My name is Tony, out of PA. I did CCTV for several years in the early 2000's. Finally decided to set up a system on my house and toy around a bit. look forward to reading some of the ideas people around here have
New here Introducing myself
- Thread starter tspevacek
- Start date
SouthernYankee
IPCT Contributor
My standard welcome to the forum message.
Read Study Plan before spending money
Cameras are for surveillance to get information for after the fact.
Please read the IP Cam Talk Cliff Notes and other items in the IP Cam Talk Wiki. (read on a real computer, not a phone). The wiki is in the blue bar at the top of the page.
Read How to Secure Your Network (Don't Get Hacked!) in the wiki also.
Quick start
1) If you do not have a wired monitored alarm system, get that first
2) Use Dahua starlight cameras or Hikvision darkfighter cameras if you need good low light cameras.
3) Start with a good variable focus camera, so you test for the correct lens,lighting, camera placement.
4) use a VPN to access home network (openVPN)
5) Do not use wifi cameras.
6) Do not use cloud storage
7) Do Not use uPNP, P2P, QR, do not open ports,
8) More megapixel is not necessarily better.
9) Avoid chinese hacked cameras (most ebay, amazon, aliexpress cameras(not all, but most))
10) Do not use reolink, ring, nest, Arlo, Vivint cameras (they are junk), no cloud cameras
11) If possible use a turret camera , bullet collect spiders, dome collect dirt and reflect light (IR)
12) Use only solid copper, AWG 23 or 24 ethernet wire. , no CCA (Copper Clad Aluminum)
13) use a test mount to verify the camera mount location. My test rig: rev.2
14) (Looney2ns)If you want to be able to ID faces, don't mount cams higher than 7ft. You want to know who did it, not just what happened.
15) Use a router that has openVPN built in (Most ASUS, Some NetGear....)
16) camera placement use the calculator... IPVM Camera Calculator V3
17) POE list PoE Switch Suggestion List
18) Camera Sensor size, bigger is general better Sensor Size Chart
19) Camera lens size, a bigger number give more range but less field of view. Which Security Camera Lens Size Should I Buy?
20) verify your camera placement, have a friend wearing a hoodie, ball cap and sunglasses looking down approach the house, can you identify them at night ?
21) DO NOT UPGRADE your NVR or camera unless you absolutely have a problem that needs to be fixed and known what you are doing, if you do you will turn it into a brick !!
Cameras to look at
IPC-T5442TM-AS-LED . Review IPC-T5442TM-AS-LED (Full Color, Starlight+) - 4MP starlight
.................... Dahua IPC-T5442TM-AS-LED review
IPC-T5442TM-AS ..... Review-OEM 4mp AI Cam IPC-T5442TM-AS Starlight+ - 4MP starlight+
IPC-HDW5442t-ZE .... Dahua IPC-HDW5442T-ZE 4MP Varifocal Turret - Night Perfomance testing -- variable focus 2.7 mm-12mm 4 MP Starlight
IPC-B5442E-ZE ...... Review - OEM IPC-B5442E-ZE 4MP AI Varifocal Bullet Camera With Starlight+ -- variable 2.7mm-12mm bullet
IPC-B5442E-Z4E .... bullet 8mm-32mm variable focus zoom 4MP
IPC-HFW7442H-Z ..... Review - Dahua IPC-HFW7442H-Z 4MP Ultra AI Varifocal Bullet Camera -- 4 MP variable focus AI
IPC-T2347G-LU ...... Review of the Hikvision OEM model IPC-T2347G-LU 'ColorVu' IP CCTV camera. (DS-2CD2347G1-LU)
My preferred indoor cameras
DS-2CD2442FWD-IW
IPC-K35A Review-Dahua IPC-K35A 3mp Cube Camera
IPC-K42A
If interested in Blue Iris and other setup items see the following post
Newbie Starter Guide to IP Cam System – VPN setup – Computer Hardware – Blue Iris – Dahua Cameras
This is an intermediate / newbie guide for people just starting out looking for a surveillance setup. I know this setup might not be for everyone and there are many options. You can find a lot of this information in the Wiki: IP Cam Talk Wiki | IP Cam Talk A great place to start in the Wiki...
Read,study,plan before spending money ..... plan plan plan
Doing it right the first time will save you money.
Test do not guess
I have been scanning over some of the threads. I lived in Houston for 10 years after getting out of the Army. When I did CTV work I worked with Verint and March systems. The system I am setting up at the house will be IP based To get things up and running I opted to use the Western Digital 4k NVR because it already included a 6TB Purple Drive which was pretty much worth what the system cost. I am using the 4 WD cameras, have added the an Amcrest flood light cam, will be adding 2 more amcrest turrets, and working on any ezviz DB1 doorbell currently. the doorbell will not connect to the wifi so I will work on that and once that is up and have it all working i will expand off the WD NVR and set up a PC to do the recording.
Here are two threads about the doorbell cam that might help you:
ipcamtalk.com
ipcamtalk.com
Why set up a PC for recording? Doesn't the WD NVR do recording?
Review: EZVIZ DB1C
The EZVIZ DB1 (and its variants) has been the doorbell of choice for most IP cam enthusiasts in the last few years owing to its quality, reasonable price, local streaming connectivity, flexibility, community support, and overall value. Two years after the introduction of the DB1, EZVIZ is first...
EZVIZ DB1, just LEDs around camera, button does not light up.
Hello, I have a new EZVIZ DB1. I'm connecting it directly to via fuse provided to a 12v AC transformer but the thing is not operating as expected. Two leds around the camera light up but nothing else. The bell button does not light up. The EZVIZ DB1 unit makes a buzzing sound :-( Has anyone...
Why set up a PC for recording? Doesn't the WD NVR do recording?
The WD does record but it is my understanding it is limited to a single HDD at 6TB. I am looking to add cameras and additional storage space. Basically the WD was a proof of concept and ensure all the kinks are worked out with shots and wiring before I spend the time to build a dedicated NVR PC. I will be able to run 6 or so HDD in a raid array to record to allow me to have longer periods of stored data. then have a NAS server for storage of back ups if ever needed.Here are two threads about the doorbell cam that might help you:
Review: EZVIZ DB1C
The EZVIZ DB1 (and its variants) has been the doorbell of choice for most IP cam enthusiasts in the last few years owing to its quality, reasonable price, local streaming connectivity, flexibility, community support, and overall value. Two years after the introduction of the DB1, EZVIZ is first...EZVIZ DB1, just LEDs around camera, button does not light up.
Hello, I have a new EZVIZ DB1. I'm connecting it directly to via fuse provided to a 12v AC transformer but the thing is not operating as expected. Two leds around the camera light up but nothing else. The bell button does not light up. The EZVIZ DB1 unit makes a buzzing sound :-( Has anyone...
Why set up a PC for recording? Doesn't the WD NVR do recording?