Recommendation for camera / NVR system for mom's house

[sduser]

Hello,

I have BI setup at my house now with several Dahua cams from Andy. I am happy with the setup and thank the community here and forum for the help over the last couple of years.

I am now doing some research for another project. I am searching / browsing the threads here, but wanted to post a general recommendation request thread as well.

I need to monitor a few zones around my mom's house . Side aisles (~3' wide walkway), front porch, short driveway and small-ish front yard. House is ~1000 sq ft on a ~6000 sq ft lot so not a lot of area.

She is not very tech savvy, so I was thinking hardware NVR vs software solution like BI.

The NVR would need to be able to store video off-site or at least in a secure location on-site (mainly break-in and theft prevention and not fire protection so much). It would need to send real-time alerts to phone. I would need to remotely view/review camera footage. I would be the one monitoring the cameras, so remote operation is important, but periodic local maintenance is fine.

As far as cameras, I have been happy with the Dahuas so will probably stick with those unless there is something that makes more sense.

I am not asking nor expect you guys to do the design work for me, but if there is a product you like or can recommend, or have have suggestions let me know.

Much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

[looney2ns]

For remote administrative access, Blue Iris is hard to beat.
It has built-in remote capabilities.
If she has decent internet service, just setup a SFF pc such as an optiplex with BI, then setup Tailscale or Zerotier for remote access.
As for cameras, the tried and true is this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08C77TNY9?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_AMX28GM2KTF9G1FDQ9HX&tag=ipctk-20&th=1

If you want something a little less expensive then this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08133RTKV?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_XZW51TJ1JMP8MBTWNSJC

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[sduser]

Something like this may fit the bill, at least initially. I have always stayed away from wireless cameras, but maybe the technology has changed? Night performance is important though, and I doubt the sensor is very big on these 4k camera. Price is right though...

Arlo Pro 4 XL Spotlight 3 Camera Security Bundle
Item 1557527
Model VMS4352P-1CCNAS
$299

https://www.costco.com/.product.100778621.html?langId=-1&krypto=uAwtH1LlgDQPuavsgsBAh8%2Bt%2BFK73s0tr4eHMQL1VbLpUioafRdhUH6Btl6an3saKcpDqFxiTPs%2FV%2F8IcPncyoFOQ3kugM49RcZrh7kBL48bE%2BWre6UliDS%2FqJG3x0JtxXzdBZVfsXhf3cG07XeVL5APxjOdK3OnhTYdmVmw9bBbXkDJxKtUBI%2FWqQlkbUCICMTx0NuYtT3zcExNsfhn2iodenP%2Ft9H%2FxEwrJ4%2FtgSY%3D

 

[sduser]

As for cameras, the tried and true is this:

https://a.co/d/6Gj8aZN

 

[looney2ns]

Something like this may fit the bill, at least initially. I have always stayed away from wireless cameras, but maybe the technology has changed? Night performance is important though, and I doubt the sensor is very big on these 4k camera. Price is right though...

Arlo Pro 4 XL Spotlight 3 Camera Security Bundle
Item 1557527
Model VMS4352P-1CCNAS
$299

https://www.costco.com/.product.100778621.html?langId=-1&krypto=uAwtH1LlgDQPuavsgsBAh8%2Bt%2BFK73s0tr4eHMQL1VbLpUioafRdhUH6Btl6an3saKcpDqFxiTPs%2FV%2F8IcPncyoFOQ3kugM49RcZrh7kBL48bE%2BWre6UliDS%2FqJG3x0JtxXzdBZVfsXhf3cG07XeVL5APxjOdK3OnhTYdmVmw9bBbXkDJxKtUBI%2FWqQlkbUCICMTx0NuYtT3zcExNsfhn2iodenP%2Ft9H%2FxEwrJ4%2FtgSY%3D

Gawd, stay away from Arlo, Ring, Nest, etc, and wifi cams in general and the ilke, if you expect to not be disappointed.

 

[wittaj]

My neighbor has that and his car was parked within 6 feet of the camera and the camera missed the entire event...couldn't even tell the police what time it happened lol

 

[sduser]

I would like to find a decent quality NVR (without HDD) and 3 or 4 IP cameras (2MP 1/2.8" or 4MP 1/1.8") for around $500. Maybe a tall order?

I see the Dahua and Amcrest (rebranded Dahua) 2104/2108/4104/4108 series NVRs which look to be pretty good and possibly fit the budget. Thoughts on this? The 5000 series would be too expensive I think.

I see there was a firmware change preventing compatibility with certain cameras, but the international versions from Andy seem to be ok.

 

[The Automation Guy]

As far as "off-site" storage, this is another reason to use BI IMHO. I would consider this off site storage setup separate from the CCTV system. Because BI uses regular file management, you can basically use any available solution to make this happen - it doesn't have to be CCTV specific. I'm not sure any off the shelf solutions would work with a NVR - I guess it is how the NVR presents itself on the network for file management purposes (I just don't have any personal experience with one to know).

This is how I actually handle the offsite storage. I have a full time VPN between my house and my parent's house. I use the built in "Windows File History" program to routinely copy over the contents of important documents/folders from the various computers at my house to a USB drive at my parent's house. I also do the reverse - backing up important files/folders on various computers at my parents house on a USB drive located at my house. I have set those USB drives up as network drives so they appear as a regular hard drive available at both locations. I used a USB drive because it was easiest to take that drive to the original location to make the initial backup. This way I wasn't trying to transfer a huge amount of data between the two locations. Once the original backup was in place, the incremental backups don't take a lot of time/data. Plus, by using USB drives, it is super easy to take the drive to yet another location (bank safe deposit box for example) to create the generally recommended third "offsite/off line backup" solution.

Here is a pretty good review of the Windows program if you haven't heard of it before..... Windows File History review: Free, effective continuous data protection

 

[Timokreon]

I would like to find a decent quality NVR (without HDD) and 3 or 4 IP cameras (2MP 1/2.8" or 4MP 1/1.8") for around $500. Maybe a tall order?

I see the Dahua and Amcrest (rebranded Dahua) 2104/2108/4104/4108 series NVRs which look to be pretty good and possibly fit the budget. Thoughts on this? The 5000 series would be too expensive I think.

I see there was a firmware change preventing compatibility with certain cameras, but the international versions from Andy seem to be ok.

The 500 series is right around the $500 mark for the 32 channel, 16 channel cheaper. EmpireTech 16 channel

 

[sduser]

The 500 series is right around the $500 mark for the 32 channel, 16 channel cheaper. EmpireTech 16 channel

Thanks for the link. Unfortunately that plus a couple cams would be out of the budget.

 

[tangent]

Something on a computer like BlueIris will be easier to manage remotely. If you want an NVR you could order from Andy or try to find an Amcrest package at Costco or Sam's Club, note that the included cables are always trash.

A question you should try to answer is how does your mom want to interact with the cameras: only look at them after something happens, alerts on a phone, or a monitor / tv input to display them, or exclusively call you.

 

[sduser]

Something on a computer like BlueIris will be easier to manage remotely. If you want an NVR you could order from Andy or try to find an Amcrest package at Costco or Sam's Club, note that the included cables are always trash.

A question you should try to answer is how does your mom want to interact with the cameras: only look at them after something happens, alerts on a phone, or a monitor / tv input to display them, or exclusively call you.

I am warming up to the idea of BI.

Mom probably wont interact with the cameras too much if at all, maybe view/review footage from the TV (if I can get that functionality setup). I imagine that managing alerts, reviewing footage after an event, maintenance, etc would be handled by the kids.