Friend needs home camera system, advice requested

[ch33zw1z]

So a friend of mine is having some problems with someone breaking into his house while he's at work. He's asked me (the techy friend) to help him setup a home camera system with a dvr to get some evidence as to who it is, and maybe what they're after.

I've googled, but not really finding a good system that gets good reviews. I'm open to all ideas, preferably wireless cameras, and enough DVR storage for a couple days of footage.

 

[MisterJackson]

Sams or Costco sells DVR in a box kits. Just tell him to get one of those.

 

[ch33zw1z]

Assume we don't have warehouse membership but thanks, I'll throw that his way as well.

 

[gamefreakgcb]

Costco Q-See cameras are pretty good (mega pixel bullet outdoor use). If you're thinking of using outside with lots of rain/snow then make sure the cams are IP66 certified. They usually list in the specs.

 

[OutHouse]

i bought this one 2 months ago. have a camera on my front door and the other on my back door. easy setup just drilled a hole through my wall and ran the plug down to a outlet inside my house. for $199.99 its is a great setup. i actually got the 9 inch display and replaced the 2gb data card with a 32 gigger, best buy had them on sale for 7 bucks. im going to add two more camera when i have some extra money. the cool thing is they have two way comm and the night vision is awesome. it lights up my back yard very very well.

i have it set to record 30 seconds on a event it picks up. with the 32 gb card i have just about a month of recordings. but i dont get many events, just mainly when we leave for work or when we let the dog out

also Skyking is expert on home security cameras you may want to PM if he does not see this thread.

http://www.lorextechnology.com/Home...-home-monitoring-system-with-recording/2266.p

here is a pic of my the camera for the back yard. its pitch black so you can see how well the IR works.

 

[jaha2000]

WE have a QSee system at work.
DVR is decent, cameras are decent. And you can access it from anywhere, and set the thing up to notify you of motion on certain cameras at certain times.
Its not the best, but for the price, i think its tough to beat.

 

[DesiPower]

Assume we don't have warehouse membership but thanks, I'll throw that his way as well.

Sams sells stuff with guest membership but you have to pay 10% more

 

[DesiPower]

i bought this one 2 months ago. have a camera on my front door and the other on my back door. easy setup just drilled a hole through my wall and ran the plug down to a outlet inside my house. for $199.99 its is a great setup. i actually got the 9 inch display and replaced the 2gb data card with a 32 gigger, best buy had them on sale for 7 bucks. im going to add two more camera when i have some extra money. the cool thing is they have two way comm and the night vision is awesome. it lights up my back yard very very well.

also Skyking is expert on home security cameras you may want to PM if he does not see this thread.

http://www.lorextechnology.com/Home...-home-monitoring-system-with-recording/2266.p

Do you get any interference at all?

 

[OutHouse]

Do you get any interference at all?

none at all.

 

[ch33zw1z]

thanks for the replies guys. :thumbsup:

 

[railer]

i bought this one 2 months ago. have a camera on my front door and the other on my back door. easy setup just drilled a hole through my wall and ran the plug down to a outlet inside my house. for $199.99 its is a great setup. i actually got the 9 inch display and replaced the 2gb data card with a 32 gigger, best buy had them on sale for 7 bucks. im going to add two more camera when i have some extra money. the cool thing is they have two way comm and the night vision is awesome. it lights up my back yard very very well.

i have it set to record 30 seconds on a event it picks up. with the 32 gb card i have just about a month of recordings. but i dont get many events, just mainly when we leave for work or when we let the dog out

Have you tried to view your cameras remotely? I see from the description it says you can Skype in for remote view.... That looks like a cool setup for not a lot of bucks.

 

[OutHouse]

Have you tried to view your cameras remotely? I see from the description it says you can Skype in for remote view.... That looks like a cool setup for not a lot of bucks.

Yes, it works very good and pipes the sound. The drawback is when you plug in the display to your pc via usb, the display goes dark and only one camera can be viewed via skype. In essence you are using the camera as a webcam. Just load the drivers, fire up skype, select the security camera, set skype to auto answer and you are golden. I connect from my galaxy s3 all the time.

 

[AustinInDallas]

are you close to a frys's?

 

[Midwayman]

You want the wired POE cameras. Wireless are pointless as you have to get power to them anyways. I'd pick up the qsee 720p system from costco (Dahau rebrand) if you want something descent. They are cheaper for the high res systems there. If you just want an older CCTV model you can order them all sorts of places.

 

[OutHouse]

You want the wired POE cameras. Wireless are pointless as you have to get power to them anyways. I'd pick up the qsee 720p system from costco (Dahau rebrand) if you want something descent. They are cheaper for the high res systems there. If you just want an older CCTV model you can order them all sorts of places.

Wireless is far from useless. They are very flexible for placement.

 

[Midwayman]

Wireless is far from useless. They are very flexible for placement.

