Thanks. I like building PC. Reminds me when I was young. =)
On the other hand, my wife hates it when I do that. hahaha
On the other hand, my wife hates it when I do that. hahaha
Help choosing cameras and system from a recent burglary victim
- Thread starter catchthatguy
- Start date
Hi catchthatguy
Welcome to the forum and sorry to hear of your experiences. I'm learning too and there is a LOT of information. It can be a little overwhelming but the Cliff Notes are a good starting point.
In general,
1. The forum does not support cloud based solutions - most here use the POE wired networks and systems/cameras
2. Cat5E should be fine - the standard points is to make sure it is full copper, and not CCA
3. Turrets are popular on this forum; but it's not the shape so much as the model type that determines effectiveness. Some of the most popular cameras s here are the 5231 and 2231 turret. The quality of these is in theory better (improved night vision, sharpness of images, vari-focal lens
The preferred vendor for many folk here is @EMPIRETECANDY - he has DHL and slower shipping options available to members here. I wasn't sure at first but he's proven to be a great partner on this site and helps us out a lot.
4. LPR cameras are typically more expensive and there is a LOT of literature here on what makes a good LPR set up
5. You can consider signs warning about security cameras - to see if this has a deterrent effect
FINALLY I made a huge mistake of thinking this would be buy some cams, and an NVR and that's it. It's actually A LOT OF work.
Good luck with it all, and don't be afraid to ask around - many good folks on this forum including @mat200 who you've met, aristobrat, awsum, bigfoot SouthernYankee looney2ns fenderman , giovanni - the list goes on.
Welcome to the forum and sorry to hear of your experiences. I'm learning too and there is a LOT of information. It can be a little overwhelming but the Cliff Notes are a good starting point.
In general,
1. The forum does not support cloud based solutions - most here use the POE wired networks and systems/cameras
2. Cat5E should be fine - the standard points is to make sure it is full copper, and not CCA
3. Turrets are popular on this forum; but it's not the shape so much as the model type that determines effectiveness. Some of the most popular cameras s here are the 5231 and 2231 turret. The quality of these is in theory better (improved night vision, sharpness of images, vari-focal lens
The preferred vendor for many folk here is @EMPIRETECANDY - he has DHL and slower shipping options available to members here. I wasn't sure at first but he's proven to be a great partner on this site and helps us out a lot.
4. LPR cameras are typically more expensive and there is a LOT of literature here on what makes a good LPR set up
5. You can consider signs warning about security cameras - to see if this has a deterrent effect
FINALLY I made a huge mistake of thinking this would be buy some cams, and an NVR and that's it. It's actually A LOT OF work.
Good luck with it all, and don't be afraid to ask around - many good folks on this forum including @mat200 who you've met, aristobrat, awsum, bigfoot SouthernYankee looney2ns fenderman , giovanni - the list goes on.
Thanks. I am still debating whether to take on this task on my own given I am extremely busy with work now. I do enjoy doing projects like this but am worried for the lack of time or screw up in the middle. I am waiting for quotes from a few companies and see whether I can swallow that. However, so far no one will do PC w/ blue iris (all want to use off the shelf NVR).
mat200
IPCT Contributor
- Jan 17, 2017
- 15,500
- 26,080
Hi @catchthatguy
Remember contractors will attempt to minimize their time on the job and maximize profits - so they'll typically use the easiest install locations, not the best for your needs.
If you're going to have contractors run the lines - know ahead of time where you want the lines and ask for a bid on those locations.
Note: Some of the newer homes maybe more of a challenge due to super insulation construction.
I think you need to spend some time considering why the thief was confident that you were not home. Cameras are a good idea, if for no other reason a then deterrence. But anyone capable of installing a blue iris system is capable of doing some home automation that will make a thief be unsure if the house is empty.
Some checklist type items
1) Do you have a house phone that can be heard ringing outside?
2) Do you have trash collection where cans are put out for collection? A drive through a neighborhood on trash day shows who is out of town.
