Security Camera Thread: The Mother of...
 

I know the subject has been discussed here and I have read some of the older threads.

I have some questions and was hoping for some input, please.

I'd like to set up some outside cameras for my home.

I don't use a smart phone so looking for something that can work without that device.

Wireless vs. wired. Up and downsides, besides the obvious wiring stuff is always more work.

I have an Amazon firebox with Alexa but only use it for streaming TV. But I see references to using Alexa on some of the sites. Is my current Alexa/Amazon firebox something I could use in conjunction with a multi-camera system?

I'm thinking 4 cameras would be ideal. I want audio as well as video, too.

Thanks!

I have an Arlo doorbell and camera system, you can use it with either a smartphone or computer. Overall I’m happy with it, the video quality is good, the audio is ok, and it has been stable. I personally like that they aren’t affiliated with a major company like Amazon, particularly since Ring has a history of providing customer camera footage without permission and data breaches. The cameras are wireless and battery powered, for my installation I put them all close to a power source so I don’t have to worry about charging batteries. My cop friend recommended them to me, he uses them on battery and said they are good for 2-3 months on average if you aren’t recording 24/7. I would do it again, it’s nice peace of mind especially when I’m gone.

Do you need "real time" or after-the-fact footage....trail cams in 90 sec video mode with audio will do the latter. My best one is a Moultrie several years old...flashless with awesome audio...have several others w/ no auduo....all are decent and prices are much cheaper now.

I guess I don't really understand the point? So you can watch video of your stuff getting stolen?
With no phone you can't leverage the microphone/speaker functionality. By the time you can call the police the perps and your stuff will be long gone.

I recently installed a camera system in my home. Eight cameras with DVR and all hard wired. It was very easy to install even programming it was easy. The hardest part was running the wires as I have a two story home but I ran all the wires in the soffits. The guy across the street has the ring wireless system. It works great but it was hacked once and all of the video from the time he needed it was deleted. Funny thing is the other day I went out to my car and my ash tray was open and my change was gone so I went back on my cameras and viewed the footage of some ahole going in my car at 3;30 AM and going through the car, He was in it for almost 4 minutes.

Truth is...none of them are good for much...except mebbe identifying a local kid or someone you know. They just make folks feel safer...

Baz has dogs though :)

edited: I don't use my cams for home security btw....just pointed them out as an option.

Security stickers/sign and a barking dog...just as or even more effective imo.

I bet y'all use Lifelock too :D

Mine was good for getting my wife off of my back.:D

In all seriousness we have had a lot of petty vehicle crime in my neighborhood and I’m hoping that I can at least know if one of the scumbags is snooping around my house. If they try to get in I’m not expecting the cameras to protect me, I have other tools for that job.;) It will also be nice if I’m gone on vacation and see someone snooping around, I can sound the alarm and call the cops with a button push.

The cops will show up....ten minutes later...if they're in a hurry. No different than alarm systems....they make wives feel safer....and that REALLY does matter ;)!

I already have trail cameras, KC. Need more.

I'm looking for something I can use to keep an eye on things real time and also have it recorded for me for when I'm away or asleep, etc.

It's not just about criminal activity - there's much more you can use these for. But absolutely having something on tape always helps when something criminal is afoot.

Thanks for all the input so far everyone. Keep the conversation coming, please....

True. But if I’m not home, that’s what insurance is for. If I am home, that’s what .357 is for.:)

I set up a system with 4 cameras, and a DVR that stores two weeks of HD video of all 4 cameras.

We did see proof of a pizza delivery driver try to back up our driveway and whack the garden stacked stone wall and tear up his mom's van. It left a very tiny scratch on my driveway where one of the stones was knocked lose. The tag was clear, and the van with the delivery sign on the roof was clear. I could have made the kid's life worse but it was really a small little scratch in a 25 year old driveway. The scratch has vanished after a rain. His mom's minivan took the damage and he will have enough problems with that.

If I can identify the type of vehicle or the perps of any crime that might happen, I am happy to help. So far we are crime free, and hope to remain that way.

I have the Power over Cat 5e wired camera system. The cameras receive the power needed from the system from small transformers on each line. I can have up to 8 cameras, but 4 is enough to cover the important areas. All the cameras are outdoors. If some one hacks the system somehow it will be some boring video.

I just installed new cameras on my house. I previously had a Lorex system from Costco but this new system (AvertX) is far superior (also from Costco but only available online). It is very clear and I could read a license plate from 100 ft. The night vision is really good too. It came with an 8TB NVR which is probably needed for a 4k system. It stores about 2 months of footage and then overrides itself.

