New to Forums, new to IP Cams, need Advice

[Aaron A]

Let me start off by saying there is a wealth of information on this site, almost to much. I understand some of it, but not all.

My main objective is to provide video coverage of the exterior of my house. I have a two story house with an attached garage. You basic rectangular shaped house. I figured if I put a camera on the two front and two rear corners I could effectively monitor any intrusion into my house. I also figured that will serve as visible deterrents and being two stories up, out of reach.

I am very IT savy as an IT architect and I come from a construction background so I have no issue running cables and mounting cameras. However I am looking for advice on equipment. After reading the forums for a few days it looks like my best bet as newbie is to invest in some Dahua IPC-HDW5231R-Z turret cameras.

My question is what NVR would be suitable for me? Should I get a POE switch instead of an NVR that has POE built in? I figure a switch is less expensive over time if the POE function fails. I also want a quiet NVR since this will be sitting in my office with my other equipment. I would like to do FTR up to atleast 7 days as well as clips of triggered alerts. I do own a QNAP NAS device if that makes a difference in any way. I know it has a surveillance station program but from my research its better to use a NVR from the same manufacture as the camera. I am also confused on the usefulness of the onboard MicroSD cards if you have an NVR also.

I want the system to be accessible by my iPhone and easy enough for my wife to open and view as well as receive alerts.

Thanks for any responses and suggestions.

 

[looney2ns]

Welcome
If you care about IDing faces, don't mount cams higher than 8ft. Otherwise you see lots of tops of heads. You want know who did it, not just what happened. Use this keeping PPF>100 Camera Calculator / Design Software

The 5231 you mention is the cam of choice these days.

Read through the Blue Iris threads.

 

[Aaron A]

Thanks for the response. Even with the ability to zoom in I should stil mount it lower?

 

[mat200]

Thanks for the response. Even with the ability to zoom in I should stil mount it lower?

Yes.

Remember you are planning on only getting 4 cameras - so I take it that would mean wider FOV - thus shorter ID range - thus the height of the cameras need to be low enough to get a good face image.

 

[Fastb]

I figured if I put a camera on the two front and two rear corners I could effectively monitor any intrusion into my house.

Sounds like each cam would have 270 degree FOV? That's too wide. You won't get detailed images, unless the person is within 8 ft of the camera.

Check into FOV and camera placement:
Advice needed on PTZ for nooB
Dahua Ultra Starlight Varifocal Bullet (IPC-HFW8232E-Z)
Camera Coverage Question
New Member - cameras for new construction home

Fastb

 

[bigredfish]

I'm still learning myself, but on 3 houses (my own and friends & family) so far from 1800sq ft to over 3500 sq ft, I have found nothing less than 6-8 cameras needed to minimally do the job...