3) What happens when you are not home and someone rings the doorbell (which your thief almost certainly did)
4) Are your windows obscured when you are not home? People get often get this one backwards. A thief does not want to step into a home he cannot see into.
Cameras and other sensor can detect outside presence with a bias towards false positive. At that point the house can make believe that 1) Someone is home but not answering the door, and 2) You have a dog.
A good video doorbell is a good starting point while you figure out the bigger plan.
Some checklist type items
1) Do you have a house phone that can be heard ringing outside?
2) Do you have trash collection where cans are put out for collection? A drive through a neighborhood on trash day shows who is out of town.
3) What happens when you are not home and someone rings the doorbell (which your thief almost certainly did)
4) Are your windows obscured when you are not home? People get often get this one backwards. A thief does not want to step into a home he cannot see into.
Cameras and other sensor can detect outside presence with a bias towards false positive. At that point the house can make believe that 1) Someone is home but not answering the door, and 2) You have a dog.
A good video doorbell is a good starting point while you figure out the bigger plan.
Dmiller, thanks the the advice. Looking back, we made too many mistakes. We had a false sense of security because we live in a nice neighborhood people people including myself often leave garage doors open and even front doors unlocked. I am going to fix all those.
I do debate what cameras can really do. The burglar just has to put a mask on to beat them. I am hoping with cameras and alerts on my phone, I can compress the time it takes my alarm company to call dispatch. Any suggestion is welcome in how to fix that. I mean unless I live next to a police station, burglar always knows he had say 5-10 mins
I do debate what cameras can really do. The burglar just has to put a mask on to beat them. I am hoping with cameras and alerts on my phone, I can compress the time it takes my alarm company to call dispatch. Any suggestion is welcome in how to fix that. I mean unless I live next to a police station, burglar always knows he had say 5-10 mins
Hey @catchthatguy
I agree that it is a lot of work, so if you are very busy, I understand that you want to look into contractors.
Further to Mat's good points above and @dmiller excellent points - I would add that I personally wouldn't say an NVR is a showstopper. There are some threads on this in this forum, and although the forum members largely favor Blue Iris, there are many largely content users of the NVR too.
I think the question will be more money (as the labor cost will be higher of course) and advice - if you can arm yourself with a little bit of intelligence on quality cameras and location advice, this can help you negotiate better and have more constructive, well informed conversations with the contractors.
For e.g. on this forum, you will see a lot of talk that cameras should not be mounted higher than 8 foot to support improved facial identification (and avoid issues when people wear hoodies and caps); to not try to do too much with one camera, to even have one camera pointing at another so people cannot try to outmaneuver the camera vision etc.
Feel free to keep checking in here - there's a lot of great people often willing to share their (hard earned) experience and knowledge.
Cheers
Thanks. I want to mount it low (not more than 8 feet) but 3 out of 4 contractors I spoke to want to mount off high (I have 2nd story house) as they plan to run off attic and it will be pretty ugly running low. I am worried that I just end up seeing people's top of head.
What are people's recommendation on doorbell? I would prefer all cameras on the same system / app.
What are people's recommendation on doorbell? I would prefer all cameras on the same system / app.
The first time he visited your house during the day he wasn't wearing a mask. He was probably wearing a cap, and a hoodie if it wouldn't look out of place. He may have even been wearing a yellow vest.
This is why a doorbell cam or other low cameras are needed to ID. A camera at 4-4.5" at the front door is ideal. The word here is that the RCA brand (wifi) is the current price/performance leader. But what most of us want is a great POE doorbell cam and intercom.
The only realistic way to speed up police response is to know when someone is near your house before entry. Cameras will generally do too many false triggers to realistically view each event in near real time. But a pressure mat, or some specific motion detectors, can tell you with near certainty that someone is at a door.
As a side note, an extremely loud secondary interior siren/bell will shorten the time a thief spends in a house. I only would use such a device on "armed and away". But your goal may be to increase time in the house if your desire is to catch the thief.
