Quick and dirty

[BobSmooth]

I did a quick search on that model. It looks like an older PTZ from around 2016. The specs I saw didn't give all the dimensions but it looked pretty large, on the order of the large Pelco PTZs you may see at some grocery stores. I'd be curious what the dimensions are.
Two other things to note: it's fairly power hungry, you may have to purchase a special PoE switch, power injector, or other power adapter. Based on the specs, compared to some other cameras you could use, it probably doesn't do as well in the dark.

Yeah, I fiddled with it a bit and couldn't get it to work so far. It may not be any good anyway.

Got the three I ordered installed and up and running. I went with either side of the garage door header and put the light that was in the center of the drive on the back porch and installed the 180 cam in that electrical box that was already there. I am still learning BI but so far so good. Got the sub streams running and changed some remote desktop settings so I can watch from my office on the main floor from the server in the basement. Ran a couple extra cables to inside the garage and back patio for future use. I have a feeling once the neighbors get wind of the cameras I'll be the next target so I want to have my bases covered as best I can. I have the cams running 24/7 for now. The activity has been at all hours and I don't trust the motion detection just yet. H265 for the three cams uses ~100GB a day is that normal? I have that on the m.2 drive for a couple days and then transfers to a 4TB WD Purple that was free, When I install the other cams I'll upgrade to a larger drive. So far it looks like I can get two weeks worth on the purple with the three and that's plenty for now. I read most guys prefer h264? As long as I can get about a week saved I think I'll be ok. Just want to make sure I've got enough storage for a vacation without any problems.

The box is an old gaming box so it should be beefy enough for the use but the only thing I've noticed in the last couple days is when I'm downloading large files I lose connection to the cams. As soon as the files are done they come back on. Memory or network issue but not a huge deal as I download files like that in batches I can just make sure everything's back and running before I go back to business as usual.

I might have to re-adjust the framing of the zoom but for now they appear to be working great. Within hours of hooking them up I caught the minor offenders with alcohol. Not a big deal but I was surprised I could read the box from that far! Superb recommendations fellas, much appreciated.

Here is a sample of the setup currently. Still have some tweaking to do but I'm learning as I go. Any tips are much welcomed.

 

[tangent]

Yeah, I fiddled with it a bit and couldn't get it to work so far. It may not be any good anyway.

Got the three I ordered installed and up and running. I went with either side of the garage door header and put the light that was in the center of the drive on the back porch and installed the 180 cam in that electrical box that was already there. I am still learning BI but so far so good. Got the sub streams running and changed some remote desktop settings so I can watch from my office on the main floor from the server in the basement. Ran a couple extra cables to inside the garage and back patio for future use. I have a feeling once the neighbors get wind of the cameras I'll be the next target so I want to have my bases covered as best I can. I have the cams running 24/7 for now. The activity has been at all hours and I don't trust the motion detection just yet. H265 for the three cams uses ~100GB a day is that normal? I have that on the m.2 drive for a couple days and then transfers to a 4TB WD Purple that was free, When I install the other cams I'll upgrade to a larger drive. So far it looks like I can get two weeks worth on the purple with the three and that's plenty for now. I read most guys prefer h264? As long as I can get about a week saved I think I'll be ok. Just want to make sure I've got enough storage for a vacation without any problems.

The box is an old gaming box so it should be beefy enough for the use but the only thing I've noticed in the last couple days is when I'm downloading large files I lose connection to the cams. As soon as the files are done they come back on. Memory or network issue but not a huge deal as I download files like that in batches I can just make sure everything's back and running before I go back to business as usual.

I might have to re-adjust the framing of the zoom but for now they appear to be working great. Within hours of hooking them up I caught the minor offenders with alcohol. Not a big deal but I was surprised I could read the box from that far! Superb recommendations fellas, much appreciated.

Here is a sample of the setup currently. Still have some tweaking to do but I'm learning as I go. Any tips are much welcomed.

Andy has another sale that starts 9/17. As a past customer, you can buy up to 4 lottery tickets ($5 each) for a chance to win a free camera, you can get additional entries if you purchase a camera during the sale starting 9/17. I wouldn't be surprised if the lotto tickets sell out tomorrow.

Glad you put up a camera for overview. What model did you choose? Can you post a picture showing where the cameras are mounted? It might do a little better mounted lower, it's good to experiment with the mounting location a bit.

That light at the end of your drive was bound to be a challenge. I'd experiment with blocking some of the light from it (on the side towards your house), you could try some aluminum foil temporarily and then experiment with more permeant options like frosted window paint (not glass etch) or foil tape. You could also zoom that camera a little more or angle it a bit more to the right.

If you haven't yet, you should read the wiki and cliff notes (some info here could be a bit out of date).

It's best to record direct to the WD Purple, otherwise you'll burn through SSDs pretty quick. At least for these 3 cameras I'd plan on 24/7 recording. I'd put Samsung endurance micro sd cards in them and record to the sd cards on motion / intrusion events. Just add up the bit rates of all the cameras and multiply by 86400 seconds a day and that's the amount of storage you should expect per day of continuous recording (you can use google to help with the units eg. ###mbps * 86400 seconds).

3 cameras shouldn't be maxing out your NIC, but there could be other network bottlenecks. Is the PC connected directly to the PoE switch or is the PoE switch connected to your router? You can add a second NIC to the PC to separate your cameras from the rest of your network. What CPU does the computer have? You can get refurbished PCs with 8-10th gen intel CPUs for $100-250 regularly.

