Why did you get started with cctv?

[pal251 0]

Whether you are a home installer amature or a professional why did you get started?

 

If you are a professional installer getting paid for it why did you get started in this business?

 

If you installed some cameras at your house why did you do it?

 

I'm not a professional but I do install cameras for a friend of mine at his businesses because I do know how to run his dvr and network it properly. Small electronics have always fascinated me.

 

After starting to install the cameras at my friends business I am going to install some cameras at my home in the next couple weeks. I am still in the IP vs analog debate with myself Maybe I'll do a mix of the two.

 

I decided to install the cameras mainly because I think it would be fun to be able to see whats going on in my neighborhood and around my house during the day and night. We have hardly any thefts in this small town and I know that because I am a local cop. Thats the other reason why, I know I have made some poeple upset in my last couple years here and I would like a little bit of extra protection for my family.

[groovyman 0]

I got started for a couple of reasons.

 

1 - Back in 2005 a client had surveillance systems installed in 4 businesses he was opening. He hired a local company and each installation was worse than the next. The installers were terrible, support was terrible, they didn't finish the jobs and didn't deliver all the equipment contracted for. Me (the IT guy) and another guy (the maintenance guy) would go in afterward and fix what they did wrong. So, we decided to start doing this ourselves, which actually turned in to the maintenance guy doing it because I didn't have the time. I helped with networking and general camera placement. From 2006-2010 he did around 30 surveillance installations.

 

2 - In 2010 the maintenance guy left to pursue other interests. I was the guy in charge of maintaining the systems (also got into some loss prevention for some clients), but really didn't have an interest in installing. But, our mutual clients started turning to me for new or replacement equipment. I saw an opportunity and started educating myself on the different types of DVR and camera equipment available. I did alot of testing, signed up with distrubutors for the equipment I liked, found a couple of quality low voltage installers and I was good to go.

 

So, for me, it was just an opportunity that came my way. I don't advertise this type of service, but the people who know me know they have someone trustworthy they can turn to. I've had 35 installations in the last 2 years, have 3 on the schedule and am meeting with someone next week who has 5 locations where he would like surveillance systems installed. This has become a decent side business for me.

[Digiscan 0]

Amateur home type here.

 

I put my first camera in this week.

 

I've looked into home surveillance a little in the past but the price was always too high until now and quality always too low, so I never bothered.

 

I live in a very safe place but every once in a while somebody on my neighborhood facebook group posts about strange behavior by somebody in a car (and we've had a couple of break-ins over the years, but I think only to cars in driveways or garages) and it seems that nobody in the entire darn 'hood happens to be looking at the window during broad daylight as these vehicles move around. That won't happen again. I don't want to read that a "red sedan" was parked and staring at a kid for a while or "a Jeep" was looking in people's garages. Now I'll be able to tell you what time it drove by, the exact make and model, and a half decent image of the driver.

[fa chris 0]

Professional.

 

Our security group needed help on the engineering portion of a $8 million dollar heavily integrated security system. I was brought in and spent a year learning/designing special systems portions of the project and along the way picked up quit a bit of CCTV knowledge. This was all right before IP really took off, so it was ~600 or so analog cameras, a lot of fiber equipment, and racks upon racks of N.I.C.E. Systems dvr's.

 

So it all kind of just fell into my lap and I've been stuck with it ever since.

[dustmop 0]

Professional.

 

Our security group needed help on the engineering portion of a $8 million dollar heavily integrated security system. I was brought in and spent a year learning/designing special systems portions of the project and along the way picked up quit a bit of CCTV knowledge. This was all right before IP really took off, so it was ~600 or so analog cameras, a lot of fiber equipment, and racks upon racks of N.I.C.E. Systems dvr's.

 

So it all kind of just fell into my lap and I've been stuck with it ever since.

 

Honeywell front end by any chance?

[fa chris 0]

Professional.

 

Our security group needed help on the engineering portion of a $8 million dollar heavily integrated security system. I was brought in and spent a year learning/designing special systems portions of the project and along the way picked up quit a bit of CCTV knowledge. This was all right before IP really took off, so it was ~600 or so analog cameras, a lot of fiber equipment, and racks upon racks of N.I.C.E. Systems dvr's.

 

So it all kind of just fell into my lap and I've been stuck with it ever since.

 

Honeywell front end by any chance?

 

Nope, ccure.

[jxk716 0]

Glorified residential installer here. Started gradually through work (a social work practice formerly in a tough neighborhood) with a 16 Cam PC-Based system and became interested in CCTV mainly because it was so easy to install yet produced great results - we turned footage over regularly to the police. Then I installed a 4 camera system at my home - a 4 Channel basic Dahua DVR in a predominantly working class neighborhood. Although there is plenty of weirdos around here (as seen on cam) the main reason for the home cams was security. I live near a parking lot and there as lots of drug dealing going on as well as all types of suspicious activity. In fact a couple of punks mugged a women in front of my cam back on Good Friday and the cops got him. I have CNB VBM 24VFs and have no complaints. Now I install systems for friends and family as well as a few commercial accounts here and there.

 

So, basically, I got into because it was interesting but, more importantly because I needed the cams. At work we recently switched over to a hybrid DVR and 3 MP cams. Those are awesome! Probably will go all IP at some point but the analogs served us well over the years.

[Sawbones 0]

Prosumer enthusiast here.

 

I got into it when one of my neighbors turned out to be a violent felon... and I travel for work. I wanted to know that my family was OK while I was gone.

 

It snowballed from there.