I'm sure some of you know a lot more about security cameras than I do. Some of you know I own a bar in Pineville, and lately I've had a few minor issues that I'd like to have recorded. I'd like a wireless system that I can check with my laptop and my I phone. Any suggestions?
Security Cameras
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I'm assuming when you say wireless, you mean remote access. Wireless don't perform as well as hard wired.
I'd recommend a POE system. That's power over Ethernet. 1 wire....powers the camera and transmits the data.
I have a zmodo NVR Poe 720p system. It's ok. I'd recommend 1080p as a minimum, and 4k if it's available...but it will be pricey. You can buy systems that need a hard drive and save some money that way. Get a Western Digital PURPLE hard drive. A regular hard drive will not hold up to the constant recording a security system does.
Hope that helps some.
DS
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I'd recommend a POE system. That's power over Ethernet. 1 wire....powers the camera and transmits the data.
I have a zmodo NVR Poe 720p system. It's ok. I'd recommend 1080p as a minimum, and 4k if it's available...but it will be pricey. You can buy systems that need a hard drive and save some money that way. Get a Western Digital PURPLE hard drive. A regular hard drive will not hold up to the constant recording a security system does.
Hope that helps some.
DS
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If you have a good router/wifi set up .
I use YI Home cameras. Complete wireless ( besides the power cord). Has motion activation, motion tracking sound and voice speaker.
Work good for $35-40
https://www.amazon.com/YI-Wireless-...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=4PVC9NSKE6TSCF5PN2N2
I use YI Home cameras. Complete wireless ( besides the power cord). Has motion activation, motion tracking sound and voice speaker.
Work good for $35-40
https://www.amazon.com/YI-Wireless-...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=4PVC9NSKE6TSCF5PN2N2
RR
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I'm running a Blue Iris system with A crest Cameras. Mix of POE and Wifi. You can use the Amcrest App and cloud or micro SD recording if you want to skip the server.
If I owned a bar I wasn't at full time I'd look into a cash register interface system. That way you get video/pics with a receipt image to verify your employees aren't the problem. If you want a professional CCTV person let me know and I'll get you a referral. Lots of ways to go these days.
OP
I'm not having a problem with my employees. I've had some minor vandalism in the back room.
The Nest camera sends video 24-7-365 to the cloud, $100 a year for ten days of video archiving,
less expensive then having a PC running with a UPS. You can view from anywhere.
You can turn off the green led on the camera. You get alerts to email and or text messages.
less expensive then having a PC running with a UPS. You can view from anywhere.
You can turn off the green led on the camera. You get alerts to email and or text messages.
OP
I checked out the Nest cameras. They seem expensive. I need about 8 of them.
Jeppo
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They certainly aren't cheap but the performance is excellent. They have a very wide field of view...sure you really need 8?
One thing to consider with so many WIFI cameras (particularly if you're going to set them for high resolution) is the amount of bandwidth you will be consuming.
https://nest.com/support/article/How-much-bandwidth-will-Nest-Cam-use
Help me understand this, the problem isn't with the employees, the problem is in the back room where only employees should have access...... I'm confused.....
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If you can go wired, I highly recommend the Dahua Starlight series. These are highly recommended on https://ipcamtalk.com. They are unequaled in low light.
OP
It's an older building separated into different areas with partial walls. The back room has a 9 foot pool table and some gaming machines in it with tables and chairs. Our back room is public access.
OP
I've got about 5000 square feet separated into different areas by partial walls. It's an older building. I know very little about field of vision with security cameras, so I'm just guesstimating on the number of cameras I need so I won't have any large blind spots. I may have to call in a professional and rely on their expertise.
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If you're thinking wireless, first thing to check is that you have good WIFI coverage over the entire area. With 5,000 sf, you'd surely need multiple access points or a mesh system. If it were my decision, I think I'd buy one Nest Cam from somewhere that would take it back. I'd set it up and then move it around to verify how many I actually need to cover the space.
OP
That sounds like a very good idea. Thank you.
