What is everyone using for exterior security system cameras & DVR?

[Tmart86]

I do the motion recording simply because a lot of the cameras point at things where stuff rarely happens. I have them set to a 10 second pre-roll to guarantee that I catch anything from before it gets into frame, and the motion sensor is set sensitive enough that a rabbit going by on the sidewalk at the end of the driveway will trip it. I record HD, 30fps, and the system is quite happy doing so with all cameras rolling.

I also have camera groups set, so for instance if one driveway camera's motion sensor trips, all front-facing cameras roll simultaneously.

It took me some trial and error to get it where I wanted it, since I'm not a professional security installer, but I'm pretty happy with the setup as it is now.

I use Blue Iris as my recording software, which is nice because all the alerts are neatly stored and can be paged through quickly without having to refer to emails.

blue eyeris is nice for sure but alot of people want a free VMS software so the email is how I get around that and still have a decent alert log

 

[bcradio]

if you only get one false motion alert Id be willing to bet I could walk onto your property and never be seen.

You could... and I wouldn't care either. There is nothing on the outside of my home that I am worried about being stolen (except vehicles that have alarms also).

You have to play the odds with this. I will catch probably 99.99% of the issues that would occur. If someone happens to break in at the exact moment that my power is out, then I am screwed. Sure I could beef up security by getting battery backups for everything, 3G connected internet backup, sensors, etc., but why do all that for a 0.01% chance of something happening where this is needed? I'll just use insurance for that. I do not care to live in fort knox.

 

[Eslader]

if you only get one false motion alert Id be willing to bet I could walk onto your property and never be seen.

Exactly. We have problems in my neighborhood every summer when kids from other neighborhoods wander around spray painting racist graffiti all over the place. As such, two of the cameras watch the sidewalk. There is no way to place them "correctly" such that normal people on walks will not set off a motion alarm, but kids with paint cans will.

 

[Homebody]

A lot of them now have heat detection camera's, eliminating about 90% of false motion alerts.

 

[Eslader]

Non-criminals emit heat too. I don't see how that would be helpful when you're monitoring an area that sees legitimate foot traffic.

 

[Todd.Brock]

I am trying to track some animal activity on my deck. Is there a camera that would work well? I have power and WiFi available. I m really just interested in what could capture movement, etc. I have a trail cam pointed out to the deck, but it does not seem to be capturing the movement well enough.

Thoughts?

 

[Tmart86]

I am trying to track some animal activity on my deck. Is there a camera that would work well? I have power and WiFi available. I m really just interested in what could capture movement, etc. I have a trail cam pointed out to the deck, but it does not seem to be capturing the movement well enough.

Thoughts?

Is this something you want to use until you figure out what it is and then not use it any more? If so there are plenty cheap cameras that have wireless options if you have 110V available. look at options from like Foscam or maybe amcrest.

 

[Todd.Brock]

I would like to use it for figuring out which critter is pooping on my deck. I would imagine I would use it to keep and eye on the front of the house. ....

 

[ard]

I would like to use it for figuring out which critter is pooping on my deck. I would imagine I would use it to keep and eye on the front of the house. ....

So you can report them to the authorities?!?

I mean once you get that info, THEN what?

 

[Todd.Brock]

What is everyone using for exterior security system cameras & DVR?

This goes along with another thread about trapping a squirrel. I have rodent or critters who **** on my deck and around my havahart trap. I am tired of sweeping up poop from the same spot on my deck every other day. If they would **** in the yard they could feel free to hang out, but they have crossed the line.I caught one squirrel in the trap. I also had a nest of babies removed from a soffit and blocked off with hardware cloth. I thought it was resolved, but no. The mysterious crapping animal continues to elude capture. A trail cam from sams club I am using is not good at capturing night time activity. I though I would step in the world of surveillance to find out what I am dealing with. Then I can set about on it’s demise.

 

[Eslader]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B011US2ADK/?tag=atomicindus08-20

You can mount that to a base of plywood if you're just temporarily installing it and don't want to screw into your house.

It also comes with a 30-day free trial of their cloud-storage recording, which should give you plenty of time to record the animal before you have to worry about setting up your own storage.

If it turns out to be a prey animal just sprinkle some fox/coyote urine around your deck. You won't smell it, but they will and will stay away. You can get it from any hunting supply store. Mix it with glycerine (which you can often find in the womens' hair care section of Walgreens) to make it stick around longer.

 

[tez929rr]

I have two systems from Security Camera Warehouse. Our home system has two cameras and DVR and we installed one in the mail kiosk for our HOA after some mailbox breakins. Not connected to the net but record about a month of video before writing over. I just ordered a four camera system for them for our firehouse.

Last week we captured someone passing cars on the street in front of the mail kiosk. Sent video screen shots to law enforcement so they could talk to the offender (local angry lady had been passing cars all over the neighborhood at high speed).

 

[Pipanski]

I use these along with a Dahua NVR

https://ipcamtalk.com/threads/dahua-starlight-varifocal-turret-ipc-hdw5231r-z.14683/

 

[bcradio]

Re: What is everyone using for exterior security system cameras & DVR?

