First time installer in soffit

[dbldown768]

My house has aluminum soffits around the garage where I plan I putting up some cameras. I recently bought this deal (LaView NVR PoE 8-Channel Security System w/ 4x Cameras $280 + Free Shipping) and had a few questions. From what I can tell my soffits are empty. I can get access from the finished inside of the garage by cutting some holes in the ceiling of the drywall as it does not have an attic above it. That being said I see lots of posts with people using some other junction box to secure them to the soffits. Is there a compatible mount that works best for these cameras? If not, can I just push all the wires into the soffit for protection from water or is something else needed.

I don't think I'll have enough access to put a small piece of wood across the soffit for better support but I did see someone who had an idea of using some painted aluminum and placing it in the j channel of the outside the soffit.

Also 2 cameras are better than the other, not sure if some might be able to explain the difference.

Thanks

 

[TonyR]

This will help mount, orient and aim bullet-style cams, protect connectors from elements and will allow you minimize the size of hole drilled for the CAT-5e or 6 POE cable feeding the cam ==>> here.

 

[trucams]

Depending on the profile of the aluminum soffit, you may be able to find a siding block that matches the edges or valleys. Use a 2" or 2 1/2" bi-metal hole saw on a drill to cut aluminum, then slide a shim(s) or piece(s) of wood through the hole and screw into, to sandwich the metal. Or, overlap one edge of the siding block over a rafter tail on one side and a shim/piece of wood on the other side via the cut hole. Or, cut a hole for an old-work electrical box with folding wings, up against the side of a rafter tail, insert electrical box and use attachment wings and screws through the side of the box into the side of the rafter tail for added strength. Then fabricate a flat plate to mount the camera to. Or, use a junction box and attach to the bottom of a rafter tail, drilling a small hole to feed the wire through. Or, perhaps mount the camera directly to the bottom of a rafter tail with the wire fed back into the soffit void as you noted? The great example above could either be surface mounted or inset mounted, depending on your skill-set or desire as well.

In theory, the 4mp cameras should be clearer than the 2mp cameras for "zooming" due to the pixel count. Day/night lighting, camera sensor and a bunch of other factors could impact this. The flip side to this is due to the increase in pixel count, they could also add more noise during darkness than the 2mp cameras.

If you are going to use the manufacturer supplied cables, they likely will have larger ends. You can either cut bigger holes and push them through the way they are, or take one end and cut it off (usually not the camera end due to water resistant connectors), then route the cut wire through smaller holes and add a new rj45 connector to terminate.

 

[tangent]

You can probably remove a section of soffit without too much difficulty and put some wood in place to mount to.

 

[dbldown768]

Thanks for the replies. I should mention that my house does have brick walls so it feels like I should just mount to the underside of the soffit. I'll take a look at the junction box mentioned above. I was initially thinking I would just be able to secure directly to the aluminum. I wasn't too successful trying to pry the soffit away. It seems like I will end up bending it pretty bad.

 

[tangent]

Thanks for the replies. I should mention that my house does have brick walls so it feels like I should just mount to the underside of the soffit. I'll take a look at the junction box mentioned above. I was initially thinking I would just be able to secure directly to the aluminum. I wasn't too successful trying to pry the soffit away. It seems like I will end up bending it pretty bad.

post some pictures.

 

[trucams]

Junction boxes can be attached to brick walls too. If the aluminum on the soffit is thick enough alone for the weight of the camera, something as simple as short hollow wall anchors may also work for you. Could also work for junction boxes as long as there is a decent spread for distribution. Plenty of options.

 

[dbldown768]

thanks for all the feedback. I will post some pictures of the outside of my house to try and get better feedback on the camera locations. That said, before i put these things up, I have been trying to play around with the NVR to get it setup for mobile and internal web browser use. at the moment, i can say, im not too excited by this system. Im feeling that the blink xt cameras might even be better - not only for their simplicity, but they also record audio as well (appears these cameras do not). Also, unless im missing something, there isn't a good way to interface with the system over the network with google chrome. I got IE working, but i would prefer to avoid that. Also, the IVMS-4500 app so far appears to not work correctly. I tried that one and the laView one, both i dont see how i can scrub through motion recordings on the system. With blink i was able to get push notifications to my phone when motion was detected. This system it seems like maybe emails? Either way, before i go through the rest of the hassle of wiring up all the cameras, i wanted to see if i have the system features i need for easy monitoring.

 

[mat200]

..at the moment, i can say, im not too excited by this system. Im feeling that the blink xt cameras might even be better - not only for their simplicity, but they also record audio as well (appears these cameras do not). ...

Hi dbldown welcome to ipct.

No wirefree ( wifi + battery powered ) consumer camera product will be as reliable as any of the real(*) IP PoE security camera kits.

No cloud cameras will be as reliable as a on-prem based camera.

Especially at lower price points there will be some more compromises, and while the cameras in the $280 La View kit you mention do not have microphones you can purchase Hikvision OEM / LaView cameras which do and they should work with the kit ( you may need to do some configuration work ).

