Q-See Surveillance System - Should I buy?

[slimcubby 0]

Hey guys,

 

I am new to the forum and new to the surveillance system world. I want to get a camera system for my home to just keep an eye on things and make sure I have protection. I was thinking of purchasing this system from Home Depot. Let me know if you think it is a good system or if I need to be looking into another brand. My price max is $400-500.

 

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Q-SEE-Premium-Series-8-Channel-960H-Surveillance-System-with-1TB-HDD-and-4-700-TVL-Cameras-QC308-4H4-1/205412619

[stephenst4470 0]

Hey guys,

 

I am new to the forum and new to the surveillance system world. I want to get a camera system for my home to just keep an eye on things and make sure I have protection. I was thinking of purchasing this system from Home Depot. Let me know if you think it is a good system or if I need to be looking into another brand. My price max is $400-500.

 

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Q-SEE-Premium-Series-8-Channel-960H-Surveillance-System-with-1TB-HDD-and-4-700-TVL-Cameras-QC308-4H4-1/205412619

 

 

I have a 960H Q-See and I like it.

This is probably a better deal right now though, right from Q-See.

http://www.q-see.com/8-channel-960h-dvr-with-8-960h-cameras-and-1tb-hard-drive-qt578-8e2-1/

[stephenst4470 0]

The link I posted from Q-See has CCD cameras instead of CMOS, they should be less noisy at night.

They are refurbed but carry the full warranty so it shouldn't be an issue. It comes with 8 instead of 4 and the DVR does realtime (30 fps) 960H.

[slimcubby 0]

What about this system? My local Costco has it for sale $399 and it looks to be 720p. Is Lorex as good as Q-See?

 

http://www.costco.com/Lorex-8-Channel-720p-HD-Security-System-with-1TB-HDD-and-8-720p-Cameras.product.100121251.html

[Don Stephens 0]

What about this system? My local Costco has it for sale $399 and it looks to be 720p. Is Lorex as good as Q-See?

 

http://www.costco.com/Lorex-8-Channel-720p-HD-Security-System-with-1TB-HDD-and-8-720p-Cameras.product.100121251.html

 

 

It's sold with "Ethernet cable" but makes no mention of this being an IP camera system and the DVR is clearly not for IP cameras. That would lead me to believe it's either HDCVI or HDTVI; either way, that Cat5e cable is the cheap way out for pre-packaged systems like this. That cable is going to give you an inferior image quality over what that tech is actually supposed to use; solid copper coax. This is completely typical for both Lorex and Q-See.

 

I wouldn't waste your time with standard definition systems anymore. Your best option is probably your last choice as long as those cameras aren't complete garbage; Costco exceeds at giving extremely vague spec sheets. You'd want to replace the cable it comes with though.

[slimcubby 0]

What about this system? My local Costco has it for sale $399 and it looks to be 720p. Is Lorex as good as Q-See?

 

http://www.costco.com/Lorex-8-Channel-720p-HD-Security-System-with-1TB-HDD-and-8-720p-Cameras.product.100121251.html

 

 

It's sold with "Ethernet cable" but makes no mention of this being an IP camera system and the DVR is clearly not for IP cameras. That would lead me to believe it's either HDCVI or HDTVI; either way, that Cat5e cable is the cheap way out for pre-packaged systems like this. That cable is going to give you an inferior image quality over what that tech is actually supposed to use; solid copper coax. This is completely typical for both Lorex and Q-See.

 

I wouldn't waste your time with standard definition systems anymore. Your best option is probably your last choice as long as those cameras aren't complete garbage; Costco exceeds at giving extremely vague spec sheets. You'd want to replace the cable it comes with though.

Yea it looks like it uses BNC cable. What type of cable do you recommend using in place of what it comes with? Thank you for your input and help.

[Don Stephens 0]

Solid Copper RG59/U

 

Most of what you're able to find online and purchase is going to be copper clad instead of solid copper so be careful if you order it.

