Recommend a CCTV system ~£400/$600

[Conrad Verner 0]

Hello,

 

I'm thinking about upgrading my current shambles of a CCTV system and I have about £400 to spend.

 

I have three cheap unbranded cameras from my FPV days and an unbranded 4-ch DVR I bagged off ebay, in total about £40 worth including an HDD pulled from the bin. Despite the low cost the lot has worked surprisingly well for the last three years;

 

- The lot runs through existing CAT5e cables (via baluns), I wired the house with cat5e when I moved in

- I can view the individual cameras very quickly via RTSP, using VLC and a shortcut on the computer desktop

- Reviewing footage over the DVR's web interface is easy enough, but I don't like the activeX component requirement

- I don't trust the DVR's security, I've effectively blocked it from the web and off-site access is over VPN only.

 

My objectives;

 

- Improve video quality [EDIT: Will certainly need new cameras]

- Initial 2 camera requirement, additional camera capacity welcome but not required

- Enable access over smartphones, e.g. good app support.

- Retain quick individual camera stream access using VLC or similar

- Utilise existing CAT5e wiring

- Ease my security concerns

 

So, what can you suggest?

 

Thanks!