Need to design home surveillance system after robbery

[justchil 0]

Greetings!

 

My name is Andy and I've been in the IT industry most of my life. I know a little bit about wiring, camera specs, etc but I am in a pinch and really need some help.

 

My sister & brother-in-laws home was broken into and all guns, gold, safe, etc were stolen. They live in the country with the closest neighbor being 1/2 mile so they need some security.

 

I hope this it the proper forum to ask!

 

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The home is located in a field so it's wide open all around the house. It's fenced in with a (now locked) gate. They don't have access to broadband other than a 3g modem/router which won't provide much bw for remote viewing... so this isn't a big deal.

 

I'm looking to start with a 8 channel setup with 4-6 cameras. From what I can see a DVR system is probably the best to start with. It's a new home and we'll be doing all the wiring ourselves.

 

This is a modular home so the entry points are all on the front and rear facing parts of the house. Of course when it was robbed recently it was exploited from the rear by prying a plastic window frame then unlocking the door.

 

Without getting too windy here... I'm looking for a good DVR that will do 8 channels. I would like the best cameras we can afford... we could probably start with 4 cams. I've been looking at a kit at tiger-direct but I don't know how nice it is...

 

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=165417&sku=Q300-2804

 

Does anyone have the time to help me out? If I could just find a place that sells quality stuff I can compare/research on my own. We need to install this ASAP.

 

Thanks!

[justchil 0]

I forgot to say... our budget for the camera setup is 400-700$.

 

We're also exploring options for home security and looking at ADT but we're not sure yet. We could do this ourselves too if we can find a good system. I'm not sure what the budget would be for this yet.

 

ADT looks pretty good... but they will be living here for 20-30 years so the monthly costs will add up!

 

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My sister/bil aren't too tech savvy so it needs to be stable and easy to operate. I also need to make sure the DVR is secured.

[justchil 0]

Found these:

 

CNB VCM-24VF

 

Looks pretty nice! I'm not sure how many of these they could afford but I think for the driveway and the back of the house it may be perfect.

 

I'm looking around on http://www.surveillance-video.com.... the DVR's are way more expensive than what I expected for an 8ch

[justchil 0]

Here is a real quick map of the house/area. The fence is nothing special... just 3 strands of barb wire in the front (road side) and some metal fencing in the rear/sides.

 

There is a gate with a padlock coming from the road.

Edited June 21, 2011 by Guest

[Nimrod 0]

“Without getting too windy here... I'm looking for a good DVR that will do 8 channels. I would like the best cameras we can afford... we could probably start with 4 cams. I've been looking at a kit at tiger-direct but I don't know how nice it is...

 

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=165417&sku=Q300-2804“

 

As a general rule packaged systems are garbage. The cameras you get with them are throw away and the dvr usually has a small HD. The package you picked out is a good example of this.

 

At this same store you were looking at they have Q-see dvr’s as bare units, no cameras, no hard drives, in 4, 8, 16 channel units. These are a good deal and they are rebranded Dahua units.

 

“Found these:

 

CNB VCM-24VF

 

Looks pretty nice! I'm not sure how many of these they could afford but I think for the driveway and the back of the house it may be perfect”

 

Good find, best bang for the buck.

 

“We're also exploring options for home security and looking at ADT but we're not sure yet. We could do this ourselves too if we can find a good system. I'm not sure what the budget would be for this yet.

 

ADT looks pretty good... but they will be living here for 20-30 years so the monthly costs will add up!”

 

Hard to say if adt is worth it or not. You have other options here like using the optix brand pir sensors. They can be set up to look at an area, or as beams around the house. You could tie the output of these beams to your dvr (terminal block on back of dvr) to start recording, or if adt lets you tie it into there system to call for help. Or program your dvr to send you an alert. You also may want to consider beams and a VERY loud siren aimed at your neighbors, that may just scare them away before they get in. OH, and of course the tried and true method of protection, a very mean dog.

[Tailbone215 0]

Probably the best solution here is to skip the CCTV and just make sure things such as guns, cameras, jewellery, and other items that require an extra rider on the insurance policy are put on there. Sadly, even if you catch the burglars there are no guarantees you will get all your stuff back. Of course you can still install a cheap CCTV system just for show and a deterrent. Also,a good dog!

[justchil 0]

They had most everything covered... but sadly...pretty much everything including a small safe that wasn't bolted down is gone. All jewerly, coins and guns were stolen. They left cameras, tv's laptops all kinds of stuff.

 

When they can afford it they are going to get a much larger/hidden safe that is bolted down. They have 2 german sheps one has some training... but they are too nice of dogs to do anything. They have a 2 year old and another on the way so the dogs kind of have to be that way :\ My sister is too much of an animal love to keep a dog from being spoiled lol.

