New guy - Need advice on camera setup!

[JFRost]

Hey gang,

Just wanted to get your take on how I should start here. I've been doing some research but it seems to be a complex topic so I wanted to get your take!

Goal:

• 4-6 Cameras (preferably WiFi... but will do what I have to) for home use
• Remote viewing of video and audio
• 24/7 recording.
• Motion alerts

Questions:

• Looking at FOSCAM right now since I've owned an old model that's lasted a long time and seems to work great. But suggestions on cameras would be great
• Can't decide on NVR (PoE or wireless) or PC with software such as BlueIris
  • If PC: What kind of desktop should I look at purchasing or building for this specific purpose?
  • If PC: Can feed/recordings/audio be viewed remotely?
  • If PC: Can Cameras be connected wirelessly? Or is PoE switch required?
• Not sure if 24/7 audio recording can be recorded to PC or NVR but hopefully to SD Card at least?

That may be a bit much... but hopefully some kind knowledgable soul can set me straight with this stuff! I'd appreciate all of the advice you guys are willing to give!

 

[awsum140]

Welcome to the world of video addiction!

Read the information in the Wiki, in the blue bar at the top of the page. Spend time reading the Cliff Notes that are in there. There's tons of information that you will need to build up an effective system.

Wifi is kind of a no-no in terms of a "real" system. Plan on PoE. Wifi cameras are too easily accessed by others and can easily overload your Wifi as your system expands. Trust me, it will expand.

Blue Iris, running on a dedicated PC is the best choice, superior capabilities and flexibility. The PC can be a used desktop and cost as little as $100-$200 dollars. The advantages over an NVR are tremendous. You can easily record 24/7 with audio on a PC using Blue Iris or on an NVR with audio. The real limitation is how big the storage drives are. That, in turn is a function of how many cameras, the bit rate and frame rate. SD cards, even 256GB can only hold so much while a 6TB, or larger drive(s) hard drive can hold a lot more. That's all covered in the Wiki and Cliff Notes.

Read the information, ask questions and heed the advice here. We've all been there and done that. It's better, and cheaper in the end, to do it right the first time rather than go by the seat of your pants only to find out you end up with a sub-par system that just doesn't perform well.

 

[bigredfish]

All of your requirements are standard with most DVR/NVR's and/or a PC based VMS such as Blue Iris.

Advice:
Stay away from Wifi cameras, you'll regret it
Look at HiK or Dahua cameras/NVR
Audio will be based on having a camera with a mic or adding one external
Stay away from Wifi cameras, you'll regret it

 

[looney2ns]

And stay farrrr away from Foscam anything.
Anyone mention that Wifi for cams sucks?

 

[SouthernYankee]

Welcome to the forum.

Please read the cliff notes and other items in the wiki. The wiki is in the blue bar at the top of the page.

Read,study,plan before spending money ..... plan plan plan


Use only Dahua or Hikvision (ipcamtalk) cameras.
Do not used cameras that are not upgradable. Do not uses cameras that are chinese hacked to english.
Be careful of cameras on ebay or amazon unless the seller is recommended here.
Do not use WIFI cameras, they will be off line when you needed them.
Camera placement is critical, for identifying who did it.

 

[mat200]

Hey gang,

Just wanted to get your take on how I should start here. I've been doing some research but it seems to be a complex topic so I wanted to get your take!

Goal:

• 4-6 Cameras (preferably WiFi... but will do what I have to) for home use
• Remote viewing of video and audio
• 24/7 recording.
• Motion alerts

Questions:

• Looking at FOSCAM right now since I've owned an old model that's lasted a long time and seems to work great. But suggestions on cameras would be great
• Can't decide on NVR (PoE or wireless) or PC with software such as BlueIris
  • If PC: What kind of desktop should I look at purchasing or building for this specific purpose?
  • If PC: Can feed/recordings/audio be viewed remotely?
  • If PC: Can Cameras be connected wirelessly? Or is PoE switch required?
• Not sure if 24/7 audio recording can be recorded to PC or NVR but hopefully to SD Card at least?

That may be a bit much... but hopefully some kind knowledgable soul can set me straight with this stuff! I'd appreciate all of the advice you guys are willing to give!

Welcome @JFRost

Definitely go with wired IP PoE and skip wifi as once you have a good wired IP PoE setup you should have significantly less issues.

Use quality cat6/5e cable.

If you want you can pickup a nice Dahua OEM 2MP starlight camera to start to play with and get an idea of what you may want to do. Search for test rig here at ipcamtalk to find what other members have been doing to test possible positions for cameras.