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indoor/ outdoor security cameras

Sterlingfire

ignant
Joined
May 20, 2020
Member Number
687
Messages
2,514
Loc
the soon to be USSA
So in my delusional paranoid ways I'm looking into getting a nice security camera setup for inside my house, inside my shop, and various places around my property. Also looking to do some sort of alert system when someone pulls into my driveway. Our house sits on 40 acres. Where the house sits is open. About 7 acres total open. The rest is forest. The house is incredibly quiet on when inside. Very hard to hear anyone until they're knocking on the door... not that great to my wife and i.
My shop only has windows in the garage doors that are 10' off the ground. So even if i hear someone pull in, i can't see who it is, so a monitor of some sort that turns on when the driveway alert goes off would be great in there as well.
Wireless security system in the house if possible along with cameras. All on motion detection would be great. Not sure if any of that is achievable or not.
I am not a tech guy, nor do i understand or have the time to learn the lingo. So go easy on me, i need you guys that know this stuff to help if you care to. If not, I'll be happy to entertain you with my nonsense bullshit:flipoff2:
So let's see what you got(and if you say search noob, I'll say no:lmao:, i don't know what's good or bad so it's dumb to research this myself)
 
Never feel like a system that is plug and play and magically goes to the cloud is secure.

chances are you won’t even own the video you recorded once you agree to the licensing agreements and allow any part of it to be stored in the cloud.

(Learn from your recent experience with Pirate4x4.com)

There are secure ways to do it, but not as clean and easy.

There is MY paranoia.
 
I think an alert is necessary, my neighborhood app is full of 90 second clips, decent quality, of punks breaking into cars. 90 seconds is enough to wake up and grab a Louisville slugger
 
First you are wanting 2 different things and I think trying to combine them would make it more difficult then it needs to be.

I have a similar situation as I do not hear anyone until they are knocking on my door or scaring the shit out of me by saying hello to me while I am working in my shop.

What you want is a GOOD driveway alarm, don't waste your money with the cheap ones, go with Mule brand, you can buy it with 2 alert stations (one for in the house the other for your shop)

After that any decent camera system works fine, I like to use a dedicated monitor for them for in the house.

For out int eh shop any old cheap laptop or desktop can be used to log into the cameras and give you a display there as well.
 
First you are wanting 2 different things and I think trying to combine them would make it more difficult then it needs to be.

I have a similar situation as I do not hear anyone until they are knocking on my door or scaring the shit out of me by saying hello to me while I am working in my shop.

What you want is a GOOD driveway alarm, don't waste your money with the cheap ones, go with Mule brand, you can buy it with 2 alert stations (one for in the house the other for your shop)

After that any decent camera system works fine, I like to use a dedicated monitor for them for in the house.

For out int eh shop any old cheap laptop or desktop can be used to log into the cameras and give you a display there as well.

I don't care if the two systems are integrated or not.

The problem is i have no idea what a decent camera system is. I'm sure a bunch of research could solve that issue, but I'm looking for spoon feeding here:lmao:

Likely need decent internet for what I'm looking for then? That's going to be tough a rural as we are. My internet sucks crusty toe nails on it's best days.

I will look into Mule for the driveway alert. Thanks
 
Never feel like a system that is plug and play and magically goes to the cloud is secure.

chances are you won’t even own the video you recorded once you agree to the licensing agreements and allow any part of it to be stored in the cloud.

(Learn from your recent experience with Pirate4x4.com)

There are secure ways to do it, but not as clean and easy.

There is MY paranoia.

I will surely think on this a bit. A secure storage for the video is something to learn about as i have no idea how well that would work...
 
i have an 8 camera Revo system. Never installed it because it uses proprietary pin-out on the Cat5/6, and I had no desire to deal with that.

So I have a Dell server (savemyserver.com), AMCrest cameras and Blue Iris software. Been pretty happy with it.

it can do email notifications, but not sure about text, etc.
 
I have seven Blink cameras one on the driveway three on the back porch (Mom is 92 and has fallen a couple of times,) one out the front it doesn't catch much although I did get a neat shot of a train going by at night. Then there are 2 inside one facing the back door again, so I can keep tabs on mom and the other on the cat's feeding station trying to see if we have a mouse problem still.
I need to move the driveway cam, it doesn't show anything til the car is already gone past. I noticed the gorrila tape is strating to let go I am thinking about moving to the other side ot the driveway so it can get a better shot down it. The driveway camera has had coyotes wander in front of it several times at night. The porch cams regularly get shots of Quail and other birds walking on the porch railing
One controller can handle up to 10 cameras IIRC I buy them when they come on sale, the 2 inside cameras connect to house power and are much smaller than the others
 
I have decent / budget friendly Ebay camera systems at both my home and my work.

I choose wired as even tho they take a little bit more effort to install the reward is they always work and work well.

You do not need great internet (I have shit internet at my home) for the cameras but you do need a wireless router at your house if you want to access them remotely from your shop, I am talking just a cheap netgear / cisco $50 one is fine.
 