Once configured and setup I believe this affordable IP PoE kit will significantly out perform any of the cloud cameras from netgear, ring, blink, nest,...

( * - i note "real IP PoE" cameras as some brands like zmodo and funlux lie and claim to be IP PoE but are not - so watch out for deceptive terms they use to back pedal like s PoE, sPoE, or simplified PoE )

 

[dbldown768]

What suggestions or app are people using for remote viewing? I was able to get the motion detection to send me an email, but not sure what good that is if I can't see the actual video from my phone while away. The email did include snapshot images and the camera did trigger much better than the blink xt cameras. Not sure how it would compare to a cheap powered wifi camera like yi cam

 

[dbldown768]

Here are a few pictures. I am debating on just mounting under the soffits or going directly through the brick to the inside of the garage. The inside of the garage is finished and there is no attic access. If you look closely there are 2 blink xt cameras - one just to the upper right of the door and one just under the downspout by the garage.

 

[TonyR]

Let me make sure I understand: In your first post you stated "My house has aluminum soffits around the garage where I plan I putting up some cameras."

So the horizontal part pointed to in the image below (the soffit) is NOT vinyl ?

 

[dbldown768]

Yes that is correct. That is not vinyl.

I was able to put a small hole in ceiling of the garage to get a picture of the inside of the soffit. So if mounting to the soffit is reasonable, i think i should be able to do so. I already picked up the water proof cases you suggested as well.

 

[mat200]

Hi @dbldown768

Do consider potentially mounting on the brick wall, as mounting on the soffit will result in the cameras being placed higher than ideal for the purposes of getting a good ID image.

Remember to test your possible locations. Have a friend help out acting as a subject/suspect and walk around the front of your house attempting to steal a package, steal your mail, break into your car. Have them wear a baseball cap and hoodie and see if you can get a good facial ID image in the potential test locations.

Test both day an night time.

Considering using your blink cameras you already have to augment the LaView kit's cameras.

I would also consider augmenting the LaView kit with a Hikvision OEM low light camera ( iirc they are called dark fighters ) - maybe get a turret version or 2 to cover your driveway - especially if you park your cars there at night.

Example of a recent attempted theft from a car:
Vehicle Burglary Suspect

 

[dbldown768]

So i guess I am a bit unclear on a few things

- what apps or tools can you use to view motion detection clips? Do I just setup and alarm to notify the nvr service and people are using the ivms app?

Edit: I was able to get the ivms app to work locally. While I'm not in love with it, it does appear to work well enough. What would be helpful would be able to remotely control the motion events. For example, I wanted to setup email notifications for push notifications on motion triggers (mainly because this seems like the only way I know so far) but there might be times I want to disable that to not get spammed when home or something. Blink has an easy way to arm disarm from the mobile app. If I had some way if using Tasker, my home automation (Vera), ifttt or even my nest to integrate that would be nice.




- I feel like there are a few items that can only be configured from the output of the nvr itself, like camera names etc. I didn't see any settings for those in browser.

 

[dbldown768]

So today was the first time i tried the cameras outside. I mounted to a 2x4 and put in the spot by the front door where i thought i would use the camera. When looking at the results on my tv or phone, the picture seems to be very over exposed? It is almost like giving a 'not real' look. When i tested them in the house they didnt give off that sense of low quality pictures. This time I am using the patch cable that came with the package, only because that is the only cable i have long enough to test out the cameras running the wire outside the front door. Would the cables have anything to do with the picture quality? I dont have any special setting setup on the NVR with regards to quality of picture - or at least none since testing in the house.

Edit: So maybe this camera set is just a cheapo version? I am really just debating on taking it back, but I am really wondering if I will experience the same from another set. Any help or comments much appreciated.

 

[Frankenscript]

The cable wouldn't have anything to do with it... either the digital images are making it through, or not. It's not like old school analog stuff.

Hit the camera's own web page and experiment with controls. Maybe you have the exposure settings not optimized for the amount of light. Also check to make sure the resolution is what you expect. Once you are logged into the camera itself, you can have full control. The NVR doesn't generally support tweaking all the settings, just a few of them. I'm switching away from a Hikvision NVR to Blue Iris in large part to gain better access to the controls.

 

[dbldown768]

Thanks for the tip. Stupid question, if the nvr is providing the information addresses how do you go about connecting directly to the camera.

 

[Frankenscript]

There's a thread on here somewhere about it... Search for "Hitting Cameras" and you will probably find it. Basically plug a laptop into the NVR and manually set the laptop to an address on the same subnet as the cameras. Then it can talk to them directly. I have done this with a Windows tablet (had to use a USB Ethernet adaptor!). Mostly you go into the adaptor properties and manually set the IPv4 address.

Thanks for the tip. Stupid question, if the nvr is providing the information addresses how do you go about connecting directly to the camera.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk

 

[TonyR]

+1 to what @Frankenscript said..and the link is ==>> here.