Thanks. Would rca doorbell work on the same app my cameras will be on? I would like to have one platform controlling everything if possible
I think I need an exterior siren. My neighbors were home when that happened. Cars were driving by. But no one knew there was burglar there. It was just a guy moving something heavy to driveway and onto his car!
I think I need an exterior siren. My neighbors were home when that happened. Cars were driving by. But no one knew there was burglar there. It was just a guy moving something heavy to driveway and onto his car!
SouthernYankee
IPCT Contributor
I have upgraded my home defence in the last month, one more dog, so there are now three dogs barking. The dogs have access to all the doors from the outside. I have a gated front courtyard with a doggy door that opens to the court yard. The back yard is fenced with a doggy door. There are beware of dog signs, on all gates. If you open the gate you have failed the IQ test.
I was just playing around with BI with my old i5 and realized that CPU isn't going to be able to hack it. I had one camera hooked to it and it was running at 25% utilization. From an interface perspective, here are what I am looking for. If you guys know a good one out there (hikvision, dahua, LTS, etc.) that can satisfy all my needs, pls let me know. To me, the interface is almsot as important as the cameras (now that I know which cameras I want from reading this forum).
- accessible over browser, local program on PC, mobile apps
- Different profiles for normal and away (like when I arm my alarma before leaving). Basically, I am planning to set up cameras throughout the house to send me alert on motions. Now, I want to disable that during day hours UNLESS I am out (again, like arming the alarm). I want one where I can switch to away profile easily, preferably on my phone.
Does such thing exist?
- accessible over browser, local program on PC, mobile apps
- Different profiles for normal and away (like when I arm my alarma before leaving). Basically, I am planning to set up cameras throughout the house to send me alert on motions. Now, I want to disable that during day hours UNLESS I am out (again, like arming the alarm). I want one where I can switch to away profile easily, preferably on my phone.
Does such thing exist?
SouthernYankee
IPCT Contributor
What version of the i5 ?
Did you do a clean window install?
How is the camera installed wifi or hardware ?
Did you do a clean window install?
How is the camera installed wifi or hardware ?
It was Sandy bridge i5-2400 so it's quite old. It was sitting around doing nothing with a clean win 10 so I installed bi and see how that goes. Pc is on ethernet while the camera is on wifi. That should not have impact on cpu usage.
I see dahua 8 channel poe 4k nvr for like 150-250. If it or something similar off the shelf NVR can meet my needs as discussed above, that feels like easier and cheaper than building a new rig.
I see dahua 8 channel poe 4k nvr for like 150-250. If it or something similar off the shelf NVR can meet my needs as discussed above, that feels like easier and cheaper than building a new rig.
I would love to just hire people running wires and setting the cameras while I pick the hardware But it seems like security guys don't like that They like to be in control as much as possible.
fenderman
Staff member
- Mar 9, 2014
- 36,892
- 21,408
You need to find a low voltage cable installer (think alarm/telephone system installers) or electrician. Lots of folks will run the cable for you.
I have that NVR that I'm considering selling and could beat that price on if you're interested. I swapped the fan so it's quieter, but it only ran for about 7 months. I'm moving and want to setup BI at my new place since I'm not a huge fan of the dahua app on Android, but the NVR was dead simple to use.
Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
fenderman
Staff member
- Mar 9, 2014
- 36,892
- 21,408
You improperly setup blue iris which also makes a huge difference in cpu consumption (for example direct to disk does not fully work in demo mode, even if you set it, which you likely did not).
See wiki for systems and setup.
Interface is the LEAST important part of any system except for folks who suffer from OCD. I highly suggest you buy an NVR. Then when you switch to blue iris you will appreciate it.
You may be able to upgrade just the CPU if needed. But your old machine will do more than it seems now with a tuned license copy of BI.
You said you have built PCs which tells me you will never be satisfied with an NVR.