System For Catching Internal Theft

[spdfrk85 0]

I am extremely new to the cctv and surveillance camera world, but I am in dire need of help.

 

I am a business owner and have employees that are stealing from me. This employees are running me drive, but unfortunately since I dont have my inventory cycle counts up to date I cannot do anything legally without actual physical proof. The local police department said I would need surveillance of the employees in the act to press charges.

 

I need a system, that is wireless, that I can record to my own external hard drive. Ideally it would be fairly discreet, fairly cheap, and reliable. I greatly appreciate any help you can provide to put an end to this dilemma.

[Harrar 0]

There are a number of wireless IP cameras that you can tie into your LAN and view/record to your own computer. Just Google wireless IP camera if you want to attempt this project on your own.

 

There are a few questions that need to be answered initially, before purchasing, though. How big of an area do you need to cover? How many cameras do you need to cover this area properly? What's the distance from the camera locations to the wireless access point? Are you comfortable with reconfiguring your LAN to add the cameras?

 

Just some thoughts to consider and the expense will be recouped by the elimination of you losses

[zmxtech 0]

you want wireless CHEAP shyte... you want your employee's to catch you !

[Slim3001 0]

Hi m8 i dont know anything about cctv but I do know I would pay for some one thats in the cctv trad to setup a system for you save you money in the long run.

[Soundy 1]

Could go for any number of covert cameras that record internally to SD memory card - they're typically disguised as PIR motion sensors, smoke detectors, etc. No wiring or wireless receiver necessary - just go in after hours, pop the card out, plug it into your computer to offload the video.

[spdfrk85 0]

its really a kind of complicated work situation so to best explain, I have a warehouse that I lease, that is about 6 hours away from my actual office. I am only able to make trips there, to check in, every 2 weeks at the earliest duration. In the beginning it was saving a TON of money by having my warehouse located in this area, however, now with the theft the cost has skyrocketed.

 

Due to my limitations, I would have to install it myself, which wouldnt be a problem. I have seen several setups, where there is a survelliance camera (like a small black pinhole camera) that has an ac plugin for power, and a 2.4ghz receiver.

 

My question though is, can I just plug the receiver into a external hardrive and have it record to that or do I need a full computer with software to tell it to record? or can it just record to the hard drive and then I can take the raw video files off the hard drive? I dont have a computer currently in the warehouse that it could stream to.

[Slim3001 0]

Hi m8 I cant post links yet but if you look on ebay theres a system thats got 4 wireless cam's and a base that you fit a sd card to and maybe a HD i dont know 100% but have a look on ebay in the uk there about £80-£100

 

So in the us there going to be around $60-$80 i would think

[spdfrk85 0]

Thanks man. Btw I only need one camera and for it to cover a 50 sq ft area. its a lit area.

[Soundy 1]

Shouldn't have a problem finding an all-in-one that will record for a couple weeks given a big enough card.

 

There are IP cameras that can record direct to network storage, but that's probably not a cost-effective solution for this purpose.

[thewireguys 3]

Do you have internet connection at this site? Since the site is far away you could us a IP camera or encoder with onboard storage and hook it up to your network. Then you could remotely watch what is going on and view the recorded footage. You will spend more money for a setup like this but it might be a good ROI so you don't have to drive out there and spend the time watching the video.

 

I don't know what your budget is but and what your room looks like but Mobotix makes a great camera with onboard storage. You would have to run one Cat5 to the camera though but one camera can cover an entire room with it's 360 degree view. Best part is it doesn't even look like a camera and there is no software to install. Everything is done in the camera.

 

Just an idea for you.

 

http://www.mobotix.com/eng_US/content/view/full/25611

[Soundy 1]

Do you have internet connection at this site? Since the site is far away you could us a IP camera or encoder with onboard storage and hook it up to your network. Then you could remotely watch what is going on and view the recorded footage. You will spend more money for a setup like this but it might be a good ROI so you don't have to drive out there and spend the time watching the video.

 

I don't know what your budget is but and what your room looks like but Mobotix makes a great camera with onboard storage. You would have to run one Cat5 to the camera though but one camera can cover an entire room with it's 360 degree view. Best part is it doesn't even look like a camera and there is no software to install. Everything is done in the camera.

 

Just an idea for you.

 

http://www.mobotix.com/eng_US/content/view/full/25611

 

Also a good idea... and remember, once you have an appropriate device, it can always be re-deployed on another site if needed, so the ROI doesn't have to end with this one problem.

[Harrar 0]

Agreed. A Mobotix Q24 would be the ideal solution for this. It's discrete (looks more like a smoke detector), has excellent image quality (live or playback), you can zoom in or out on live or playback, can store recordings right on the camera, for later review and as thewireguy said you can sit in your office and review old videos or live views from your office over the internet using your browser or download a free copy of MxEasy software for more control.

