In 2006, 3 of our vehicles were vandalized in 3 weeks. Then, I put up my first residential video security system. It was an analog DVR with 4 cheap cameras. The first 3 cameras were positioned to watch the 3 parking spaces. We have had no vehicle vandalism since then -- zero occurrences.
In 2009, the next-door neighbors had a burglary. The video was basically useless -- we saw a blur in their side yard. So I upgraded that system to a newer system with 8 better cameras, with better video quality. But, it was still analog.
In 2014, another neighbor had a burglary. The video got a few frames of good image of the burglars walking across my front yard, maybe 10 feet from the camera. The cops recognized them, and those two went to jail. Then I upgraded the system again.... I went digital this time, with a 16-camera Hikvision NVR and 16 3-mp cameras.
This year, there have been two events so far. A burglar broke into the next-door neighbors house. I got video of his face, from about 20 feet, but it wasn't quite good enough for ID.
Then, a car thief went for a car that was across the street two houses down. That thief walked past my mailbox a couple times while working up the courage to go for the car. (I have cameras in the mailbox post -- looking up and down the street.) Another neighbor gave chase, and the thief left on-foot. My video had good close-up head-and-shoulder shots, and the license plate of the car that dropped him off and picked him up. The cops recognized this one, too.
During the review of my video, I find that I am only able to read the license plates on about 1/2 of the cars, even during the day. So, I am thinking about upgrading, again. This time I am looking at 8 and 12 MP cameras, to replace the 3MP units.
All the thieves and burglars around here seem to work during the day. I guess that is because people are home at night. So I want really good daylight images. Good night images would be a plus, but are far less important. I realize I'm not likely to get license plates and faces at night, and also a broad view, with any equipment.
So, I've started reading, again....
In 2009, the next-door neighbors had a burglary. The video was basically useless -- we saw a blur in their side yard. So I upgraded that system to a newer system with 8 better cameras, with better video quality. But, it was still analog.
In 2014, another neighbor had a burglary. The video got a few frames of good image of the burglars walking across my front yard, maybe 10 feet from the camera. The cops recognized them, and those two went to jail. Then I upgraded the system again.... I went digital this time, with a 16-camera Hikvision NVR and 16 3-mp cameras.
This year, there have been two events so far. A burglar broke into the next-door neighbors house. I got video of his face, from about 20 feet, but it wasn't quite good enough for ID.
Then, a car thief went for a car that was across the street two houses down. That thief walked past my mailbox a couple times while working up the courage to go for the car. (I have cameras in the mailbox post -- looking up and down the street.) Another neighbor gave chase, and the thief left on-foot. My video had good close-up head-and-shoulder shots, and the license plate of the car that dropped him off and picked him up. The cops recognized this one, too.
During the review of my video, I find that I am only able to read the license plates on about 1/2 of the cars, even during the day. So, I am thinking about upgrading, again. This time I am looking at 8 and 12 MP cameras, to replace the 3MP units.
All the thieves and burglars around here seem to work during the day. I guess that is because people are home at night. So I want really good daylight images. Good night images would be a plus, but are far less important. I realize I'm not likely to get license plates and faces at night, and also a broad view, with any equipment.
So, I've started reading, again....
