Home surveillance systems?

[Mr Bob]

"Generally I'd say you won't get much for your budget in terms of recordings. "
- talking about signal quality?

"do you want convictions?"
- Yes, but standard video feeds should be enough for a good picture, right?

"how many days recording are you after?"
- Isn't that fully dependent on the hard drive? If so then as much as I can fit on a 400gb drive.

"how big is the area you want to cover?"
- I think I am going to cover specific areas, as opposed to a large area. I've noticed that most of these entry level cameras are around 60 degree viewing area.

"will you be putting it in yourself?"
- yes

"if so how would you rate your DIY skills? "
- well, i can screw a camera into wood, plug in a pci card and install drivers/software, and connect a cable to the pci card... what else do i need?

The cameras from guard.lv look a little cheesy, and they dont provide any specs on the camera at all. i also noticed that they are not wireless, not a must, but it sure would be good if they were

 

[Kelnoen]

"Generally I'd say you won't get much for your budget in terms of recordings. "
- talking about signal quality?
The signal quality on a standard mpeg2 card will not be great, although DVD's are mpeg2 doing on the fly like on the cards leaves alot to be desired.
another big factor is the sensor, if you can find one go for one using a cdd rather than cmos (if possible sony over sharp)
370 tv lines is pretty poor so try and go for anything over 430 (Sony ccd's are now 480 tv lines).

"do you want convictions?"
- Yes, but standard video feeds should be enough for a good picture, right?
A lot of places are now requiring a full frontal with the person taking up the entire screen for 'identification' but if it's just to see what people are up to that have already been identified it'll be fine with a wider angle shot.

"how many days recording are you after?"
- Isn't that fully dependent on the hard drive? If so then as much as I can fit on a 400gb drive.
400gb using an mpeg2 motion only recording will normally give you about 2 weeks at medium quality and 4fps per camera (for 4 cameras)
on the same drive a more advanced system will give you over 3 month at the same quality (using H264 compression)

"how big is the area you want to cover?"
- I think I am going to cover specific areas, as opposed to a large area. I've noticed that most of these entry level cameras are around 60 degree viewing area.
generally for covering areas (like entrances and doorways) you want around a 60 to 75 degree view (around 4mm to 6mm lens).


"will you be putting it in yourself?"
- yes

"if so how would you rate your DIY skills? "
- well, i can screw a camera into wood, plug in a pci card and install drivers/software, and connect a cable to the pci card... what else do i need?
best to go for wireless or premade wires unless your a dab hand with a bnc crimp

The cameras from guard.lv look a little cheesy, and they don't provide any specs on the camera at all. i also noticed that they are not wireless, not a must, but it sure would be good if they were

The cameras from there i wouldn't rate highly, only the capture card and software.

 

[swtethan]

4fps? thats crazy talk!

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Kevin1211
got my security system right here... *pets M4*

probably works well when you are not home...

I also interested in monitoring my place when not home...and perhaps installing a wireless security system too. I can pick up one for a few hundred and just leave it with the apartment when I move.

 

[alkemyst]

For home use I think digital storage is a bit overkill and limited for realistic budgets.

You can pick up 4 and 8 camera time lapse VCR setups much cheaper.

I'd add in a couple 'webcams' for live site checks as well...good just to monitor things going on.

The tape systems have surprisingly good quality and you can select how long you want to record for per tape...usually going over 8-10 hours you have to give up audio recording.

 

[Mr Bob]

"370 tv lines is pretty poor so try and go for anything over 430"
- Any models you can suggest that are in my price range? Something around <$100 per camera?

"on the same drive a more advanced system will give you over 3 month at the same quality (using H264 compression)"
- This is 100% dependant on the video recording software that is being used, correct? If so, is the guard.lv software any good with high compression?

"The cameras from there i wouldn't rate highly, only the capture card and software. "
- Have you compared this to the PCI card from Swann?

"You can pick up 4 and 8 camera time lapse VCR setups much cheaper. "
- Any idea how much easier it is to have it fully hooked up to your computer? You can pick up a 400 drive these days for around $125... What happens when the VCR tapes get full? You have to exchange them out everytime.

"usually going over 8-10 hours you have to give up audio recording."
- There are 24hr VCR tapes now

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Mr Bob

"You can pick up 4 and 8 camera time lapse VCR setups much cheaper. "
- Any idea how much easier it is to have it fully hooked up to your computer? You can pick up a 400 drive these days for around $125... What happens when the VCR tapes get full? You have to exchange them out everytime.

"usually going over 8-10 hours you have to give up audio recording."
- There are 24hr VCR tapes now

I am not sure how much video you are trying to capture...you will run out of HD space if you don't purge it as well.

We can record up to around a week on one tape...we dont though. We are going to a full video system with 1 week storage on digital. It blows your 3 figure or even a 4 figure budget though

There are two main purposes for home surveillance: monitoring 'live' and capturing details of a break-in. These only require resetting the 'tape' every time you return home.

Businesses need longer hold times as theft and problems are not usually noticed within 1 business day. It may be a week before someone realizes that a full workstation is no longer at a vacant desk.

What are your goals at the surveillance?

 

[Squisher]

I know it's out of both your and my league, but I just thought this was neat.

Call it up from an internet connection and pan it and zoom to look at what ever you want.

 

[Mr Bob]

"What are your goals at the surveillance? "
- To catch anyone around our house who decides to do anything we don't like.

What kind of camera would I need to read a license number?

"I know it's out of both your and my league, but I just thought this was neat. "
- Damn that is badass...

