Help a newbie

[philipellis]

Hello

I hope you can help me with some advice about buying a CCTV setup (and I hope I'm in the right place!). Sorry for the long post

I've been thinking about CCTV for a while and have done some research but there are so many options that it's hard to know what to do for the best without the benefit of someone's personal experience.

I've settled on an IP system and will use PoE cameras for convenience of installation.

I understand that I can put a bunch of IP cameras on my network and view them through an app on my phone (i.e. no NVR requirement) but there's no central control in that. I'm thinking more that I need/want to get an NVR in the mix that's responsible for looking after the cameras. I can also isolate the cameras to a new network that way by hanging them off the back of the NVR's PoE ports. I don't want to have to attach a screen to the NVR for viewing as I'll use an app for that. It must also be configurable via a browser but I guess most of them do that, anyway.

I also believe that some/most decent cameras have in-camera zoning so that movement in a particular area is detected. If a camera doesn't have that feature, I think some NVRs have that option but in software which will clearly make it work harder.

Recording is also an imperative but I don't know if I should go for "all the time" or "on an event". It seems sensible to go for "on an event" but I'd welcome your experience.

As well as recording to a local disk it would be useful to be able to back up to another place, in real time (or as close to it as possible), so that I've got still footage in the event that the NVR was stolen.

I think I need 4 cameras to cover my property. None of the distances covered need to be massive, perhaps 20 metres. Three would be on the house and one on a detached garage. I don't really want wireless stuff so I'd try to hook this camera in using a Powerline adapter. Email/push alerts would be useful, too.

NVR's are pretty simple in concept but their facilities are what will tell them apart. e.g. how good the software is, remote backup of footage, notifications, etc.
I know that there are some free packages out there that I could load onto a spare PC but that complicates the setup. e.g. I'd need a PoE switch rather than powering the cameras from an NVR's own PoE ports.

I don't want to spend a fortune but am prepared to invest in reasonable kit. Say £400 - £600 for an NVR (if needed) and 4 outside cameras.

Immediate questions I have are:

Q1) Should I consider directly attached cameras or is an NVR the way to go?
Q2) What's a good NVR with a good range of features (including smartphone app that can be used by 2 phones simultaneously)?
Q3) Is there any make that I should avoid (I hear Hikvision/Dahua are good but people have concerns about hacking/phone home on these)
Q4) What's a good camera or cameras to choose?

Thanks for your help.

 

[Phil]

Budget:
Optio 4-camera NVR and 4x 4MP cameras (probably eyeball)

Better:
Hikvision 7604 NVR and 4x 8MP 2383 turret cameras

Record continuously.

Purchase an NVR and x1 camera first - use our 'Buy & Try' to test and make sure that you are satisfied.

Currently, I do not know of any IP camera solution that allows you to back everything up to the cloud, there's just too much data.

Perhaps have a run through my thirty tips.

 

[Des]

I only have experience of 2 installations and one of them went badly. So i'm telling my story rather than giving advice.

I found wireless to sound nice but ultimately too unstable for a trial & error merchant like me. I find POE to be brilliant. One Ethernet cable and you are done. Initially I didnt appreciate the value of an NVR but after taking advice on this forum (see my questions) I get it. With my small NVR I only need power to it & an Ethernet, which means I can hide it anywhere suitable in the house (not loft - too hot) and access it via my pc. I purchased a separate POE switch 4+4 which I placed close to the loft which means I only need to route one ethernet cable from the router downstairs. If my NVR had POE ports on it that would probably be cheaper but perhaps make my location choices less flexible. As it happens I can put my NVR anywhere I like.

When it comes to viewing you cams remotely, I spent a lot of time on this, relative to how little I use it (to show off). Port forwarding I just cant understand but my NVR had a P2P set up that eventually worked just about ok.

Something that no one tells you is read the instructions really carefully. I just didn't get the imperative to use Internet Explorer as instructed, go into security , sort activex and add your cameras IP to the compatibility tag. Without this nothing worked for me and I blamed the camera & supplier. It was me and my lack of knowledge. It wont work in Chrome or your favourite browser 'Use Internet Explorer'

Take the advice Phil gives you re products, with my bottom end product, Motion Detection only works as the cats tail leaves the picture or the postman has been and almost gone.

Leaving the camera recording all the time or triggering on detection is a matter of how many terabytes you have to record onto and also ease of viewing. Its boring watching the garden all day, but 10 triggers when a fox enters is easily find able. That is of course so long as your triggers work properly. Next NVR will have 30 second prerecording so I miss nothing.

If you dont have enough Hard disk space for your 2 week holiday, you may have overwritten the footage of the burglary before you get back home.

Make sure you enjoy all this IP stuff and messing around before you purchase and self install,. If its a chore you may never complete the installation and waste your money. Otherwise pay someone to do it. It took me approximately two years of failure/limited success to get me to the point of yesterday when I was able to get a new cam out of the box and configured into my NVR in 10 minutes.

I would find cloud storage prohibitively expensive with recurring fees. However at one stage I configured, triggered snapshots to arrive in my inbox. Got a bit tiresome getting emails of cars driving past my house.

Good luck mate - let us know what happens.

 

[philipellis]

Thanks both for your replies.

Phil, I've read your tips which was very helpful. Re. the Optio cameras, are there other options not listed on the website. Reason is, I'd like to explore to options re. the focal length. Also, good to note the Buy & Try option.

Des, your experience gives useful information. Especially interested to note your comments about NVR placement and avoiding a loft. Fortunately, I've got a cupboard that I can use from which I can directly access the loft for wiring.

Lots of food for thought!

 

[Phil]

Re. the Optio cameras, are there other options not listed on the website. Reason is, I'd like to explore to options re. the focal length.

No, all the options are shown in the webshop.
NB there are models with motorised zoom lenses that cover a range of fixed lens camera options.