You still have to run power to them. As long as you're running wires you might as well do it the right way. Indoors I could see using them, but never where people can just walk up and unplug them. Plus wifi is never as reliable of course. For a security cam, wired is the right way to do it.

 

[ch33zw1z]

are you close to a frys's?

no

 

[RossMAN]

http://www.costco.com/Lorex-LIVE-Ping-Wireless-Network-Camera-2-pack.product.100026273.html

$219.99 - $20 coupon (expires 6/2/13) = $199.99 shipped

Specs/features http://www.lorextechnology.com/RV/prod320010.p?skuId=sku340018

 

[rise]

I ended up using lorex and another lorex for my buddies house.

The wireless lower res was a deal breaker for him. The lorex cameras are really nice, the night vision is better than advertised, pic is awesome and with a cheapo networked dvr he can remote in from his iphone or broswer

 

[RossMAN]

I ended up using lorex and another lorex for my buddies house.

The wireless lower res was a deal breaker for him. The lorex cameras are really nice, the night vision is better than advertised, pic is awesome and with a cheapo networked dvr he can remote in from his iphone or broswer

Can you post some sample pics with light and night vision? Indoors and outdoors?

Thanks.

 

[OutHouse]

You still have to run power to them. As long as you're running wires you might as well do it the right way. Indoors I could see using them, but never where people can just walk up and unplug them. Plus wifi is never as reliable of course. For a security cam, wired is the right way to do it.

do you have any experience with wireless cameras? The lorex one i posted above is not wifi, and i would rather run 10 feet of power cable through a 3/8th's hole I drilled through my wall and drop it to a outlet inside my house than run 80 feet of video cable from multiple cameras to a static DVR. I have had ZERO issues with the 199.99 system i bought and highly recommend it. The RF signal is rated for about 450 feet, if you have a outbuilding (with power) that you want to monitor its a perfect solution and much easier than running 300+ feet of cable across a field or road.

 

[OutHouse]

http://www.costco.com/Lorex-LIVE-Ping-Wireless-Network-Camera-2-pack.product.100026273.html

$219.99 - $20 coupon (expires 6/2/13) = $199.99 shipped

Specs/features http://www.lorextechnology.com/RV/prod320010.p?skuId=sku340018

thats pretty slick, indoor only though.

 

[Emilyyu]

If you want to buy an IP camera, i think <spam> is a nice choice when you balance the budget and the video quality. At first hand, i did not know this brand. One day,when i was searching an ip camera on Ebay, it came into my sight. After comparing the price and the features between several brands, i finally chose the <spam>
P.S. I feel their support team is quite professional and most of all very patient as the questions i once asked them would probably drive anyone crazy, but they handled it well and always seemed kind to me.

 

[Rinaun]

Man, I love reading this thread and not seeing one person mention Axis. You know you hit security Camera-phile level when you have to sign waivers stating not to send this camera out of the states

 

[Doppel]

Look, I don't work for dropcam HONEST but holy shit it is the perfect thing here. And yes I do pimp their system in threads like this.

Here's why:

1) It works
2) Reliable
3) YOU are not on the hook for support

If you set up a system for your buddy and something goes wrong/it doesn't work, he'll be up your ass over it.

I have two dropcam cameras in play right now and they work perfectly, up-time is about 99%, they have OFF-SITE DVR for $15/month for both cameras, iphone app that works great, remote access that will beat the SHIT out of anything sold at costco.

I also have a 2MP ipcamera for my outside hooked up to a powered ethernet cable and this camera drops all its vid/images to an FTP site in the house. Thing is, although its quality is better, it requires the FTP site, it's very hard to access over the net (port issues aside, it simply does not stream well and there is no good app for a phone to do it, and even using a browser on a remote PC the bandwidth is an issue), no integral monitoring software (I have a bunch of videos/images, but cannot easily go through them except manually).

The main drawback about dropcam is that they are not outdoor rated. I suspect that if you have one in an underhang it will work (and probably in the winter as well), but you'll need to ensure the signal outdoors is sufficient for wi-fi. If you place them by a window pointing outdoors you'll be golden.

It depends what you're looking for. If you want a bad ass system to nail the license plate of speeding cars you will need many hundreds of dollars per camera. If you want to figure out who the hell keeps doing stupid crap around your house and keep an eye on it I really think dropcam's product is excellent.

You still have to run power to them. As long as you're running wires you might as well do it the right way. Indoors I could see using them, but never where people can just walk up and unplug them. Plus wifi is never as reliable of course. For a security cam, wired is the right way to do it.

Except there are power outlets all through everybody's house, both indoors and out. Dropping some network cabling is a lot more effort. I agree that wired is the way to go if possible, the bandwidth is massively higher and there will be less interference issues, wi-fi dropping, etc.

------

Things seem to be changing quickly in this field, though. It's a great time to be an obsessed nut with cameras on his house. I recommend it to everybody I'll definitely check out the cameras outhouse is recommending.