 

[RossMAN]

Bobby, learn how to use the f'ing quote feature

kthxbye

 

[Mr Bob]

i'd use it if it was

 

[RossMAN]

Even easier it's (q) (/q) replace ( ) with [ ]

OMGWTFBBQQUOTE

 

[Mr Bob]

Yeah, but it isn't the normal way to quote. Fight the power!!

 

[Kelnoen]

Originally posted by: Mr Bob
"370 tv lines is pretty poor so try and go for anything over 430"
- Any models you can suggest that are in my price range? Something around <$100 per camera?
less than 100 will be tricky although this one is around $130-$140
http://digitalvideos.co.uk/default.asp?txtAction=selectproduct&txtId=676

"on the same drive a more advanced system will give you over 3 month at the same quality (using H264 compression)"
- This is 100% dependant on the video recording software that is being used, correct? If so, is the guard.lv software any good with high compression?
The guard.lv card is just a basic mpeg2 card, the difference is the software converts the mpeg2 to it's own proprietry format (deltawave) which has been designed for CCTV.

"The cameras from there i wouldn't rate highly, only the capture card and software. "
- Have you compared this to the PCI card from Swann?
I have not seen the swann unit in action but i believe it's also using a conexant chip like the guard.lv one.

"You can pick up 4 and 8 camera time lapse VCR setups much cheaper. "
- Any idea how much easier it is to have it fully hooked up to your computer? You can pick up a 400 drive these days for around $125... What happens when the VCR tapes get full? You have to exchange them out everytime.
The problem with timelapse vcr is the framerates, they really blow and also there is no motion recording so you will get 99% of your space wasted (although the space is dirt cheap).

"usually going over 8-10 hours you have to give up audio recording."
- There are 24hr VCR tapes now
Again, using a 180min tape for 24 hours will give horrid framerates
using a 240min or 500 min tape will give useable framerates but the equipment will cost more (using a 240min tape in a 180 timelapse machine will damage it)

 

[Mr Bob]

"less than 100 will be tricky although this one is around $130-$140 "
- That is also only 380 lines :/

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Mr Bob
Yeah, but it isn't the normal way to quote. Fight the power!!

umm post your forum vs this one.

anyway your quoting does suck.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Mr Bob
What kind of camera would I need to read a license number?

it's beyond your budget.

Think about it. Car pulls up...maybe from the left or maybe the right. Maybe pulls up down the street.

Leaves maybe to the left, maybe to the right, maybe just a person or a few jumping over random parts of your fence or running out the front.

A monitored alarm is your best choice in this.

Are you trying to watch someone banging your girl during the day? If that's the case just hide a webcam at hi resolution and a motion detector in your bedroom and a lower one if needed at the front door. If the 'meating' place is a different spot, move your hi res camera.

If you can post your goals we can help you better.

Å

 

[Mr Bob]

"umm post your forum vs this one."
- I don't have a forum, nor do I need one to say is the NORMAL quoting method.

"anyway your quoting does suck. "
- "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" ""

"it's beyond your budget."
- I found a camera that can read from 50m away, but it has to actually zoom in, it was like $120ish I think.

"If you can post your goals we can help you better. "
- I'm not sure what else I could say other than I want to have recordings of people who could possibly do something to our vehicles/house.

 

[alkemyst]

You have more goals than that already hinted at here.

You want street surveillance, in home surveillance both clear enough to read detail.

You want more than 1 full day of recording going to digital at a time (2 days, 3 days? a week? longer?)

Do you want constant coverage or motion/sound only activation?

Then you have a lower 3 figure budget.

There are plenty of cameras that can read far or read close....it's how you set them up to monitor.

I'd find a local spy shop that knows what they are doing and have them give you a recommendation.

 

[Mr Bob]

"You want street surveillance, in home surveillance both clear enough to read detail. "
- I never said I wanted to be able to read detail for anything inside/outside. Being able to read a license plate would be great, but I don't see where I said it is a requirement...

"I'd find a local spy shop that knows what they are doing and have them give you a recommendation. "
- They are way too expensive

"You want more than 1 full day of recording going to digital at a time (2 days, 3 days? a week? longer?) "
- Yes, I have a 400gb drive ready to hold recordings. A week would be a good amount of time.

"Do you want constant coverage or motion/sound only activation? "
- Motion activation sounds like the best one to have, there is no reason to record something if nothing changes.

"Then you have a lower 3 figure budget. "
- No I don't, look at some of the links to cameras in this thread.

 

[alkemyst]

k...

First thing you will need to do is figure out what type of recording (video/sound) and where you will want cameras and what type. You need to think about the range you want each camera to work at. I would draw a diagram of the property.

Also you need to determine what wireless and what wired devices.

You have to consider the light sources. In commercial buildings with lighting almost always on it's easier...in a residence especially without lights it's harder. Night vision isn't a detail oriented source.

You need to consider if you want this to provide eyes when you are away from home only (that would be my bet for myself with one camera at my front and back entrances).

Then color or black and white.

Once you have the number of cameras, it's easier to find systems.

I still think old-school VHS based security is the best bang for buck still.

Draw it out and post it up.

There are a lot of advantages to digital systems though. It's really easy to improve bad images to gain more detail and it's automatic. With your 400gb drive and just using motion based cameras I'd say you'd be looking at 4-5 months of 'tape'. Depends how much traffic you get though.

 

[alkemyst]

Didn't realize it but this forum I have been looking at has a video surv. section:

http://forum.homesecuritystore.com/inde...e8f17ac570d86db3dc54481296d&board=20.0