Need security cam/DVR recommendation

[FlyingPenguin]

I can always grab something at Sam's club, but I know a lot of these systems are hit or miss. Was wondering if any of you guys were using one at home or work you can recommend.

Need a system for my parents house. I want Dad to be able to keep an eye on mom in the living room and also the front door. Maybe add some more cameras later if I can hire a monkey to crawl through the attic. I have easy access to drill holes in walls in the two locations I want to use initially, and run them to master bedroom TV through a closet.

Minimum 4 cameras. More cameras are a bonus but won't really need more than 4. Would prefer a system that uses CAT5 cables for simplicity, but will consider a coaxial system. 480 or 720p is adequate and maybe preferable since the 1080p systems generally suck up a LOT of bandwidth and storage. Local HDD for storage - don't want to be cloud dependent. Audio recording not necessary.

I want to connect it to a TV that has both HDMI and VGA jacks available (either one is fine - I think most DVRs have VGA by default from what I've seen). I also want to be able to remotely watch from a web browser or app on my home PC or my Android phone.

I know most of the off the shelf ones work adequately for local use, it's usually the Internet viewing that sucks on the crappy ones. The apps are usually badly written.

Tons of unused bandwidth here so that's not a problem.

Money not an issue if the system works as advertised. I'm looking at a $400 Amcrest system and a $500 Swann system. Looking at Amcrest because most reviews say they're better and they have good apps. They're owned by Foscam.

Looking at this one. Great reveiws on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Amcrest-AMDV960H8 ... 1092011_16

Thanks.

[Genom]

My inlaws have a logitech system that seems pretty good. Will get the info next week when I see them.

[Losbot]

I have a guy I trust that installs cameras. Good quality stuff if you want someone to just do it all. They're a real, licensed company that's been around for years. They have done all our electrical, low voltage and data jobs. I can give you my guy's cell number if you'd like, assuming your folks still live down here.

http://www.tirone-electric.com/

[normalicy]

We have a Swann system at work and I'm not impressed by their software.

[FlyingPenguin]

It's up here in central FL. Moved the folks up here to one of our investment homes back in November and sold the Miami house.

Had a highly recommended pro company give me a quote. First off they all want to sell you a subscription based cloud service. Even when you talk them out of that, all they sell is 1080p. That's great for store surveillance but I don't need it for a home. It's not just the price, but the 1080p systems don't downscale the Internet stream, thus it eats ypur bandwidth at both ends.

Yeah reviews all have bad things to say about Swann's software. The reviews on that Amcrest system are really good. Need to download the manual and do some research.

[Cap]

Second Normalicy - Swann systems are solid. Buddy of mine just installed two of them and he is happy with the product.

[DaMaN]

I was considering this one for my house. Wireless and weather resistant. Sold by Netgear.

https://www.arlo.com/en-us/products/kit/

[psypher]

Crap, I had a huge post that detailed my setup and it's gone Guess I'll just post the important details and leave out the story about how I got to this setup. IF you have a question on how and why, then ask. But basically, for camera's I bought several different brands to test except for the outdoor one which I ran into after seeing someone's posted video of some guys breaking into their house and I asked the poster what they use.

I hate cloud services. I run my own system using BlueIris (runs as a Windows service). It's $60 for major updates which are like every 2-3 years and it gets pretty constant development. Huge list of supported cameras. They also sell an app for Android and iOS for $10. It lets you access the feeds over WiFi or remotely if you configure your firewall (easy).

For indoor camera's I use Foscam FI9831W. Pan/Tilt, Wifi/Wired, 1280x960p IR (Great cameras). I have 2 of these.
For outdoor Hikvision DS-2CS2031-I. 2048x1536, Waterproof, POE (a must for Outdoor). I currently only have 1, but I plan on adding a few more in the future.

I'd stay away from companies like Logitech and Netgear that have basically jumped on the bandwagon and stick with solid companies that have been in this business for a long time. And of course from any of these bullshit subscription based services. They are pointless and prey on people that don't know how to configure a router.

[FlyingPenguin]

I do like the Foscams. I use one at home. Prefer more of a retail sort of security system for Dad's so it can be easily connected to a regular HDTV and with a built in HDD. Plug it into a UPS and forget it. Don't mind hard wiring since it will be easy to drill the holes.

[psypher]

I do like the Foscams. I use one at home. Prefer more of a retail sort of security system for Dad's so it can be easily connected to a regular HDTV and with a built in HDD. Plug it into a UPS and forget it. Don't mind hard wiring since it will be easy to drill the holes.

Not really sure what you mean by "retail sort of security system". That's all going to be cameras, connected to some sort of DVR (ie. specialized computer). Really not much different than Network camera's connected to a computer with the exception that it's something you can easily fix if there is an issue. BTW, even though my camera's support wireless, I'm able to have them all wired.

You could have a small computer with HDMI connected to a TV if you want and have the console app running which shows you all the cameras.

[FlyingPenguin]

Yeah but no computer here, and not worth the hassle of setting one up. I just want a simple turnkey system. Cameras hardwired to a DVR, and the DVR connected to the internet. Low maintenance,

However, I am interested in your setup. Might use that at my new house I'm building. Want some kind of surveillance there.

[DaMaN]

FP, does your folks have a cable or satellite TV setup that offers an add on Camera security system that may work for your needs? Just a thought.

[psypher]

Yeah but no computer here, and not worth the hassle of setting one up. I just want a simple turnkey system. Cameras hardwired to a DVR, and the DVR connected to the internet. Low maintenance,

yea, I know there's some good ones out there, but they've usually been a lot more expensive than I wanted to spend.

However, I am interested in your setup. Might use that at my new house I'm building. Want some kind of surveillance there.

Yea sure, when you get to that point feel free to ask. I'm even messing with home automation, mostly based on Insteon, but Z-Wave is also supported if you ever have questions on that too

[Cap]

Here is what my buddy installed recently

"Here's what I ended up purchasing:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1 ... d_815.html


This is the same system that Scott got from Costco, but his had better connectors - They were true IP66 weather resistant. Mine has normal ends, which is fine for my application.

They also have the exact same system with only 4 cameras (NVR still has 8 inputs):

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1 ... d_815.html


The audio capture is pretty decent and the video is one of the best of the home systems that I've seen, although like most of them, it's digital zoom only. License plate capture is marginal, but you could add a specific license plate cam if you wanted to. Mo money though."

[b-man1]

bumping this...

FP, did you ever decide on a new setup? i am finishing up an install at my new place and am very happy with the quality|price ratio. the previous owner had a Samsung NVR system (non-HD) w/ 7 external cams. i reused some of the cabling (parts were Cat5e...others proprietary wire for the Samsung cams...) and pulled new for others. i went with Dahua POE bullet cameras (3 and 4 MP), connecting back to a pc running Blue Iris monitoring software. i can't recommend Blue Iris enough...for the price, it is untouchable for features and capabilities.

http://blueirissoftware.com/