I have an alarm system in my home and have not been broken into, but lately the neighbors have been reporting a lot of suspicious activity, people in their yard, etc. and I would feel better having some cameras around the exterior. I honestly did not know anything about surveillance until a couple weeks ago when I started doing a little research and was mostly just looking at kits on Amazon and now Costco. I do think I want an IP system as it seems easier to just run a cat 5 cable with POE rather than having to power each camera. I was actually set to get something like the Q-See 8 channel kit with 4 cameras at Costco on sale now for $349 but then digging around a little more, I am wondering if it is better to just get cameras without the NVR. I do have an old PC I could use, but I would have to upgrade it so it might be cheaper and easier to just get the NVR. I can run cat 5 cable pretty easily through the attic to under the stairs in the basement where my router is, so I was thinking it would be easy to just run them all to a switch and then to a computer. But I suppose I could install the NVR in there as well if I went that route. I think I just want something to monitor the yard, especially the back yard which is secluded, so that it can alert me if someone is walking around back there. I guess if I saw them trying to break in or something, I could always trigger my house alarm remotely to scare them off. Anyways, that $350 price is in the range I am looking to spend, but could go up a little more if there is a much better route to go.
I was looking at these Costco kits, but now am not sure
- Thread starter D M
- Start date
mat200
IPCT Contributor
- Jan 17, 2017
- 15,518
- 26,122
Welcome D M,
Definitely read the cliff notes here and remember getting a better setup will take some knowledge and willingness to do some DIY learning - use the cliff notes as your guide and definitely check out the various reviews by members here.
Remember Costco has a great return policy.
Definitely read the cliff notes here and remember getting a better setup will take some knowledge and willingness to do some DIY learning - use the cliff notes as your guide and definitely check out the various reviews by members here.
Remember Costco has a great return policy.
Thank you for the reply. I did briefly read through the cliff notes but I am afraid the more I read, the more dangerous I am going to get 
The more I learn, I will probably try to talk myself into spending into the thousands and I don't want to do that. I do remember that Costco has a great return policy so that is why I am leaning toward something from there because I am at least protected that way.
The more I learn, I will probably try to talk myself into spending into the thousands and I don't want to do that. I do remember that Costco has a great return policy so that is why I am leaning toward something from there because I am at least protected that way.
looney2ns
IPCT Contributor
3-4 $100 cams, POE switch, and $100 refurbed PC from ebay, to run Blue Iris on. Blue Iris is $50 here> https://store.ipcamtalk.com/shop/blue-iris-software/
After dark is the time you need good cams.
Review-Dahua IPC-HDW2231RP-ZS Starlight Camera-Varifocal
After dark is the time you need good cams.
Review-Dahua IPC-HDW2231RP-ZS Starlight Camera-Varifocal
mat200
IPCT Contributor
- Jan 17, 2017
- 15,518
- 26,122
Hi D M,
At the budget you're attempting to keep on a kit you'll have to make a few compromises - and that's ok, I understand.
If you do get that Q-see kit do bench test it and if it helps get you started, then set it up - also, try to pull a couple extra cat6e/6 lines for additional cameras in the future, when you have more funds you can add the camera looney2ns mentioned to that kit - yes, it will take some DIY learning as Q-see uses different IP address and port configuration than the Dahua OEM cameras, not hard to do, just not a plug and play thing - but otherwise once set it will work nicely as that kit is a Dahua OEM kit and retains the IVS features ( Q-see calls it IVA ).
That is good to know that I can add on to it in the future. I do kind of want to get something up sooner rather than later and for $350, I figure I won't be out too much if it doesn't work out well (or out nothing at all if it is from Costco and I can bring it back). I just saw they have a few systems on sale right now and actually first noticed a Night Owl wireless system with 6 cameras for $500, but it almost seems easier to run Ethernet cable than to try to power all of those cameras, plus I imagine wired would be more reliable. If you know anything else about the other systems they have on sale right now for around that price, feel free to chime in, but I have seen this one mentioned on here a few times so it seems to be decent for the price. Thanks again.
Good deal. So I think I understand this right, but since these cams are IP cams, if I ever wanted to go a different route in the future, I could just plug these into a POE switch and run them off of a computer instead of the NVR (with some adjustments to the settings), correct? Also, a little off subject, but I definitely have good spots to mount cameras in the back of the house because there are some good spots up high under the eaves. The driveway side is a little trickier because the house is just one story on that side and the street level is at a higher elevation (the driveway is about 50 feet long and goes downhill toward the garage) so anything on that side below the eaves would have to be mounted low (just about 7-8 feet off the ground). I would imagine it is ideal to mount them where they can't be tampered with, but I suppose sometimes that is not possible. At least it someone were to disable it, it would have already recorded. I do have one spot a little higher but there are no eaves there and I don't think these can be totally out in the open.
fenderman
Staff member
- Mar 9, 2014
- 36,892
- 21,408
The problem with those bullets is spider webs will drive you wild.
looney2ns
IPCT Contributor
7-8ft is the max height all cams should be installed at, you get any higher than that and it's almost impossible to ID someone.
You want to know who did it, not just what happened.
If you've not as yet, study the Cliff Notes as Matt suggested.
Buy once, cry once.
I went to Costco today to see if they had those Q-See cameras in the actual store and they did not. They did have a Lorex 8 channel system with 6 cameras for $799. I know this is a couple hundred more than I was hoping to spend and more than twice as much as the Q-See, however I would likely need to buy 2 more cameras for that system anyways so that would bring it up another couple hundred. I don't see this system on their website, however it looks similar to this one with 2 less cameras. So here I go again, saying to myself "it's only a little more" and that adds up fast! But anyways, let me know if this is significantly better or worth it. Again, I mostly want to just be alerted if anyone is walking around the house or in the back so a couple of these cameras will be mounted higher and cover a wide area and a few will cover closer areas near the house.
Q™
IPCT Contributor
Purchase Dahua Starlight vari-focal cameras and an NVR from Andy...and only from Andy. Cut back the number of cameras. For instance, purchase 4 cameras and an NVR. Then, next year, add a camera or 2. This way you will be within your budget and you won't have to deal with crap hardware. Granted, if you purchase crap, you will probably never know what you are missing...but trust us on this one brother; scale back you system so you can have the best experience possible. 
Q™
IPCT Contributor
Q™
IPCT Contributor
mat200
IPCT Contributor
- Jan 17, 2017
- 15,518
- 26,122
I went to Costco today to see if they had those Q-See cameras in the actual store and they did not. They did have a Lorex 8 channel system with 6 cameras for $799. ..
Hi @D M
The cameras in that kit appear to be related with the newer Dahua model: IPC-HFW1831C-PIR
IPC-HFW1831C-PIR 8MP WDR IR Mini Bullet Network Camera / Active Deterrence
I personally do not like that style of camera because the cable is exposed and can be cut, and I like install my cameras in a way where the cable is protected from that sort of an attack.
The NVR in that kit is on the less powerful end of Dahua NVR models - which is expected at this price point. That kit and cameras while listed at the lorex website are not available for sale from Lorex directly yet.
Imou - which was LeChange - a lorex consumer brand - appears to be making a 1080P wifi cloud version of that camera.
Looks like that camera can be added to the cart now. I didn't go through the entire checkout process, though. 25% off disc today.
mat200
IPCT Contributor
- Jan 17, 2017
- 15,518
- 26,122
Wow.. that's a pricey camera... LOL Lorex likes to do that, their individual camera prices are insane.
But you get a 60ft Ethernet cable included too!
lolLooks like they're on eBay for $119 now.