CCTV Remote Question

[LSU]

I have an offsite workshop. It has AC 110v and wireless Internet access.

A simple garage door is what protects my stuff from the bad guys. It is all insured but I'd rather it not walk out the doorso I'm thinking of a camera system.

I would to install 2-4 CCTV cameras that I could view using my IPhone.

Ideally, I'd like to setup a system that if there was motion, I'd get an alert on my phone and I could "see" what is going on. I'd set the motion detectors so a critter would not set it off.

Might like to record but not critical.

One camera would be outside and 2 or 3 would be inside.

I'd like to be able to tap an app on my phone and just see what was going on at the site even f there was no motion.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Ideally the system would run off a Windows operating system.

Thanks.

 

[LutzTD]

there are a lot of stand alone DVR systems that use motion detect, email alerts and remote viewing. you can spend 300 or 3000, depending on how sophisticated you want to get. I havebeen looking for a while and they just keep coming down. I think the key is get as many lines of resolution and largest hard drive you can get for your budget. Im going to stay away from the chinese knockoff units but someone else may be able to say if they got a chicom unit that has good performance. I want to try to stick with a name I recognize, but I have been hesitant to pull the trigger.

compusa has sales on the chicom units all the time. I have been looking on ebay ad searching 700tvl (tv lines resolution) to get company names then go to their website. for my truck backup camara I bought a few chicom 1/4" camaras they were all junk, I went up to 1/3" camaras and they seem to be way better quality for a small upcharge. I plan to go with sony 1/3" 700tvl with a minimum 1Terabyte drive when I finally get a system

 

[wb2vsj]

LutzTD gave good info. I bought a 8 camera DVR system from SmartHome which was made by NightOwl. Had it for over a year and no issues or breakdowns yet. It came with the standard cameras, ~400 lines of resolution. I need to upgrade to better cameras.

FYI - Put in a motion sensing light in your shop. The IR cameras do "see" in the dark, but they do much better with a real light source.

My cameras (IR) are all out doors - I have a big problem with flying insects and spiders. The insects can see the IR illumination at night and they triggered the hell out of the motion detection to the point were I had to turn off the auto-email on motion detect. Spiders are constantly building webs across the cameras - slightest breeze wiggles the web and they system starts recording.

With you putting your cameras inside, you will have 99% less of this.

Yes - there are several apps (depending on the vendor of your DVR) for the Android and iPhone. Same with the Windows viewers.

I think you will want a system that records - it is very helpful to go back and check up on something later on. Besides I don't think you can get one w/o record capability with all the other features you are asking for.

I would place the unit in such a place that it would be hard to steal/find.

I'm tempted to put up a sign that says "Smile, by the time you read this the video of you breaking into my garage is already up on YouTube."

Good luck!

 

[LSU]

Thanks. I appreciate your responses.

 

[LSU]

Also, as simple as it sounds,I'd not thought about the motion detector lights for the inside cameras. I've got lots of lights but all are on switch. I might hang a motion detector light even if I don't use cameras.

 

[bgarrett]

Wouldnt it be nice to have a speaker so you can say to the low life scum breaking in, "Hey! What are you doing?'

 

[LutzTD]

LutzTD gave good info. I bought a 8 camera DVR system from SmartHome which was made by NightOwl. Had it for over a year and no issues or breakdowns yet. It came with the standard cameras, ~400 lines of resolution. I need to upgrade to better cameras.

FYI - Put in a motion sensing light in your shop. The IR cameras do "see" in the dark, but they do much better with a real light source.

My cameras (IR) are all out doors - I have a big problem with flying insects and spiders. The insects can see the IR illumination at night and they triggered the hell out of the motion detection to the point were I had to turn off the auto-email on motion detect. Spiders are constantly building webs across the cameras - slightest breeze wiggles the web and they system starts recording.

With you putting your cameras inside, you will have 99% less of this.

Yes - there are several apps (depending on the vendor of your DVR) for the Android and iPhone. Same with the Windows viewers.

I think you will want a system that records - it is very helpful to go back and check up on something later on. Besides I don't think you can get one w/o record capability with all the other features you are asking for.

I would place the unit in such a place that it would be hard to steal/find.

I'm tempted to put up a sign that says "Smile, by the time you read this the video of you breaking into my garage is already up on YouTube."

Good luck!

Thats some great info about the night owl system, never would have thought about bugs triggering the motion detector. , night owl, swann, and Q-see seem to be the ones in the chicom kits. sounds like the night owl may be ok with diffrent camaras. with prices falling the 700tvls are probably the same cost as the 400tvls were last year. you can buy the dvr and camaras seperate but if you look around you might find the 700s in a $300-500 kit this year if you dont mind remanufactured