Whats the best affordable POE home surveillance system for me?

B

BC3

n3wb
May 1, 2025
7
2
texass
Hello im new to DIY home surveillance and im looking to move on from ring for my home.

I have narrowed it down to not going with WiFi and so going POE.

Of course im not looking to spend over a grand but keep it reasonable as I dont need FBI level surveillance for my home.

Ive narrowed it down to Reolink but im having second thoughts considering im hearing people having issues with their customer service since they are based out of hong kong and when they put in a ticket it takes a long time for people to get a response?


Is ReoLink really the best choice here? for affordability and ease of use? Or is there some other option that people in the know know about while also being affordable. I was also looking into Dahua but im not sure since its might not be as user friendly?


help me through with my reservations. If Dahua is really simple? Might be the best option?
 
  • Haha
Reactions: Sybertiger
Ut oh....you said "ReoLink". Be gentle fellas!
 
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Hikvision ColorVu 8mp with the 1/1.2" sensor and F1:0 lens integrated with Blue Iris Software on PC
 
$1000 will get you close to an NVR (Or BI a PC based VMS) and 3 good cameras
 
BC3 said:
sounds good to me. thanks. so any hikvision? doesnt have to be 8mp or colovu? hows

"Hikvision EKT-K41T24 4-Channel 4MP DVR with 1TB HDD"​

Click to expand...
Hikvision ColorVu 8mp with the 1/1.2" sensor and F1:0 lens, do your research & homework as Google is your best teacher.
 
ljw2k said:
Hikvision ColorVu 8mp with the 1/1.2" sensor and F1:0 lens, do your research & homework as Google is your best teacher.
Click to expand...
fair enough. google led me to this forum to learn.

i reached a boundary from ya. i appreciate giving me what you can.

so now i got to look into what the difference between EKT and Colorvu is. im cool with 4mp as opposed to 8mp.
 
BC3 said:
welp i tried! forgive me.
Click to expand...
No worries. The only time I've seen Reolink recommended for cams is for their wired doorbell cam...but I think that may have been discontinued.
 
Many of us have had good experiences with Dahua brand cameras. I like the Color-4kts pretty well. If you have some ambient light, they provide a nice color image all night. Their in-camera motion detection is very good. I don't have any Hikvision experience, so no comment.
 
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Comparing Hikvision and Dahua is a lot like Toyota versus Honda LOL.

Many here currently prefer Dahua OEM over Hikvision, especially in the USA as many Hikvision models are not available here. Most feel the Dahua userface is easier to use as well.

As always YMMV.

As far as cameras, without knowing what your goals of the camera is, this thread is used as the go to for the new person here outlining the commonly recommended cameras (along with Amazon links) based on distance to IDENTIFY that represent the overall best value/best bang for the buck in terms of price and performance day and night. It might be a 2MP camera in some instances. Many here feel 4MP is the current sweet spot for these cameras.

The Importance of Focal Length over MP in camera selection

And coupled with that thread is this great thread which will show why all of the same 2.8 or 3.6mm cameras is the wrong choice (these are the common focal lengths consumer brands sell):

i-want-2-8mm-cameras-everywhere-to-see-everything-this-is-why-you-need-specific-fovs-with-purposeful-focal-lengths.70053/

We would encourage you to look at those threads in detail.

It will probably raise more questions than answers LOL.


And since you asked about Reolink......

Keep in mind that reolinks, especially at night are horrible.

If all you care about is to look around, then probably ok. But if you plan to be able to use them in the event something happens and you need to get the police involved, return them....


What you mean a missing hand isn't normal LOL :lmao: (plus look at the blur on the face and he is barely moving and this should be ideal indoor IR bounce and it struggles):



1708801531582.png






How about missing everything but the head and upper torso :lmao:

The invisible man, where can he be. Thank goodness he is carrying around a reflective plate to see where he is LOL (hint - the person is literally in the middle of the image at the end of the fence holding a rectangular reflective piece of metal)

I've seen better images on an episode of ghost hunters :lmao:



1708801585568.png






And of course, this is an example from Reolink's marketing videos - do you see a person in this picture...yes, there is a person in this picture.... Could this provide anything useful for the police other than the date and time something happened? Would this protect your home? The still picture looks great though except for the person and the blur of the vehicle... Will give you a hint - the person is in between the two visible columns:



1708801599328.png



Bad Boys
Bad Boys
Watcha gonna do
Watcha gonna do
When the camera can't see you


Here is the unofficial Reolink thread.

You can see all the attempts people have provided to demonstrate the quality of Reolink, and they are all a blurry mess at night or missing body parts or other messes.

We have challenged someone to provide a clean capture of someone moving at night with a Reolink and as you can see with 20 pages, nobody has yet to provide a usable image with motion at night.

Reolink's algorithm is designed to produce a nice bright static image at night and that comes at a cost of blur and ghost and missing body parts at night.

Reolink: Deconstruction of a dangerous misleading youtube review "Finding the BEST 4K Security Camera NVR Package (Reolink vs Amcrest vs Swann)"

Most will say these don't cut it. There is also much talk in that thread about the issues of Reolink and BI.
 
I recently acquired another Dahua SD49225xa-HNR. It has been several years since I last owned this exceptional PTZ, and I am once again appreciating its remarkable features.
 
@wittaj Can you pm me how to set up spotter cams as my covid brain no longer works like it should :P
 
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