Hopefully they decide to avoid your house because of the cameras and not target it because of them and hopefully they don't figure out how much these cameras can zoom (don't post captures to Nextdoor / Facebook). If they ever confront you about the cameras, be ready with some simple BS story that doesn't involve them (like someone broke into my Aunt's house this summer) about why you got them and throw in something like "I got them cheap from a friend who was upgrading their cameras, they're ridiculously big aren't they and they barely work, but hopefully they'll scare people off".

That said, I would worry a bit about the left side of your house in particular (closer to them, they'll be lazy). If they figure out you have certain areas without cameras, they may be smart enough to approach from another direction.

If you don't have an intrusion alarm system, consider adding one (can diy). If nothing else, order a couple fake ADT yard signs off of Amazon or eBay. Assuming the server is contained in a room in the basement, throw a electronic keypad / fingerprint lock on the door (same with your office) to slow someone down if you ever have an intruder.

One other little thing for you and your neighbor to consider carrying (depending on audio recording laws in your state), they make discrete audio recorders that look like a pen. Click the pen and it records. I've carried one when dealing with a problem neighbor.

 

[tangent]

Also make sure to test your camera settings by walking around at night and evaluating how clear the image of yourself is when moving. Try both day and night mode with IR light on the Z12's

 

[tangent]

They make some stick on gasket like mounts that can improve the performance of cameras in a window. IIRC the cameras your neighbor was using are worse than even blink or wyze, which makes finding a window mount harder. Just something to pass along to the neighbor if they can't be persuaded to put up a real camera.

 

[BobSmooth]

I went with the IPC-Color4K-T180 for overview. I moved all the data to the purple to save the m.2 drive thanks for the heads up. I will play with the yard light a bit. I've yet to find the perfect level of zoom to cover the area and get identifying features. Still trying to find a dark night where they have their lights off to best simulate their misadventures.

Andy has another sale that starts 9/17. As a past customer, you can buy up to 4 lottery tickets ($5 each) for a chance to win a free camera, you can get additional entries if you purchase a camera during the sale starting 9/17. I wouldn't be surprised if the lotto tickets sell out tomorrow.

Glad you put up a camera for overview. What model did you choose? Can you post a picture showing where the cameras are mounted? It might do a little better mounted lower, it's good to experiment with the mounting location a bit.

That light at the end of your drive was bound to be a challenge. I'd experiment with blocking some of the light from it (on the side towards your house), you could try some aluminum foil temporarily and then experiment with more permeant options like frosted window paint (not glass etch) or foil tape. You could also zoom that camera a little more or angle it a bit more to the right.

If you haven't yet, you should read the wiki and cliff notes (some info here could be a bit out of date).

It's best to record direct to the WD Purple, otherwise you'll burn through SSDs pretty quick. At least for these 3 cameras I'd plan on 24/7 recording. I'd put Samsung endurance micro sd cards in them and record to the sd cards on motion / intrusion events. Just add up the bit rates of all the cameras and multiply by 86400 seconds a day and that's the amount of storage you should expect per day (you can use google to help with the units eg. ###mbps * 86400 seconds).

3 cameras shouldn't be maxing out your NIC, but there could be other network bottlenecks. Is the PC connected directly to the PoE switch or is the PoE switch connected to your router? You can add a second NIC to the PC to separate your cameras from the rest of your network. What CPU does the computer have? You can get refurbished PCs with 8-10th gen intel CPUs for $100-250 regularly.

Hopefully they decide to avoid your house because of the cameras and not target it because of them and hopefully they don't figure out how much these cameras can zoom (don't post captures to Nextdoor / Facebook). If they ever confront you about the cameras, be ready with some simple BS story that doesn't involve them (like someone broke into my Aunt's house this summer) about why you got them and throw in something like "I got them cheap from a friend who was upgrading their cameras, they're ridiculously big aren't they and they barely work, but hopefully they'll scare people off".

That said, I would worry a bit about the left side of your house in particular (closer to them, they'll be lazy). If they figure out you have certain areas without cameras, they may be smart enough to approach from another direction.

If you don't have an intrusion alarm system, consider adding one (can diy). If nothing else, order a couple fake ADT yard signs off of Amazon or eBay. Assuming the server is contained in a room in the basement, throw a electronic keypad / fingerprint lock on the door (same with your office) to slow someone down if you ever have an intruder.

One other little thing for you and your neighbor to consider carrying (depending on audio recording laws in your state), they make discrete audio recorders that look like a pen. Click the pen and it records. I've carried one when dealing with a problem neighbor.

I went with the IPC-Color4K-T180 for overview. I moved all the data to the purple to save the m.2 drive, thanks for the heads up. I will play with the yard light a bit. Honestly with the cams as good as they are we could turn it off but it does add some deterrent value. I've yet to find the perfect level of zoom to cover the area and get identifying features. Still trying to find a dark night where they have their lights off to best simulate their misadventures.

I'm not seeing a whole lot of difference with the IR on and off at the moment but they have their porch lights on most of the time so I'm still waiting to get a good look at that.

The first picture was before I mounted the overview but you can see the junction box I used just above the address in the center.

Second picture was a good test from the other night. That is the father of the family. Can clearly see he's got a 24oz NOS can in his hand and vaping.