Newb here

[Bill_GT3]

Hi everyone, newbie here from SoCal. Looking to buildout a system for my home currently. Will have a lot more questions than I will be helpful (in this arena), but I appreciate your help and patience.

I have a qnap NAS I was going to use initially to run a couple cameras (4 maybe?). Model 453A, specs here:TS-453A - Features - QNAP

When I have time i'll build a blueiris PC and probably max out around 12 cameras.

Initially i'm looking for a little help with camera placement and some recommendations. My house has a large wrap around covered porch in the front that I would like to have coverage in, along with the driveway. Can I pull this off with 4 cameras? Any suggestions?

Not super tight on budget, plan to do this right the first time. Couple hundred per camera isn't out of the question.

The porch is reasonably well lit at night (8 of those wall sconces all around), on a motion dimmer.

Would adding additional IR lights help with nighttime viewing?

Underside of the porch is vaulted to match the roof slope, about 12' high at the peak. I'm fine to run conduit for cat6 to the cameras if the placement isn't easily accessible.

Pics for reference.

 

[mat200]

Hi everyone, newbie here from SoCal...
Initially i'm looking for a little help with camera placement and some recommendations. My house has a large wrap around covered porch in the front that I would like to have coverage in, along with the driveway. Can I pull this off with 4 cameras? Any suggestions?
..

Welcome Bill

Do expect to need more than 4 cameras.

You can start by just picking up one for testing possible locations.

See the cliff notes for lots of good info
IPCamTalk WiKi | IP Cam Talk

 

[Q™]

...You can start by just picking up one for testing possible locations...

This is an excellent idea @Bill_GT3. If you think you're going to purchase a bunch of cameras, mount them all, and get the field of view right the first time you'd be wrong. Better to buy one good camera and temp-mount it in multiple locations to determine precisely where each camera is best mounted to obtain the best FOV for each location. And you'd best start with a Dahua PC-HDW5231R-Z 2MP vari-focal Starlight turret which will allow you to zoom the lens in and out to determine which lens size is best suited for each camera location.

Great idea @mat200!

 

[Bill_GT3]

Excellent idea!

Silly question, but how would i check the fov? Run a super long cat6 through the house and into my network closet to the nas? Im fine with doing that, just not sure where to start here.

Is 2mp enough resolution? What is the point of vastly diminishing returns in image quality/low light/mp vs $$$?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

 

[Q™]

Yes, run a super long cable: you don’t want to run permanent cable until you are certain where each camera will be mounted.

ABSOLUTELY...2MP will be more than enough. Don’t fall for the “more megapixels is better” trap! The Dahua 2MP Starlight cameras will more than meet your needs.

 

[looney2ns]

Don't build a pc, buy a refurbed for much less.
DO read the wiki at the top of the page.
Portable Testing mount, 5 gal bucket, rocks, and 8ft 2x4".
You want to know who did it, not just what happened.
Keeping PPF>100, use this to help locate cams.
IPVM Camera Calculator V3

 

[Q™]

...You want to know who did it, not just what happened...

Words of wisdom which should be enshrined in the IP Camera Hall of Fame.

 

[Bill_GT3]

Quick question for you guys on a BI tower. Thoughts on a dell precision. T3620? Has an i7-6700, quad core, 4.0 GHz, 8M cache. Win 10 pro, 4gb ddr4, in the mini-tower configuration. Runs about $550 from dell on sale right now.

Some online research says without the CD drives, this thing can hold 4 sata drives. Is that typically sufficient? I was going to leave the stock 7200 rpm 500gb drive in it for the OS and run a pair of 6TB purple drives for storage.

All this seem sufficient for (12) of the 2mp starlight cameras?

When 4k becomes more prevalent, will this be holding me back?

Is it worth sourcing something that has more drive bays? Or run a single pcle ssd right off the board, and have (2) 3.5" bays, along with the (2) optical bays for 3.5" drives?