yakky

You can get an OK DVR for $100. You can't build a decent DVR computer for that much. Plus the DVR is maintenance free, where a PC needs care and feeding.

I think a mix is good. Some obvious, some not.

If you value low light performance but are on a budget, consider going analog. Prices for quality IP cameras are still up there. I do agree on going with a Dahua DVR though, good quality and well thought out. The idea of using a computer than needs regular updates and care and feeding is completely unappealing to me, dedicated hardware is the way to go.

There are some but they can be tricky to find at times. If you're looking for a virginia.gov type link that clearly outlines what you can do I don't think you'll find it. Instead, you can find specific laws against behavior and legal precedent. It's all tricky, and this is why we have so many lawyers. I've googled this a good bit and my essential understanding is that video and audio have different laws. Audio is much stricter. I don't think it's clear that you can set up a microphone even on your front step, since it can record people's conversations elsewhere. Video however you should be able to record ALL of your property, external and out. A huge exception to this is where people have a reasonable expectation of privacy, e.g. a bathroom: you cannot have a hidden camera over recording your visitors in the bathroom. It also appears, though with less certainty, that you can record a public space. Obvious exceptions would be setting up a camera in front of the white house, but recording a public road next to your house as part of your frame should be fine. You can search for, and ask for free, legal questions of bonafide attorneys here: http://www.avvo.com/free-legal-advice They have a lot of questions in there on surveillance cameras. Finally, you asked for Virginia. Here you go: http://piava.wordpress.com/2008/04/27/surveillance-photos-privacy-what-is-the-law/ Also http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+18.2-386.1 The summary gist I glean from what I've read is that as long as a person isn't being a buffoon, they can set up a camera to their heart's content on their own property. If your neighbor's house is in-frame I think you want to black out any area that's pointing into a door or window. It's obviously not kosher to be zomming in through their living room window. Some good points Digiscan, I've seen similar links, but my issue is HOA's. Remember the whole dish thing? There was no laws stating you couldn't install a dish. HOAs forced people to remove them. Now there is a law that explicitly states you can mount a dish on your property. As thing stand now with cameras, I believe you are on shaky ground, your HOA can come by and say that your cameras are not to their liking. If that day comes for me, my plan is to explain myself and offer to show them what the cams can see, which is only my property and part of the street. If they pull the architectural guidelines on me, I'm going to tell them, I'll remove the visible cameras and install cameras that can't be seen.

There are plenty of complete kits in the sub $200 range that work ok. And if you are happy with it, great. I had a Night Owl system, it was great for the price BUT after hanging out here and seeing what just a little more money could get, I promptly sent it back and got some stuff that is just so much more refined and well thought out.

Find a kid that's into computers...pay him to figure it out. Networking isn't for the faint of heart, lots of stuff to learn.

Just wondering what laws specifically guarantee your rights to monitor your property. Probably along the same lines as our second constitution lol. Good point. I've tried to find anything for VA, and there appears to be no laws at all...

Just wondering what laws specifically guarantee your rights to monitor your property.

Crap, now I need to post my ghost footage ASAP and cash in on this... brb...

Yeah, I wish it was that simple. I simply do not want to get into a battle with my HOA.

Dahua for sure. The TFT based recorders have TERRIBLE phone clients.

I'd think there would be much better options than a crappy CCTV camera. At night even with a very good analog camera, the noise reduction is going to smear whatever little detail there is to begin with. I mean, if you like looking at white dots on the screen, it might workout for you, but I'd HIGHLY recommend going with something like a CNB 24VF series camera as they have the best non illuminated night shot you are going to get in the sub $500 range. Personally, I would rather go another direction, if going homebrew, check into CHDK: http://chdk.wikia.com/wiki/CHDK It will let you remote control a canon P&S camera with an infinitely superior image sensor and will let you get some pretty long shutter times, meaning very crisp shots.

What's everyone's favorite flavor of ice cream? I really like vanilla or sometimes a good cookie dough.

Yeah, that's a bummer. Sometimes you can take apart the camera and remove the IR filter at the expense of daylight colors. Which illuminator did you go with?

I saw the one at Costco with the camera built in, looks intriguing for sure (without a camera).

There are few good analog cameras under $100. IMO, it'll be a few years before the IP cameras get cheap enough to consider for me. Biggest issue is night time performance.

What I don't understand is why people are trying to "save" and buy stuff from ebay when you can get better quality cameras with dealer support and a warranty for LESS!?!?! There are plenty of good cameras under $150, a few under $100 that are very solid performers

I bought a cheaper system first, Night Owl, but compared to my Dahua based unit, it was pretty lame. The Dahua was about $50 more and has much better software. CNBs are great cameras, but Qvis also makes some nice ones. Things to look for in a camera are a quality DSP, Monalisa, Nex2040 and Effio are some good ones, as well as actually having a CCD (vs CMOS) and an actual IR cut filter. Cameras are really where you get the image quality. [edited by owner to remove inaccurate description of an old and boring topic]

That was my first question when I read the OP's message.

Agree, great way to do it.

xM-v8htXLvA That's my WBL-20S, you can compare it to my other youtubes of the 24VF series and some other cameras.

i've seen some Baluns that are 4 in 1, perhaps that is what was mentioned, might have been helpful if you linked the youtube in question...

The Qvis Eye 34 series are fantastic for the price. I also wouldn't say the CNBs with IR are total crap, I have the WBL-20S and its pretty good. Day colors aren't as good as a 24VF series but its fairly good at night, but the Qvis is better and cheaper.

IMO the best ones are the regular motion detector looking cameras.

Since this question gets asked frequently, rather than spout specs from the pamphlet, I figured I'd post a few videos showing the difference at night: VCM-24VF: _kZidyzpGXI VFL-20S taUla1cVBOA