Looking for advice on a complete home surveillance system...

[le0pard 0]

Hey everyone, I am a complete newbie in this area (although I have been lurking for quite some time) and want to get a complete system that I can use for my home. I am coming to you all in hopes you can provide suggestions and opinions (or point me to a thread or website that already has this answered for me) to get the right equipment for my needs.

 

In short, I'm basically wondering "If you were to recommend a full IP Camera setup to a friend that wanted surveillance around his home, what setup items would you suggest?"

 

I apologize ahead of time if I am not 100% clear in my questions and "requirements" for the system I am trying to build and deploy around my home, but I am doing my best to not waste any of your time.

 

I am going to be wiring my house up with CAT-6 ethernet soon (this summer), and in doing this it will allow me to also run some ethernet in the locations where I want my IP cameras to be located. My current system is 10 foscam IP cameras (3 wifi, and 7 using powerline adapters) throughout the inside of my house. I would like this new system to replace these as well as add some cameras around the perimeter of my home (outside).

 

Here is what I would like my system/home to have:

1. 10 cameras (night vision capable, sound and mic are optional, PTZ optional, WIFI optional), 3-4 outdoor, 6-7 indoors (I think 1.3MP is probably fine, but if you think 2MP or higher would be worth it for the added costs please let me know)
   - Note: I realize many NVR/PoE systems come with 8 and 16 port models, so perhaps I should just start with 4-8 cameras and eventually expand to 10 to save costs
   
2. NVR system or software to record (this would be stationary in my media closet and if software could be installed on one of my old PCs to cut costs). If possible, I would prefer this to be able to record 24/7 video, but when the hard drive is full it automatically removes the oldest video to allow space for recording again (no need for me to manage this). Also, if possible, be able to save images (screenshots) on motion detection to an FTP or a specific location on the network
   
3. PoE injector or PoE supporting switch - I do not want to run power to the locations, so PoE would be preferable.. do I need a device that supports this? Perhaps just a PoE capable switch?
   
4. Router/Switch for the cameras (PoE capable?) Not very knowledgeable here, but I feel like this is necessary

 

I have no brand preference, but have heard Hikvision is a decent IP camera for the price. I also see Swann and other brands at Costco, but I do not believe any of these are IP cameras. So any suggestions on brands (for the cameras as well as the other devices) would be greatly appreciated.

 

As of right now I have no real budget limit, but I would like to be smart and spend as little money as reasonably possible. I realize the "sticker shock" going from my foscam setup to a setup like I am desiring will be there, but I figure this is something I can wire up and then buy additional cameras as I can afford them.

 

I hope this all makes sense and I didn't forget anything too obvious.

 

Thanks for your time and suggestions!

[cs8488 0]

Hi,my suggestion is that you can use the products below

Hikvision DS-2CD2432F-IW 4PCS which can help you to set alarm system too for your home

Hikvision DS-2CD2732F-I 4PCS which support Vari-focal Lens

Hikvision DS-7608NI-SE/P 1PCS which can be installed 4TB hard drive

[buellwinkle 0]

I agree with the above cameras except that NVR is just for 8 cameras. I would recommend you use a PC with software as it's easier to configure the features of the cameras (a pain from the NVR), PC's are easy to understand, fix, replace, grow as needed. Software is a lifetime purchase in a sense, you can move it from PC to PC so that investment is protected and supports many cameras. You can use the low cost BlueIris as it's easy to use, cost about $40 for the entire PC or what I use is MIlestone XProtect, most features, lower CPU use, cost about $490 for 10 cameras which ironically is the number of cameras I have at home.

[le0pard 0]

Hi,my suggestion is that you can use the products below

Hikvision DS-2CD2432F-IW 4PCS which can help you to set alarm system too for your home

Hikvision DS-2CD2732F-I 4PCS which support Vari-focal Lens

Hikvision DS-7608NI-SE/P 1PCS which can be installed 4TB hard drive

Thanks a lot for the reply with the details and model numbers. This is very helpful for me!

 

I agree with the above cameras except that NVR is just for 8 cameras. I would recommend you use a PC with software as it's easier to configure the features of the cameras (a pain from the NVR), PC's are easy to understand, fix, replace, grow as needed. Software is a lifetime purchase in a sense, you can move it from PC to PC so that investment is protected and supports many cameras. You can use the low cost BlueIris as it's easy to use, cost about $40 for the entire PC or what I use is MIlestone XProtect, most features, lower CPU use, cost about $490 for 10 cameras which ironically is the number of cameras I have at home.

Thanks! That sounds like good advice to use a PC with NVR software instead of the NVR device itself and will save me a bit of money (potentially) upfront. I'm currently using iSpy as my NVR solution on my PC for my Foscam cameras (which seems to work for my limited needs) but I will look at the other solutions you have suggested as well.

 

A few follow-up questions:

1. Does the DS-2CD2732F-I support auto switching between day/night mode (so that the IR turns on at night and off during the day)? I believe in buellwinkle's review of this camera it was indirectly addressed in the comments (in relation to a PoE questions someone had asked), but never clearly answered.
   
2. Since the suggested cameras all support PoE, is there any recommended PoE switch out there that I should use or all of them just about the same?
   
3. This might be a dumb question, but are the dome cameras suggested above capable of outdoor usage (including being in the rain and other elements)? Based on the IP66 rating I am assuming so, but want to be sure.