From all the research I did, wired is better and wireless is never really wireless since most cameras need a power source). The better your system is (ie.., 4k, etc), the more power they require.

With the modern 4k and digital setup, the wiring is a Cat5 wire vs the 1080p systems which use an older setup that has two separate wires (power and data).

My setup uses dome cameras (it came with 8) and they are considered better as they are hard to tell which direction the camera is pointed, harder for a thief to pull off the house, have break resistant domes and you would have a hard time breaking with a baseball bat). I added two bullet cameras for a total of 10 cameras and I went with bullet due to mounting issues). I also put one of the domes in my built-in book case in my living room which gives me a general view of my home from inside without ruining anyone's privacy). It took me a week to install as I did two cameras a night and climbing thru the attic was time consuming.

I really like my new setup. I can view the cameras from my computer at work or any computer. I can also view on my phone using an app that you download. I installed the NVR recorder in my regular stereo cabinet so it is direct wired to my TV and I can view on the TV anytime.

https://www.avertx.com/

This is from my old system. This guy broke into my mail box at 4am, activated my debit card and charged about 6k on my card. Because I had footage of him pulling a camera off the house, I made flyers and posted them around the neighborhood. I also filed a police report and using my flyer, the sheriff found him and arrested him.

Yes, I was able to watch my stuff getting stolen but was also able to catch the guy. These pictures were taken in total darkness. The last picture is my front porch camera watching the thug hang from a different camera and the police were able to get his size from that.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1590012275.jpg


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One more thing....I once bought a set of speakers from Crutchfield. When they were delivered, I got a text from UPS but when I got home there was nothing on my porch. I reviewed the camera footage only to see the UPS guy ringing the doorbell and when nobody answered, he launched the boxes over the side fence. Fortunately, they landed on a pile of grass but I would never have checked the side of the house.

I have both Arlo (4 cameras around the perimeter and in garage) and a Ring floodlight/ camera on the front of the garage facing the street and cars.

Hands down the Ring is a better device. We've had the thefts from unlocked vehicles in our area but it has dropped to zero since my neighborhood is LEO, fire and studio "Jabonis" like me.

Every morning the Wife likes to review the footage. Raccoons, deer, cats, rabbits and one skunk who luckily me and the dog have never met in person.

which reminds me...

anybody know of a security cam wired to a set gun?

When I lived in Ventura way back when a guy kept getting his garage broken into and they were stealing his construction tools. He'd had enough and rigged a motion sensor in the garage to a floodlight in his bedroom.

Light woke him up and he staggered out with shotgun and shot the guy. Didn't end well for either party.

^^^ Yep...I'd shoot to protect myself....but would become a "backdoor man" like an Allman Brother first.

After my mail was repeatedly getting stolen out of my locking mail box, I created a real neat booby trap....I pounded several nails up from the bottom of a rat trap. Then I spray painted it black, and velcro'd it inside my mailbox and lightly covered it with some mail. I thought the guy would get snapped and then the natural reaction would be to yank his hand that would have nails piercing thru....I couldn't wait to "nail" this guy.

Next night, I was at dinner at a neighbor's house, who happens to be a lawyer. I was telling her about the booby trap and she sent me home to immediately remove it! She then quoted some case law where a guy filled his mail box with cement after kids were repeatedly driving by and hitting it with a baseball bat. One night he waited in the dark and sure enough, the kids drove by and slammed the mailbox with a baseball bat. The bat snapped half and drove itself into the kids head and killed him. Mailbox owner went to jail, probably lost his house too.

Moral of the story, if you do catch someone on camera, and you do shoot him. Drag him into the house before calling the cops and make sure the criminal was attempting to attack you....wink wink.

That is ridiculous! First of all, what does a concrete filled mailbox have to do with anything even resembling manslaughter or any jailable offense? I'd really like to see the actual case. Something ain't right about that.

What if the guy simply replaced the box with something on the order of 1/4 inch steel plate? That's a viable mailbox if it meets USPS guidelines

No, I'm not buying that for a second.

The rat trap with nails? That's definitely a no go. You can't booby trap another human and a lot of animals as well. Too bad, really. Would make some excellent YouTube.

Slingshotting squirrels comes to mind. ;)

I happened to catch the majority of an infomercial just this weekend about the Blink camera system. They are wireless - and they claim the 2AA Batteries last about 2 years in the camera. I just googled to their page - they are an Amazon company (didn't know that until just now) and they integrate with Alexa.