What kind of quality are you looking for?\n\nI am using the Ubiquiti UVC-G3-5:\nhttps://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GFY3SRG?tag=91812054244-20\nWith their POE switch:\nhttps://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00OJZUQ24?tag=91812054244-20\n\nThe good:\n
  • \n
  • Relatively easy to setup\n
  • \"Unlimited\" storage (ie put a huge HD in your computer)\n
  • 1080p camera with integrated infrared and mic\n
\nThe bad:\n
  • \n
  • Customer service completely sucks - they refused to do any work on a camera that was DOA out of box that was out of warranty... the message was basically if it is out of warranty, throw it away and pay another $150 for a camera.\n
  • The IR has a VERY quick drop off but hey, you can pay another $100 to get a more powerful integrated version.\n
  • Not great on plate reading.\n
  • Not very discrete... I was hoping for something in the house that doesn\'t look like a stronghold.\n
\nHere is a picture from it:\n\n

Roof NE - Apr 05 '20 02_03_58 PM.jpg
 
If I have one complaint about the blink system is you can't monitor what is going o outside in real time.
 
i have an 8 camera Revo system. Never installed it because it uses proprietary pin-out on the Cat5/6, and I had no desire to deal with that.

So I have a Dell server (savemyserver.com), AMCrest cameras and Blue Iris software. Been pretty happy with it.

it can do email notifications, but not sure about text, etc.

Do you know which amcrest cam model you have? I have the IP3M 941B and while it has all the features I want, the Amcrest software is buggy as hell and so complicated to use. For example, on the playback the regular recording is coded green and whenever it detects motion it is yellow. Randomly, it switches these around. I've been looking for an alternative and am willing to pay but don't want to pay for something that won't play with my cam.
 
I have set up Reolink POE cameras now for my house and our Horse stables. I ran the ethernet cable and terminated the ends. It works great and I have only had one issue with a camera that was taken out after a really close lightning strike. That camera was covered under warranty though and all was good.
They have remote viewing either by app or software. Was just about as plug-and-pray as you can get.

You want at LEAST 4MP for good clarity.
 
\n\nDo you know which amcrest cam model you have? I have the IP3M 941B and while it has all the features I want, the Amcrest software is buggy as hell and so complicated to use. For example, on the playback the regular recording is coded green and whenever it detects motion it is yellow. Randomly, it switches these around. I\'ve been looking for an alternative and am willing to pay but don\'t want to pay for something that won\'t play with my cam.
\n\nI have a mixture of these: \nAmcrest UltraHD 4K (8MP) Outdoor Bullet POE IP Camera, 3840x2160, 131ft NightVision, 2.8mm Lens, IP67 Weatherproof, MicroSD Recording, Black (IP8M-249\n\nand these:\nAmcrest ProHD Outdoor 3 Megapixel POE Bullet IP Security Camera - IP67 Weatherproof, 3MP (2048 TVL), IP3M-954E (Black)\n\nBut I don\'t use the amcrest software.
 
I'm also looking into the Riolink cameras, but in the wi-fi wireless flavor. I was really impressed with their capabilities. I also don't care for "cloud based, we keep your data" mandatory systems.

I will need a power source for the cameras. But, I'm in the process of building a new house, so I will be incorporating outlets to power the cameras, where I will need them.
 
I have been looking at Lorex Cameras. I want poe and enough to cover the house and one or 2 to cover the shop I am going to build.
 
I'm also looking into the Riolink cameras, but in the wi-fi wireless flavor. I was really impressed with their capabilities. I also don't care for "cloud based, we keep your data" mandatory systems.

I will need a power source for the cameras. But, I'm in the process of building a new house, so I will be incorporating outlets to power the cameras, where I will need them.

Why not go POE? If you're still going to have to run power, just run Cat-6 and POE.
 
I have set up Reolink POE cameras now for my house and our Horse stables. I ran the ethernet cable and terminated the ends. It works great and I have only had one issue with a camera that was taken out after a really close lightning strike. That camera was covered under warranty though and all was good.
They have remote viewing either by app or software. Was just about as plug-and-pray as you can get.

You want at LEAST 4MP for good clarity.

I've been pleased with Reolink.

I put an older version, similar to the Reolink kit linked below, in our little hometown library a couple years ago. The one I spec'd and installed for them (somehow I'm the de facto IT guy for my tiny hometown) is only a 1080p version, kit came with 4 bullet cameras, I put them outside & I added 2 interior dome cameras. I donated an old LCD monitor, mouse & keyboard to the cause. Myself and 2 helpers had the system installed in 1/2 a day, and that's with stringing Ethernet cable through a tight attic.

The kit was about $100 cheaper during a Black Friday or Cyber Monday sale.
https://www.amazon.com/Security-8-Ch.../dp/B07K734ZTW

I wouldn't look at anything other than PoE cameras, data and power in one cable.

Reolink's app works good, it's free, and all of your data is stored on the DVR's hard drive so no need to for a cloud service. If you've got internet access to your DVR, you can view, and scrub through video from any device you set the Reolink app up on from anywhere in the world. You can also set it to give you alert notifications from motion detection.
 
Why not go POE? If you're still going to have to run power, just run Cat-6 and POE.

I second this. I can CAT6 in pairs to each room in my house, plus on each of the corners of the house for the cameras. It is best to do it when the drywall is not up yet vs fishing it through the walls haha
 
I second this. I can CAT6 in pairs to each room in my house, plus on each of the corners of the house for the cameras. It is best to do it when the drywall is not up yet vs fishing it through the walls haha

hindsight being what it is, I'd have dropped 2x the number of camera drops in the eves... I found a couple of line of site issues that I can't solve w/o additional cameras.
 
20200929_143817.jpg


there was a guy from the other place, bassntruck, that did this on the side. he came out, told where and what to use and got it all sent to me. it is poe, decent cameras, lots of memory(two weeks for all 8 vids). caught someone shitting on my lot, its on utube. saw my detailer have a van roll away from him and hit another car on the lot, its on utube. saw a truck get stolen on a monday morning at 3am, sheriff watched the video and left. Nothing ever happend from that except i had to pay the deductible on that claim. video cameras are useless except for watching the crime happen and crying about it later.
 
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