 

One addition I would make would be to add a 500GB or 1TB external USB drive to the camera to increase your storage. The max internal storage SD card of 32GB would only maybe give you a couple of days of recordings given a warehouse environment. The additional storage would give you 30 to almost 60 days of recordings to review, if neeeded and it's inexpensive.

[Slim3001 0]

thats a cracking looking cam I think I would go for that. I can say with out a doubt that I would not think thats a camera from the pic

[thewireguys 3]

The model that you want is the Q24M-Sec. Then the only other thing you would need is a POE injector and a USB drive if you want. The unit comes with 4 GB of storage built in which maybe enough depending on how much you check it.

[emixt.com 0]

Q24M is not a bad choice, the system looks out of the box and ready to use for 800 $ , but I found it a little bit to expensive...

 

regards

[spdfrk85 0]

Thanks fellas, I really appreciate. My main question though now, if how do I hook an external hard drive to the unit, Can I just plug it in via usb cord? I dont have active internet connection that I can do via ip recording. I will record for like 30 days and retrieve the hard drive, and gather the video files off the hard drive and onto my computer at the office.

[squelch 0]

Nice camera, looks a lot like the Immervision technology I saw at ISC 08 http://www.immervision.com/en/security/

[thewireguys 3]

Yes the harddrive hooks up though a USB connection if you get one that takes power over the USB connection you will not have to run any other power to the camera.

 

Also you can not unplug the USB and plug it into a computer to view the files. You have to have it connected to the camera and log into the camera to view the footage. This may seam like a PTA but it for security reasons so no one can steal the hard drive, plug it into any computer and view the footage.

 

This is why I recommend hooking it up to the internet so you can remotely view and control the camera without having to drive out to the site to get the camera and harddrive. If you don't have a internet connection you can direct connect your laptop to the camera to review the footage.

 

"emixt.com" is incorrect he is taking about the web version of the Q24 that doesn't have the built-in DVR and it is D1 resolution. This camera will not work for your setup. You need part number

 

 

 

MX-Q24M-Sec-D11 and you will need the Mobotix USB cable for USB to connect to the harddrive plus a POE injector.

Edited November 4, 2009 by Guest

[thewireguys 3]

Nice camera, looks a lot like the Immervision technology I saw at ISC 08 http://www.immervision.com/en/security/

 

Same idea but completly different. Immervision is just the lens you will a compatable camera, NVR, and software. Mobotix Q24 does all of this in the camera without a computer.

[bpzle 0]

As a fellow business owner, I know time IS money. If you don't have an internet connection, I would highly suggest you invest in one for this project. To me saving yourself a couple 12 hour round trips is worth $40/ month. Gas alone would cost more. You can always cancel after you catch the bad apples...

Another advantage of getting internet is you don't have to wait a few weeks to check in and do video research. If their stealing, their probably doing it everyday. Every day that goes by your loosing more and more inventory... Don't wait for them to steal 3-4 weeks of stuff.

 

The Mobtix camera is a good choice. I havn't personally gotten to play with their stuff, but I have heard the setup isn't exactly user friendly, especially for an end user that may not be familiar with common terminology. I'd save yourself time and pay someone to put it in. PM me the area your in, I might can recomend someone for you.

[bpzle 0]

I greatly appreciate any help you can provide to put an end to this dilemma.

 

I hate to break it to ya... but I'm afraid there will never be an end to your delima. Once you get rid of your current theives, you will aquire new ones. In a world driven by money and greed there will always be thieves. Hence the professional CCTV industry... Do yourself a favor and invest in a good quality, permenant solution. Don't waste your time and money on cheap Ebay all in one kits. Your problem isn't a temporay one and it isn't going to go away with firing the people you catch today. It can only be limited and controlled with the proper equipment...

What do you think?

[hardwired 0]

I greatly appreciate any help you can provide to put an end to this dilemma.

 

I hate to break it to ya... but I'm afraid there will never be an end to your delima. Once you get rid of your current theives, you will aquire new ones. In a world driven by money and greed there will always be thieves. Hence the professional CCTV industry... Do yourself a favor and invest in a good quality, permenant solution. Don't waste your time and money on cheap Ebay all in one kits. Your problem isn't a temporay one and it isn't going to go away with firing the people you catch today. It can only be limited and controlled with the proper equipment...

What do you think?

 

Well said. One of the things I encourage owners of new CCTV systems with an internet connection, is to set an alarm clock for some bizzare hour, and when the employees "know" that no one responsible will be there, and then make a phone call to someone there, commenting on something to do. Doesn't have to be negative, maybe "move that mop bucket in the hall", or something like that.

 

Once you create the mindset that someone's watching, a lot of your problems will go away... And that's an argument for a obvious, overt CCTV system as well.

 

It's often obvious to me when installing a system who needs to be watched, just by seeing the employee's actions.