New IP / NVR Setup

[96fauj]

Hi, I am new to the group and to the alarm/surveillance world.
I am planning a system for my parents house. My main priority is to be able to monitor it remotely, have decent enough output on phone/browser. The house already has an alarm system (although 10 years old, so better left alone/independent).

Note* I'm from the U.K. so we might have less available here.

I'm going down the Cat6 / IP camera route. I have some experience setting up DVR/Port forwarding etc. so I don't think I'll have any issues from the software/network side of things. I've wired the house with CAT6 already and will just need to do the same for the 4 new cameras.

NVR (Going 8ch, in case I want to add another camera / wifi doorbell to the NVR)
I initially started looking at Dahui 8ch PoE systems however have now made my way to Hikvision. The current one I'm looking at is a 2016 model DS-7608NI-I2-8P. It's a 12mp DVR, is it overkill? I'm more interested in the bandwidth.

Question: Are there newer more affordable options ? This is costing around £300 and the 8ch PoE variant which is the next step down is a £200 DS-7608NI-K2/8P. I've been on their website comparing different models, the newer Pro series seem to be way out of my budget.

Question: Should I perhaps consider the Dahui 8ch units and start comparing their specs? Bandwidth/recording capabilities etc. Only reason I leaned towards Hikvision was because of their popularity.

Cameras
Looking at getting 1 nice Bullet ColorVu camera £100-£140 and 3 more budget £60-£80, best quality ones I can get.

 

[alastairstevenson]

I have some experience setting up DVR/Port forwarding etc. so I don't think I'll have any issues from the software/network side of things.

With respect, you'll be putting your folks LAN, it's devices and their data at high risk by allowing the entire internet to access the NVR and cameras with all its security vulnerabilities.

There are many, many posts here on the risks of port-forwarding, and on user experiences and how-tos on setting up VPN as a more secure method of external access.

 

[catcamstar]

Hi, I am new to the group and to the alarm/surveillance world.
I am planning a system for my parents house. My main priority is to be able to monitor it remotely, have decent enough output on phone/browser. The house already has an alarm system (although 10 years old, so better left alone/independent).

Note* I'm from the U.K. so we might have less available here.

I'm going down the Cat6 / IP camera route. I have some experience setting up DVR/Port forwarding etc. so I don't think I'll have any issues from the software/network side of things. I've wired the house with CAT6 already and will just need to do the same for the 4 new cameras.

NVR (Going 8ch, in case I want to add another camera / wifi doorbell to the NVR)
I initially started looking at Dahui 8ch PoE systems however have now made my way to Hikvision. The current one I'm looking at is a 2016 model DS-7608NI-I2-8P. It's a 12mp DVR, is it overkill? I'm more interested in the bandwidth.

Question: Are there newer more affordable options ? This is costing around £300 and the 8ch PoE variant which is the next step down is a £200 DS-7608NI-K2/8P. I've been on their website comparing different models, the newer Pro series seem to be way out of my budget.

Question: Should I perhaps consider the Dahui 8ch units and start comparing their specs? Bandwidth/recording capabilities etc. Only reason I leaned towards Hikvision was because of their popularity.

Cameras
Looking at getting 1 nice Bullet ColorVu camera £100-£140 and 3 more budget £60-£80, best quality ones I can get.

Is BMW better than Mercedes? Peugeot better than Vauxhall?

They are all great cars, but some excel more in "design", others in "specifications" and others in "failure rates".

On this forum, there are tons of video footage, from Hikvision, Dahua and many other brands. Go look yourself, make your list of criteria. It will make your life easier. Because you are pointing out great items (12MP! Hoha!), but they might not actually help you out! Eg for a long time, Dahua 2MP outperformed the 4MP especially in low-light situations. My 2MP gave better night pictures than the recent 8MP back in the days!

Bottom-line:

• pick a brand and stick to this brand (eg. NVR - camera's)
• higher MP is not always better
• look at Varifocal devices, especially if you're not sure about which lens to leverage. they cost (a bit) more, but worth every penny
• never ever never ever use port forwarding!!! Use VPN from each and every device wanting to connect to your internal infrastructure (being NVR, but also NAS for mp3/movies/... )

Read the wiki throughout.

