Surveilence system

[racerbob4]

My son's new house is nearing completion and he wants to add a surveilence system that will cover the main garage door and one person entry next to that door and the walk out basement door to the backyard.

He also has a second race garage with a double overhead door facing the house, a person door on the right side of the garage that faces a public alley, and a stairway to the second floor storage area that is on the left side of the garage and faces the backyard.

I think all cameras can be attached to the main house and the main receiving unit would be on the main floor in the office which is on the back of the house and faces the main garage door. What he would like is to be able to tape continuously so that if there is a break in when he and this wife are not at the house so that he has a tape to give to the police. Also is there some kind of alarm system that can alert them in the middle of the night if the camera finds someone trying to break is or should he consider motion detector inside the garage.

Lots of smart guys in this site who can lead us in the right direction. Thanks in advance for any good suggestions.

 

[gordon_gjs]

I would go with a system like the one in this link http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004VFGJVE/ref=asc_df_B004VFGJVE1908034?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=asn&creative=395093&creativeASIN=B004VFGJVE.

Swann makes a pretty decent system for the price (which is in the link), a lot better then some of the cheaper ones out there. I would definitely recommend an 8 channel system or larger. If you go with a 4 channel you would be regretting it later down the road if you want to expand.
Make sure the system has the features you want before you purchase. You would definitely want one that can connect to the internet and is capable of streaming to a smart phone.

Most system should have motion detecting features that should alert you via email or smart phone and record when motion is triggered.

I would also recommend that the DVR be backed up online or through an external thumb drive that can be routed some were hidden. Because it would do you no good if the bad guys came in the house and stole the whole DVR unit and hard drive.

I did forget to mention that you should have the whole system (camera and DVR) on battery backup (UPS).

 

[Amazzen]

There are many camera recording systems out there. I have 4 cameras recording continuosly stored on a digital hard drive. It holds about 2 weeks of data, and I can access the cameras remotely if I wish.

I use my alarm system to alert me of intruders real time, along with driveway sensors and other perimeter detection. I also recommend at least 1 wireless back up communications device in case they cut your phone and/or cable lines.

AND my recorder is in a fireproof vault (and backed up off site).....

I suppose you could buy a video camera system that is motion activated to save on continuos data storage, but with today's technology, its not too much more for larger digital storage.

Either way, make sure you prioritise a bulletproof alarm system before the cameras.

Hope this helps.

 

[racerbob4]

Thanks for the adivce guys. You both brought up great ideas.

 

[ranger_dood]

I prefer motion-activated, personally. You don't realise how nice it is until you have to find an event that happened "at some point during the 48 hours I was gone". No sense having all that video being recorded of... nothing.

Also, high-end systems will allow remote triggers on motion. So, you could set it up to turn a light on, or something of that nature. Or email on motion, etc. Lots of options out there. The real question is how much do you want to spend?

 

[dave67fd]

Either way, make sure you prioritise a bulletproof alarm system before the cameras.

Agreed. Nothing against the camera system but spend more of your time/money on keeping them out to begin with. You'd be suprised what a sign that depicts "video surveillance in use" in itself will do.

Visit the security store. Great place, great prices and excellent customer service. I have the Visonic Powermax+ system. No video but will do everything else under the sun. They also have full line of video equip..

http://www.homesecuritystore.com/default.aspx

 

[ezriderga]

http://1saleaday.com/

 

[Falcon67]

Make noise and light first, then take pictures. Also, hide that DVR/recorder somewhere. People broke into a house here about a month ago and stole all the usual stuff like TVs, etc - along with the DVR security system and the cameras. You show the cops what? The good thing was that these idiots used the stolen credit cards locally and were ID'd on convenience store surveillance video.

 

[gordon_gjs]

You just need to be careful were you hide the DVR, like all electronic equipment they need ventilation. I would not put it out in the open like most dvd/blu-ray players are, you just need to be creative and think of places that crooks would not look, But don't forget it needs ventilation. They also sale DVR lock box that other ventilation or fans.

