iantech

Just discovered this forum and learned a lot in the last couple days reading through posts, as i'm pretty new to the cctv world. A friend asked me to help them by recommending a "budget" system for their small business. The best thing is to tell him seek out an expert and let's stay friends .. lol ... , but they are on a budget, and experts are few, far between and expensive around here. He's seen the cheap $250 systems and the knee jerk reaction was to buy one of those. I advised strongly against it based on some of the footage i've seen online and the comments on this forum. They need to cover a moderately lit area at a plant shop in a rural area, need to be able to make out faces and/or license plates of thieves or vandals who approach the shop. The main challenge from what i've gathered so far is their budget topping off at about $500-$600 for the equipment and the number of cameras needed. Based on the coverage area they need five or possibly six cameras to view all the potential problem areas. it is possible to get a bundled 8-ch analog system within the $600 equipment budget, but i'm thinking that they need the resolution of at least a 720p IP system. Looking at the "budget" bundles out there the 4-ch 720p systems (with 4 cameras) can be had for $350 -$400 E.g Zmodo 4CH 720P PoE for $350 with 1TB, 4 cameras and NVR http://www.amazon.com/Zmodo-Security-Outdoor-Cameras-Smartphone/dp/B00I2GNBZA/ref=pd_cp_p_0 but oddly, once you go to 8-ch systems, the prices are quite disproportionate -- ($1000 and up). E.g Swann 8CH 8CAM 720P NVR is $1200 Even if you look for an 8-ch bundle capable equipped with 4 cams, these start at about $750 to $800 My friend needs 5 cams so he's looking at $850 at least then. !! So i have this crazy thought, and would like an opinion. What if he purchased two of the 4 camera IP bundles ?! For 2x$350 he now has the 5 higher res cameras that he needs, plus three extra for expansion and is only $100 over budget. He has redundancy (no single point of failure), plus he can hide away one of the NVRs in a different place if someone found and disabled the first one. Presumably the 2 boxes can be accessed simultaneously from a remote location as each has it's own IP address The only downside i can see is that in the event of a break in they'd be looking through two sets of stored footage. Are there any other issues? Thanks in advance for your help.

milkisbad Thanks for the link. That's a really good price. From what i see this is not 960H, but claims better resolution, 720P yet isn't IP. Is it some proprietary protocol between camera and DVR? Edited to add: I guess it must be HD-SDI? Still learning bit by bit. (no pun intended..lol) Also i see there is a Lorex equivalent on the same page with the same specs for $100 less. Is the Qsee significantly superior, or is the Lorex brand worth having a look at? Spec wise they look very similar.

Thanks for the responses so far. Numb-nuts, i agree, i've given all the disclaimers and will take NO responsibility. It's a very small family owned shop, i know the guy from way back and he'd rather hear what i have to say than no recommendation at all since a cctv consultant for this situation is out of his reach. Incidentally, the potential liability in loss of merchandise isn't that great at any time and the system is more about deterring than apprehending. Still they'd like to know who are the potential perpetrators who want to take their best orchids. milkisbad Thanks for the brand info i realize that they are shopping at the bottom of the heap and i've told him so. I face the same challenge where we provide IT solutions mainly to larger enterprises. There are considerations now about servicing SMB markets, the problem is that in some areas these smaller companies have some of the same needs as larger enterprise customers but less available "wallet spend". Nevertheless someone has to find solutions for them!! So, about the zmodo 720p do they may have less reliability than the other manufacturers. Where are their compromises, in the camera quality (lens? DSP?), NVR? thanks Finally would it be a significant compromise if they went to a 960H 700 HL analogue system instead of the 720p?