CCTV: the ultimate minefield?!

[ThunderGuts]

So I've decided it's time to get CCTV fitted to the house, not because of any break-ins that have happened, but as both a preventative measure and to give peace of mind when away from home.

I've done a fair bit of research on this over the weekend and have arrived at the follow conclusions;

- I want wired rather than wireless (both for hacking security and to prevent WiFi blockers, although I realise the former can be mitigated with E2E encryption, the WiFi blocking bit worries me a bit as it sounds like any easy way to disable someone's cameras)

- Pretty set on power-over-ethernet type cameras as these will simplify the fitting a bit (although I'm under no illusions that fitting will still be a PITA)

- I don't need that many cameras realistically; 3 is the minimum, a 4th would be handy (most sets seem to come with 4)

- I want something with built-in recording capability so I don't have to pay a subscription service, i.e. a NVR system

It turns out, that's the easy bit. The more I now dig into this the more complicated it gets and my head is now spinning away. The "obvious" kits are the likes of Swann, but they get at best mixed reviews. Then there are the likes of Lorex, which get good reviews but generally have to be bought direct and imported from the USA, cue being bent over a barrel by the customs chappies with their marigolds lubed and ready. Then there's HikVision which seems again to offer good quality, not exactly cheap and there seems to be all sorts of concerns about the company behind them as it's majority owned by the Chinese state.

So . . . where does this leave me? Massively confused is the answer. I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place; either get some "budget" brand, all of which seem to have many problems (e.g. Swann), get something where the Chinese State will be watching my every move, or take out a second mortgage and get Mobotix (so valuable it probably needs another CCTV system to make sure it doesn't get nicked itself).

Back down to earth; does anyone have any experience of these various CCTV systems and any real-world recommendations? Have I got my head in the clouds if I think I can get a decent system for £400-£500?

Cheers.
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TG.

[stinkwheel]

CPC always seem to have loads of CCTV stuff for sale in their catalogues. No idea if it's any good.
https://cpc.farnell.com
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I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[ThunderGuts]

Ta - although the same conundrum still exists!

This is the sort of kit I keep looking at:

https://uk.swann.com/swnvk-879904/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAtICdBhCLARIsALUBFcHEgZqmEgSlB9ADzfJoUTNe35Pacbh2Q88jw-BYhH4Ho1tUeGBs3FYaAvw-EALw_wcB

It's within budget and seems to tick the boxes, just see stuff in the reviews like it takes several seconds to detect movement (perhaps not an issue if it loop-records, which presumably it will do, as could always wind back to just before the time stamp to get some footage) and the NVR is noisy apparently but I'm guessing this might be the case with any system!
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TG.

[Nobby the Bastard]

Pretty sure that Chinese intelligence and espionage really aren't interested in what time your amazon deliveries are.
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Triumph Sprint ST 1050

[grr666]

I have 3 cameras and a video doorbell all by Eufy. Back garden camera is 1080p, has a large double security light built in
and runs off the mains it has internal storage for footage. Side gate camera is 2k, battery powered and is still on it's
first charge, it went up in May . Same type of 2k camera on the front over the driveway has been charged 3 times
since install but sees a lot more 'traffic'. Doorbell camera is a dual camera model, one looking forward and one looking
downwards for keeping an eye on parcels left on doorstep it can run off battery or hard wired to mains with an adaptor. Very
happy with them all, there is an encrypted base station data storage unit indoors which doubles as a chime for the doorbell.
It records what the doorbell cam, drive cam and gate cam picks up. All footage can only be accessed via a phone registered
to the base station and floodlight camera. Easy setup, no ongoing fees but an option to add cloud storage if I want to. All have
two way speech, built in alarms on all of them, mini floodlights, IR night vision on all of them and they can be linked via simple
routines in app so when one is triggered it wakes the others ready to record. Good support, easy to use app, simple setup
of activation zones, can be set to only recognise human movement and ignore the neighbours cat. Easy to switch off
completely if needed or snooze for a peset period of time and all of them speak to Alexa who verbally alerts in the house
when they are triggered and they can be viewed on my Echo show devices. Very decent quality footage from all of them.
My folks have Ring cameras and frankly they are garbage in comparison.
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[hellkat]

[Nobby the Bastard]

As I said, there's not really much value in knowing that the terrier from no. 23 is the one that keeps crapping on your front lawn. If you want to store footage offline, use a stand alone cheap PC in the loft to.record it all and then there's not even any connection to the Internet.