 

[Privatejoker]

I've been looking for a motion sensing system w/ hard drive and 8 IR cameras. The kicker is, I want some of the little black bulbs that cover the cameras so you can't see which direction they're pointed. I'm not sure if they'll be able to see through the tint if they're not calibrated for that. Does anybody have any experience with that?

 

[gordon_gjs]

I've been looking for a motion sensing system w/ hard drive and 8 IR cameras. The kicker is, I want some of the little black bulbs that cover the cameras so you can't see which direction they're pointed. I'm not sure if they'll be able to see through the tint if they're not calibrated for that. Does anybody have any experience with that?

They have 2 different types of cameras, bullet style or dome. You are wanting the dome cameras. You just need to make sure that the system you go for offers smoked dome cameras.

I am not sure if they make dome covers for the bullet style cameras.

 

[racerbob4]

I like the motion sensor system but the man door is about 10 from an alley that is used everyday. That might set it off. I also like the idea that it would turn on a light which is just above the door. We also have two flood lights for the roll up door to light the concrete slab into the garage.

 

[Tech Guy]

They have 2 different types of cameras, bullet style or dome. You are wanting the dome cameras. You just need to make sure that the system you go for offers smoked dome cameras.

I am not sure if they make dome covers for the bullet style cameras.

One thing to keep in mind for dome cameras is to NOT mount them on a vertical wall as the dust, dirt and rain will roll down the lens cover. As well, you want to stay away from a smoked dome for outdoor use as the darker colour will reduce your nighttime images. Bullets are great if mounted under an eaves or something. Try to get outdoor cameras with at least min 21 IR LED's for night vision. The more LED's the better.

As for the motion issue, it is programmable so you can actually program the field to just watch the door and ignore the pedestrian traffic in the alley

 

[gordon_gjs]

One thing to keep in mind for dome cameras is to NOT mount them on a vertical wall as the dust, dirt and rain will roll down the lens cover. As well, you want to stay away from a smoked dome for outdoor use as the darker colour will reduce your nighttime images. Bullets are great if mounted under an eaves or something. Try to get outdoor cameras with at least min 21 IR LED's for night vision. The more LED's the better.

As for the motion issue, it is programmable so you can actually program the field to just watch the door and ignore the pedestrian traffic in the alley

why you telling me?

Privatejoker was the one to asking...

 

[inphx]

I have over the past 5 years incrementally upgraded home , office and parents systems. I like DVR's that will email you a snapshot is motion detect occurs. Most dvr's now let you take any camera scene and clcik on and off grids to set what you consider to be the "detect" area. There are also soem sensitivity trggers - like a motion that disturbs 3 cells qualifies. You can easilly get alot of false notifcations from wind blowing tress or shadows... so there is soem skill to setting up outdoor cameras. There are also settings that let you say monitor for alarms x hr to x hr on such and such days. Th last systemi got was an Apsonic from newegg. It has hi res cameras and it also will FTP a video clip up to a remote site when an alarm occurs. So besides the still image on your phone you have 3-5 minutes before during and after an event in HD quality. In my metal building i keep the audible alert on - anyone approacjing the building can hear beeps going off, hopefully as a deterent. The IR led's in the cameras work ok for no light nightime - but they are a bit visible to spot the camera. Not an issue but it makes decoy camera units worthless at night.

 

[AndyL]

Take a really good look at the foscam units.

Connected by wifi, sends me emails (to my smartphone) when alarms are triggered (camera software alarms, not security) I can connect via internet and have a look around. And honestly, in my new place, I'm adding some of the ebay/dealextreme noname units - they're almost identical in performance, but even cheaper (I paid 120ish for the foscams, my noname was 24.99 shipped - side by side, they're identical except one has a logo; software, a bit different but same functionality)