First time setting up security camera system

[bradyboyy88 0]

I am going to be setting up 4 security cameras for a small business owned by my friends dad. The business only has a wifi hotspot so no router or nothing. I have never done this before and this will be my first setup so its a lot of pressure to do this right.

 

What the guy wants:

4 720p cameras that will record atleast 20fps(if that will provide somewhat smooth motion)

Keep the price as low as possible but not complete junk

Can be wired or wifi, room is semi small so wifi is possible but he needs to have all angles covered

Wants atleast 2 weeks worth of footage to be saved( motion detection/ activation would be fine if it doesnt stop recording till people leave the store)

He is not very tech savy so the simpler the better but need be I can teach him how to use it. He does have a laptop he keeps with him.

 

My idea:

I was going to install a router and connect the 4 720p capable ip cameras to it. How would I go about storing this footage the cheapest way possible? Setting up a nas and get the data off if needed via usb? the laptop will most likely be connected to his wifi hotspot having everything stream from the cameras two the router to his computer then to a external harddrive wouldnt work since he would need to be connected to the router that doesnt have incoming internet. SO any ideas? Can a computer be hooked up to a wifi hotspot and the router at once so he can store the footage but also surf the web?

 

Any advice would be nice and also I have seen NVR online but they seem very pricey and I wasnt sure about the compatibility of them with all cameras.

 

 

Thanks in advance and sorry if I left anything out thats important

[dahomes555 0]

Get an NVR and wire your cameras. There are a growing number of affordable NVRs with built in PoE, which makes setting up your cameras very easy. You just run a Cat5 cable to each camera, plug one end into the camera, and the other into the NVR. The NVR's PoE powers the camera and auto configures the cameras with the NVR. You can get a decent 4 channel NVR with built in PoE from Dahua or HIKVision for about $500.

 

As far as measuring the recording time, there are a lot of online calculators for calculating storage. Probably won't let me post the link here, but just google "cctv storage calculator" and you'll find several good ones. You just enter in the resolution of your cameras (1.3 MP for a 720P camera), the frame rate you want (honestly recording at 20fps is a waste. You'll get smooth video at about 10-12 fps), how many hours per day you'll be recording, and the numbers of desired days. The calculator will tell you the amount of storage you'll need.

 

The hard time that you're going to have is with that hotspot. Can't get a DSL or cable connection into the office at all? You have to have a router; no way around it. There are hotspot routers that allow you to connect your USB hotspot to it and share the connection, but you also have to make sure you have the right type of data plan from your provider to even allow you the port forwarding needed to connect to the cameras remotely. My advice: get DSL or cable connection in there and save yourself the trouble, if at all possible.