Hello,
I have been considering a home surveillance system for years. Imagine my hidden excitement, when my wife turns to me over Christmas holiday and says, "I think we need security cameras." Then imagine my hidden disappointment, when she mentions her coworker has a $500 PoS WiFi-Cam subscription system that I should look into.
...and so it began.
I am an electrical engineer and do not want to piss around with junk that barely works, isn't reliable, and I can't store or even own my own video. I also don't like subscription models in general.
That said, I have two kids in college and a budget of $2000 max and the need to design this correctly out of the gate is important.
I use Ubiquiti Unifi networking at home today so began by looking at their solutions. I can add a UNVR for $299 and a 8TB drive for another $200. I have a switch with some open PoE ports that might be enough to get me started. There are sufficient options for cameras with AI Turret $399 and G5 Pro Bullet models $379. They also are advertising 3rd party ONVIF support. However, when starting to look into it a little deeper the Unifi Protect solution looks like its not fully baked. The main features look good if you use their default settings for the most part, but as soon as you need anything beyond default, the cracks start to appear. Also, availability is poor. I almost pulled the trigger, but the camera I wanted to start with was sold out. I probably need 5 cameras minimum at ~$400ea plus NVR and Drive is $2500 plus.
Next I began looking at the kits like Lorex, Reolink, and Annke in the $600-$1200 range. Digging into it, I found that Hikvision and Dahua were the market leaders and had cameras with better specs and features for a little more money. While digging into it further, I found that to get the performance I would want, I probably also would want a better NVR than came in the base kits. In videos I watched, and pricing I checked, I began leaning towards Hikvision. I narrowed NVR to DS-7616NI-M2/16P for $395 plus a 2TB drive for another $200. Then I would probably get a mix of five or six 8MP cameras in the $200-$300 range for under $2000 total, with room to expand as needed. Then I came across all this NDAA stuff. My application is residential, I don't work for the government, and I plan to keep the system isolated from the internet, using VPN anyway, but I see evidence of these companies reducing focus on the US market and have genuine concern about long term product support.
Next I started looking at NDAA approved solutions and they just don't appear at all competitive for anywhere near my budget so I'm not sure how I will proceed.
Thanks in advance for pointers to any good threads where this path has already been hashed out and any thoughts and recommendations that anyone can provide!
I have been considering a home surveillance system for years. Imagine my hidden excitement, when my wife turns to me over Christmas holiday and says, "I think we need security cameras." Then imagine my hidden disappointment, when she mentions her coworker has a $500 PoS WiFi-Cam subscription system that I should look into.
...and so it began.
I am an electrical engineer and do not want to piss around with junk that barely works, isn't reliable, and I can't store or even own my own video. I also don't like subscription models in general.
That said, I have two kids in college and a budget of $2000 max and the need to design this correctly out of the gate is important.
I use Ubiquiti Unifi networking at home today so began by looking at their solutions. I can add a UNVR for $299 and a 8TB drive for another $200. I have a switch with some open PoE ports that might be enough to get me started. There are sufficient options for cameras with AI Turret $399 and G5 Pro Bullet models $379. They also are advertising 3rd party ONVIF support. However, when starting to look into it a little deeper the Unifi Protect solution looks like its not fully baked. The main features look good if you use their default settings for the most part, but as soon as you need anything beyond default, the cracks start to appear. Also, availability is poor. I almost pulled the trigger, but the camera I wanted to start with was sold out. I probably need 5 cameras minimum at ~$400ea plus NVR and Drive is $2500 plus.
Next I began looking at the kits like Lorex, Reolink, and Annke in the $600-$1200 range. Digging into it, I found that Hikvision and Dahua were the market leaders and had cameras with better specs and features for a little more money. While digging into it further, I found that to get the performance I would want, I probably also would want a better NVR than came in the base kits. In videos I watched, and pricing I checked, I began leaning towards Hikvision. I narrowed NVR to DS-7616NI-M2/16P for $395 plus a 2TB drive for another $200. Then I would probably get a mix of five or six 8MP cameras in the $200-$300 range for under $2000 total, with room to expand as needed. Then I came across all this NDAA stuff. My application is residential, I don't work for the government, and I plan to keep the system isolated from the internet, using VPN anyway, but I see evidence of these companies reducing focus on the US market and have genuine concern about long term product support.
Next I started looking at NDAA approved solutions and they just don't appear at all competitive for anywhere near my budget so I'm not sure how I will proceed.
Thanks in advance for pointers to any good threads where this path has already been hashed out and any thoughts and recommendations that anyone can provide!
