Home CCTV kits

[jaynana]

think its about time i went this path - better avoid or at a minimum add a deterrent than be sorry i think..

got me thinking based on this thread..

what CCTV kits do folk use/recommend?

my knowledge on these is currently just above zero, this is as far as its gone, that too because i saw it on a leaflet!

what are the features to look out for etc..

thx

j

[IanP]

My camera system has been in for a while (since the X was slightly stolen), and didnt have remote monitoring. I see the one you linked to has that which would certainly be someting I would want. The small cameras do not have superb resolution, you may want to check out other systems. And make sure the system can support enough cameras to cover all blind spots. mine really needs 6.

[Denis O]

After having my X vandalised whilst on holiday I decided to invest in a Maplins kit. 2 cameras and recorder with 500GB hard drive by Swann. I also bought an extra camera which was about £70 for better night vision.

The car was scratched last October. CCTV went in in early November and to date, touch wood, no more issues with the littles shites that did the dirty.

I fitted everything myself. Cameras screwed to facia boards. Cables in through the soffit vents and then just followed one of the central heating pipes from the loft into my office via the void made for the pipe. Recorder sits next to my desk attached to a little 12" portable TV which shows the 3 cameras pictures. It scrolls though each camera every 8 seconds. Recording is only when movement sensor detects something (spiders webs are a pain in the ass) so the hard drive will last a long time before you run out. I'm reckoning about 6 months although I check things once a week and if no damage to car just reformat and it starts again.

If you're not careful you spend ages just monitoring what goes on outside although when my neighbours idiot son drove over our rubbish bags, the evening before collection, twice, I challenged him, he denied it until I told him he was on CCTV at which point I got a begrudging apology. It was likely him who had scratched the car although just my suspicion.

Well worth doing in my view and for very little money. Not sure any pictures would stand up in court but at least I know who's done thing now.

[awj85]

http://xdrivers.co.uk/forum/https://xdr ... 113#p74113

i too am still considering fitting CCTV tbh.  thing is i am kinda putting it off and off and i have a horrible feeling that by the time if and when i do eventually get it, it will be too late.  ideally i would like a camera pointing at my front door (which is literally on the pavement; we have no front garden at all.)  Then 2 or 3 cameras out the park covering my shed and X5.  There is a floodlight out the back which is PIR active and does do it job well.  I just like the cameras for my added piece of mind tbh. 

[Reusch]

If its cost there loads on 2nd hand ones on e bay mate just buy from a reputable seller.Get one ASAP mines on 24/7 can't live without it .

[X5Sport]

Unless you have a lot of money to invest in HD cameras then try to get ones with at least 700 TV Lines (TVL) and a recorder that can cope with recording at a high enough frame rate so that as you add cameras you don't suddenly find your frame rate drops.

We have a number of these Sony cameras connected to a GE recorder.  System runs 24/7 and can be accessed via the web as well as sending email and SMS Alarms.

The system can run with all the cameras at full record rate (30fps) but that cuts down how long the archive is on the hard drive.  I've set ours to run at 5fps unless there's an 'alert' at which point and then it goes to 30fps.  That gives just over a month of recording before it starts to overwrite itself.

The cheaper recorders tend to cut the frame rate as you add cameras because the hardware cannot cope with more than a couple of cameras at 30fps.

Don't bother with wireless systems as it's likely you may have a number of interfering transmitters from neighbours Internet systems.  If you're in the middle of open space then you'll be OK.

If you want a system that can provide evidential recording then the cheap systems are often no good as the camera resolution is too low at around 420TVL or less.  More is definitely better.

I would like to put a full HD IP camera/recording system in, but the cost is ridiculous at present.

Richard

[jaynana]

[quote="X5Sport"]
Unless you have a lot of money to invest in HD cameras then try to get ones with at least 700 TV Lines (TVL) and a recorder that can cope with recording at a high enough frame rate so that as you add cameras you don't suddenly find your frame rate drops.

We have a number of these Sony cameras connected to a GE recorder.  System runs 24/7 and can be accessed via the web as well as sending email and SMS Alarms.

