So I'm glad I happened to find this site since it might be quite helpful in the future. I also have a fair bit of knowledge that may be useful to someone.
So I'm on my 2nd camera system and trying to push the limits of my budget & skills. I am coming from an Arlo Pro2 system which has been one of the worst product/price/promise ratio purchases I have ever made. I figured out soon after installing it, the company was a scam. The cameras are supposed to be 1080 but they are not, even on the locally connected HDD. They are "encoded" in 1080 but the actual resolution is probably less than half that. Well that is besides the $10 a month for CVR per camera although I have a 4TB HDD plugged into the base.
I was gifted a single Geeni wifi cam a few years ago and later bought more and more. I have around 9 of them now for monitoring various things inside my spaces and considering the $70 for a 2-pack, they have been rock solid for a backup system. They only store locally on an SD card but good luck on any baddie finding all of them. Also, the FREE notifications work flawless compared to the paid Arlo system. I'm going to keep this system as backup since it works so well and is so cheap.
Currently I have just installed a LOREX Nocturnal 4K POE system. Only have 6/8 cams installed for now but I am really happy with my black Friday purchase for $900. I have wired a ethernet patch panel from the bedroom to the attic as a clean way to get 10+ connections inside the living space. Quick trivia question: Do you know how many residential-suitable ethernet patch panels are on the market? None.
Here's part of the things I have to deal with in my home:
LOREX Nocturnal 4K POE system
Netgear Insight POE+ 24 port switch
Ubiquity EdgeRouter 4 (on it's way)
9 Geeni Wifi cams for backup/internal space monitoring
9 Govee tempature/humidity & "wet" sensors wifi monitored
10 Google homes/hubs (in every space including the porch)
1 Echo dot (for package notifications)
13 wifi outlets for various lamps/appliances
18 Hue bulbs
6 Sonos speakers
8+ tablets/phones
So lately I've been having strange issues with my network and it appears my 2012 era Netgear router is overburdened with a 500Mbps line and 50+ devices. So I just ordered an EdgeRouter 4 which should last me another 10 years of packet managing performance. The LOREX system I have works great and for the money I paid I am really happy. I did some custom installation work which took time but I'm happy with my work. I'm a systems analyst at my day job and a licensed aircraft mechanic in a former life so sort of a jack of all trades, master of none.
So I'm on my 2nd camera system and trying to push the limits of my budget & skills. I am coming from an Arlo Pro2 system which has been one of the worst product/price/promise ratio purchases I have ever made. I figured out soon after installing it, the company was a scam. The cameras are supposed to be 1080 but they are not, even on the locally connected HDD. They are "encoded" in 1080 but the actual resolution is probably less than half that. Well that is besides the $10 a month for CVR per camera although I have a 4TB HDD plugged into the base.
I was gifted a single Geeni wifi cam a few years ago and later bought more and more. I have around 9 of them now for monitoring various things inside my spaces and considering the $70 for a 2-pack, they have been rock solid for a backup system. They only store locally on an SD card but good luck on any baddie finding all of them. Also, the FREE notifications work flawless compared to the paid Arlo system. I'm going to keep this system as backup since it works so well and is so cheap.
Currently I have just installed a LOREX Nocturnal 4K POE system. Only have 6/8 cams installed for now but I am really happy with my black Friday purchase for $900. I have wired a ethernet patch panel from the bedroom to the attic as a clean way to get 10+ connections inside the living space. Quick trivia question: Do you know how many residential-suitable ethernet patch panels are on the market? None.
Here's part of the things I have to deal with in my home:
LOREX Nocturnal 4K POE system
Netgear Insight POE+ 24 port switch
Ubiquity EdgeRouter 4 (on it's way)
9 Geeni Wifi cams for backup/internal space monitoring
9 Govee tempature/humidity & "wet" sensors wifi monitored
10 Google homes/hubs (in every space including the porch)
1 Echo dot (for package notifications)
13 wifi outlets for various lamps/appliances
18 Hue bulbs
6 Sonos speakers
8+ tablets/phones
So lately I've been having strange issues with my network and it appears my 2012 era Netgear router is overburdened with a 500Mbps line and 50+ devices. So I just ordered an EdgeRouter 4 which should last me another 10 years of packet managing performance. The LOREX system I have works great and for the money I paid I am really happy. I did some custom installation work which took time but I'm happy with my work. I'm a systems analyst at my day job and a licensed aircraft mechanic in a former life so sort of a jack of all trades, master of none.
