Bit of help picking right kit

[mordzy]

Hello. I’m just looking for some help or advice to pic the right system for my house.

I’ve had a couple of break-ins this year and decided it’s a worthwhile investment. At work we use lots of Uniquiti kit for wireless networks so I’ve been looking at ubiquiti g3 and g3 pro cameras and associated nvr but also checked out the Swann (recommendation from a friend) as well as some of the smart home systems Swaan as Nest and Netgear Arlo systems.

It’s not that it’s confusing in terms of spec of the cameras, ie pixel count, zoom, night vision and range but rather software functions. I’m not keen on a cloud subscription and had considered using a mini Mac (core i5 16gb 2tb) and bootcamp to windows if needed for the nvr.

Essentially I want thto we features:

- decent resolution camera 1080 min.
- night vision
- iPhone app for remote viewing
- mobile movement alerts
- mask off areas of high traffic
- PoE
- decent software / regular updates

I work in IT so have a expert grasp of hardware software and networking so IP based stuff is a natural want.

The ‘home’ solitons such as nest and the netgear arlo stuff have odd usb-c type power cords rather than poe which was a bit of a turn off though feature wise seem far in advance of anything else while the ubiquiti is none standard PoE.

I have a small drive at my property which would easily be covered by a average camera, however my garden is quite large. Most recently targeted was a converted shipping container that is my workshop and store for tools and dirt bikes. This is halfway down my garden and approx 30 meters away from the house. The garden is also approx 30 wide.

I’d thought about covering the drive (entrance to house) and two cameras covering the garden with a fourth at the container covering the house. I’m not sure if digital zoom is adiquate for the distances I’m talking about or if I need optical zoom.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[fenderman]

Hello. I’m just looking for some help or advice to pic the right system for my house.

I’ve had a couple of break-ins this year and decided it’s a worthwhile investment. At work we use lots of Uniquiti kit for wireless networks so I’ve been looking at ubiquiti g3 and g3 pro cameras and associated nvr but also checked out the Swann (recommendation from a friend) as well as some of the smart home systems Swaan as Nest and Netgear Arlo systems.

It’s not that it’s confusing in terms of spec of the cameras, ie pixel count, zoom, night vision and range but rather software functions. I’m not keen on a cloud subscription and had considered using a mini Mac (core i5 16gb 2tb) and bootcamp to windows if needed for the nvr.

Essentially I want thto we features:

- decent resolution camera 1080 min.
- night vision
- iPhone app for remote viewing
- mobile movement alerts
- mask off areas of high traffic
- PoE
- decent software / regular updates

I work in IT so have a expert grasp of hardware software and networking so IP based stuff is a natural want.

The ‘home’ solitons such as nest and the netgear arlo stuff have odd usb-c type power cords rather than poe which was a bit of a turn off though feature wise seem far in advance of anything else while the ubiquiti is none standard PoE.

I have a small drive at my property which would easily be covered by a average camera, however my garden is quite large. Most recently targeted was a converted shipping container that is my workshop and store for tools and dirt bikes. This is halfway down my garden and approx 30 meters away from the house. The garden is also approx 30 wide.

I’d thought about covering the drive (entrance to house) and two cameras covering the garden with a fourth at the container covering the house. I’m not sure if digital zoom is adiquate for the distances I’m talking about or if I need optical zoom.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

See the dahua starlight turret threads...
download a demo of blue iris software.

 

[looney2ns]

Study the Cliff Notes.
Avoid Wifi.
Avoid anything that use's the cloud.

 

[J Sigmo]

I would get a separate PC running windows natively and run Blue Iris on that PC for the NVR functions. Blue Iris is extremely flexible and capable. But it is best to dedicate a PC to it, and if that's all that will be running in it, it should be a Windows machine.

Fenderman always has excellent recommendations for great refurbished Windows PCs for this posted in the Wiki, here:

Choosing Hardware for Blue Iris | IP Cam Talk

Plan to end up adding more cameras over time by getting a POE switch with far more ports than you think you will need.

It is easy to set up a few cameras to begin with, and experiment with them, then add more as time goes on. Most people advise that you use temporary set-ups to verify exactly where to mount the cameras so you can move them around to see exactly how your coverage will be before doing the permanent installations.

Do you have power, ethernet, etc., out at the container/storage unit? There are good wireless options, but you will always need power of some sort.

Read through the Wiki, and read a lot of old threads on here, and you can pick up a lot that will help you choose well before you buy.

 

[mordzy]

Thanks for the advice guys. The house was built in the 1820s so walls are over a ft thick and solid stone. As you can imagine WiFI is pointless so I’d not even considered this. One of the reasons the arlo and best stuff got crossed off.

The container has power and a cat5 network supply direct from the house router/firewall.

The mini Mac would be dedicated as it’s not used for anything else.

 

[J Sigmo]

I'd still get a Windows PC for running Blue Iris if it was me. I can't see fighting another layer of problems by running things under a simulated OS setup. Refurb PCs are pretty cheap, and this will be the heart of the system.

Drilling holes to run wire through your walls must be a challenge! But if you have to fight off a hoard of bad guys, at least your walls will be relatively resistant to small arms fire!

It's great that you have power and ethernet out to the container. You can mount cameras and lighting there easily, which gives you better coverage.

Sounds like a beautiful place!