 

I'm not really sure why Lorex is including "8x 60ft extension cable." I have no idea what that's supposed to be for unless they're mislabeling the baluns you're going to need for that Cat5e cable to work. The baluns aren't mentioned anywhere on that page from what I can see.

[slimcubby 0]

Solid Copper RG59/U

 

Most of what you're able to find online and purchase is going to be copper clad instead of solid copper so be careful if you order it.

 

I'm not really sure why Lorex is including "8x 60ft extension cable." I have no idea what that's supposed to be for unless they're mislabeling the baluns you're going to need for that Cat5e cable to work. The baluns aren't mentioned anywhere on that page from what I can see.

Do you know where I can get the solid copper line? I don't see monoprice.com carrying it unfortunately. They're usually the cheapest for wiring.

[Don Stephens 0]

Do you know where I can get the solid copper line? I don't see monoprice.com carrying it unfortunately. They're usually the cheapest for wiring.

 

Solid copper RG59 was never required in the past unless you were needing to exceed the recommended distances by manufacturers. This makes it a little more uncommon to find online since it's just recently begun to be sought after. Since it was never required in the past, distributors saw no need to market it when it's just a more expensive version of it's perfectly functional copper clad alternative.

 

The good news is that if you can find someone selling copper clad RG59, their almost certainly guaranteed to have solid copper RG59 available to them. The easiest method of obtaining it is to just call the supplier and order over the phone.

 

Arguably you can use the proper type of RG6 cable as an alternative and that might be easier to find, but that's not Siamese cable, not required, and occasionally not recommended.

[slimcubby 0]

Do you know where I can get the solid copper line? I don't see monoprice.com carrying it unfortunately. They're usually the cheapest for wiring.

 

Solid copper RG59 was never required in the past unless you were needing to exceed the recommended distances by manufacturers. This makes it a little more uncommon to find online since it's just recently begun to be sought after. Since it was never required in the past, distributors saw no need to market it when it's just a more expensive version of it's perfectly functional copper clad alternative.

 

The good news is that if you can find someone selling copper clad RG59, their almost certainly guaranteed to have solid copper RG59 available to them. The easiest method of obtaining it is to just call the supplier and order over the phone.

 

Arguably you can use the proper type of RG6 cable as an alternative and that might be easier to find, but that's not Siamese cable, not required, and occasionally not recommended.

 

So is it even worth buying the solid copper wire then? My runs aren't exceeding the max.

[Don Stephens 0]

So is it even worth buying the solid copper wire then? My runs aren't exceeding the max.

 

I mean exceeding the maximum recommended transmission distance for standard definition analog cameras.

 

With high def analog, I've seen consistently good results with copper clad up to 240-250 feet before starting to see any video degradation. To be honest though, solid copper is the much safer bet and much like Cat6 is to Cat5e, if you find the right people to buy from, the cost difference is negligible.

[slimcubby 0]

Do you think it's truley 720p with the BNC connection style camera?

[TheRock598 0]

Have you found a system that you like?

If not why not look at this system;

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16881183042&cm_re=laview-_-81-183-042-_-Product

 

I have this system for over a month now and the cameras are great in daytime and nighttime. I do not know if the q-see system you mentioned with 700 TVL is equal to the 1000 TVL cams in the link above. Maybe google it and compare the difference if you like. I am very pleased with the LaView 8 ch 4 cam system I have. The link above shows the system without a HD. But I have found that buying a WD Purple 1TB HD separate is cheaper than buying same system with HD included. ( Be sure to buy a HD compatable with surveillance systems if you don't want a WD). Installation of HD is simple and the LaView system is easy to setup. Remote live viewing and email alert works great on my iPhone free LaView app.

 

I was not impressed with some of the systems like Q-See and Lorax , etc that were available in stores in my area. I done a lot of searching for months before finally finding a system I liked.

 

Good luck on finding a system to meet your needs.

 

cheers