Noob needs some recommendation

[Metallo]

Hi all,

I am on the market to buy a surveillance camera kit, I did my homework and I know what I need:

• 12 Cameras (8 bullet + 24 Dome with 180° view)
• NVR with 12 Channels
• Cameras need to be PoE powered
• 6 cameras will be indoor + 6 outdoor
• Cameras need to be resilient with harsh weather, I am in Canada, so -40ºF–113ºF

I have been searching around but I can find very little offering kits with 12 CH NVR, most of them are 4-8-16.

I do not want to buy two NVRs, like 8+4, as it would not make much sense.

The whole thing is for surveillance when not at home, not only for possible intruders, but also for security, like the room where the boiler is, just in case there is a leak or so while I am traveling the other side of the world.

It is hard to narrow down, there is so much on the market, and to me quality matters, a lot, so I want to buy reliable stuff.

I am still working on the wiring, two storey home, retrofitting network cables is fun... trying to be ironic here

Any suggestion is very welcome!

Thank you!
Alex

 

[mat200]

Hi all,

I am on the market to buy a surveillance camera kit, I did my homework and I know what I need:

• 12 Cameras (8 bullet + 24 Dome with 180° view)
• NVR with 12 Channels
• Cameras need to be PoE powered
• 6 cameras will be indoor + 6 outdoor
• Cameras need to be resilient with harsh weather, I am in Canada, so -40ºF–113ºF

I have been searching around but I can find very little offering kits with 12 CH NVR, most of them are 4-8-16.

I do not want to buy two NVRs, like 8+4, as it would not make much sense.

The whole thing is for surveillance when not at home, not only for possible intruders, but also for security, like the room where the boiler is, just in case there is a leak or so while I am traveling the other side of the world.

It is hard to narrow down, there is so much on the market, and to me quality matters, a lot, so I want to buy reliable stuff.

I am still working on the wiring, two storey home, retrofitting network cables is fun... trying to be ironic here

Any suggestion is very welcome!

Thank you!
Alex

Hi Alex

Always pick the NVR which has more channels than you think you need ..

Thus go for the 16 port model ..

note, I highly suggest doing a little more homework, and just picking up one good varifocal IP PoE camera and a small PoE switch or other PoE power source and setting up a test rig to test the positions you are considering.

 

[Flintstone61]

I hear Reolink is a bargain.

 

[Flintstone61]

Dude I’m kidding.

 

[Flintstone61]

If you go deep into the research, their popular for ease of App use but not stellar for real control of night settings to ID events

 

[Metallo]

OK guys, I found what I needed and took two Ethernet cables up to the attic.

Now, I need to define the camera position, and in the picture below, I have marked in red where I'd like to install it.

I do not want to install the camera to the soffit, but rather to the metal fascia I circled in red (I believe technically they call it frieze board, but sometimes I see the call it 'fascia' too, please correct me if I am wrong with the naming).

My questions are the following:

1. I assume behind the frieze board there is a beam, so all I need to do is to drill three holes in the metal/wood fascia and fix the camera there, am I correct? Not necessarily will be above the window, as the purpose is to surveil the door entrance, and I am starting to think that installing the camera right above and tilt it 90° is not a good idea, because potentially, you'd see only the intruder top to bottom. Instead, if I place the camera to the left and tilt it, say 45°, I should get a better view of the intruder.
   
2. The Ethernet cable, do you think I can pass it through the groove in the soffit? (I market it in green in the image). Unfortunately, my ladder is too short, therefore I need to rent a scaffolding to get up there (I feel safer than working on a ladder). What I want to achieve is the ability to plug the Ethernet cable from outside and then push it inside the attic so that it is protected by the bad weather. Since I do not know that part of the home, I may have written silly things, which is why I am asking.

Image 1 will show my closeup references (red and green).

Image 2, to give you a better perspective on why I am thinking to install the camera to the left of the window. Ideally the right of the home would be best, but it wood be too complicated because I need a higher scaffolding etc.

Thank you all for your help!

Alex

 

[looney2ns]

Study this: Cliff Notes
Mounting cameras higher than 8ft, will never be able to capture any facial ID's, all you will get is tops of heads.

 

[Metallo]

Hi,

Thank for your feedback.

At the end, I am not much interested in getting the face ID, this is a surveillance system for me, not an alarm system. It is more for general monitoring of the house when we are out traveling.
If there is an intruder, I should get a notification, then I will move from there.

In general, would you think the left side is better than above the window?

Any recommendation with regards to the Ethernet cable pass through point from the soffit or the fascia?

Thank you,
Alex

 

[mat200]

Hi,

Thank for your feedback.

At the end, I am not much interested in getting the face ID, this is a surveillance system for me, not an alarm system. It is more for general monitoring of the house when we are out traveling.
If there is an intruder, I should get a notification, then I will move from there.

In general, would you think the left side is better than above the window?

Any recommendation with regards to the Ethernet cable pass through point from the soffit or the fascia?

