Video surveilance system- anyone got one?

[Paul K]

All:

I need advice on a video surveillance system, preferably one that will record several days at a time. We live in a nice neighborhood, but there have been a few 'incidents' over the past year, plus I park my FJ in the street. I'd like to have one where I can mount the camera up under the apex of the roof to 'see' the whole front yard. Is a two camera system a lot more $$? Any recommendations?

Thanks,

Paul.

[HardDrive]

Does the one I installed in the girls locker room count?

[Paul K]

Sure, if it has decent resolution and can record.

Wait. Your system probably has an anti-fog lens and zoom capability, right? I don't think I'll need that...

[RoninLB]

i see many types of cameras in "Nuts and Volts" mag that caters to the electrical techies. I don't know enough to comment beyond that but a good inexpensive system can be put together.

member Souk went through this a couple of years ago at his home. I bet he'd have a good reply.

[Dantilla]

I used to have four cameras watching the rec room/pool area of an apartment complex.

The cameras were recorded with each camera getting every fourth frame- much better than the recorders that simply rotate cameras every five seconds or so. On playback, one camera would be selected, and only that camera's frames would be displayed.

One vendor we talked to really pushed towards getting sneaky with hidden cameras. No thanks. I want people to know they are being watched. I'd rather prevent mischeviousness than look for clues after the fact.

The indoor cameras were in plain sight, just too high for people to tamper with them. The outdoor cameras weren't so obvious- Tucked up under the eaves to keep most of the weather off of them.

Just having the cameras dropped the undesireable behavior to zero.

[Dottore]

Originally Posted by Dantilla

Just having the cameras dropped the undesireable behavior to zero.

Our local Home Hardware sells some very realistic dummy cameras for $14.95. The police tell me these are just as effective a deterrent as the real thing - and not nearly as frustrating, because you won't get to see the miscreant on tape.

[Danny_Ocean]

Originally Posted by Dantilla

The cameras were recorded with each camera getting every fourth frame- much better than the recorders that simply rotate cameras every five seconds or so. On playback, one camera would be selected, and only that camera's frames would be displayed.

That's old school. Tapes? A modern DVR will record all frames, regardless of sequence or dwell.

The consumer-grade stuff @ Costco or your local TV/Stereo warehouse is fine for residential. Get a DVR with the biggest hard-drive. The more storage, the longer you can record at a high(er) quality.

[Joeaksa]

I had some of the same issues at my house a few years ago. Got with a friend and mounted two halogen lights in the driveway just under the eaves of the roof pointing down the driveway. Triggered by a motion detector, they come on when anything happens in the driveway and illuminate EVERYTHING. I set the motion detector so that it will not trigger when someone walks on the sidewalk, so the neighbours are happy.

Not one problem with the cars since. You could do the same and aim one light in the direction of the FJ and adjust the sensor up to cover the car.

[javadog]

I've installed a few camera systems and, while I won't offer any specifics as to the hardware you need (there's only a zillion possible choices there,) I will mention a few pointers.

Make sure the resolution of the cameras is good enough that the images are useful. It's no good recording something that is so poor that you can't identify the perp, or read a license plate.

Locate the cameras where you get a point of view that yields useful info. As an example, you can't read a license plate on a car from the side, which is what you'll get when you point a camera straight out at a street. Two cameras are usually better than one.

Most bad things happen at night, so if you have enough light, you're good. If you don't have enough light, you're screwed. This is hard to actually achieve, without pissing off the neighbors.

Considering all of this, I think you are better off with motion lights, a large dog with a view of the area you are trying to secure and, maybe, a perimeter alarm.

JR

[Porsche_monkey]

Web-cam recorded to hard-drive?

(I saw Holmes on Homes the other day, the neighbour recorded this way and caught a window installer dropping the bay window on his helper. Very funny.)