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Best home CCTV?

M

Mildredop

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Oct 14, 2013
2,478
1,510
A new person has moved onto our street who is anything but neighbourly. My wife has started to feel very unsafe and is becoming convinced that they're going to do something to one of our cars parked at the front of our house.

To make her feel better, I was planning on installing a camera so that, should we find any damage, we can look back and see what the cause was.

Could anyone offer any advice/recommendations?
 
Check out Foscam for some ip-camera's. pretty easy setup.

Maybe you should check up on your state's regulation concerning camera's pointed externally. You might have to place some stickers on your window to announce you're recording the outdoors.
 
I swear by Swann and Night Owl. I have a Night Owl system at my home. I can access it from anywhere. In the house, it is set up so that I can click on an A/V input on my living room or master bedroom television and see the camera or I can check it on the monitor in my home office.

I have one IP camera which is in our chicken house. The IP cameras cost more and are a bit more difficult to set up (if using more than one) but have a better picture quality. Remember this about wireless cameras… You still will have to have a power wire leading to the camera.
 
I'm running q-see ip-poe cameras to a SecuritySpy instance on a Mac mini. 1080p camera, bout $200 each.

Here's the deal with security cameras -- the cheap ones rarely take images that will hold up in court, so consider that if you hope to use it for that purpose. Next question is whether to go ip or not. I chose ip for flexibility, and because I won't be installing all that many cameras on the system. Plus I can use my Mac for the recording, saving me from buying an nvr. (The fact that it communicate with the rest of my home automation system was also a factor for me). For larger roll-outs, I'd go analog.
 
Southern Dad said:
I swear by Swann and Night Owl. I have a Night Owl system at my home. I can access it from anywhere. In the house, it is set up so that I can click on an A/V input on my living room or master bedroom television and see the camera or I can check it on the monitor in my home office.

I have one IP camera which is in our chicken house. The IP cameras cost more and are a bit more difficult to set up (if using more than one) but have a better picture quality. Remember this about wireless cameras… You still will have to have a power wire leading to the camera.
Click to expand...

Thanks. And what about actually recording the images?

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mactastic said:
I'm running q-see ip-poe cameras to a SecuritySpy instance on a Mac mini. 1080p camera, bout $200 each.

Here's the deal with security cameras -- the cheap ones rarely take images that will hold up in court, so consider that if you hope to use it for that purpose. Next question is whether to go ip or not. I chose ip for flexibility, and because I won't be installing all that many cameras on the system. Plus I can use my Mac for the recording, saving me from buying an nvr. (The fact that it communicate with the rest of my home automation system was also a factor for me). For larger roll-outs, I'd go analog.
Click to expand...

ip?
 
Mildredop said:
Thanks. And what about actually recording the images?

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ip?
Click to expand...

You can buy a Night Owl set with a DVR included. They are H.264 video. Standard Night Owl sets come with 400 TVL analog cameras. You can upgrade or add cameras to the set. I've added a couple different cameras, one is a QSee Elite 650 TVL digital camera.

The main purpose of the cameras is so that you can see what is going on. Cameras like alarms systems aren't going to help you if you get hit by a professional. They are going to take the DVR with them, unless you've hidden it well.
 
If you're still looking to get something ID say get a Nuvico DVR like a Nuvico ED-C410 4-Channel EasyNet Compact DVR. It's a great DVR and you can sometimes find bundles with some cameras if you go look on the net.

You also do need to look into what your state laws are regarding outside surveillance cameras, and where you can point them. Many states will not let you position cameras that point off your property, and some will with the consent of your neighbors.

However You might want to look into a HD DVR with a couple of HD cameras, because some of the regular DVR's even though they offer 600-700 TV lines res it can be hard to make out details from a distance. HD DVR's and cameras are more expensive, but worth it. so for a HD DVR id Say anNuvico EN-P440 4CH EasyNet Pro HD NVR, 4TB or an Everfocus EPHD04/2 4CH Real-Time Full HD DVR, 2TB, with some outdoor IR 1080p cameras. Just remember if you go HD you will pay a bit.
 
I just installed a Q-See 8 channel DVR with 8 cameras. They record in full 1080p and the playback is gorgeous. It's like watching a high def movie. I would highly recommend them.

For the DVR and 8 cameras i paid about $1800 and installed everything myself. It comes with everything you need in the box including all of the cables.

I had a little trouble setting up with remote view on my iPhone and over the internet but a quick call to tech support got me up and running in no time. I am very satisfied with my purchase.

The model that I have is the Q-See QT-718 (4 dome and 4 bullet cameras).
 
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