Thank you,
Alex

"If there is an intruder, I should get a notification .. "

Perhaps you should look for a security alarm system ..

Cat5e/Cat6 .. remember good copper wires .. not the CCA junk ..

While testing you can just get a long stranded length of Cat5e with 23 or 24 awg copper wiring ..

 

[Metallo]

"If there is an intruder, I should get a notification .. "

Perhaps you should look for a security alarm system ..

Cat5e/Cat6 .. remember good copper wires .. not the CCA junk ..

While testing you can just get a long stranded length of Cat5e with 23 or 24 awg copper wiring ..

The alarm system will follow.

Yep, i have already installed CAT6 everywhere in the house, still working on some parts, tough job, but I want everything wired.
No CCA, pure copper 24AWG

 

[mat200]

The alarm system will follow.

Yep, i have already installed CAT6 everywhere in the house, still working on some parts, tough job, but I want everything wired.
No CCA, pure copper 24AWG

Test spots .. see if you get what you need from different locations.

Try out the red 2nd story soffit area .. vs the lower blue zone.


Try to see if you can setup a extra high test rig to reach the upper area .. perhaps a few 2x4 x10 foot sections can help here and a heavy base / bucket with cement / rocks to give your self a stable base to work with. Search for test rig here to see what others have done for up to 10 feet up ..

 

[wittaj]

+1 on the cameras on 2nd story will only give you observe quality. Don't you want to get a clean capture of the face for the police instead of top of head and hoodies?

You can use aluminum stock and attach the camera to it and shove it into the parts holding up the soffit and then just a min hole for cable.

 

[Metallo]

+1 on the cameras on 2nd story will only give you observe quality. Don't you want to get a clean capture of the face for the police instead of top of head and hoodies?
You can use aluminum stock and attach the camera to it and shove it into the parts holding up the soffit and then just a min hole for cable.

Nope, because a serious criminal wears a mask. I am not concerned about micro-criminality, if they see the cameras, they won't even get close to the house.

 

[mat200]

Nope, because a serious criminal wears a mask. I am not concerned about micro-criminality, if they see the cameras, they won't even get close to the house.

from my experiences criminals seem to rarely look up to the 2nd story area .. cameras at face level would be best if you want criminals to notice ..

 

[bigredfish]

Sigh..

 

[Ri22o]

Cameras aside, those are the weirdest deck piers I have ever seen. Is that normal in Geese Land?

 

[wittaj]

NOOB to expert in 4 days LOL

My video, as well as other examples posted here, says otherwise....sure some may attempt to mask robbing banks, but most residential do not.

Plus they see a camera right smack at 5 feet and they move on. They don't look for or are concerned about cams on 2nd story because they know those are useless in identifying them.

Let's hope you never need it. We are simply sharing our real world experiences.

And even if you got just eyes it can still be useful. Certainly more useful than the stuff we see on Nextdoor LOL.

 

[Metallo]

NOOB to expert in 4 days LOL

My video, as well as other examples posted here, says otherwise....sure some may attempt to mask robbing banks, but most residential do not.
Plus they see a camera right smack at 5 feet and they move on. They don't look for or are concerned about cams on 2nd story because they know those are useless in identifying them.
Let's hope you never need it. We are simply sharing our real world experiences.
And even if you got just eyes it can still be useful. Certainly more useful than the stuff we see on Nextdoor LOL.

In fact, they are for surveillance, they are not an alarm system, (where I have lots of experience).
Basically, they are useless either way. As you said, 5 ft, they'll smack it, 18ft, they will not, but the camera will just show a person or an animal.

The only reason why I want them over there, and not lower at the window level is because I cannot bring the Ethernet down to that wall, drilling the plate in the attic is impossible, there is not enough room for me to do that.
Also, it is not worth, here in the geese land, as Rizzo said, we have wild life hanging around during the night, so that is nice to see.

For the rest, cameras will be on every corner of the house, there is an attached garage, so those will be lower too, really, in case somebody has bad thoughts in ind, they might reconsider it,, but other than that, if I want to protect my property, I will do that with a proper alarm system.

Thank you all, it was nice reading your thoughts.

 

[wittaj]

If cameras are useless, why even install them...

You are correct, they are for after the fact to give police video and picture evidence.

What about going from ground level up and run cable behind downspouts?

My neighbor has cameras on his fence (corner lot) on the top of the fence 4 feet high and literally two feet from the public sidewalk. They have never been touched, but have got great pics of perps.

But what do we know LOL

Or maybe the perps are more sophisticated in Canada than the USA (sarcastically but probably true LOL)

 

[Metallo]

Cameras aside, those are the weirdest deck piers I have ever seen. Is that normal in Geese Land?

If you refer to the steel screw piles, they are common because they resist to any weather, they can hold any weight and will last forever.
They are also used a lot in home building now, due to their strengths.
The aesthetics may not be appealing for a deck, but decks in general have not a great 'design' here, so who cares, we are not talking about a luxury car