 

The rear door on the house was waaaaaaay to easy to break entry... a plastic frame around the window... took maybe 10 seconds to snap it and reach inside. We're fixing that with a solid door, cameras, security system on the house and a hidden/bolted safe. I realize from doing network/computer security for years that nothing can 100% keep someone out... but a few different layers can help... and keeping things in a safe that's not in the master bedroom closet w/o bolts is just as bad as not having a safe

 

The male german shep which is 100-110lbs of muscle was found outside the electric fence. We're not really sure what happened but he has only done that a couple times before when chasing a small rodent. I'd say he was either lured with food or tazed... no signs of a struggle that we could find... if he got a hold of someone they would have a bad day. I know he would listen to commands and protect his owners when they are home.

[Birdman Adam 0]

ADT is fine for monitoring, but I would personally put in the system myself. I've done two DSC 1832's 'from scratch' (running wiring to programming) and it really is not hard. I buy it all online and it comes in the same box an actual installer would get. As an IT guy you will get into it quickly as I have! I just don't trust ADT installers because I've seen so many shoddy systems from them, with inadequate coverage in terms of entry detection (motions, glassbreaks).

 

CNB's 24vf's are great. I put like 6 in at a remote cabin and they are just a sweet camera for their price. My go-to vandal dome with good low-light response. For a DVR I personally would use a Qvis, I have the 8-channel Zeus model. Wiring, definitely cat5 with baluns.

 

I use 2 pairs for power (green & orange), one pair for video (brown pair, balun), and the remaining (blue) pair as a tamper loop to be tied into the alarm. That way if they try to get smart and cut the camera cables the alarm will sound (unless they carefully strip the individual pairs and bring a multimeter to find and cut just the power or video pairs).

 

Always go for more shots rather than less. Cover all entries with tight views that will always get good information.

[shockwave199 0]

For the dvr, consider this one which can be found for around 300-

 

http://q-see.com/products/product_description.php?cId=34&pId=58&id=34&pid=27

 

People will be quick to say it's garbage, but it's been a year that I've had mine and it's been doing great. I have all eight channels filled with good cameras and now a PTZ as well. With a 500gb hard drive included [confirm if you're purchasing], it's a very nice residential system.

 

 

Google and Dahua ESDV-ECONO-8. Anything you find there you'll need to drop in a hard drive.

[Soundy 1]

Google and Dahua ESDV-ECONO-8. Anything you find there you'll need to drop in a hard drive.

No you don't - you can just order it with a hard drive. The ECONO-8 lists at $159 without drive; adding a 500GB drive adds $100, or go to 1TB for an extra $150.

[shockwave199 0]

Yes that's what I meant without spelling it out. They don't come with a hard drive unless you either drop in your own, or order it with the hard drive installed, or buy both separately and install the hard drive yourself. The thing to take away from any dvr purchase when it comes to hard drives is look and see how many or the biggest hard drive they take, and whether it comes with one installed or not. The hard drive, no matter how you slice it, is part of the expense. And shop around- you may find places that have a deal going on for hard drives which can save a good chunk of money too.

[Soundy 1]

The benefit of buying it WITH a drive is that the drive SHOULD then be covered by the seller's own warranty, which saves you having to deal with the manufacturer's return policies (some of which make you jump through a lot of hoops).

[groovyman 0]

Just wanted to add that since this was originally posted Jun 20, 2011 and the OP hasn't been back since Jun 21, 2011, I think recommending a DVR for him at this point is kind of pointless. But, maybe it can help someone new looking for recommendations.

[shockwave199 0]

OMG! I didn't even realize! LOL! Anyway- I agree soundy. In my experience though, hard drives are pretty reliable. My opinion, in general no matter what device you're talking about that needs a hard drive- as long as there's no compatibility issues to consider it's worth shopping around. You can usually find hard drives for big savings from reputable retailers. When it comes to hard drives, I don't pay through the nose out of fear of failure. But that's me.

[daveshoot 0]

It is still relevant, as the OP described my situation almost exactly (except I haven't had the robbery yet). It always seems to come down to Mona Lisa's and Dahua! No point in fighting it.

 

I have my gel-filled CAT5 run in the irrigation trenches now, the world's slowest DIY project... they aren't routed into the house yet but that will be next. Maybe by then the Costco selections will have expanded.

 

I'm back to thinking about hybrid NVRs, since the 600 tvl cams seem to get more bang for the buck with better low light performance. Is this still true? I lean to IP for all things that communicate but the $$ and performance difference seemed hard to ignore.

 

Meanwhile I need to bolt down that safe and look for a meaner dog. Ours looks somewhat formidable but has the temperament of a house cat.

[yakky 0]

I still think the CNB 24VFs are the TDN champs, though the IP cameras are starting to catch up, but they are much more costly.