Kawboy12R

I can't make a specific recommendation beyond the standard "get a Dahua" that's popular around here. I picked up an 8ch Lorex ECO all-in-one system on short notice from Costco earlier this year. The cams weren't terrible for watching what was going on around the yard but had weaknesses at night and under difficult lighting conditions. The DVR sucks. It loses way too much quality so that watching recorded video is lousy for ID even with good cameras replacing the Lorex ones. This is a common problem with cheap DVRs, even "Full D1" ones like my Lorex. It also won't show some channels that HAVE recorded video when fast forwarding through recorded motion events. That's frustrating when you KNOW something happened during the night and searching through the records doesn't show it without a lot of time wasted either "rewinding" or watching through the whole night of false positives from wind, passing car headlights, etc. Add this to generally unsatisfactory detail level from analog cams in general made me start to put together an IP system to replace it. Some of the QSee analog DVRs don't seem to be too terrible, so if you go with a cheap Costco 16ch all-in-one system it might be worth looking at them. I will recommend that you NOT use their wiring though. Nothing necessarily wrong with the wiring, but if you do a decent job of putting IN the wires, you won't want to rip them out to redo the whole job when (if?) you want to return the whole kit. Do the wiring with cat5 and baluns so you can replace the cams and DVR easily with whatever you want after you find out that cheap kits aren't much good for facial IDs. That way you can easily replace with either analog or IP. Costco has a good cheap QSee IP kit. 4ch with IP cams for $700 commonly. Two DVRs, 8 cams, for $1400 with picture quality waay above your typical analog kit system. The 6mm lenses it comes with can be easily and cheaply replaced with 3.6mm for a broader view in the areas you need, or 12 to maybe 16mm for zooming in on cars in your driveway or far away gates or whatever. Search recent threads for m12lenses.com and dx.com for sample pics and opinions. I like placing a few wide angle cameras to cover most of the yard to know what is going on, then adding a few cams aimed at and zoomed into a few key areas (choke points) to hopefully get a nice clear face pic to go along with the video of what they're doing from the wideangle cams. Might want to add a couple of dome cameras inside if you're worried about people coming in the glass doors. I'd add more but my typing is pretty slow at the moment (bandaged finger). Lots of reading here on Costco, QSee, or Dahua IP systems. There doesn't seem to be much competition in their price range, although you might be able to put together a system fairly reasonably with ACTi cams, their free software (works only with ACTi cams though so no mix-and-matching), and an existing computer, NAS or inboard SD card storage, depending on your need for regular live viewing (NVR or computer is best for regular reviewing of footage). Their outdoor cams are closer to $500 each or more though, depending on how good you want them to be with low light. Motion lighting and additional IR illuminators help cameras a lot at night.

The lower the f-stop the faster the lens so the better it is in low light.

Good luck. Keep us posted. With pictures.

Well, definitely worth $5. And probably worth $13. I assume that the pale image, fuzzy line at the top, and image shifting/jiggling are accurately recorded from the camera? I can't remember if you ever plugged it into a TV to view directly instead of relying on what is coming through your capture card. It might even be a "captcha" card, purposefully garbling everything for "security" purposes. Ya ya, I know, bad joke. Can't help you much on the image quality improvement besides suggesting a good quality REGULATED 12v power supply for the camera and maybe changing where it's plugged in to hopefully eliminate possible grounding issues. As for the interlace problem (looks like it is skipping very second scanline in the first pic), good luck. Looks like a software issue if it clears up in another program. I bet that a name-brand card and camera from a reputable supplier clears up all of your issues quite easily.

$5 capture card? Holy smokes. What is saved image quality like?

PoE power comes from a PoE switch (or injectors sometimes). Plug cams into switch, plug saith into wall for power and router for net. You want the cams in the shed to monitor contents of the shed or pointing through a window into the yard? IR cams don't work through windows at night.

There's always the chance they won't know when you ask but will smell a fine after the fact. Doesn't hurt to ask a few people in different places. Any place that installs CCTV should know.

Call your local bobbies and ask them if recording public audio is legal where you are. There's no point in collecting evidence that can't be used and might get you a fine.

The TP-Link PoE splitter is interesting but seems a bit of a complicated and probably relatively expensive way to me to deliver 12v power to analog cameras from your PoE switch if that's the purpose? If not then I guess I don't understand precisely what you're trying to do.

If she doesn't want the plasma cutter I've always wanted one...

Connector look something like this on the end? If so, here's a couple more shots of the rest of it. Mine come apart and part of it should plug into your wire if I'm right. I don't know which on Amazon come apart or if they're all supposed to. I get mine at a local electronics place that caters to industrial customers. Doesn't that pic of yours show the other end that plugs into the pigtail and adapts two bare power wires into the camera? The baluns I've got look like this setup- http://www.amazon.com/Gino-Twisted-Pairs-Audio-Transceiver/dp/B005EJYKH6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1355530563&sr=8-2&keywords=power+video+audio+balun If you don't want audio then plug "power video balun" into Amazon instead of "power video audio balun". For 12v power supply, I was thinking something along the lines of this- http://www.amazon.com/Adapter-Supply-Camera-Splitter-Laptop/dp/B009M5MTBW/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1355531286&sr=8-10&keywords=cctv+power+supply+2a That one's pretty cheap for a 2a 12v supply though. I'd look for something a bit better. That one just showed the supply and the 4 way splitter cable.