Not sure where you are, but if you decide to go with a pro let me know. I habe a few friends and business contacts that do that type of work.
OP
I'm in Pineville, just south of Charlotte.
Let me know. Depending on the size of the job I know a great guy up here that will travel, and a guy down there that I know is a solid guy, but I haven't talked to in years. But the people I sent his way are all happy and haven't threatened my life!
I'll sit back there all night, every night, for a dozen of those goose wings.
Make it a double order. That round trip will burn up some gas.
Make it a double order. That round trip will burn up some gas.
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Goose wings give you gas?
OP
If you ever get to Pineville, stop by Pineville Tavern. We've got great wings and burgers.
Be careful I am a wing snob. When I lived in CA I vacationed in Buffalo one year to hit all the wing joints.
Be careful I am a wing snob. When I lived in CA I vacationed in Buffalo one year to hit all the wing joints.
I hope you didn’t think the Anchor Bar had the best.
I prefer LaNova on the West Side.
AB burns all their stuff and has been coasting for years on rep.
They do have great anti-pasto and Beef on Weck though.
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OP
One of my regulars lived in Buffalo for 40 years. He says our wings are 10 times better than the Anchor Bar.Be careful I am a wing snob. When I lived in CA I vacationed in Buffalo one year to hit all the wing joints.
Duff's is better than Anchor, but Anchor gets all the press.
My wings are better than both.
Well if I ever decide 2.5 hours to try them out they better be very good. And I'll probably need a room or a cot to crash on as well. Cause beer.
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And must be getting old because I have no idea what that cartoon thing is all about.
Dang it, I'm trying to learn about security cameras not wings!
I am in the south Charlotte area as well. Any good recommendations would be great. Unfortunately I don't have the time to research and install all this myself anymore.
I am in the south Charlotte area as well. Any good recommendations would be great. Unfortunately I don't have the time to research and install all this myself anymore.
Your best bet is an NVR and IP cameras, the vast majority of kits on the market are POE and the quality is actually very good for the price, Dhaua & Hikvision are the most prominent in the budget market, the high end systems are thousands of dollars just for the hardware.
You do NOT want wireless cameras if you’re trying to cover 5000 sqft, they will end up costing more in the long run because WiFi is limited to the distance it can send HD quality video.
Also about 1080p & 4K cameras, yes they look fantastic but they use a lot of bandwidth and storage space, I have 3 4K cameras and a 1.3mp camera on my home NVR system and I have to turn the quality way down to stream the video, with 3 cameras at 4K and 1 at 1.3mp it eats all 20 Mbps of my internets upload bandwidth, IE my internet chokes and I look at still images when I try to stream, plus with all 4 cameras set to record based on motion activation I get about 8 days of recorded video.
I set all of my camers to 1.3mp and 20 fps recording quality and I get about a month of recorded video and the quality is still damn good but it doesn’t hammer the living crap out of the HDD, to view the video remotely I turn the streaming quality down to the point that each camera uses about 1 Mbps which is still very viewable on a tablet or a cell phone.
With all that said an 8 channel NVR and 8 cameras will run you about $1500 to $2000 (or more) to install, if you have good enough internet then by all means go with 1080p to 4K cameras, but if it were me I wouldn’t go higher than 2mp because 8 cameras at 2mp will uses ton of storage and bandwidth as it is and I could honestly show 100 people a 4K video clip compared to a 1.3 mp camera and maybe 5 of them will be able to tell the difference, imo it’s the sweet spot when balancing quality and Usability.
I have been doing security systems, access control, fire alarms, cctv and IT for 27-28 years but I don’t claim to know everything, but as a service tech I’m the guy that has to go out and explain to customers why their very expensive NVR & 4K cameras won’t stream properly because either they don’t have enough upload bandwidth or they are trying to download 20 Mbps worth of video on a 10 Mbps internet connection, well it looks like crap because in order for you to view the video I have to turn all the wizzbang ultra HD settings down to 420p so it’ll work......
Anyways I hope any of this rambling helps, feel free to let me know if I can answer any specific questions.
