Greetings and Salutations

E

Eye Spy

n3wb
Sep 11, 2021
5
5
USA
Hello ipcamtalk forum,

Greetings from the state of California. I discovered this forum when researching online for security cameras for my home. I have ZERO experience with NVR systems. Currently, I am using Arlo cameras as surveillance for my home. I would like to upgrade my system to an NVR system. I am a DIy’er so will be installing on my own. Any words of wisdom for a NOOB would be much appreciated.
 
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:welcome:

As @mikeynags said, check out the wiki, tons of good info in there.

First thing is to figure out what you want to cover. NOT where the cameras are, set your expectations. It can be everything from see the front yard to be able to identify everyone on the sidewalk 150 feet away and capture all license plates on the street. You chose. Then we will gladly help you spend your money! :D

Many folks on here, like me, use Blue Iris running on a used, $300 or so eBay computer. Works very well. Others use an NVR. Whatever you like.

Look around, ask questions!
 
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:welcome:

Blue Iris is far more flexible than an NVR but that comes at the cost of learning how to use it effectively. No matter what you use, NVR or VMS (Blue Iris), both require tuning and setup plus every camera needs to be tuned to work properly in each instance of an installation. The settings will vary from camera to camera depending, primarily, on the lighting in each area. I don't think Arlo allows that. Setting up cameras is also another learning curve. Leaving things set on "auto" is a plan doomed to failure, especially at night.
 
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+1 to the 3 before me ^^^
Welcome to IPCT ! :wave:
 
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Hello, welcome to the forum.
 
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:welcome:
+++ what the others have said. Read the Wiki, and the cliff notes.

Also check out some of the videos posted in the various sub-forums to get an idea of what works and doesn't work in different situations. Viewing good and bad videos really helped me understand how all the variables (camera height, placement, lens/FOV, lighting, etc.) affected the area covered and determined whether the desired results were achieved.
 
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Eye Spy said:
Hello ipcamtalk forum,

Greetings from the state of California. I discovered this forum when researching online for security cameras for my home. I have ZERO experience with NVR systems. Currently, I am using Arlo cameras as surveillance for my home. I would like to upgrade my system to an NVR system. I am a DIy’er so will be installing on my own. Any words of wisdom for a NOOB would be much appreciated.
Click to expand...

Welcome @Eye Spy

One recommendation we like to give those newer to this topic is to pick up one decent varifocal IP PoE camera and a small PoE switch or other power sourcing equipment and start to play around as well as reading the wiki and associated threads on the topics.

One of the early cameras I started with was Arlos and those failed me ..
 
Eye Spy said:
Hello ipcamtalk forum,

Greetings from the state of California. I discovered this forum when researching online for security cameras for my home. I have ZERO experience with NVR systems. Currently, I am using Arlo cameras as surveillance for my home. I would like to upgrade my system to an NVR system. I am a DIy’er so will be installing on my own. Any words of wisdom for a NOOB would be much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Welcome to the deep dark (and fun) hole which is CCTV!
 
A big thank you for the warm welcome and beginner tips! I really appreciate it. Today, I started my journey into CCTV. I picked up a set of Dahua IPC-HDW5231R-Z cameras. My next purchase will be a PoE switch. I am still undecided on whether to run a NVR or VMS like Bliue Iris. Is one system more favorable to cover a main home and a detached grandma flat?
 
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Welcome,
I was a complete newbie as well. I inherited a 16 channel analog camera system in my new job in 2017. It's in a 74 unit Condo. Camera's were horrible. after needing to review video for a few incidents that the Board had me look into, I realized the system was practically useless. Long story short, I "upgraded" in ignorance to a Nightowl 16 DVR that had accepted 2MP ONVIF cameras. I added a bunch of color cams and things "looked better" But when it came to incidents to determine WHO it was and WHAT were they driving, it was clear I required a better picture of faces and license plates,soooo I looked at a lot of camera's on Amazon and read a lot of reviews, eventually a google search for something camera related landed me in this forum.
I did some reading, and lurked for awhile, and eventually bought a 2 MP PTZ from " Jidetech."
Later I found out it wasnt the best choice. But it was 1 camera. now i have 17, many of them are from EmpireTech or Loryta ( Dahua OEM's) sold through a vendor in here named Andy with an Amazon prescence.
Some are Amcrest ( also a Dahua OEM) I kept adding cams using the wisdom of the Forum.
Now I'm capturing cars and plates and people, and with 17 Camera's People who live here behave differently as well.
No more nasty grams on the bulletin boards in the laundry rooms. no more mystery car keying in the garage. no more people thrwoing oversize objects in the compactor chute.
gotta run.....more later.
 
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CoT787 said:
Found out the forum today. Looking some good info that is being shared with kind members of this community. Anyone have success in sharing footage with L.E. to deal with criminal activity?
Click to expand...

Yes, here the most recent one going on:

Insurance Fraud Outside My Home

They arrived together, seemed to know each other. No screaming, no commotion. Lines the car up, crashed, and left! Crazy times
ipcamtalk.com ipcamtalk.com
 
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CoT787 said:
Found out the forum today. Looking some good info that is being shared with kind members of this community. Anyone have success in sharing footage with L.E. to deal with criminal activity?
Click to expand...
Yes I have as well. 6 times times. 3 for mail theft, and 2 for converter theft ( attempted), and 1 Smart phone theft captured in Lobby. Resulted in New USPS locks, Recently in a News Article, they made 3 arrests in the Asian group of folks running wild with the USPS keys. That felt good. Submitted emails with .jpgs to County sheriff with color vehicle photos and Plates and suspect descriptions on the Converter incidents.
 
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CoT787 said:
Found out the forum today. Looking some good info that is being shared with kind members of this community. Anyone have success in sharing footage with L.E. to deal with criminal activity?
Click to expand...

Here is another:

Break-in

I got up this morning and reviewed my videos, thinking I would catch a rat crawling up Palm trunk, and saw a little thief breaking into my house. My phone for the push alerts was in the next room and did not hear it. I was dead tired from boating that day and fast asleep. I now will sleep...
ipcamtalk.com ipcamtalk.com
 
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