Happy Camming!
CC

 

[96fauj]

@alastairstevenson - noted, I'll setup a vpn. I wasn't aware these devices were so prone to security issues.

@catcamstar - I understand, I'll catch up with the wiki, watch some footage from both types of cameras I'm looking and see if I can come up with a list of what it is I want. I know the lighting around the house is pretty bad. Especially in the front driveway, but that might be an issue that needs resolving itself (replace the damn floodlight)

Varifocal: wasn't aware this is something I needed to consider, guess I'll have a look at these cameras from both makes Dahui and Hikvision and compare some footage there too.

I think based on what you've said in regards to the "mp resolution" feature of the cameras/nvr I can probably get away by saving a bit of money and going for devices which support say only 4mp or 8mp cameras. I've got a bit of an excel sheet in which I started making a configuration and it came up to £700+ which is way over budget.

Thanks for all the help

 

[96fauj]

I've just had a quick skim through the wiki (at work so can't read it properly) but the only things I could spot on there were (ip camera accessories to have, I have most of these - the rj45 check/crimp tool and the back ends etc.) The other was the VPN thread (IP cam talk ddns) and lastly the mobile apps. The rest seems to be focused on BlueIris - is there something I've missed on there?

Ps. Bmw is definetly better than Mercedes

 

[mat200]

@alastairstevenson - noted, I'll setup a vpn. I wasn't aware these devices were so prone to security issues.
..

Welcome here @96fauj

all the IoT stuff and even your computers which are also not kept up to date will have known vulnerabilities, just a question of time... ( i.e. same applies to your connected toaster... )

 

[catcamstar]

This sounds like a lot of work, but especially with cams, if your homework isn't done properly, you might regret some "quick" decisions down the road
Wiki is enourmous, but you are looking for this sections:

IP Cam Talk Cliff Notes

Information in this section was contributed by [URL='https://ipcamtalk.com/members/mat200.29441/'][COLOR=#0000b3]@matt200[/COLOR][/URL] and [URL='https://ipcamtalk.com/members/giomania.36271/'][COLOR=#0000b3]@giomania [/COLOR][/URL] [/LIST] Any dedicated manufacturer NVR should match...

ipcamtalk.com

 

[96fauj]

Wow okay, I see now - there's a bit of reading I have to do

 

[Sybertiger]

Curious to know at what height you already ran your Cat6 to (i.e. cam mount height). Also, is the UK going to have to fall in step with European Union "private surveillance" law regarding it being illegal to point cameras outward towards the neighbors' property?

 

[96fauj]

I've ran cat6 from 1 end of the house (bedroom) to the other (front living room) and 1 cable from the bedroom (where the internet broadband enters the house) to the airing cupboard where the alarm system is kept and I plan on putting the NVR etc.

I'm not too sure about private surveillance law. Also U.K. is no longer part of the EU now.

 

[Sybertiger]

I've ran cat6 from 1 end of the house (bedroom) to the other (front living room) and 1 cable from the bedroom (where the internet broadband enters the house) to the airing cupboard where the alarm system is kept and I plan on putting the NVR etc.

I'm not too sure about private surveillance law. Also U.K. is no longer part of the EU now.

Wasn't sure about the status of the Brexit deal which is why I asked....glad to see the UK break away from the EU. Anyhow, the cams on the outside of your house you'd want to target mounting them 7 to 8 feet tops off the ground for purposes of facial recognition otherwise you'll capture the tops of heads which isn't terrible useful.

A couple of Euro forum members indicated that they were mounting cams a lot higher and it only came out later that European Union law doesn't allow directing the cam outward from the house which means it near impossible to get a good facial pic.

 

[96fauj]

I think 8 feet is just above normal floor height, so I should be able to mount them high enough but not too heigh to still got a good capture. Might also do a dome camera in the porch/entrance.

 

[Sybertiger]

To give you ideas....note that the "package cam" install was at an unusually high location but it's not for identifying faces. If at all possible go with turret cams instead of domes....but sometimes dome cams can have their place in specialized areas.

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[96fauj]

Yeah I definetly intend on going for turret cameras, at least for the outdoor ones. For the porch (indoor) I might look at this package type cam then, a dome cam.