Considering a move from Arlo to wired IP cameras

[sakau]

I am newlywed and my wife and I were planning on building a new home but have decided instead to just do some renovations and stay put (Love it won out over List it, to any HGTV fans).

In any event, the digs that I thought were going to be very temporary are going to be semi-permanent so it has me looking for ways to bring the home up to snuff. The first element of that for me is wiring the home. It was built in the early 90s, and the network wiring (nonexistant?) looks pretty bad to my untrained eye. Looks like jacks for telephones in a few rooms all lead to a box in the garage. But the cable internet comes into the home separately and everything in the home runs off wi-fi (but the coverage is sub-par imo). Basically, I'm going to want to be dropping ethernet (and probably speaker wire and maybe HDMI) all over the place. It's going to be a big PITA, but since I'm pretty committed to doing it, I want to do it right. And part of doing it right means I can run ethernet to various camera locations. That way I can ditch the Arlo service and subscription. I'd rather just buy cameras that I can use with an NVR and be able to use Windows software to set up alert zones, go through all the footage, etc.

Of course, I've never used these type of system before. Right now, we just have a few Arlo cameras. So I came here to basically be coached on what I should be looking for.
Things that are important to me:
- I want to be brand agnostic with the NVR. I want to be able to use cameras (and software, and hard drives) from basically any brand to capture and store my footage. 16 channels should give me plenty of room for expansion, 4k capable is a must. Probably want close to the latest and greatest compression h.265 or whatever it is these days. PoE seems standard. I found one that fits this for $950 + the cost of hard drives (maybe another $400-$500 in my case). I just want to make sure I can use popular cameras I've seen well-reviewed like Reolink 410 and others. I don't want to be pigeon-holed into having to use a Reolink NVR to use their cameras or vice-versa.

I am looking forward to soaking up as much information in the coming weeks as I can.

Thanks in advance

 

[crw030]

You will certainly get a broad range of recommendations while you explore your options. You could end up with a hardware box NVR, or even go the computer+Blue Iris route (both are popular here). Your brand agnostic requirement might actually be one of the key factors so good to mention it, instead of leading with "I saw a discount Costco 'system'"!

I will say running network in a finished house, while possible to DIY, might have a learning curve depending on your inclination to do it yourself. Also consider that outdoor cameras likely mean running network cables through exterior walls which have their own challenges (like stuffed with insulation and obstructions), so in some situations you might want to consider professional help on particularly gnarly runs. The good news is you could read posts just from the past year and get a good feel for what you need to do. Also you will find lots of help available here, for tough questions when you get to them.

Welcome to IPCAMTALK!

 

[handinpalm]

Think about your house layout and where you would want to place mid span switches. This will reduce the amount and length of ethernet cable you have to pull. I would recommend Blue Iris w/ Windows PC, WD purple drives, instead of a particular NVR. That way you are not tied to a particular camera manufacturer.

 

[Holbs]

Many posts, such as your's, about running ethernet data cables (or any cabling) inside of a house. Search the forums for what has been discussed.
I'll toss out my recommendations if you go down this DIY path:
1.) I initially was going to wire for IP camera's. 2 Cat6 cables for every camera location. Why 2? Just in case. I only want to wire my house ONCE. If unsure if both will ever be used, best to run the cable anyways.
2.) Once I started pulling cable with pull string (this is very important to quicken pulling multiple runs in a pathway), I thought I best consider what other cabling I could do. This lead me to pulling window/door/glass break detectors/PIR/control keypad cabling (different gauges & number of conductors for each device such as comparing simple 22/2 gauge wire for door sensor but 18/4 for PIR and 18/6 for control keypad) for a home alarm system. If unsure if ever will be used, best to run the cable anways.
3.) Pulling speaker cable for 7.1 surround sound, or whole house audio. If unsure if ever will be used, best to run the cable anyways.
4.) Pulling 12v/24v LED light strip feeds or outside 12v/24v LED blasters for IP camera night time here and there. If unsure if ever will use, best to run the cable anyways.

 

[Holbs]

MInd you...I have about 15-20 4"x4" drywall holes to patch up because needed tactical pulling of wire access locations. Haven't been in too much of a hurry to learn how to patch drywall

 

[sakau]

Think about your house layout and where you would want to place mid span switches. This will reduce the amount and length of ethernet cable you have to pull. I would recommend Blue Iris w/ Windows PC, WD purple drives, instead of a particular NVR. That way you are not tied to a particular camera manufacturer.

This could be huge for me! I wasn't really aware this was an option. I already have a PC that I leave on 24/7 because it acts as a NAS. I have 8 drive slots available to me. I could easily sacrifice 2 of those slots and drop a pair of 4-6 TB drives in for plenty of storage. Seems like this could potentially save me $500-$1000. Perhaps I should just buy one IP camera and Blue Iris just to trial it out and make sure it can do everything I'd like it to do before investing the considerable time and expense of wiring the home for IP cameras.

 

[Holbs]

There ya go. Good idea on 1 cam and trial blue iris. You can go dahua entry level camera or the king of home use camera.
Keep in mind, blue iris is windows only, not Linux compatible.
That 1 dahua cam will turn into 16 by end of August.
Have you read the cliff notes yet?

