CCTV set up for home

ErolGirl

Hi,

We are wanting to set up 3 or 4 cameras around our property but are unsure of what system to go with. Would prefer wireless as the cameras will be on each side of the house which if needing to be wired to a central hard drive will mean lots of wires everywhere.

However, some reviews of wireless systems say they're not so good and some cameras loose signal.

Anyone have an experience with this sort of thing? Or have any recommendations of systems?

Tiexen

"Wireless" still needs power - most systems have a combined Power / Video cable - A lot of the systems seem cheap because they don't include a Hard disc to record the video, so read the details carefully before you buy.

Have a look on Amazon and read all the reviews.

I just bought this for £120: SANSCO 1080N DVR Recorder with 2x Super HD 1.3MP Outdoor Cameras and 1TB Pre-installed Hard Drive Disk.

It will work with 4 cameras

thebigstillmeister

Tiexen wrote: »

"Wireless" still needs power

Not true;

https://www.maplin.co.uk/p/arlo-720p-3-camera-wire-free-cctv-kit-a99ux

ballyblack

i as well went with Arlo....very pleased

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Arlo-Smart-Home-Wire-Free-VMS3330-100EUS/dp/B00TDNYNN0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1517932648&sr=8-3&keywords=arlo

forgotmyname

Bought a cheap 16 channel recorder (minus the hard drive, get a proper CCTV hard drive).

Instead of the cheapo camera's often sold i went for some older Panasonic cameras off ebay. Excellent quality, Manual or fixed focus, extra £6 gets you different lenses for different applications, even powered focus/zoom ones.

All for less than the cheap kits sold by maplins.

Check the distance the LEDs work on the camera, if its 10ft and your field of view is 30ft you wont see a thing, if behind glass it wont work at all. So a decent camera with a larger lens will gather more light at night.

Camera relying on battery power alone? Replace or recharge every 4 weeks? In my situation it would probably be much less.

Power and data cables can be quite thin and easily concealed. ie if mounted high up near the eaves of a house you only need a wire to each cam and site the recorded in the loft. Access the footage by wifi.

thebigstillmeister

forgotmyname wrote: »

Camera relying on battery power alone? Replace or recharge every 4 weeks? In my situation it would probably be much less.

No every 6 months,

forgotmyname

Read the reviews, if your cam is only triggered once or twice a day then it can last, but for those where it will be triggered more often it may only last weeks not months.

Frozen_up_north

CCTV appears straightforward, but there are a few issues to be aware of... domestic cameras appear excellent in daylight, but at night the camera shutter speed slows right down resulting in a moving "target" not being sharp. They switch to infra red and remove an IR filter in the camera, but that doesn't produce great images of moving objects. Fixed items, such as brickwork, look really clear, but it's not snooping around your house! Many commercial sites use white floodlights at night for improved images, however for a domestic house that's perhaps over the top... and at least with IR illumination from the ring of LEDs on the camera you will see if anyone has been visiting, even if they are hard to identify.

Wiring the cameras is really the best way. While it's a chore, at least you will have a reliable system. Wiring can be done discreetly and routed via the loft. The power comes from the recorder in the case of IP (network) systems, or a separate power unit near the recorder in the case of an analogue system.

While mine is a Swann network system, for less than half the cost you can have a pretty good Floureon system, such as eBay item 192358355619. A friend has just replaced his Swann system with one and is very impressed. His came from a CCTV dealer, but the above eBay item number will give you an idea... A 4 camera system is about £150 including everything needed.

One problem with movement detection is that it will trigger on stray light (car headlights, security lights, etc), rain and snow, as well as the local cats. The cats aren't a problem as at least you know it works. Swann have produced cameras with their own passive IR movement detectors built in, this should stop a lot of false triggering but only has a very limited range.

Another problem is that spiders love cameras and spin webs on a daily basis in the summer, you will need a paint brush on a long stick to clear them away.

Finally, my Swann recorder has a very noisy fan that runs constantly, I understand the Floureon recorders are quiet... fortunately my recorder is in a spare room, many do not have that luxury.

shaun_from_Africa

Another thing to bear in mind when positioning the cameras is the Data protection act.
If the cameras pick up anyone outside of the boundaries of your property then you need to register with the information commissioners office.

Frozen_up_north

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

Another thing to bear in mind when positioning the cameras is the Data protection act.
If the cameras pick up anyone outside of the boundaries of your property then you need to register with the information commissioners office.

Good reminder Shaun, hardly anyone bothers and yet you often see clips of roads and footpaths recorded on household CCTV on TV crime programs.

My cameras are positioned so they only point at my property, and in such a way as to not give rise to a suspicion of pointing to public areas or neighbouring property.