My system

[Lil 0]

Even though we live in a "safe" area we had a scare a few nights ago when an under the influence 21 year old violated a restraining order at a house on our street. When the owner of the house did not let him in, the violater tried to burn it down. Police were called and they were tracking him with a dog when he appeared on our front porch and tried to get in. Fortunately I had just locked the deadbolt. He also saw a photo eye above our porch light and thought it was a camera so he eventually left and was caught. This got us thinking it might be a good idea to really have surveillance.

 

We have been researching online for a decent system to install ourselves. We are capable as we remodel houses as part of our occupation and have a contractor and an electrician in the family. The thing is that we seem to have way over estimated where the technology is for these systems. Been watching to much TV I guess!

 

Originally we thought we would have wireless cameras that uploaded footage to online storage using LTE technology. Ha! Anticipated at least a month of recordings saved before overwriting. A double Ha!

 

After tempering expectations, this is where we are:

Probably will get a system with 4 or 6 cameras hardwired to a DVR in a secured, (as much as possible) box. Would like some of the cameras to be motion detected recording. But two that point out towards the street, we were thinking best if recording all the time. The reason for those two is that we have read that the motion cameras often have a lag that misses whatever set them recording. Also the cameras may see beyond the range of the motion detectors.

 

Is the idea of video being uploaded to online storage unrealistic still? If so, maybe there is a camera that in addition to video stored locally, would take a few still photos and upload those?

 

When I look at hardware to buy, there are a lot of choices in Lorex, Amcrest, Q-See, etc. Those brands get a lot of bad reviews, however. Avigilon, Genetec, and Hikvision seem to get better reviews but be much less available for direct consumer purchase.

 

We are realistic about cost and the idea of paying a yearly fee for online storage. We are just having a hard time finding what seems to be dependable technology.

 

Does anyone have suggestions for us to continue looking? Is automatic online storage of any type, even stills, unrealistic?

 

Thanks - Lily and family.

[Lil 0]

It's been a while since my questions and I have continued to research. Still no success though. It sure would be easier if there was a business that sold this stuff locally, other than big box stores. Or a company that did anything other than the old fashioned monitored systems with an ongoing fee and long term contract. Does anyone please have some knowledge/suggestions in response to the last paragraph or two of my previous post? Thanks in advance.

[tomcctv 190]

Hi. The lorex IP system will do what you need also off site storage.

 

Lorex/flir is a dahua product

[Lil 0]

Thanks. I mistakenly thought those only stored recording locally and then also allowed you to view remotely with a computer or smart phone. But you are saying a system like the one linked below will not only record to the box but also for a yearly fee, record to the cloud?

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B010EC5PBC/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1467673939&sr=8-2&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=lorex+ip&dpPl=1&dpID=41v1pXGTujL&ref=plSrch

[SunnyKim 2]

We are realistic about cost and the idea of paying a yearly fee for online storage. We are just having a hard time finding what seems to be dependable technology.

 

Does anyone have suggestions for us to continue looking? Is automatic online storage of any type, even stills, unrealistic?

 

Thanks - Lily and family.

 

On line storage sounds Fancy. But it can record as small as its limited network bandwidth,as you may experience when accessing video with your smart phone. It does not increase the bandwidth. Just buy a HDD for stand alone DVR for storing good quality video at such a low cost.

[Lil 0]

On line storage sounds Fancy. But it can record as small as its limited network bandwidth,as you may experience when accessing video with your smart phone. It does not increase the bandwidth. Just buy a HDD for stand alone DVR for storing good quality video at such a low cost.

 

This is Dad now, daughter went back home to Seattle.

 

I don't think I understand what you mean. The reason for wanting to store online is not to be fancy, but because it would be so easy to just steal the DVR if there was an intruder.