 

[sakau]

There ya go. Good idea on 1 cam and trial blue iris. You can go dahua entry level camera or the king of home use camera.
Keep in mind, blue iris is windows only, not Linux compatible.
That 1 dahua cam will turn into 16 by end of August.
Have you read the cliff notes yet?

No worries there. I love Windows and Linux kinda scares me

Truth be told, I haven't. But once I get off work tonight, I plan on doing a lot of reading. Internet forums are such goldmines for hobbyists.

 

[looney2ns]

No worries there. I love Windows and Linux kinda scares me

Truth be told, I haven't. But once I get off work tonight, I plan on doing a lot of reading. Internet forums are such goldmines for hobbyists.

Good move, Arlos and the like are overpriced toys.

Start here with this attachment.

 

[FR1TZZ]

There ya go. Good idea on 1 cam and trial blue iris. You can go dahua entry level camera or the king of home use camera.
Keep in mind, blue iris is windows only, not Linux compatible.
That 1 dahua cam will turn into 16 by end of August.
Have you read the cliff notes yet?

Good move, Arlos and the like are toys.

Start here with this attachment.

+1 On these.

I just got started and am itching to add more!! As you will find from others, do your research on cameras!!! And don't chase resolution aka 4K. Just because you have a higher resolution you may not get the results you need for a particular location. I am finding that out the hard way now. For what I paid for an Amcrest 4K camera, I could have gotten 2 of their 5MP cameras that have much better low light performance.

Take your time and do a bunch of reading and asking. There is a ton of info on here and it has been helpful for me.

 

[sebastiantombs]

Hey @Holbs . Get some lattice or similar wide, flat, style of wood. Strips of 1/4" plywood about 2" wide are best, Cut them at 6" to 8" lengths and install them across your cutouts using some drywall screws. Then, just put the piece you cut out back in with drywall screws. I get fancy and "bevel" the edges of the hole and the piece I cut out. Two, light coats, of spackle with some sanding, 220 grit, between coats and you're good to go. I usually wait for final sanding and touch-up painting until I'm completely done with a project.

 

[Holbs]

Hey @Holbs . Get some lattice or similar wide, flat, style of wood. Strips of 1/4" plywood about 2" wide are best, Cut them at 6" to 8" lengths and install them across your cutouts using some drywall screws. The, just put the piece you cut out back in with drywall screws. I get fancy and "bevel" the edges of the hole and the piece I cut out. Two, light coats, of spackle with some sanding, 220 grit, between coats and you're good to go. I usually wait for final sanding and touch-up painting until I'm completely done with a project.

yes, I have researched how to patch drywall holes and what you mention seems to be the best method. I'm somewhat skittish about matching the texture... but that's a another topic

 

[looney2ns]

yes, I have researched how to patch drywall holes and what you mention seems to be the best method. I'm somewhat skittish about matching the texture... but that's a another topic

Practice a few times on some scraps. Make sure the mud is wet enough, so you can make a nice smooth swipe with the trowel.

 

[mat200]

I am newlywed and my wife and I were planning on building a new home but have decided instead to just do some renovations and stay put ..

Welcome @sakau

You're gonna have fun with the your place.

While you are thinking about this project, and has been discussed I recommend the following

Get one good Dahua OEM varifocal 4MP starlight+ IP PoE model and a small PoE switch and start playing around with it.

Once you get the hang of it you can get a better idea of the limits and ability of the camera and get a better idea of how you want to place camera around your home.

Typically the easier and first place that works for many who have attached garages is mounting a camera on each side of the garage door covering your driveway ( which is also the walkway to the front door for many ).

 

[samplenhold]

Perhaps I should just buy one IP camera and Blue Iris just to trial it out

YES! That is how I started. Use that one cam to decide what cams and where to place others. Do not try to do the whole thing at once. Make a plan. As you gain experience you will see that the plan changes.

Realize that your PC acting as a NAS may end up overloaded once you put cams on it. Most folks say to use a dedicated PC for BI, and I agree.

 

[sakau]

For now, I think I will just use my PC as the NAS as I just start the system out; Once I start adding more cameras, I will likely look towards building a new system.

I downloaded Blue Iris 5 to see how it would work. I have not yet ordered an IP camera, but I do have a Logitech webcam laying around that is connected to my PC where I have installed the trial version of Blue Iris 5. It seems to recognize the camera, but when I add it, I don't get any feed. Does Blue Iris just not work with webcams? Functionally, I can't figure out why it would be any different than another type of USB camera which Blue Iris evidently supports.

 

[samplenhold]

It seems to recognize the camera

What do you mean by that? How are you adding it? Is it USB? Show how you added it.

 

[looney2ns]

For now, I think I will just use my PC as the NAS as I just start the system out; Once I start adding more cameras, I will likely look towards building a new system.

I downloaded Blue Iris 5 to see how it would work. I have not yet ordered an IP camera, but I do have a Logitech webcam laying around that is connected to my PC where I have installed the trial version of Blue Iris 5. It seems to recognize the camera, but when I add it, I don't get any feed. Does Blue Iris just not work with webcams? Functionally, I can't figure out why it would be any different than another type of USB camera which Blue Iris evidently supports.

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