ipvision

If its connected to the internet it can be hacked. Simple as that. So you have the same issues with any system whether it be IP, Analog, HD-SDI. Firewalls and VPNs wont do anything to stop a real hacker so all you do is simply install a true CCTV system. A closed circuit system that exists by its self inside the facility. You say most companies want remote access? Small business and residential want remote access large companies could care less. For example at Costco they pay a Loss Prevention specialist around $40k a year to sit in front of the surveillance I installed and monitor everything. So who would need remote access to that and out of a company that has 174k+ employees who would they give the access to? So yes if a company is asking for a $100k security guarantee tell them to call me I'll give it to them and I'll walk in there and yank that cat5 cable out the DVR/NVR and collect my check. Companies spending big bucks on large systems have employees they pay to sit there and monitor that system day in and out and they dont need remote access.

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Did you ever do anything with this? I am curios as to how ubiquiti works.

well, that's the difference between doing something for yourself with free or near-free equipment... and doing something for a customer with purpose-built equipment. i would shy away from the dd-wrt route toward the ubiquiti solution as well, if it was for a customer... but on the other hand, it's something that *does work* if done right, and may be suitable on a production site as a "stepping stone" to the final product. I have a lot of places around here that I could market a system like that to. Specifically neighborhoods, apt complexes, building complexes, and other places where there is multiple buildings but I am not ready to do that until I have a system that I know I can throw up quick and is reliable, the best way to make money. Have you or anyone on here used their stuff before?

That is a great question! I plan on asking this to all my distros to see their answers.

Depends on how low they go. For customers that are extremely cheap, I tell them to call someone else. It takes more time to install a garbage system then a pro system, and usually we are not paid by the hour. For customers who just want basic and cant afford pro, I usually just install Zmodo. You can find their cam/dvr packages almost everywhere, they are cheap, and good systems. They also have good tech support, very knowledgeable guys which is not common in this industry. I use these systems usually for people who just want a basic 4-8ch system for security and dont really care that much about remote access.

the trick i've found with dd-wrt is in getting the right version for the specific hardware. my main router is an asus rt-n16; i picked up a couple rt-n12s to go with it using wds. i had to use a newer firmware for the 12s (they didn't add support until build 18xxx-something), so i flashed the 16 with the same version, and had all kinds of problems (including the vpnd being broken). i tried several different builds on the 16 but ended up going back to build 16484 (which i'd been running for months before getting the 12s), and the latest build at the time (19342) on the 12s, to get everything rock-solid. at this point, it's running a 5mp and 1.3mp camera off one, and a 2mp and 3mp cameras off the other, with zero dropouts. Im really liking the idea of setting up a ubiquiti mesh network. I have had several jobs where a wireless mesh network would have came in very handy, but I did not want to waste all my time dealing with what you just described. No one paid me to waste all that time trying to set up that wds last time, and I dont plan on doing it again. I just need to find a good ubiquiti distributor with support.

Yes, and now that you have pointed that out, I see the problem. I should have used directional antennas correct?

I have set up a few wds with dd-wrt it just wasn't reliable enough. I thought at first maybe I was doing something wrong, but after buffalo tech couldn't get it working right either I gave up. Plus cascade port forwarding is a pain. Maybe it was the hardware I was using. I really like the Ubiquiti idea. I'm assuming your talking about the unifi stations?

Thanks.

I was thinking the same thing about mounting them on poles. And yes I can tap into the power. I have a degree in NSA so networking isnt a problem. But I would always recommend against wifi because the signal can go out at the most important moment. Its just not reliable enough.

I just want to say thanks to everyone who has contributed so far. Its great to be able to have people to reach out to for ideas that work in the same field. I am a one man operation with to much work to handle, and I greatly appreciate any advice or help you guys give me.

I have installed a lot of dahua and I really like their pss software. So you are saying install sd cams that can be managed wirelessly with the pss software. That sounds like an excellent solution. I just have always been told to stay away from wifi when it comes to cctv because it is not that reliable. But I guess if the video is being stored on the sd card, and then being downloaded with pss software then that would work great. What do you think? Also could you please elaborate on the multipoint wifi. I have set up wireless distribution systems before but they were very unreliable. Thanks, Kris

They did not give me a budget. They are cheap Indians, no disrespect. They want me to plan everything, I told them I was going to give them two different estimates with 2 different options. They just want 2 cams on each building to try to catch drug activity and other stuff so they can evict people. They know nothing, all the decision making is up to me. I believe they want to catch the people coming in and out of the apts more then anything.