CCTV advice please

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Shoppinit
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CCTV advice please

Post by Shoppinit » Thu Apr 27, 2017 2:27 pm

I'm thinking of installing a system on the house because of recent scumbag activity in the area but I don't want to make the wrong choices.

I am thinking that for it to be any use I need to get a wired 1080p cam with IR, motion detection, wired. I've got a NAS but ideally I'd like cloud recording, too.

I am also told they need to be installed quite low down or they are useless.

Any recommendations for a system? I am comfortable with IT stuff and wiring, so it's more about which is the most user friendly and effective.

Thanks.
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W8PMC
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Re: CCTV advice please

Post by W8PMC » Thu Apr 27, 2017 4:33 pm

Have you looked at Canary?

Think of it like the Sonos of CCTV. They've had internal cameras for a couple of years now, but have just launched external cameras & it's all Cloud based but linked to your phone.

https://canary.is/uk/
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GrahamS4
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Re: CCTV advice please

Post by GrahamS4 » Thu Apr 27, 2017 6:48 pm

Shoppinit wrote:
Thu Apr 27, 2017 2:27 pm
I'm thinking of installing a system on the house because of recent scumbag activity in the area but I don't want to make the wrong choices.

I am thinking that for it to be any use I need to get a wired 1080p cam with IR, motion detection, wired. I've got a NAS but ideally I'd like cloud recording, too.

I am also told they need to be installed quite low down or they are useless.

Any recommendations for a system? I am comfortable with IT stuff and wiring, so it's more about which is the most user friendly and effective.

Thanks.

I went for some Hikvision dome IP cams. Vandal rated, POE, HD, IR, IP66 etc. I think domes suit a home install as a good combination of visual deterrent but not unsightly. Under an eve or soffit, no cables on show. They are generally the more vandal proof of the different camera styles and cannot be knocked out of position. You need to plan your installation locations and chose lens to suit the area you want to cover and most importantly distance to your target, to ensure you get a good enough image people. I have a mix of 2.8mm lens cameras for very close proximity locations (front door/path and also over my short driveway) and 4mm lens cameras in locations where they are set further back from the target. You can pay more for a varifocal lens camera to give flexibility here. IR in my domes is quite good, if the cam is a very long way from your subject (say a 6-12mm lens), you might need some IR lamps also.

You can manage cameras individually recording to shares on your NAS, consider a dedicated NVR, or if your NAS is something mid to high end it might have NVR functionality, in which case you can use the NAS to manage the cams. Whatever way you go, you should have the choice to record 24/7 with motion alerts (flags so you can skip to motion when you playback), or just record on motion with a buffer either side (before and after the motion).

A good few other brands offering similar products. Have a think about how you want to view the cameras remotely. The easy route is to port forward, but this exposes the cam or NVR directly to the web secured only by the cameras own software. Presenting a 24/7 on Linux device of Chinese origin and debatable security to the internet is not so recommended. Even more at risk if you use the camera vendors own DDNS service, so better avoided. Keeping the cameras restricted to your LAN and using a VPN to connect when remote is a better approach. NAS/NVR obviously needs to be somewhere physically secure. Next to your TV with a HDMI cable might be convenient to view from at home, but you want to think about somewhere better protected or obscure.

If I were buying my setup again now, I would go for this model, which is a newer slightly higher res version of what I have (lens size matched to suit location):
http://www.netviewcctv.co.uk/cctv-camer ... d2142fwd-i

This is the varifocal version:
http://www.netviewcctv.co.uk/cctv-camer ... d2742fwd-i

Models for example only. Lots of similar brands to choose from, do lots of reading.
Last edited by GrahamS4 on Thu Apr 27, 2017 6:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: CCTV advice please

Post by marc1 » Thu Apr 27, 2017 7:51 pm


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Shoppinit
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Re: CCTV advice please

Post by Shoppinit » Fri Apr 28, 2017 7:56 am

Awesome. Thanks for the responses.

I was already looking at the Hikvision cams which I've heard good things about.

I'm comfortable setting up a secure VPN connection for remote access.

