Remote Setup for Inlaw

[Mitchg09]

Hi - My name is Mitch and I need some advice.

My disabled mother-in-law has had some issues with aids stealing things from her apartment. I want to set up 2-3 cameras around her apartment to be able to not only make sure she is Ok, but in any event something happens, review recordings.

I would like to be able to access the cameras anytime by mobile or a computer offsite, but i would also like to record these offsite without paying for any cloud subscriptions or ongoing service fees.

Can someone point me in the right direction? I honestly dont know where to start.

Thanks!

 

[eggsan]

no need to be spy cams, place in areas where helpers knows you are able to watch. If budget concern, Wyze + mSD (about $20). Also a PTZ (Amcrest) + mSD could be a better idea (about $50) Occasionally, remotely control the camera, so everyone knows you are connected

 

[Frankenscript]

If you are interested in discretely filming the perp(s) in the act, then busting them, spy cameras are good. But that doesn't sound like what you are after.

My recommendation would be to put cameras in the necessary places in clear sight, with stickers on the doors to the home stating video recording is in process.

Since this is inside, even the cheapest cameras would do the trick. See the FAQ/ cliff notes for details, but the best cameras we often talk about are for outside use and are expensive ($100+) because of the needs of low-light videography. For an indoor application, cheap dome, bullet, or turret cameras will give you both deterrence as well as excellent video results.

Presuming there is decent internet access at the MIL's home, the following scenario could work fairly well:

Buy a cheap eBay computer (see here for details). You will also need a POE switch and a storage drive. Get Blue Iris for software. Have it continuously record to the hard drive. Set up nightly offsite (to your home) data backups (or more frequently if you prefer).

You can make it so that the Blue Iris app on your phone points to the Blue Iris computer so you can watch anytime or watch clips/alerts. BI is very flexible in terms of how you can set things up.

I've known people that have tried cheaper consumer-grade things for the same basic application but got frustrated with the limitations, or the headaches from crap wifi cameras, or cloud based solutions or lack of continuous recording. It ain't worth it.

For $500 out the door including cameras, computer hardware and software you could have a robust system.

 

[Mitchg09]

Is it possible to have cameras in one location, and the storage in another?

Her apartment is small enough to be cluttered with stuff - adding additional wires and computers would be a nightmare.

What I am thinking is, can I have 3 Wifi cameras in her apartment recording to a NVR or DVR at my house 12 miles away? Will the NVR/DVR allow me to access the video from my phone?

I honestly have no clue how any of this works, but this has to be possible somehow. My only concern is Security - someone hacking into the cameras since they would be "Wifi".

 

[samplenhold]

The Cliff Notes explain a lot of this.

 

[Frankenscript]

Keep in mind that doing so commits you to a continuous bandwidth requirement equal to the three cameras bitrate. Depending on her upload speed this might be an issue, or if either of you have data caps that is something to consider. But mostly it is less reliable than having recording done locally.

Also, even if you do this, you will need a pc or at least a small device of some sort to manage the streams and such.

Wifi cameras have stability issues; remotely administering them may be a nightmare.

If anybody knows of a non cloud based out of box non PC solution involving remote administration, please prove me wrong.


Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using Tapatalk

 

[mat200]

Hi - My name is Mitch and I need some advice.

My disabled mother-in-law has had some issues with aids stealing things from her apartment. I want to set up 2-3 cameras around her apartment to be able to not only make sure she is Ok, but in any event something happens, review recordings.

I would like to be able to access the cameras anytime by mobile or a computer offsite, but i would also like to record these offsite without paying for any cloud subscriptions or ongoing service fees.

Can someone point me in the right direction? I honestly dont know where to start.

Thanks!

Welcome @Mitchg09

Try the Wyze and Amcrest cameras mentioned and see how those work for you.

Otherwise I'd go with NVR setup onsite for continuous recording and send alerts to me.