I'm after some sound advice on cctv systems. Budget is less than 2 grand. I need 6 cameras and my main criteria is quality night time picture. I also want to be able to view the footage on ipad etc. cheers guys. Daz
Do you want to back it off to a dedicated dvr, pc, remote location or all three? Don't go for anything less than 720p/hd. Are you connecting via ip? Would suggest email functionality, mine email out, capture to an old pc and stream to remote (cloud) storage and was inexpensive. That's the image at night.
Dress in plain, dark colours and keep your face well covered at all times. A hoodie or balaclava should do it, unless you fancy a burqa.
If you hide the camera in a radio alarm clock your children's nanny will never think to look in there. Note the easy access to a mains supply removes the need for frequent visits to change the batteries and allows a good signal to broadcast to your router to allow remote viewing.
For personal use at my home. Couple of scrotes were seen emerging from my back garden a few weeks ago. Found out two cars got lifted that night. I want to keep my pride and joy in my possession.
Some new DVRs now use apps to connect without the need for services like Dynadns, Dynadns is a port forwarding service that lets you access your DVR from a remote location, depending on your ISP (internet provider) you may or may not have a static IP address, if your address is dynamic as many are it will change each day or so, this is where you need the service by Dynadns to update your registered domain to get remote access to your DVR. I say this as when buying if you want easy remote access then you need to ask for a DVR that does not require Dynadns services, they are not too bad to setup if not but you will need to understand your router and basic IP addresses, also the service costs about 15 a year. For local access by iPad etc you do not need any external port forwarding service, just be sure the DVR is not blocked by the router and know it's IP address, some search your network and find them without the IP address being needed, you will need the DVR to be connected by CAT5 to your router. Cameras use IR or night devil tech, night devil cameras use a slow shutter and do not require IR to see in the dark, dome cameras are best as they are covert and can not be moved out of line by broom handles etc, IR cameras make a good home for spiders webs, they are a problem at night so again domes tend to be less affected than traditional CCTV cameras. PTZ cameras are a massive benefit over static as they can be Panned, tilted and zoomed when needed, they can also patrol an area and do the job of many cameras in one. DVRs come in many configurations but most now offer good qual, new tech is just taking over and basically uses an IP camera that plugs into your POE DVR, POE is power over Ethernet and has many advantages over traditional analogue systems. Have a look at my suppliers adata.co.uk but they are trade only however you can get an idea, call them they will forward you to a dealer I am sure. I don't sell systems to the public, but I install them into sites where my experience is required, I.e catching people! You become an expert in these things sadly when you have been involved in the running of businesses over the years and have to keep propertiy under survalence. I have access to around 40 cameras on my phone etc over three sites, I can see all the sites and cameras on one screen if I like or even display them accross my Multi monitor PC, it's impressive with night vision x36 zoom PTZs that have full two way audio as well. Even the cheap systems on eBay work ok for what they cost, your budget should get you a nice system, get a small UPS as well to protect it from power fluctuations and give some back up if power is cut. Find a good location for your DVR, remember all the cables have to get to it and it needs to be hidden away. I've installed a good few and sorted port forwarding for the big companies that seem to know nothing about IP addresses etc, I am a tech guy from old with PCs and networking so if your stuck fire me a message. Good luck.
Cheers for the detailed reply fella. Much appreciated. I thought I'd got it Sussed but it's a minefield.
Key things to look for mate are readily available apps for the recorder, I.e apps for your iPad, iPhone or android phone, most good systems can be viewed remotely through an internet browser like Chrome or internet explorer if you want to view them with a PC, not so many can be viewed through Mac's Safari etc! They need a software package or App normally specific to the DVR, lesser known DVRs can be hard to get apps or software for! Remote viewing is important even if you want to view your camera locally on your own network, if they are crap the whole experience is poor. If you buy a DVR that is a card based system that works in a PC then the PC needs to be on all the time. Maybe I have added too much info and confused you, simple thing is most of the systems all do what you need and something is better than nothing, they are easy to install, setup your DVR wire it to the cameras, power the cameras and fire it up, most have a get going setting and start recording straight away, it's the remote software that can be harder to configure. Post up some links to systems you have in mind, a few people here know what's what so maybe we can say yay or nay...
Rather stop people knicking your bike than get good images of them stealing it online whilst you're down the pub... Maplins £30 job with obvious LEDs should put most cnuts off; but of you really want live action; look into "drop cam" (about £100 each cam) simple to set up; but needs a good internet connection; and you can't monitor over the LAN; only via internet... Bob
TBH you can complete systems for like £300-00 that uses apps to live view and watch recordings on the net. it i the cameras you can improve on most of all though once you have a DVR
