I have been asked to seek out some recommendations for security cameras for our community crime watch organization. Initially, we want to cover traffic in both directions on the two roads that lead into the area (so 4 cameras total). We were first targeting cameras and systems with LPR (such as Turing) which allow AI searching of the recorded videos. More recently it was decided that it would be enough if we can retrieve vehicle information (type, color, make, etc.) and possibly driver images. AI search is still a necessity as our area has a lot of "weekend" homes where people might not come for a month or longer, and visually searching through that much video would be impossible. There is a reluctance to go with Chinese systems (Dahua, Hikvision, etc.) due to security risks with those.
Cameras will be mounted at locations occupied by active community members, so using PoE is very likely. One question is whether a single NVR at a central location (the community center), with cameras forwarding to it, would work, or if we will want an NVR at each location where the cameras are located. (There is 100/100mbps fiber internet available). Our initial budget is limited to around $7000, but if we can spend less that's no problem.
Doing online searches for things such as "best security cameras" just leads to mostly biased "review" sites that are just marketing gimmicks. I was happy to come across this community where I can hear opinions from knowledgeable users. I look forward to your thoughts, and let me know if you need any further information or have any questions for me.