We have 3 wifi cameras that are viewable from any mobile device including smartphone, ipod ($199) ipad, or any mobile device that can load the app. These are motion activated along with several motion activated outdoor lighting.

I think cameras alone have limited value but along with a gated property, big black dogs, motion activated lighting, secure mailbox, cars always garaged, very secure doors and windows, bear spray, Remington 870, it is unlikely that any bad guys will choose to come around. They like easy pickings, not hardened targets. We have been in this house 15 years and the only problem we ever had was 3am mailbox gremlins. Solved that with a hardened mailbox and the 3am skels don't come around anymore.

We had the blink system at our old house and it worked well. For whatever reason, I can’t get them to work at our new house. I must have tried 100 times and gave up.

Our wifi password has an ! In it and I think blink doesn’t accept it.

Phalanx system, OBVIOUSLY.:p

There is the video of the guy that hooked up his paintball gun to a system that detects motion. Pretty sure it's out on youtube.

FYI: regarding Blink, I just ran across this article that states:

And this:

I'm looking at Arlo right now, but wondering why Craigster said Ring is a better device.

Arlo Pro 3 - Home Security Camera System | Wire-Free 2K Video with HDR, Color Night Vision, Spotlight, 160° View, 2-Way Audio, Siren | Works with Alexa | Add-on Camera | Requires Arlo Smart Hub

Ran across the very recent video that does a good job reviewing the Arlo Pro 3. They've come a long way with the rechargeable batteries for the cameras!

<iframe width="958" height="539" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bW2-CXSMDpA" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I have a bunch of Blinks. They are very good for what they are designed to be. An inexpensive, moderate picture quality, completely wireless security camera that captures movement.

The outdoor camera has night vision, the indoor camera does not, only about $10 price difference. Both have a visible illuminator which gives a much better nighttime image than the infrared. The cameras run about 6 months on a pair of lithium AAs, more if rarely triggered. They are not meant to let you watch your birdfeeder or babysitter live all day, they only capture short clips. The maximum distance between camera and control module is limited, about 50-70’ in my experience if there are wood walls between. You can receive alerts and view clips or trigger a 60 live view from anywhere you have a smartphone. Everything is recorded on the cloud. They won’t let you read a license plate at 100’ or anything like that. They are easy to conceal, if you want to mount behind a picture with a little hole for the lens, or something like that. There is a blue LED lit when recording but you can turn that off on the outside camera, or simply tape it over. They are easy to set up, pretty reliable, no need to run wires, a basic but convenient and inexpensive option.

I have a set inside my house and garage, a set outside that watches the porch and entrances to house and yard and are colocated with motion lights, and a couple in the office. Each set (multiple cameras linked to one control module) has its own arm/disarm schedule. When we’re away, I set them to be armed 24/7 and wherever someone steps on my porch or comes onto my driveway I get an alert, then can watch the clip and/or check live view. When we’re home, I set them to be armed at night (for the office, weekend too). My son is at home this college term so I’ve had to adjust the schedule for his night owl habits.

I am slightly concerned that Amazon doesn’t seem to be emphasizing them, not impossible to see them dropped eventually, but that’s the same for all this cloud / IOT stuff - none of it is guaranteed to be functioning in 5 years, so I wouldn’t spend more than a few hundred $.

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Here’s screenshots of the Blink iOS app. Each camera shows a snapshot, you can take a new snapshot or trigger a live view, or switch to a different set, or view clips.

Here's one of my Nest Cams....
https://video.nest.com/live/4Lc0WbToTr

alexa/ring owners - ready to share your connections?
 

Exactly why I didn’t consider those devices for cameras. Btw Ring has been sharing camera video for years with law enforcement and other sources without individual approval or permission.

Disable it:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=GZ4VSNFMBDHLRJUK

"The only winning move is to not play the game"
-War Games movie

Why would anyone buy from a monopoly bazaar owner who is creating a remote neighborhood surveillance system?

Ready to share, like you are not already

If they are just the doorbell cameras pointed outside it is not the worst thing. I can't imagine having a camera inside my home. My DVR security system has multiple cameras outside. If some super hacker got through the firewall and passwords they will see some amazing action. About once every week a rabbit gets in our back yard and the dogs love to chase it. And the dogs crap in the back yard, that would be some great video. And cars driving down the street.I guess the video of me mowing and edging would be a big seller. I might have to start giving autographs if that went viral.

I have a Ring that points outside and I could care less about anyone seeing it.