I wonder if I can get the NAS/NVR to upload to a remote server for backup. I saw that some people were using Multcloud to FTP to Google drive or Dropbox. Might be more trouble than it's worth. Need to look into that aspect of it more.
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Re: CCTV advice please

Post by GrahamS4 » Sat Apr 29, 2017 9:13 am

You can find varying reviews of Hikvision, but the origins of the company aside, they are a big in the market and make some very high end kit. There are a good many professional installers that work with these products.

For the price I paid, I was very impressed with the physical product. A definite quality feel. Software and functionality also good, some room for improvement but I think par for the course. These things are not as refined as some of the other consumer products we are used to.

A few bugs here and there but nothing I was unable to work around. For example the self signed certs are an issue on mine, so no HTTPS. Sounds like a biggie but if I do use the browser interface it is on my LAN so http not an issue. Also I generally use the very good Windows app provided which uses different ports, so again not an issue.

The mobile app (only relevant if viewing the cams directly or via a Hikvision NVR) pretty good. Remote view and playback. Has had around four updates, in nearly 18 months so gets development.

Again coming up 18 months that I have had mine and there have been four firmware releases. Changes to the web interface, functionality, bug fixes and security. The latest vulnerability (only an issue if internet facing) that hit the news addressed in the latest release.

For cloud updates with these, you are limited to FTP. So would need either a cloud FTP service or some webspace etc (neither generally free). Or run a local FTP server at home (Filezilla server), and have the folder set to sync to Dropbox, Google drive or onedrive etc.

My advise is go for a low maintenance set up. Position the NAS so not an easy find and reasonable physically secure. Your PoE switches also benefit from being in a secure or obscure location given they power the cams. Set up the recording and forget (other than periodic checks). You will live view quite frequently as it is a comfort, but playback when an exception calls you to do so only. Email motion alerts no matter how refined become tiresome. If you can FTP so old data overwritten when full then great, otherwise just something else to maintain. Internal microSD cards take over recording if you NAS/NVR goes offline.




Last edited by GrahamS4 on Sat Apr 29, 2017 9:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Shoppinit
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Re: CCTV advice please

Post by Shoppinit » Sat Apr 29, 2017 6:29 pm

Excellent info again. Thanks. I now have a much clearer idea of where I want to go with this. :thumbs:
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Re: CCTV advice please

Post by chunky79 » Sat Apr 29, 2017 7:37 pm

Shopp, I can put you in touch with a mate of mine who can look after your property for a small fee. He'll even catch and dispose of the scum where you are 😉
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Re: CCTV advice please

Post by pete62 » Sat Apr 29, 2017 8:10 pm

Having been burgled I have looked into this a lot.
I think you have to ask what the benefits of cctv are. As a visual deterrent I believe any visible cctv set up is good as it shows you have thought about home security and your house might not be such an easy score. Ditto a visible alarm box that looks like its operational whether it is or not. Beyond that if you can't mount cameras where they can't be interfered with then they will moved or destroyed when you get a visit,so are worthless. If they are not really high quality and positioned so that you can clearly see faces then again evidentially they are of little value. The tendency is for people to set them up so they cover a large area but this results in a video of your house being screwed but you can't really tell who did it. Even if you buy the best they won't be anymore deterrent which after all is mostly the point of the excercise.
The scroats who came to mine were gloved and balaclavaed before they got on the driveway so cctv would not have helped.
Lastly if you are only locally recording then the hard drive has to be hidden/locked away as they will just take the hard drive with them . If recording to the cloud then that's less of a problem.
Out of sight out of mind is good so a garaged car makes sense if you can after that a good alarm that sounds as soon as the house is entered and securely locked away keys in a difficult to find location as that will make it harder to locate the keys in the time they are prepared to stay in the house. ( I'm assuming here that you are out at the time you get a visit as whether you want to fight them for your car is a personal choice)
Just an opinion but I don't think it's worth spending a fortune on cctv, better spent on building a garage or getting an immobiliser that lets them drive away a safe distance then cuts out.
Bottom line ferkin scumbag motherfudging cnuts may they burn in the fires of hell!!

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