Harassment at night

[MamaBear 2015]

[FONT=Arial, sans-serif][FONT=Arial, sans-serif]We are two sisters living at opposite ends of a long UBC modular house ( on a regular foundation ) in the Denver area.

Someone has been harassing us at night, now. A few nights ago, after 1 AM when the lights were out, my sister heard a couple of guys laughing loudly outside her window.

Then last night, also after 1 AM when the lights were out, someone rapped loudly on her window, in the common sequence: rap... rap rap rap rap... rap rap. Scared her and I called the police. Of course, by the time they came, they didn't see anyone and knocked on the door to tell her. We didn't sleep well last night, in addition to all our other problems here.

We're low income but I'm now trying to think of how we can get some cameras covering the house - the least expensive way, and the highest resolution we can afford. I'm a former electronics technician, so I know technical stuff, but I'm 66 years old and have never done installs, like in crawl spaces etc. And as far as IP, we have a wireless network here, that I set up, but I'm thinking of something dedicated, that can record ALL day/night activity outside the house, on a FIFO basis, into a DVR that can be viewed separately, or on my PC through the wifi here.

Would you good people have any advice on the best and lowest cost way to do something like this?

Our property is fenced on most sides, with her bedroom being at the driveway end, which is the open end. So I'm thinking that 3 cameras could cover that open end of the property.

Thanks.[/FONT][/FONT]

 

[Del Boy]

1) highest resolution doesn't mean best quality... don't fall for that trap.

You could get DS-2CD2132F-WIS cameras which have WiFi and a micro-SD card slot that you can record too. Add a microphone and records sound too!

Ideally though it would be better to get DS-2CD2132F-IS (non-wireless) and put Cat5 cable in to them (powered over cable then) and get an NVR like a DS-7604NI-E1/4P. This will record everything and you can remote playback/live-view on your PC/Phone/Tablet over WiFi.

 

[MamaBear 2015]

Here's my question: If you use wireless, they still have to have power run to them. Where does that come from? Someone needs to run wiring inside the eaves?

And I definitely want to get something wireless, that has sound - standard, AND can save the video inside the house, to a DVR.

What's a good quality pre-packaged camera/DVR deal, for not so much money?

 

[fenderman]

Here's my question: If you use wireless, they still have to have power run to them. Where does that come from? Someone needs to run wiring inside the eaves?

yes, thats why its best to just use poe cameras..

 

[MamaBear 2015]

POE? I'm not familiar with that terminology yet. ...OK, just looked it up - power over ethernet. So you have to run ethernet cables all around. I dunno. Not good either way. We have a modular house on a foundation, but it has plastic sheet and insulation underneath, so not great either way. But still probably easier to just run AC, than ethernet.

 

[fenderman]

POE? I'm not familiar with that terminology yet. ...OK, just looked it up - power over ethernet. So you have to run ethernet cables all around. I dunno. Not good either way. We have a modular house on a foundation, but it has plastic sheet and insulation underneath, so not great either way. But still probably easier to just run AC, than ethernet.

Yes, ethernet. Its take the exact same amount of work to run ethernet. Wireless is a bad idea when other options are available.

 

[MamaBear 2015]

But then we'd have to run ethernet to where? If we want a DVR in the house, with additional access on the PC, does the ethernet go to the DVR or...?

And can it be daisy chained, or do you need a separate cable to the central point, for each camera?

 

[fenderman]

But then we'd have to run ethernet to where? If we want a DVR in the house, with additional access on the PC, does the ethernet go to the DVR or...?

And can it be daisy chained, or do you need a separate cable to the central point, for each camera?

Thats the beauty of IP, you only have to run the cable to any network connection, it does not have to be homerun to the NVR. So for example, you can run 3 cameras to a switch, then only a single cable back to your router or any other network connection (another switch for example)...

 

[MamaBear 2015]

Ok, not quite sure yet, how, but...they have diagrams in the instructions?

So what's a good system for not much money, for doing this? Several cameras, a DVR, and do they usually come with cable or do you just add that?

Should I look for full HD 1080p? I want to be able to ID the fools for the police, even at night.

