At-home Camera monitoring setups

With the new house being expected to be complete by October, my wife was wanting for me to install a monitoring system.

There are many out there, so maybe I can share what's important to us, and get recommendations based on that.

1. We would like to know if there are unexpected guests IE at the doorway, at night in the yard, etc. Most systems have motion sensors, and great low-light cameras that capture great detail but this goes with number below...

2. Ability to watch said video on an app on one's phone. Are most systems forced to run their software? If not, what software do you find to be the most convenient? Or what software have you found user-friendly that came with said camera setup?

3. Ability to expand, because we will start with a simple 2-4 camera setup and one for the doorbell. But the wife is toying with the idea of those add-on sensors that signal if the two are separated IE door or window opened.

The house is not complete, so I know I can't provide a layout of what I want covered/watched but at minimum, the front of the house (driveway), the doorway (doorbell type), and the back yard.

Pictures of camera footage are a plus, and even more, a screenshot of the app you use on your phone or computer!

@Wulf I know you mentioned a setup you have; maybe sharing a bit more in-depth on your setup?

 

This also raises the question of wired or wireless; I haven't decided so at the moment I'm pretty open to both ideas.

 

Features I have found work

Wireless but plug-in vs battery.
Remote DVR that you install your own hard drive.
Expandable num of cameras.
HD duh
App and remote access cool.
Alert feature hard to tune for false negatives

of course cameras don’t prevent crime and only support if you catch the criminals

best home security: dog

 

Yeah, I actually expect false alerts as movement can possibly set any camera's motion detector off.

HD, pretty standard fortunately.

I fully don't expect it to prevent any crime, as even if something like a theft happened, it's a civil suit and law enforcement would just make one file a police report. For anything stolen (if a burglary happened), we've got USAA.

I guess I'm just wondering about what hardware is both great, and has the best software to boot.

And you definitely got me looking into wireless with plug-in options.

 

I have PoE cameras... hardwired ethernet is more reliable and foolproof than WiFi. And with PoE all you need is the ethernet cable, and a PoE switch. The camera power is provided via the ethernet cable.

 

I have owned three systems.

first fully wired QSee. Worked for ten years

second came from staples $400 completely wasted. Very unreliable

third: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RKJDK65/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8

 

POE hard wired cameras are the only way to go. If you can install the wiring as the home is built you'll thank yourself later. When I built my house I pulled Ethernet to each corner, the front door and the patio. I have 8 drops which is way more than I need. But they were cheap and easy compared to pulling them after the drywall is in. When I finally get around to installing the cameras I'll have multiple options for placement.

As for which cameras and software I'll be using Axis and Milestone. I'm familiar with it because we use it at work and it is secure and industrial grade reliable. However, it is not cheap or particularly user friendly.

Good luck

 

Yeah, I have been constantly thinking about connectivity issues as wireless is never 100% stable.

We meet with the designer either this coming Tuesday or next to discuss some things.

Going to see if I can get CAT pre-installed; it's a developer that's building multiple homes so options are limited.

Already got a dedicated circuit going into the garage for a welder.

 

My house was the same thing, developer built. I'm an IT guy so I pulled my own ethernet. The developer didn't like it but fuck 'em.

I was lucky to move into my house 6 months before everything went batshit insane. I don't know what they'd say now in the middle of whatever this housing mess is.

 

I have a Hiseeu wireless NVR setup from Amazon. I knew ahead of the purchase not to expect much... I would expect to pay $1k + for a good system but I don't know what to recommend these days. I think Western Digital has a NVR + camera package out that may be worth considering.

Pros

• NVR is all in one including wifi AP for cameras
• Cameras come pre-paired with NVR
• cheap and install is basically to plug everything in

Cons

• NVR software is severely lacking controls - navigating playback of saved video is very frustrating.
• Cameras may be 1080p or 2K but the NVR only saves video encoded 480p or so and you can't adjust it
• Backing up footage to a USB drive is a pain
• Support is basically non-existant. You can contact reps through email and get a response within 12-24 hours but the text seems to be translated by google translate beforehand

the system does support cloud storage and phone app playback and those might be better than trying to playback footage on the NVR. I do not use that functionality because i am not comfortable putting this questionable hardware/software on my own network. Perhaps some day I will get a better router that has VLAN functionality and I'll be able to try out cloud functions from hiseeu.


As far as #2, yes I'd expect to have to use a given system's software.

#3 I'm not sure how many standalone camera systems support contact sensors. I think Arlo does have them and may allow you to view those sensors and get notifications through the same app as video. Retailers would love to sell you a full blown home security system with emergency monitoring in order to connect the two but that may not be what you want and comes with caveats about adding additional hardware as you may have to purchase it through them, pay them to install it, and pay an extra fee for having X cameras and sensors on your account.

 

I am probably too late to help, I would look at the Reolinks. We have several of those and really like them.

 

I run Arlo w/solar panel battery charging to not have to ever plug in charge.

 

So much this. Don't fuck around with wifi. POE everything. I have a little i5 enterprise box I bought off ebay for a couple hundred bucks, threw a big WD Purple drive in it, and it runs Blue Iris.

Blue Iris is capable of doing everything you mentioned.

 

I run 3 Reolink PoE cameras. No need for a battery. Remember the best advice in networking: If it doesn't move then wire it. Hardwired is nearly fool proof and reliable. It doesn't conflict with any wifi channels or bandwidth. It can't be hacked remotely. The cameras I use detect and record all motion events then writes the files to my NAS unit through FTP. It time stamps each file and also creates a still image of the movement for quick browsing. It doesn't require my PC to be on to work. When my PC is on it runs a scheduled batch job that deletes all video files older than 2 months. This way my NAS has plenty of room. I pay no subscription fees and uses no outside service.

 

On my folks place, I installed a Night Owl system. Wired cameras, phone app can connect to it anywhere with wifi (or can use phone data), 1TB memory set with 1wk loop, initial setup with 4 cameras but expandable to 8, can be set to constant or motion detection.
Purchased one system a few years back on black friday, purchased another system last year at Home Depot because they had it on clearance for stupid cheap (less than the cost of two cameras separately).
Only problem so far is that they come with 50ft cables and I needed a couple 100ft which I bought at BiMart, and had a squirrel chew an outside wire (now prevented by putting all wiring in electrical conduit).

 

Check out Reolink Camera System. They are available from Amazon. I have the eight camera system and it works great. Daytime or night it gives a clear image. It even has audio. You can link them to your phone and set motion alarms for whichever cameras you want or for all. It's a wired system so it requires some work to install but I love them so far and the eight camera system was only $600.

 

Get a system that blue iris software supports, you will not be sorry. Look into it!

 

i have a wansview wireless ip cam that is linked to iSpy running 24/7 on a very quiet pc. I also have blueiris but ispy is less intensive.