Jersey Joe

Hi All...I'm a computer guy but know nothing about cctv systems. We are having a vandalism problem on our culdesac that I need to address. My plan is to setup one or two cams to record the area in question. I don't care if its standalone or PC based but I don't have a big budget for this. I'm thinking it would be more cost effective going the PC route as I already have a few doner systems at my disposal. So...any recommendations on system/camera would be appreciated. BTW...wireless would be preferred but from what I gather, the consumer level units leave a lot to be desired. TIA Joe

If I remember correctly...Seagate have 5yr warranty. That's as good as it gets. I've built a few HTPC's and have been using Samsung drives. They are very quiet and low vibration. So far they have been reliable.

OK Mr. Rebco...Please recommend a good cam or two. Thank you. BTW...I lost an auction for a Pelco CCC1380UH-6 that I was impulse buying

While I search for a suitable "real" solution, is there a way to use my old Sony Hi8 camcorder as a security camera? I think I would need to still pipe it thru a DVR card like the GV's and such but those are all BNC correct? Let me know if this is feasible or am I just being a ... noob

This is encouraging news! As I said earlier...I'll post my results after I test it out. Thanks again.

Well it IS a Sony Hi8(an oldie about 9yrs old)...can't hurt to try. I'll report back as to the results. Thanks again for the replies!

Oh well...there's never a simple solution

Daytime mostly. It's a dark street with no lights so surveillance at night would require a high end night camera I would think. But it mostly happens while everyone is at work.

Costco has two systems for $280 and $300...good enough for what I'm doing?

The distance of everything depends on what I can actually do with the camera I guess. If I could zoom from my bedroom window than the cam will be close to the PC. The distance to subject area would be about 250'-300' though. I can mount an outdoor cam closer, say in my mailbox, and that would put the cam about 70'-100' to subject and about 90' to the PC if I put it in my garage. I know nothing about the cameras though, are they fixed length, zoom, something else? I'm guessing the answer is YES(any config on earth) depending on how much I want spend. I do not want to prosecute just find out for myself and neighbors who is doing it. Thanks for your reply.