Home Security System – Advice

[dave1814 0]

Hi Guys,

 

Im new to all this CCTV stuff and I have been asked to install 4 external cameras at my parent’s house, their requirements are….

 

* 4 CCTV cameras to be placed externally around the house, each camera will be positioned next to a security light.

* They would like recording on movement.

* Each camera will have to view up to 20 meters max,

* They have a PC which is always on in the ‘control room’, so ideally they would like to have a continuous picture on a separate monitor (I would just get an additional monitor and dual screen their PC?).

* They have wireless internet throughout the house.

* Ideally the less wires the better, as power can be taken from the security lights, but I’ve heard wireless systems are a bit rubbish?

* A ‘nice to have’ feature would be streaming the images to the TV in a different room (wireless?).

* They want to do it on a budget, ideally around £300 but it would be OK to add cameras as needed, starting off at just the one.

 

 

I hope this is enough info for some suggestions?

 

I have done some research, and ive heard AVerDiGi EB3004 NET is a pretty good DVR? I presume this would be next to the PC and connected to my router to which I could connect the PC to via IP address?

 

As for cameras, im clueless, there seem to be so many out there, although ive heard the Sony and Sharp ones are the best? But do they have the best value for money? Not sure if I would need IR because of the security lights?

 

Hopefully ive made sense!

 

Many thanks in advance for any replies

[DKtucson 0]

I take it you are in the UK..? 300 british pounds translates to about $450 USD. Any wireless cams in this price range are going to be lacking in both range and resolution.

Let's look at this budget and see what some of my favorite internet outlets could deliver:

from www geeks dot com you can get inexpensive bullet cams for about $30 USD each ($120 out of the budget)

Cabling from active-vision dot com is $59 for 500ft of RG59 siamese cable for power & video--you will need BNC connector and power ends--a few dollars extra

Stop for a moment: You are looking at a subtotal so far of $180 plus shipping--about $200

The least expensive brand name card with software bundled AND support is probably going to be the Geovision GV-250 at active-vision dot com--- $128 this would insert in your computer and save you the issue of buying a seperate DVR.

Add a TB drive available from geeks dot com for about $90 to handle the recordings and we have a total of:

120 for the cams

60 for the cabling

128 for a name brand dvr card

90 for an additional drive

________________

$398 plus shipping although I imagine UK shipping would be pricey--but this gives one an idea of an avenue to go down given your budget constraints. The remaining $50 in the budget could go to odds & ends or for the beer afterwards when it's all working.

[dave1814 0]

thanks for that DKtucson v helpful!

 

could you tell me how I would wire up the cameras for power? Would I need a junction box or something?

 

thanks,

Dave

[DKtucson 0]

Dave,

You have choices--the cameras come with little plug in ac/dc adapters--you want to avoid using these in any potential wet areas exposed to the elements. That being said with only 4 cameras , with relatively short distances, when you run the "siamese cable" indoors you put on a female lead on the house side (a male end to the camera) and have the little ac/dc adapters plug into a master power tap/surge protector to power the cameras.

For a neater professional job (or more cams) ,a central power distribution box with indepeandant fused circuits might be preferred. These run about $40 or so

[dave1814 0]

got ya! cheers.

 

ive been reading a bit about PIR sensors, should I invest extra into these? The cameras will be placed near a security light anyway so if the infrared was OFF on the camera (is this possible?) then wouldnt the software just start recording when the security light turned on?

 

sorry if im being dumb here!

[Soundy 1]

PIR (passive infrared) sensors, aka motion sensors, are more commonly used to trigger alarm systems. Although they can be used to trigger a DVR recording, that's more often done by the software detecting changes in the scene as "motion".

[dave1814 0]

thanks, but ive heard motion detection can cause a lot of false positives?

[DKtucson 0]

The software has sensitvity adjustment and most have the ability to omit areas of constant motion.

For example , on my livingroom cam I have de-selected the area occupied by the ceiling fan and bird cage--as any motion from them could trigger a false positive. I then upped the sensitivity settings so that only a larger moving object could trigger--a moth will not be a culprit caught on record

[dave1814 0]

ah ok, thats pretty cool!

 

i think im going to go for this camera...

 

http://tinyurl.com/39vtf6j

 

and maybe a Geovision GV-600.

 

the server and the power junction box will be in the garage then an ethernet cable will be laid across the house to the office, into a switch, which can then be access via web management by another PC does this sound feasible? Is GB ethernet much better or 10/100 OK?

 

thanks!

Dave