[/quote]

thanks

so features:
700TVL min?
i like the feature u mention - 5fps usually and then 30fps when there's some activity.
what's an IP camera?

what i mean is - all these setups (or most) allow online/mobile viewing. so the device is IP/web enabled right? btw how does that happen - i get a web address?

a full set like this is £379!! maybe a bit less because that's 4 remotely controllable cams. i don't need all of em to be remotely controllable. maybe 2.


cheers

[X5Sport]

IP Cameras are connected to your home network, and with the right hub/network switch can be powered over the network cable.

My cameras need a separate 12v power supply for each camera plus a video feed all the way back to the recorder.  The recorder itself has a network port and I can access that from anywhere in the world.  No web address needed, just a bit of playing with the router.

You can do it via a web address unless like mine, your ISP provides you with a fixed IP address.  Then you just need to configure the home network correctly to allow connections to each camera or just the main recorder.

All my cameras are 'fixed' and overlapping.

Richard

[huck]

Really useful info,  thanks Richard.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk 4 Beta

[jaynana]

this is getting complicated, like all things J  )  - i can never settle for a half baked system and i end up spending massively.

is it a better idea to get a proper DVR and then hook up the cams as i go..

What are the popular DVR brands pls?

how about this.. or this?

i'm thinkin 8 cams for upgradability.. prob need 4 max

[Dimsum]

There was a similar thread over on Forum.bmw5 a little while back and I would echo what I said then.


"Get a decent system and good night vision is a must other wise its pointless.

At the end of the day, CCTV is notmally used to identify someone AFTER they have committed the offence. It needs to be über quality or its just a waste.

And make sure you can actually copy it onto disc/usb stick. I have lost count of the amount of times a poor victim of crime was so proud that they had CCTV to find out the system was actually so crap it didnt have a copy facility!

The best thing you can do is make it difficult/ nigh on mpossible for them to commit the offence in the first place. That means physical deterents, lights on sensors etc....

Make it do difficult and they will bugger off and hit an easy target instead."

We use peoples own CCTV every day at work and the range in quality is amazing. I appreciate my comment about making sure you can download it may seem obvious (and unneccesary on this thread,) but it truly is amazing how rubbish some systems can be.

Ther are plenty of professional companys/installers out ther so do plenty of research.

Good luck!

[X5Sport]

[quote="jaynana"]

is it a better idea to get a proper DVR and then hook up the cams as i go.. Yes

i'm thinkin 8 cams for upgradability.. prob need 4 max...Yes, but watch the recording quality
[/quote]

The first option you chose is a bit OTT, and appears to offer max resolution only with a single channel hooked up.  By the time you have four cams, the resolution looks to be about half that of a webcam - aka completely useless!

It's very important to check the spec of the recorder - I read the user manual of the first one just to see what it could really do.....the clue was that all the specs refer to 1CH - or one camera in use.  Reading the manual found the truth.

If you can find a recorder that will record all 4 cameras at 720x576 (the old UK TV resolution before HD) simultaneously then you're looking at the right kit.  My recorder comes in 4, 8, and 16 cam versions, but it will only simultaneously record 4 at max resolution.  The 8 & 16 cam versions cannot, but you can pick which four to have max res.

Richard

[jaynana]

thanks, yes i can see why the export through USB is important!

R - your kit looks fantastic!

this is a minefield!  :rant:

so re. the recording capability, i should look out for a DVR with ability to record minimum 4 channels at 4CIF quality (preferably 8 for future expand-ability); at 30FPS (NTSC).

btw D1 seems to be the similar standard in Sonys (plus Bosh's) proprietary world?

[X5Sport]

PAL for UK.  NTSC is the US standard.  The frame count is to do with the TV Standard (25fps UK), and stems from the mains frequency (50Hz).  US is 60Hz, hence 30fps.

The latest kit often quotes a maximum frame rate of say 200fps which you then need to divide by the number of cameras.

I know when our unit fails, it's replacement will not be cheap.......about £600 plus a CCTV hard drive not a PC type HDD.  The difference is small but significant as they are designed to run as CCTV units.

Richard

[dennys]

Hi
I have got one of these and they are fantastic and easy to set up 24 hour cctv recorded alarms etc

http://home-cctv.com/cnm-cctv-kit-h264- ... -p-32.html