Good point. I was rushed this morning.

You'll need a switch of some kind to plug all of the IP cameras into. You then plug the switch into the NVR. The question is whether or not you want a PoE switch to simplify power delivery to the cameras. Non-PoE switches are a lot cheaper than PoE but then you have the expense and hassle of running an extra wire to the cam for power plus making sure you've got a power supply, splitter, etc. That one says full PoE power (15.4w) to every port, plus it's managed (remote monitoring, remote camera restart if one crashes. etc). It should work fine. Plus, if you have an outbuilding with power or something, cable management is simpler. Run one RJ45 from the hybrid in the house to the switch, then a bunch from the switch to the cameras. It's probably close to a draw which is cheaper on short cable runs with a 12v wall wart, power splitter, and extra cables, and most likely the PoE switch is cheaper on longer runs. Not sure how much those injectors cost to work into the equation. The PTZ sucks too much power for the 15.4w PoE. It probably comes with power supply but not a ton of power cable. Gotta run, duty calls.

I think the proper term is fortuitous.

I bought his last two. Should've bought more but I was waiting to see if he had any of the 12mm version. By then only two left. Darn.

Depends on what your needs are for cameras. A 16ch or better Dahua NVR and a couple of their 1080P bullet cameras would be high on my list, or preferably a pair of the HDB3200 1080P domes (NOT the day-only 3200C dome) if they ever get released. Then sell the QSee NVR to help pay for the upgrade. Don't forget a PoE switch to power everything.

http://www.amazon.com/Triplett-Model-9005-A-Digital-Multimeter/product-reviews/B0002S83NG

No IR is a must when looking through glass. Totally ruins the image at night. Straight through with the lens mated to the glass is best but then you don't always want to be looking STRAIGHT out. For this job I picked a KT&C B&W bullet with 5-50mm zoom lens. Superb in low light without IR for peeping out windows and enough zoom to get a decent ID even with low analog resolution. Works best as a specialty cam, IMHO. Use another one with a wide angle lens to tell what's going on in the big picture with the zoom cam on a choke point where people MUST walk through or on an object of interest like a car that's always parked in the same spot. Image quality and detail won't be as good as the 720P QSee IP system from Costco, but then you'll HAVE to mount those outside for night use because of their IR that can't be switched off.

Reliable, simple, inexpensive, wireless, and camera do not go together, especially if you're running a hundred feet more more through walls. And yes, wireless cameras need power wires run to them. And no, the connectors aren't 100% waterproof or corrosionproof. Wires can be run just about anywhere if you own the place. If not, you might need your landlord's permission. If you want a cheap start into learning how wireless might not be your best answer, Foscam sells some cheap wireless IP cams you can run from your computer. They work well enough for some people and might be enough for what you want. Depends a lot on what you and the rest of your neighbours have in the air for wireless pollution that'll interfere and shorten their range.

My front door camera is mounted so that light from the porchlight shines directly into it. To shade the cam from light pollution I lined the inside of the lampshade with tinfoil on the house/camera side. That made a big difference in camera performance at night but barely affected how the light worked for people coming and going.

I think most all-in-one systems can record audio but they make you buy your own microphone. My Costco Lorex system does it this way. It's illegal to record audio in many jurisdictions. Just ask them at Costco or wherever about audio support. They may have to call the manufacturer unless they're really familiar with it. In addition to the microphone you'll probably need a preamp to get "line level" audio into the DVR.

Jake, mind if I ask what your 16ch 3xlogic hybrid cost? PM me if you'd like. Or I can PM you.

I was thinking the same thing on the multimeter. Decent trustworthy ones with a few features start around $90. Triplett makes one in that range that I like. The OP might get lucky with a cheapo and have it be reasonably accurate or it might be waay off. Heck, I even bought an Associated (THE brand name in 12v battery testers and chargers) 500 amp carbon pile load tester this summer and it was almost 1 volt off. I wasn't happy. My Triplett was .05v different from the Fluke tester that I used to doublecheck with.

Call these guys- http://www.geutebrueck.com/index.php?Culture=en_US&PageId=454 Either that or upload it to Youtube and then dload the Youtube video. Sounds funny but Youtube can convert just about anything.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1/277-5316832-6249626?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=ir+illuminator Pick one that illuminates at an angle roughly as wide as the field of view of your camera. Higher power draw more or less equals more light if you want a rough guess of IR "lumens" put out. Well, at least if you're comparing 850nm with 850nm illuminators. The 940nm illuminators put out less at a higher power draw but are more or less invisible (no red glow). Some might have a very slight red glow.