You could even vpn it and firewall them from the rest of a system that is connected to the Internet.
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trevor saxe-coburg-gotha:"Remember this simple rule - scooters are for men who like to feel the breeze on their huge, flapping cunt lips."
Triumph Sprint ST 1050

[The Artist]

[grr666]

[chickenstrip]

[Nobby the Bastard]

[chickenstrip]

[chickenstrip]

[dave001]

[Easy-X]

Many moons ago I used to be a CCTV installer for pubs and restaurants, so proper kit demanded by licensing officers.

The cheapest and easiest set up is "consumer" network cameras you can pick up from Currys. You could get ones that store some footage on a memory card and just use the Interwebs for a live view, no subs required. The major downside is someone stealing the cameras!

TBF the linked Swann set up of 4 IP cameras + NVR would be perfectly fine for what you need. The alternative is analogue DVR technology which is what I used to install. 4x 4k analogue cameras + 2TB 4k 4-channel DVR probably comes out at ~£450 inc. VAT.

https://puretechsecurity.co.uk/viper-4k2
https://puretechsecurity.co.uk/viper/hd-analogue-cameras/4k-cameras

Not sure whether Pure Tech would sell to you but I still have a trade account with them if you need anything.
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[ThunderGuts]

The alternative it seems is to trust opening my network up to Hikvision and get their higher grade stuff; probably only get a few cameras for the price of a much bigger setup from Swann, but it would be genuine 4k and better quality I imagine. I've read some things about the Swann kit suggesting there are limitations on setting the cameras not to trigger false alerts (I have both trees and a busy road - I can imagine false alarms a-plenty otherwise).

Definitely want to go PoE, not analogue, simpler wiring.
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TG.

[The Artist]

TBH, the issue isn't Chinese vs non Chinese, it is just whether you want remote viewing or not. If you do, then the ONLY secure way to do it is have the feed going to your own webserver.

If you buy a kit from a company that gives you an app to view your cameras remotely, all your feeds go through them and I trust Ring etc the same amount I trust Eufy or whoever. Not at all.

When I get round to a CCTV, it will be a self contained system recording to SSD and then I will be able to access it remotely via a direct connection. No cloud bullshit, no trusting third parties other than the usual ones I need to for internet access.

FWIW, I work with Hikvision kit for work and it is really high quality kit. The only better stuff has been another level more expensive. You don't need to worry about China snooping if you don't actually connect to a wide open network.

[P.]

[The Artist]

[Irn-Bru]

I use Reolink, it's the 4K/5MP x4 camera kit off Amazon, was around £280 on sale I believe. I also bought weather resistant cat5e which was another £70ish on top, I used quite a lot of it

It's the only CCTV system I've ever owned/installed so it's all I know. The phone app is great, nice to check up on the house. Extremely reliable, never had to reboot it or physically touch the NVR in 2 years, lucky as it's stashed in the attic. Quality is excellent, sound is a bit tinny.

Regrets: the HDD is a bit small, I can only get about 8 days worth of footage at max quality settings, easily fixed but I'm lazy. The cameras themselves are a bit old fashioned/industrial looking, I wish I had gone for a kit with those turret style ones, they blend in a bit more.

Took me a full day to install everything, I used about 120M of cable, most of that time was spent cleating/cable strapping it about the place. Proper installers won't have cable on show, my house isn't suited to that, but it's definitely safer and less hassle. Terminating the cable was a bit fiddley, plenty of YouTube videos about to show you how - strongly recommend a cable tester.

As far as I know my NVR only works on a wired ethernet connection, so this was actually the biggest issue I had... until I discovered TP-Link Powerline, luckily my router and NVR are on the same ring circuit and it's perfect. If the connection is bad I would think the app would be laggy and annoying to use.

You also need to be careful where you fit the cameras, they can't be too high up really, and obviously you want to cover all doors and windows. Lots of videos on YouTube about placement - good to do some research before buying. NVR location will dictate a lot of stuff too.

Also recommend a doorbell camera, Eufy being my preference.
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[Easy-X]

[Robby]

I have the google kit. Subscription is a tenner a month on 3 cameras. I went for it because the devices get updates for a long time, I'm fairly sure the overall service will stick around as long as I need it to, and I'm confident about where my data is going and who can see it.

Before discounting a standard wifi based setup, think about the threats you're protecting against. If you're seriously concerned about a targeted attack with a broad spectrum wifi blocker, you should also be concerned about having your electricity supply cut. So that means having a UPS on the cameras, internet line, and hard drive storage.

If you're concerned about getting robbed while on holiday, you need cloud storage, otherwise the thieves can take the hard drive storage with them.

I would go for a normal system from a big name. Avoid cheap no-name crap, its no different from buying a padlock on ebay.

[ThunderGuts]

[ThunderGuts]

[Easy-X]

I only know the Qvis stuff so I couldn't speak to the HikVision... probably, the Chinese aren't known for their imagination
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Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter