CCTV system to monitor outside and gate

[alkit 0]

Hi,

 

I'm looking to install a 4 channel cctv system to monitor and record the street, pedestrian gate and big gate.

 

Please see attached scetch of my house and where I want to place my cctv cameras.

 

I basically want:

1) To have about a weeks recording of activity on all 4 cameras

2) Cameras should be clear enough to recognise number plates (by main gate) and faces (by pedestrian gate). I'm looking for decent quality.

3) Decent NVR/DVR

 

I just am not sure where to start. Does the horizontal resolution mean anything?

Do I want dome/bullet?

Which brand to go for? Some say Hikvision, others say Dahua. And within that, is there a difference between brand of NVR and cameras.

 

Perhaps if someone can point me to somewhere where I can find all the answers (if such a knowledgebase exists)?

 

Thanks in advance

[zr1 0]

Nice diagram that shows good coverage with the cameras. Where (and how) you run cable will be a big part of the project.

 

Lots of topics, so I'll break them down where I can.

 

1) Week's recording of activity

If you go with recording only motion activity, you'll get two benefits:

* you get 1-2 months of recording on your hard drive for say...a 2TB drive. 4TB drive will give you more. This depends on how many cameras, how high of resolution, and how much motion.

* whenever you want to go back and find a video clip, it's much easier to find a motion even than combing through a constant 24/7 recording.

 

Sidenote - Motion of the street:

Since your cameras are pointing outward, there is a setting on most DVR/NVR systems to block out sections of the screen so that it doesn't trigger a motion-recording event from cars passing by on the street.

 

2) Video clear enough to read number plates & see faces

The higher the resolution and nighttime performance, the better it is to see those details.

For the part about number plates, now you're talking 3MP or 4MP cameras. They do make a very nice image though!

 

3) Decent DVR/NVR

For IP systems, I find fewer hassles of compatibility when I use the same brand. Plus if I need to contact tech support, contacting 1 company gets the problem resolved. When there's 2 brands, both companies can often blame each other and the problem's still not resolved.

 

Brand A/B mixing does work...for the most part (with the ONVIF protocol)...but when I'm starting from scratch on a system, it's just easier to eliminate any Brand A/B difficulties and buy all 1 brand.

 

NVR Sidenote

Even though 3 channels right now, most everybody gets the idea later to expand. A 4ch NVR gives you 1 extra slot. But compare the 8ch NVRs which in many cases aren't much more money for future expansion.

 

Hikvision & Dahua

They aren't the only game in town. But both of these brands work very well, give very good quality, and are a real good cost.

So much so, that there's a lot of brands out there that are rebranded Hikvision/Dahua systems. Which isn't bad....some of them simply rebrand it, mark up the price, and then give a pretty good warranty/customer service.

 

Dome/Bullet

Both types can be had for most types of image quality...until you really go up in price for more specialized needs (lens, etc).

 

Domes can be made to be more vandal resistant.

Bullets are faster to install/align (probably why there's more of those at Costco, etc.)

 

My residential customers

* get whatever they think looks good.

* more often use mini-bullets like the Hikvision DS-2CD2032-I except right next to walkways where I use more domes.

 

My business customers

* get whatever they think looks scariest to the would-be-criminal.

* typically go with high-mounted large bullets outside (or inside large/warehouse buildings) like the Hikvision DS-2CD2232-I5, and vandal-resistant domes inside or down low where people might be able to reach.

* professional offices often get cameras that fit their decor inside such as turret cameras such as the Hikvision DS-2CD2332-I are popular right now.

 

Searching this site on dome vs bullet and you'll get a lot of good information...plus a lot of lively discussion as there's a lot of room for opinion on the subject.

 

Horizontal number

Look at the total spec to figure out what the image quality will (mostly) be like.

Lately, using the horizontal number in the marketing title on the product is simply a way to draw customers in to buying a sub-DVD quality image by using a bigger number.

 

For example:

D1 = crappy video

960H = widescreen crappy video