I am looking for some advice on my camera setup. I already have an alarm system on the house but recently wanted cameras as there have been a string of burglaries and i want to watch over the garage doors that are not visible from the house. I really only need 2 or 3 cameras total.
I bought the http://www.costco.com/Lorex-4-Channel-HD-720p-Security-System-with-500GB-HDD-and-4-720p-Cameras.product.100140528.html from costco because it was on sale and had 720p cameras. I figured that would be good enough for what i needed but after having it setup for the past month i am having second thoughts. It uses coax cables so that could be part of the problem and the cameras are also only 1mp. They work ok in the day and get a decent picture if you are within 10-20ft, anything beyond it would be hard to recognize someone. The other problem is that i want to read license plate of people in my drive. This becomes an issue because in order to mount the camera out of the rain and under the eves it needs to be ~13ft off the ground. So it is nearly impossible to read a plate unless the person is parked almost directly under it. If the vehicle is moving then it is worse (even watching frame by frame). At night forget about it. By time you get close enough the camera blinds itself with the IR so no reading. Facial recognition drops to less than 10 ft too. I have played with all the settings but i am now starting to think that they are just not high enough resolution, not to mention analog cameras.
I read a bunch on this site and decided to go with standalone DVR since it was smaller and quieter than a normal PC (important due to hiding spot). I also found out after i bought it that the DVR only accepts these specific cameras so no upgrades. I am not too impressed with the interface either. I am pretty good with computers and networking and i hate not having control of the files the crappy interface. Making me reconsider a small form factor PC. I came across these the other day. I am trying to stay around $500-$600 budget with a little wiggle room which makes it tough but not impossible as i can get by with as little as 2 cameras.
1080p IP (2MP) would this be much of an improvement? http://www.costco.com/Q-See-4-Channel-HD-NVR-Security-System-with-1TB-HDD-and-4-1080p-Cameras.product.100149972.html
1080p IP (3MP) but it is a little pricier but i could wait to see if they go on sale anytime soon http://www.costco.com/Lorex-8-Channel-Stratus-HD-NVR-Security-System-with-2TB-HDD-and-4-1080p-Cameras.product.100087431.html
1080p IP (5MP) never heard of the brand and a little worried it might be Chinese junk but the camera description really caught my eye (5mp with adjustable zoom) http://www.amazon.com/GW-Security-2-8-12mm-Varifocal-Pre-Installed/dp/B00N32FESA/ref=sr_1_16?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1418237737&sr=1-16&keywords=1080p+nvr+security+system
Any thoughts on whether it is worth exchange or not? A different complete system? Or maybe i would be better off building my own setup with a PC and getting some 3mp ebay cams? Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Ken
