hubjeep

Yes, the lawn and maybe some of the immediate water (it's hard to see in the pics, but there is a 40' drop at the end of the lawn, stairs go down to the beach), just to see what the weather/harbour conditions are, as it is always interesting to look at.

Not much sea spray it is quite a bit above sea-level. Any suggestions for a water-view weather condition camera?

Plugging the wireless router, 8 channel power supply (probably Veilux VPS-12810 ), 8-channel DVR (Dahua PROLINE-. Thinking this: http://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-CP1000AVRLCD-Intelligent-1000VA-Tower/dp/B000QZ3UG0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1335799504&sr=8-2

That's the one I was leaning towards. I called the company, the tech guy said it provides about twice the run time of the 1000 due to two batteries.

Generally not a great idea, but with IR cameras better not do it at all, you will have IR reflection big time. Is that saltwater or freshwater? The picture was confusing me as it looks like that the top of the picture that you are looking at the flat surface of the water but the bottom half of the picture it looks like satellite view from the top. OK, will put camera outside. Saltwater, there is a breakwater about a mile out (sandy strip about 1/3 down in the pic) which may confuse things.

As I read I see that CNB24 dome seems to be the agreed upon good dome here. Any good all-around bullet camera suggested? Thanks

I plan to buy a Dahua PROLINE-8 DVR, I can buy a HDD locally and put that money to an additional (inexpensive) camera. What do you guys suggest? The seller of the DVR said Seagate or WD is fine. I was told by one CCTV installer that some HD's don't hold up, IDK if that was BS though. I see Segate Barracuda and WD Caviar Green, either is $100 for 1TB. Thanks, John

Thanks for the info, I was looking at balun/cat5 vs. coax. It looks like since my distances will remain fairly short coax should do fine. This siamese coax is $90 for 500', can't get much cheaper than that. Thanks, I found this one, looks good. I see there are 12V and 24V ones, does most CCTV use 12V or 24V? http://www.2mcctv.com/product_info-VeiluxVPS12810.html Any other suggestions you have would be great. -John

What kind of power supply do you suggest. I assume RG59 with 18/2 siamese would be the way to go with a power supply at the DVR?

Thanks, that's what I like to hear. Is there a generally agreed upon budget DVR (8-channel), $300 range?

Thanks for the thread, I am looking to build a similar system at a summer house, with similar price point. The CNB VCM-24VF is overwhelmingly suggested on this site, which I will use a couple for priority locations. Qvis eye-n35 for other spots. Any other suggestions for budget cameras?

That's what I'm trying to figure out. Certainly in home audio there is a point of dimishing return. There is also cheap stuff that is re-badged with a premium name and sold at a premium price, which is hard to tell with this stuff since most of it looks the same to me. In the little time I have been on this forum, that camera has been recommended numerous times. Has a newer one come out yet?

Hello, are inexpensive Linux based card available, my two home computers are running Linux, thinking about building a third for a DVR, will go windows if necessary. This may make some of you cringe, but it appears to have fairly good reviews, runs on Windows though. http://www.amazon.com/VideoSecu-Channel-Security-Surveillance-System/dp/B0044R75JE/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1316604561&sr=1-1&tag=5336653613-20 Thanks, John

A store bought DVR would be an option, more fun to build a PC though. Would the software included with that card I posted a link to above and the card be all I would need in a Win PC to connect a few cameras? Thanks, John

Thanks tomahawk, I had a feeling that would be the case. Perhaps building an XP machine? and using a card like that would be the way to go. Or just buy one of those ready-made dedicated DVR's from BJ's or something [wanting to keep cost down... not too serious about this, just nice to see when someone comes in the driveway from the PC]?

Howdy all, thinking about installing a few cameras to monitor the driveways/entrance/pool area. I would probably lean towards building a PC (maybe Linux based) and set it on a KVM switch with my primary PC and switch back and forth to see what is going on. Reading a little here, it looks like analog cameras are cheaper. Do they all wire through Coax, or cat-5 (with a balun), IIRC each needs power too. I see 4-channel capture cards all over ebay, are these acceptable? Software recommendations? When it comes to cameras what do you suggest? They are so hard to weed out, hard to tell which ones are cheap with a good name on them since they all look about the same from the outside. Thanks, and sorry for the vagueness, I am new to this. Thanks, John

hi mnederlanden. cat5 with baluns can also be used with standard cameras. good for long runs and multiple cameras. even audio / power and data. a good cost effective cable Thanks. Now what kind of specs should I look for in a decent, lower priced camera? I see a lot of 1/3" Sony CCD IR units, 420 lines of resolution for around $50 each. Are these awful? $100 ones seem to have the same 1/3" Sony, but nearly 500 lines of resolution. Swann, Talos, ChannelVision? Same stuff with different names? :puzzled: This is probably well below what most of you are used to dealing with, but check out the reviews, people seem to really like it. Mods, please delete link if not allowed. http://www.amazon.com/VideoSecu-Security-Outdoor-Weatherproof-Infrared/dp/B001DBROYK/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Thanks for the reply. What do most people run for small systems, cat or I did see coax with power leads in the same case? All cameras will be outdoor, fixed units (not PTZ). Looking at an entryway/driveway. Both areas have motion sensor floodlights. Looking for general activity. Budget is fairly low, but if spending a little more on cameras gets a substantially better picture (compared to those Lorex kit systems at BJ's Wholesale) it would be worthwhile. A friend of mine works for Speco, may be able to hook me up, just checked their website, omg, I don't know where to start looking at these things. Some are 2.8-11 Most look to be 1/3", some are 400 lines, some 500?