Security Camera for House

Hello All,

I am in the process of building a house and want to know which wired and wireless camera security system is best for the house?

Thank you,
Kamal

 

I have 8x Uniview IP cameras with starlight around my home, all running back to a 2 drive 6TB NVR , with a UPS . All accessible via the EZVIEW app . These can be configured in all kinds of ways ; facial recognition , motion sensitive , hot zones etc . I don’t use any of that . I tried it and my phone was getting alarms every 2 seconds as leaves blew by or cars drove by or the wind blew by . Now I just let them record on a loop .

C.R.Kennedy Surveillance | UNV Turret 5MP IP67 IR 2.8mm Starlight


I also have 4x Netgear Arlo Pro places internally . These really serve as both a camera system and an internal alarm as you can set them to detect motion . You are sent a notification to your phone via the Arlo app anytime motion is detected in the house . This is primarily what I use them for . They are battery powered but you can plug them in via an AC adaptor . As long as they are plugged into power you get 7 days free cloud storage . If you run them on batteries - which last about 1 year before needing to be charged - you don’t get the free cloud storage . You need to purchase a cloud subscription
Arlo are weatherproof and can be used outdoors but they are not something I’d use as my “serious” outdoor camera system . But they are an excellent indoor system .

The system in a box that you can buy at JB or similar apparently work OK as well - but for me, can’t go past the Uniview Starlight - check it out on YouTube - turns night into day .... almost . As long as there’s a tiny bit of ambient light, it amplifies it and the video becomes very bright .

 

The first part of the answer is wired and Powered Over Ethernet...

 

Agree with both previous posts
Has to be wired, PoE is the cost effective option (wireless can conflict with internet/other wireless)...

More memory storage the better (you may not realize something has occured for weeks and may even need to review months of footage).

UPS is a must !!! (otherwise I can just walk up to your meterbox and flick off the entire system) If the power trips during start up it can wipe th OS (as it did to mine)

I recently had quotes to supply an upgraded system, could buy the same off Ebay far cheaper

 

Wired is the way to go.
My installer just installed them, but I configured them to save some $$$.

Dahua, Hikvision are two brands worth looking at.
Cameras are about $110 each, the NVR (network video recorder) is $200-$400
4tb hard disk is $150.

Main thing is to have enough to cover all blindspots.

Don’t expect it to be able to catch number plates. It really depends on where it is aimed. Mine are aimed at the entry points and windows of the house.

 

When you say your installer just installed means ? Just want to know more as I can adapt same way to save money if you can help me out with that?

 

Where can you buy the uniview cameras?

 

I looked at Dahua and Hikvision , which are far and away the 2 most popular brands ... and excellent by all reports - but discovered US and AUS Govt are removing them as they have concerns about Back doors being included that allow the Chinese to spy .

That didn’t bother me - the Chinese Govt can stare at my yard all they want . My Border Collies aren’t going to give them anything too fascinating to watch

But in my research I came across Starlight Technology , which takes ambient light and illuminates it to create a colour / daylight type of image . Uniview offer it so I went with Uniview . Take a look at the pic below . My back yard backs onto a forest so it’s pitch black at night . But look at my camera view ... the pool has no lights on - just the ambient light from the house is enough to illuminate the starlight and make the picture change from infrared /Black and white , to colour .

They operate as standard infrared cameras at night until a light comes on - so you’ll see the driveway is in black n white , as is the side staircase - but if someone walked there and triggered the sensor lights , the pictures become colour , just like the pool

 

Where do you live?

 

You will need someone to install them . They require Cat 5 or 6 to be run back from the cameras - which will usually be installed under eaves - to an NVR . The NVR can be placed anywhere - although I recommend. You place it somewhere secure such as a roof void or similar . And add a UPS or the system is easily bypassed by cutting your power .

You will also need to program them . The complexity of this will depend on how you wish to use them. If you just want them to record , it’s easy. If you want to set up alarms and bells and whistles such as hot zones and facial recognition it requires some more complex knowledge of the software .

 

I live in parramatta and building in Schofield.

 

And what is the cost of the camera and where to get it from ?

 

PM Me. I'm happy to put you in touch with my guy . He is based at The Ponds so its local to where you are building...

I don't know how easy it easy to buy them retail. They distribute through wholesalers such as

Integrated Dome Cameras - Alloys

IP Camera Kit - Alloys

AND

C.R.Kennedy Surveillance | Uniview

 

Here’s what happens when the sensor light is triggered. As you can see... big difference.

 

We discussed the locations of the cameras
Electrician ran the ethernet cables to those cameras and they all came to a central location.
Electrician crimped the cables
Electrician screwed the dome cameras in.

As i pre configured the cameras all to be working, i quickly connected the NVR first.
As he installed each camera, it came online and he was able to use my phone which was connected to the NVR to determine the correct location to point the camera at.

I also had an ipad which was also connected the NVR so i see where he was pointing the camera and could let him know if i wanted it a little to the left or right.

An alternative is to purchase cameras with a PTZ function which allow panning of left and right and up and down. But they are double the price. The ones I bought were fixed location (you adjust manually prior to closing the lid).

I saved about $500 by purchasing and configuring the cameras myself beforehand. In my opinion, its not a great idea to have a system installed and having no idea how to use it and having to call someone when it goes down.

Fixed Camera
DAHUA 4MP MOTORIZED DOME POE IP CAMERA IPC-HDBW4433R-ZS 2.7-13.5mm SECURITY CCTV | eBay

PTZ Camera
Dahua 4MP 4X Optical PTZ ZOOM IP Dome Network H.265 P2P POE Camera SD22404T-GN | eBay

 

@euro73
Nice pics. My night pics aren't that great. I'm actually thinking of getting a starlight one that points out to the street specifically to capture number plates.
Do you have dome or turret cameras?

 

Starlight is impressive . I have these cameras

 

Can you guys let me know how much it did cost? Install + camera ?

And can someone pm me the contact details.

Thank you

 

@wlock1881
My install (cable running and device install) was $1000
5 cameras with cabling running to a central point and then also running cabling from my router to the central point where the NVR was located

5 cameras + NVR + 4tb HDd was about $1k

 

Make sure the NVR you get supports PoE