Newbie with some questions

[muerte69]

I am looking into setting up cameras at my house and after my introduction had quite a bit to look up and read about.
I am planning on getting 4 cameras to start my setup with 8 total cameras in the future and am looking for some help and advice since I have a few questions.

For inside my house I am going to get two of the Hikvision 3MP DS-2CD2432F-IW cube cameras but haven't decided on placement for them yet.
For the two exterior cameras I am looking at the DS-2CD2332-I cameras.
I was told the 2.8mm lenses would give me the most coverage but I am also interested in making sure I can have good images of faces as well.

Here is a layout of my house with some stuff to show possible camera location:

The green triangles are possible camera locations and the red circles are where someones face should be in the images.
On the front porch it shouldn't be as much of an issue since it is a large flat porch with 3 steps down to the walk way.
The back porch and sunroom sliding glass is the issue as the landing to go into the back door is up 6 or 7 steps from the ground and the sliding glass door is at ground level.
On the front porch I would mount the camera to the ceiling covering the porch.
On the back I would attach the camera under the eve in the corner where the main house and the sunroom meet so it would be slightly covered.

I don't have any good pictures of either location on me at the moment but can try to take a few shots and post them if needed.

I have looked at a few placed to purchase the cameras but I am unsure about what I am seeing on aliexpress and don't know of another seller other than amazon.

I am not sure if it would be better to get one of the Hikvision NVRs that supports 8 POE cameras or a NAS hard drive and a 8 port POE switch.
Whatever recording mechanism I get will be kept in a safe so it won't be easily accessed.I want to be able to record all cameras as well as stream as much as possible.
Inside my LAN I am not worried about the streaming but I can only get ~1M upload speeds on my DSL which is all that is offered where I live.
I would like to upload video to a cloud service as well but don't think it is feasible with my uplink speeds.

So I would like some recommendations on camera placement and options there in regards to lens choice and all.
A recommendation on recording options and pros/cons of the choices.
Help with where to purchase cameras, recorder and also the cables, crimps and tools would be appreciated.

I plan to do all the installation myself and have a walkup attic that I will be running the cables through.I think that is all for now but you never know.

Thanks,
Matt

 

[muerte69]

I had a chance to take a few pics of the areas of the house that I will be putting the cameras.
The shots are from the driveway towards the house and I plan to have the cameras both pointing towards the driveway.

Back Door/Sunroom door - The camera would be in the corner:


Front Door - The camera would be to the right of the door pointing towards the door and driveway:




At this point I am leaning more towards a POE Switch and NAS Hard drive enclosure.
Is there a preferred enclosure or NAS device that works well with these cameras?

All help is appreciated!

Thanks,
MAtt

 

[ServiceXp]

From a beginner myself.....

1) If you are going to use a POE switch and a NAS, why not just use a POE NVR?

2) I think the rear camera is going to have to be 2.8mm to capture both doors. Does that porch light stay on at night?

3) I think the front cam will need to be moved closer to the door.

I think in order to get good face shots you need to get as close to face level as possible. Remember most people will look down as they are traversing stairs so you may want to have 2 cams in the front, one 4mm (or more) aimed farther down the walk and a 2.8 for the porch area.

just my 2 cents..

 

[muerte69]

The main reason I was leaning to a NAS setup is less hardware to put in the safe. I can fit either but less stuff means less heat.

Cost wise I am tempted to just go with the NVR but done know enough about them.
I would want one to support 8 cameras and I was planning on 2 2tb drives but if the NVR only supports 1 I could go with a 4tb.

I was planning on 2.8mm lenses for all the first 4 cameras. I would have a better idea if I needed a different lens for the other 4 after playing with the first ones.

We have 2 bulb flood fixtures on all but the front porches corners, a light at each main door and a street light out in the driveway. I am thinking of getting LED spots for all the fixtures and possibly have one on at dusk and the second on a motion detector for less power usage.
I may also put LEDS in the two door lights so leaving them on won't use a lot of power.
I figured I would play around with the lighting once I had the cameras. I was worried about the door lights blinding the camera some.

I can put the front door camera anywhere so I may tweak the location before settling on one place.

Thanks for the info!

 

[alastairstevenson]

The NAS (unless you are going to run a 'Surveillance Station' application such as from QNAP or Synology) would mainly provide just storage, and not all the other features of an NVR.
Admittedly, the storage menus of the Hikvision cameras have a mini-NVR level of functionality, but well below a dedicated NVR.

 

[muerte69]

Synology was the way I was leaning for NAS and a Hikvision NVR if I go that way.

 

[muerte69]

So here is what I have come up with so far for the hardware I need and where to get it:

Cams and NVR from CCTV China:
2014 Hikvision NVR 8CH Plug & Play 8CH PoE $244.00 Aliexpress.com : Buy Hikvision Original gun waterproof security network cctv camera DS 2CD2032 I 3MP IR ip camera mini support POE from Reliable camera suppliers on CCTV CAMERA CHINA | Alibaba Group CCTV China
Hikvision camera, DS-2CD2332-I $94.26 Aliexpress.com : Buy Hikvision Original gun waterproof security network cctv camera DS 2CD2032 I 3MP IR ip camera mini support POE from Reliable camera suppliers on CCTV CAMERA CHINA | Alibaba Group
Hikvision camera,3MPDS-2CD2432F-IW $119.00 Aliexpress.com : Buy Hikvision Original gun waterproof security network cctv camera DS 2CD2032 I 3MP IR ip camera mini support POE from Reliable camera suppliers on CCTV CAMERA CHINA | Alibaba Group

Cams and NVR from CSST wholesale market:
Hikvision NVR 8CH Plug & Play POE*8 $206.00 Hikvision NVR 8CH Plug & Play POE*8 network interface 2 SATA HDD 4TB each,Up to 6MP / 5MP / 3MP Use large equipment engineering-in CCTV DVRs from Home Improvement on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group
Hikvision camera,3MP DS-2CD2432F-IW $116.00 DS 2CD2432F IW, Hikvision camera,3MP IR Cube Network Camera w/3D DNR,Up to 10m IR, IP camera,Full HD1080p,up to 64GB WIFI-in CCTV Cameras from Home Improvement on Aliexpress.com | Alibaba Group
Hikvision camera, DS-2CD2332-I $89.55 http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Hikvision-camera-DS-2CD2332-I-Network-IP-camera-3MP-dome-Camera-w-POE-3D-DNR-Full/1658363493.html


This is the other hardware I believe I will need for the setup:
TRENDnet 8P/RJ-45 and 6P/RJ-12, RJ-11 Crimp $14.73 http://www.amazon.com/TRENDnet-RJ-45-RJ-12-RJ-11-TC-CT68/dp/B0000AZK4G/ref=pd_sim_pc_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=084W3EKSA7QXQ35ACH2E
HDE® Network Cable Tester $4.08 http://www.amazon.com/HDE-HDE-H11-Network-Cable-Tester/dp/B000P1OA1O/ref=pd_sim_pc_6?ie=UTF8&refRID=084W3EKSA7QXQ35ACH2E
Monoprice Cat6 Plug Solid W/Insert 50U 100pcs $12.12 http://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-Cat6-Solid-Insert-100pcs/dp/B005E2Y6BS/ref=pd_sim_e_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=11NF978WEE94RCMHVV84
Cutter Stripper $2.57 http://www.amazon.com/Uxcell-a12022700ux0127-Network-Stripper-5-Piece/dp/B008G1WX14/ref=pd_sim_pc_76?ie=UTF8&refRID=084W3EKSA7QXQ35ACH2E
1000-Feet 23AWG Cat6 500MHz UTP Solid $128.01 http://www.amazon.com/Monoprice-1000-Feet-500MHz-Ethernet-108102/dp/B008I8AH4A/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1425551125&sr=1-3&keywords=solid+cat6+cable+bulk
WD Purple 2TB Surveillence Hard Drive $149.90 http://www.amazon.com/Purple-2TB-Surveillence-Hard-Drive/dp/B00IMPO5MO/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1425552634&sr=1-1&keywords=wd+purple+2tb


That is everything I can think of that I might need for the installation but I probably missed something so please let me know if you see something wrong.

Matt

 

[fenderman]

Note the the monoprice cat6 plugs with insert,for me, are a HUGE pain to work with...Some people like them but i cannot stand it...

 

[muerte69]

I didn't realize they were different than the old ones till you said something. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[ServiceXp]

And i absolutely love the inserts. I have been using them for about 8 years.

 

[muerte69]

Thanks.
Needing to order stuff soon so good to know I am on the right track.

 

[muerte69]

Does anyone know if that NVR will work on 120V power here in the US?

 

[ServiceXp]

The specs say AC 220V, I would make contact with the seller to check..

 

[code2]

From a beginner myself.....

1) If you are going to use a POE switch and a NAS, why not just use a POE NVR?

2) I think the rear camera is going to have to be 2.8mm to capture both doors. Does that porch light stay on at night?

3) I think the front cam will need to be moved closer to the door.

I think in order to get good face shots you need to get as close to face level as possible. Remember most people will look down as they are traversing stairs so you may want to have 2 cams in the front, one 4mm (or more) aimed farther down the walk and a 2.8 for the porch area.

just my 2 cents..

Actually i disagree most people only look down when they notice a camera. otherwise if they are up to no good the thing they do the most while trying to get in is look right and left constantly to make sure no one is watching or coming. Remember we are talking about people who are not the sharpest tick tacks in the box. And from years of experience with watch people on camera in my younger days they tend to watch the camera more and constantly look up at it.