This goes along with another thread about trapping a squirrel. I have rodent or critters who **** on my deck and around my havahart trap. I am tired of sweeping up poop from the same spot on my deck every other day. If they would **** in the yard they could feel free to hang out, but they have crossed the line.I caught one squirrel in the trap. I also had a nest of babies removed from a soffit and blocked off with hardware cloth. I thought it was resolved, but no. The mysterious crapping animal continues to elude capture. A trail cam from sams club I am using is not good at capturing night time activity. I though I would step in the world of surveillance to find out what I am dealing with. Then I can set about on it’s demise.

If it is happening overnight, it most likely is not a squirrel.

 

[Todd.Brock]

I’m not sure what it is at this point. There is no activity in the house. It happens during the day as well. It just doesn’t show up on trail cam so I need to try an alt. Solution. Thanks for the suggestions. I’ll try the coyote pee if I can figure out what’s sneaking around the deck.

 

[Todd.Brock]

Alright you little bastards ... I’m ready for you. I picked up the Amcrest outdoor model. I signed up for the cloud service so hopefully it will just keep track of the motion activated events.

 

[Miss the Pontiacs]

Any one out there have experience with a system called WatchNet? Local distributor has it as an option. Not ready for my install as yet but the system looked interesting.

 

[JRC3]

Someone posted this elsewhere..

"Unless your video system can pick up license plates in low light, all you are doing is buying a video of your robbery"

Why "low light?

65% of burglaries occur between 6am and 6pm. Most burglars do not want to risk encountering someone so they will try your home when you're most likely to be at work. The most common hours for a burglary to occur are between 10am-3pm.

Though this did get me thinking about seeing the license plate. This is from a Swann 720p camera. It is mounted on the gable face of my unattached garage and that's about 40' away. I cannot read the license plate. Looks to me like there needs to be some 1080p cameras in there. I have 4 cameras now and want to add 4 more, looks like those 4 new ones need to be 1080s. I guess the question is, is 1080p enough?

Eventually there will be a camera at the front corner of the house above and pointed at the driveway. It will see anything that pulls or walks in the drive.


Oh, and this is the system. http://www.swann.com/us/swdvk-816004-lw Well, ****, looks like 1080p is viewable but says, "Recording Resolution
Up to 720p."

 

[BearsFan315]

I own this system here: NVR8-7300 8 Channel 3MP Network Video Recorder

I am really happy with it !! High resolution and is super sensitive. have to adjust sensitivity so it does not record the wind blowing things around. in facts the camera on the side of my house caught someone breaking into my neighbors car. they used the video from my camera to see how the perp got in where he touched the car, etc. they ended up getting tons of finger prints. also great video of the perp, what he was wearing, and his face oh yeah it was at 330 am !!

I am really happy with it !! Got it at Sam's when it was 50% off a few months back !!

 

[tricountytrail]

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

All wirefree Cloud recording for one week free.
Arlo pro have audio and video and rechargable batteries!

 

[Tmart86]

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

All wirefree Cloud recording for one week free.
Arlo pro have audio and video and rechargable batteries!

Great idea until your internet drops out and you don't have any recordings

 

[bcradio]

Great idea until your internet drops out and you don't have any recordings

Live in the middle of nowhere or something? Only had my internet down twice in 6 years. That's pretty darn good.

Whats the alternative? DVR? Great! until your DVR is taken in the break-in.

Nothing is 100% perfect.

 

[A**holes Garage]

Live in the middle of nowhere or something? Only had my internet down twice in 6 years. That's pretty darn good.

Whats the alternative? DVR? Great! until your DVR is taken in the break-in.

Nothing is 100% perfect.

They make lockable and secure DVR cases, of course you can hide them in the attic, bolt it to some studs, place in a safe, etc.

 

[JRC3]

Whats the alternative? DVR? Great! until your DVR is taken in the break-in.

That's why you hide it. In the end mine will probably end up in either a starage cabinet in the laundry room, or more than likely the crawl space (CS). I like the CS because running HDMI cables to all the TVs would be easier. And no thief is gonna inspect the nooks and crannies of a CS or basement.

There are plenty of ways to properly hide DVR. Or setup a fake for the taking.

 

[Tmart86]

Live in the middle of nowhere or something? Only had my internet down twice in 6 years. That's pretty darn good.

Whats the alternative? DVR? Great! until your DVR is taken in the break-in.

Nothing is 100% perfect.

Nope just stuck with bad internet providers. seems like every other week construction cuts a fiber or they have network outages. I pay for 60/10 and Im lucky to get a steady 10meg down. Ive been dealing with my provider for several months to correct drop outs and poor speed. Ive also had to work with several customers that can only get 3-5meg down and 500kbps up so remote viewing is rough with the slow uploads.

Edge storage on SD cards at each camera or DVR/NVR with a ups is the way to go and if you put it in a closet, laundry room etc the typical break in lasts less than a minute or something like that so they will never go looking for a DVR.

 

[Gotcha640]

For reliable internet locations, the local cable co does cameras with remote view, regular system upgrades, notifications, multi day archive, etc, for about 80 a month installed. Anyone already getting security through them gets a discount. My tenants have all available services, premium TV, internet, phone, security, cameras, and I think they're at about 320/month.