 

[MamaBear 2015]

Is this something like you're talking about?: http://www.amazon.com/Amcrest-960H-Video-Security-System/dp/B00PMEG8YQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1440632482&sr=1-2&keywords=DVR+surveillance

 

[fenderman]

Is this something like you're talking about?: http://www.amazon.com/Amcrest-960H-Video-Security-System/dp/B00PMEG8YQ/ref=sr_1_2?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1440632482&sr=1-2&keywords=DVR+surveillance

That is a junk analog system, its not ip and VERY low resolution. Lets start with the basics...how many cameras? what is your budget?

 

[MamaBear 2015]

Well if I could afford 8 cameras for that $300 price, I would.

 

[MamaBear 2015]

That is a junk analog system, its not ip and VERY low resolution. Lets start with the basics...how many cameras? what is your budget?

Why is it so highly rated?

 

[fenderman]

Well if I could afford 8 cameras for that $300 price, I would.

That is not going to happen you cannot get 8 good cameras and a recording device for that kind of money..based on the description of your home 8 cameras seems like complete overkill. You either need to increase you budget or decrease the number of cameras.

 

[MamaBear 2015]

OK, let's work backwards then. How many decent quality ( highly rated ) cams can I get with a DVR for around $300?

Because I'm still gonna have to pay someone to install them for me.

 

[fenderman]

Why is it so highly rated?

Because those folks are just happy to see video despite it being poor video. Its analog, which is the equivalent of buying a CRT monitor vs flatscreen. You are better off with 2 1080p cameras than that kit.

 

[fenderman]

OK, let's work backwards then. How many decent quality ( highly rated ) cams can I get with a DVR for around $300?

Because I'm still gonna have to pay someone to install them for me.

It will cost more to install the analog kit because you need to homerun everything.
This is cheapest ip kit you can get http://www.samsclub.com/sams/qsee-4x4-secrty-sys/prod11570578.ip?navAction=
Disregard the photos as they have a picture of the CVI kit that uses analog cables, but its the ip camera kit the is being sold. The images on the bottom of the page are accurate, the top images are not.
Dont make the mistake of installing analog from the get go. you will be sorry.

 

[fenderman]

Or buy two of these and record to SD card.
http://www.nellyssecurity.com/cameras/hi-def-cameras/ip-cameras/2-mp/hikvision-2cd2120f-iw-outdoor-wifi-wireless-hd-2mp-ip-dome-security-camera.html
Just avoid the 960h analog like the plague.

 

[badmop]

Don't worry about installing them, it's not that hard and everything falls into place once you get your hands on the hardware. I know a good bit about all kinds of things, and I still can be confused with things. I over think alot and once I get a product in my hands, I figure it out quite quickly. It is not as complicated as it seems. Just take it 1 step at a time and I promise you the good people here will do everything they can to help you get them installed, they will do everything but come to your house and mount the cameras.

Put it this way, if you truly are scared and fear a break in, or something worse, you can't put a price on the security you will feel after getting cameras. It is nice being able to look at all your cameras on your TV and being able to see every area outside your house in 1 place, without having to go peeking out every window on each side of your house. Start with what you can afford, see what it covers and then you go order another camera and add it. Trust me, trust the people here and they will give you exactly what you need, without spending a ton of money that isn't needed.

edit: I've had analog cameras since 1995, and every 8 or so years I've upgraded to newer analog cameras. I currently have some decent analog camera images, but I've just started to add HD IP Cameras, and the difference is so crazy. You can't believe how much better it is, it goes from being able to tell someone has sunglasses on (barely) to being able to almost tell exactly what brand sun glasses they are wearing. Do not go with anything but HD IP Cameras, I promise it will be a complete waste.

 

[johngalt]

I was a contractor for the cable company for several years. When we did modular homes and didn't want to get on our hands and knees, we would drill tuck the cables between the skirt and the plastic flashing that held the skirt to the home. We always drilled holes through the floor for the cable on the outside wall. It's was the easiest and quickest installs we had to do. You might need something like a fish stick to get it through the insulation and plastic. You should only need to drill one hole through the floor were your dvr or switch would be.

If you are comfortable with computers and have a decent one already, you could save some money by using HikVision cameras with their free PC software - iVMS-4200. You have to leave your PC running 24-7. Let the NVR Server program record in the background and you won't even know it's there.