You do NOT want wireless cameras if you’re trying to cover 5000 sqft, they will end up costing more in the long run because WiFi is limited to the distance it can send HD quality video.
Also about 1080p & 4K cameras, yes they look fantastic but they use a lot of bandwidth and storage space, I have 3 4K cameras and a 1.3mp camera on my home NVR system and I have to turn the quality way down to stream the video, with 3 cameras at 4K and 1 at 1.3mp it eats all 20 Mbps of my internets upload bandwidth, IE my internet chokes and I look at still images when I try to stream, plus with all 4 cameras set to record based on motion activation I get about 8 days of recorded video.
I set all of my camers to 1.3mp and 20 fps recording quality and I get about a month of recorded video and the quality is still damn good but it doesn’t hammer the living crap out of the HDD, to view the video remotely I turn the streaming quality down to the point that each camera uses about 1 Mbps which is still very viewable on a tablet or a cell phone.
With all that said an 8 channel NVR and 8 cameras will run you about $1500 to $2000 (or more) to install, if you have good enough internet then by all means go with 1080p to 4K cameras, but if it were me I wouldn’t go higher than 2mp because 8 cameras at 2mp will uses ton of storage and bandwidth as it is and I could honestly show 100 people a 4K video clip compared to a 1.3 mp camera and maybe 5 of them will be able to tell the difference, imo it’s the sweet spot when balancing quality and Usability.
I have been doing security systems, access control, fire alarms, cctv and IT for 27-28 years but I don’t claim to know everything, but as a service tech I’m the guy that has to go out and explain to customers why their very expensive NVR & 4K cameras won’t stream properly because either they don’t have enough upload bandwidth or they are trying to download 20 Mbps worth of video on a 10 Mbps internet connection, well it looks like crap because in order for you to view the video I have to turn all the wizzbang ultra HD settings down to 420p so it’ll work......
Anyways I hope any of this rambling helps, feel free to let me know if I can answer any specific questions.
What of cameras or other system components are needed to catch faces and license plates in low light, night and/or changing light conditions (i.e. headlights/car going by)?
If you can't tell who you caught on camera, it doesn't seem worth doing. Personally I think I would do local storage to skip the internet issues, but I don't really know how to set up either one.
If you can't tell who you caught on camera, it doesn't seem worth doing. Personally I think I would do local storage to skip the internet issues, but I don't really know how to set up either one.
OP
I think I'm way out of my DIY depth.
What of cameras or other system components are needed to catch faces and license plates in low light, night and/or changing light conditions (i.e. headlights/car going by)?
If you can't tell who you caught on camera, it doesn't seem worth doing. Personally I think I would do local storage to skip the internet issues, but I don't really know how to set up either one.
Faces not to tough with good lighting. License plates at night are a bit more challenging based on the angles and reflectivitey of plate. atleast from what I found.
Save me some time please
I wired the house with CAT6 for 4 outdoor and 2 indoor (garage & basement) cams. I think I want 1080 and good night vision, motion activated and interwebs access.
Thanks!
Last edited:
Save me some time please
I wired the house with CAT6 for 4 outdoor and 2 indoor (garage & basement) cams. I think I want 1080 and good night vision, motion activated and interwebs access.
Thanks!
I’ll be happy to help if I can, Just let me know what you need and I’ll answer any questions I can.
Hikvision has several NVR & camera kits out now that we’ve been having very good results with, the entry level kits are affordable and have an all around good picture quality day and night, the night vision is by far not the best by far but for the low cost it’s to be expected, the upper/midrange kits cost a bit more because they come with better cameras and the same NVR as the entry level kit, the top of the line packages have better everything but they are also three times the cost.
Here is an 8 channel NVR, 6 2MP camera kit that I’ve worked with, decent quality all the way around but the night vision is what I would call good, not great.
https://m.newegg.com/products/9SIAF4H6KH6208
The same basic setup but with 4MP cameras that in my opinion have much better night vision and overall better image quality.
https://m.newegg.com/products/1B4-013G-000B0