garage, say, they could be wireless - but remember wireless just means wireless to the recorder - they still need a wire to a power point!

Mine is a 4-channel NVR with 2 cameras (can add 2 more) but I actually only use one camera. You can set it up to be timed, and/or motion triggered and choose the area of the frame within which the motion triggering occurs, but mine just records non-stop and I get about a weeks' worth of recordings on the supplied 1Tb (?) HDD.

No internet is required, although you can connect if you want remote access. It is essentially a CCTV recording system - so if someone does put a spade through your cable you will have a record of them doing it - provided they don't nick the recorder too! Ideally the NVR box is near the TV, connected via HDMI, where you can live-view or access the menu - much like a DVD player. My NVR is now hidden away, in a vain attempt to keep it safe, and I can access both live view and the recordings from my laptop, although there is less functionality via the laptop than direct from the box.

 

[Lons]

Lons, what you need is a speaker system in your garage, and some sort of connection back to your phone, so that as the little sods start breaking into your car you can yell at them........."'ere, yes you. Stand still laddie......"

Great idea but they wouldn't understand that, it would need to be broad Geordie including a few choice expletives.

 

[MikeG.]

I spent quite a time designing an anti-poaching balloon-based drone system for large area surveillance and poacher deterrent, and one of the things that we were going to do was have a very loud loudspeaker attached to the drone, and have the controller able to shout directly at the potential poachers. The game rangers thought this was a great idea, and reckoned that 99% of poachers would just turn tail and run.

 

[SCMG001]

I bought the Arlo system - but sent it back - while it is 'wifi' it has to talk to its own base unit - so, although I have a wifi mesh system across the house / garage / garden, I would have had to build a parallel system for the cameras - it couldn't use the wifi that was in place... replaced it with Reolink cameras which have behaved faultlessly ever since - they hook onto the wifi / can talk to my phone wherever I am - they also can record to built in data cards, and they will talk through the generic CCTV protocol with any number of network based storage systems - so I can record on our Synology box for example.

I am glad I read your post, as I was thinking about an Arlo, and have a BT complete wifi netwrk, which I think is mesh. Just been reviewing Reolink, and wanted to ask if you found any critical feedback you would like to share? Interested to know how effective the solar panel is too, if you have one? Many Thanks

 

[DrPhill]

I have a reolink camera with 3g connectivity and a solar panel - on our garage with no power and out of range of our WiFi.

Solar panel seems able to keep the camera running - though it has had quite a few long sunny days since I installed it in the spring. I am reasonably confident that it will power the camera through winter - though I may need to turn off the 'always on at night' infra-red lights. (Why could they not have an option to turn on the infra-red lights when the PIR detects motion?)

Edit: typo

 

[akirk]

Reolink - no comments really other than just sits there working - camera is plugged into the mains...

 

[bigbigblue]

1. As with all security products, reliability is key. The event or events you want to capture are extremely rare and confidence they will be recording when required is key. Use a reliable brand which has demonstrably good support (firmware updates, problem solving support etc). Cheap is unlikely to equate to reliable.
2. Analog cameras (coax cable) tend to be lower resolution than IP cameras.
3. I would not use any camera with less than 1080p resolution, as anything less is unlikely to give pictures which would be any good for evidence. The higher the resolution the better.
4. Hardwired cameras are MUCH better than Wifi cameras. Wifi can be easily blocked by the use of a device which costs just a few quid on various sites and which floods your wifi with disconnect requests. This will prevent your cameras from recording.
5. Power over ethernet (PoE) is a definite advantage as it means a single cable for power and video data. Try to buy equipment which supports active PoE rather than passive, active PoE generally means less power usage.
6. The recorder is a single point of failure for the whole system. If it fails (or gets stolen) you have lost your video evidence. I would therefore recommend cameras which can also record to an internal memory card, that way you have 2 copies of the evidence, one in the NVR and one in the camera.
7. Perpetrators tend to cover their faces when committing crimes, making the video less useful. If they see a camera, hardened perpetrators are more likely to cover their faces, opportunists are more likely to go elsewhere.
8.Preventing yourself being a victim of crime is primarily about making yourself and your property a less attractive target than your neighbours. Unfortunate but true.
9. Placement of cameras is key. In addition to covering critical areas, each camera, or the means of physical access to it should be within the field of view of another camera, or the camera should be so placed that physical access to it is extremely difficult. These measures are to prevent a perpetrator from being able to physically disable a camera without being seen.
10. If you don't want the red glow from a camera, you can normally disable it in the camera and put up a far infrared illuminator, which cannot be seen with the naked eye. Be aware though that a mobile phone camera will detect even a far infrared source.

Hope this helps