Wifi cameras/security systems?

[ChadAmberg]

I picked up a couple Reolink Argus cameras a while back and they've done a great job, especially for only 99 bucks a cam. https://reolink.com/product/argus/

[William]

I picked up a couple Reolink Argus cameras a while back and they've done a great job, especially for only 99 bucks a cam. https://reolink.com/product/argus/

Had to change the batteries yet?

[Blowby]

Just picked up an NVR and 8 cameras from HIKvision for the office. After reading and talking to others they rate real well for the price.
Should be here Monday so who pulls cable? HaaHaa pull for $$ anyone?

[Grant H.]

I have installed POE cameras with Blue Iris, and with iSpy, and both can be made to work well. Blue Iris costs you $60 up front, but is easier to get up and running if you are a techy-type of person. iSpy is more capable, in some regards, but takes more tinkering. Currently I am tinkering with doing all this through ZoneMinder on my linux box, because it never crashes, and it's on the solar (Fiber modem, router, WAP, and linux machine are all on a small solar power solution. Maintain internet even when the power goes out in town).

It's not hard to fix, but be aware that Blue Iris and iSpy don't automatically start when you power on the computer. I have a friend that had a power outage, and then 2 weeks later had a break in. He hadn't ever gone to check Blue Iris since the power outage and as such had no video footage of the break in. Luckily it wasn't a big deal, but it was still a learning lesson for him and me.

If you don't want to run a computer, there are quite a few good options for POE camera NVR's. Some brands (Hikvision and Dahua that I know of and have tried), have their own, while others are made to support a list of different brands (and support more than they list assuming they use a standard POE Cam protocol). These may be more expensive in the long run, as many don't come with the storage hard drives, but they are simple and generally work well.

The cameras that I installed and handle at the church are not setup to record video, but instead take a string of pictures when motion is detected and then FTP them off to a raspberry pi running linux and an FTP server. Given the way this is going thus far, the 64gb SD card will be able to handle years of pictures before I have to worry about them getting too old. Next up, when time permits, is the function to delete them when they are 3 months old. If we haven't used them in 3 months, we won't ever need them. We have 6 cameras that provide high res images of all the doors in and out, so we have a record of who was there should something happen. The church cameras are Dahua, as are my house cameras currently (the company ended up with extras so we donated some to the church and put the others at our houses).

I have used Dahua, Hikvision, Axis, Mobotics, and some Panasonic cameras. I have also installed some of the early generations of Ubiquiti cameras, and would recommend everyone to stay well clear. Supposedly the new generation is better, but after the miserable failure of the first ones, I'm going to have to see a LOT more positive chatter about them before I try them again. As I said above, I currently have Dahua cameras installed, and do like the way they work. The one downside is that their web interface prefers IE, and requires a plugin to show the video. That's less of an issue since they are being fed into a central system, but is an annoyance if you don't have them brought to something that is easier to interact with.

In this day in age, go with 1080p capable cameras. You don't have to run them there, but at least have the capability. Built in NV illuminators will make a big difference in lowlight/dark situations.

I tend to stay away from wifi based cameras, because I want my wifi to be fast for my machines, and if you have a handful of cameras streaming data to a recorder, it takes a fair chunk of the bandwidth. This is a personal preference thing, but I would rather run CAT6 to all my locations and have gigabit access to all the cameras and leave the wifi alone. I understand the convenience of wifi, but unless you have battery powered cameras, you still have to run something to them. One solution to this is to set up an entirely separate wifi network to support the cameras, and can actually be a good idea. You can hide the SSID, and purposely select an different channel than your normal wifi AP, and it provides better performance for both systems. This is easier to do if you are running separate hardware for Router and WAP, which most don't, but it is an option.

I also tend to stay away from coax based cameras. I have installed a few, but generally I find their performance isn't as good, and then you are likely locked into using their recording device.

When you are mounting cameras, there are a couple things to consider.
1. Where you want to see (obviously) - What are you trying to cover? If you think you have a good location, test it before actually installing it. I run test cables and have someone hold the camera, and then I check it both during the day and at night. Take and old license plate and hold it a foot off the ground and see if it lights up enough to be visible.
2. Can criminals see it? Two schools of thought here. 1 - hide it, and then you get video of it. 2 - Plain view as a visual deterrent. I actually use both. I have inexpensive cameras setup to be visible as a deterrent, and then I have better cameras setup out of sight (or out of reach if out of sight isn't possible) to record anything that does happen.
3. If you are running POE, consider how to get the cables there. In lots of modern houses a fish tape and plenum rated Cat6 is easily fed through air ducts into many places. If the air ducts come up in strange places (my house has one about 2 feet from the wall in a bedroom) you can then run the cable under the carpet to get it out. Attics and basements are especially handy, but not always the easiest option (my attic has 2' of loose insulation in it now).

Final thought for now, is consider a VLAN for your POE cameras. This isolates them from the rest of your network, and if setup properly, prevents them from being seen if someone gets on your network that isn't supposed to be there. Honestly, any home automation should be vlan'd off from your normal network for security reasons.

[Grant H.]

Just picked up an NVR and 8 cameras from HIKvision for the office. After reading and talking to others they rate real well for the price.
Should be here Monday so who pulls cable? HaaHaa pull for $$ anyone?

Do you have drop ceilings in your office? If so, get a plant support stick and tape your Cat5/6 to the end and use that to pass "spear" the cable longer distances. I ran cables in a former employers office this way, and it's great. Once you get the hang of it, you can move 15-20+ feet every time you toss the line.

[DenverGP]

I got this kit from Harbor Freight. Made running ethernet cable in my unfinished attic (couple feet of blown-in insulation) pretty easy.



https://www.harborfreight.com/3-16-i...kit-65326.html

[Blowby]

I don’t have drop ceilings but the majority of the cameras have crawl space available above, for the second floor and below for the first. Been thinking about paths to access the locations. Already have about 3 miles of cat6 for the network and want to install new (different color) cat6 for the cameras.

[brutal]

It's not hard to fix, but be aware that Blue Iris and iSpy don't automatically start when you power on the computer.

Lots of great info.

However, Blue Iris has an option to run as an installable service that starts with the system. I think I paid $40 for my license if you look around.

[MarkCO]

Reading and learning...thanks to all of you for sharing.

Deleted some items from the Amazon cart and changed out with others recommended.

Blowby, what are you using for storage?

[Blowby]

4 TB HD. Here’s a list of my purchase.