Hi Folks,
One of my neighbors is a real jerk and decided a last year that he didn't like me living next door to him. Since then my house has been broken into several times and there's been no end to the vandalism on property in my yard. I'm going to be installing a decent alarm system but would also like to set up a surveillance camera system using between five and eight cameras, two or three on the exterior and the rest inside.
I'm new to this stuff and could use some advice on what equipment to get, where to buy it and, most importantly, how to install it. Since I am a real novice on this, I'd like something that won't really take too much experience to figure out how to do the installation, something as close to "plug & play" as possible, I guess. I've started looking around sites on the internet and have picked up some info, but joined this forum to get a better idea of what to do. I have a number of starter questions that will probably seem amateur to many of you regulars here, but here goes:
1. I may be wrong here, but from what I've learned so far, it seems that the trend in surveillance camera technology and manufacture is moving toward IP cameras rather than CCTV. Am I correct there?
2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of CCTV systems versus IP dvr systems? From what I've read so far, it seems that at present the image quality in cameras availabe in CCTV systems are still somewhat better than IP cameras. Is that true? I could use the versatility of being able to move some of the cameras to other locations at different times of day in order to capture video of these guys, so wireless IP cameras would be useful but being able to identify license plates and faces would be a huge plus on one or two cameras. If cctv cams are better than IP in low light conditions and/or at producing better resolution, would it be better to have a hybrid dvr that would give me the best fo both sytems--both picture quality and versatility?
3. Manufacturers--I've looked at the stuff that Amazon is selling but I get the impression that most of it isn't all that great. What are some good manufacturers of DVRs, cams, etc? Also, could you give me names of some reliable online vendors that provide good support for someone with little experience in installations and have decent prices? Also, are there any good store front retailers in the southern NH and eastern Mass area?
4. Once again, a very important consideration would be ease of installation. I reasonably smart and have some knowledge of electronics but not much.
5. Price range: Up to about $1500.00 in total.
I know I've asked quite a few questions here but it should go without saying that any help on this will be very much appreciated. Thanks up front.
Bob
