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Anyone have experience with security/surveillance camera systems for the home? I'm seeking tips & suggestions on what sort of system to buy or not buy.

I see some 4-camera systems available for as little as $100 to $200, which is all I care to spend for this; here's an example:

http://nightowlsp.com/products/cameras/ ... k-624.html


I have a 15-year-old B&W security camera that I can plug into a VCR and monitor and record, but the new gear out there is 100x better, and the coverage offered by four cameras would be wonderful.

I'm a little confused by the "wifi" camera systems -- or maybe I want an "IP"-based system (which can be watched from any Internet-connected computer, but seems to cost more). Or maybe just a hard-wired setup? It'd be nice if my neighbors in the building also had access to the video signals. I really don't know what the hell I'm doing, so any advice on selection would be greatly appreciated.

(A recent incident in our building prompts me to get some surveillance going.)

....stretching the point I also quite fancy the idea of a car dash-board cam ( or even a front & back facing set up ) - lot of mad drivers out there aswell...

( car hi-jack over )

Do you live in a high crime area up there, Elvis? Personally, I lived for years in a joint (in the Udist no less) and we never even locked the door.



That's my old van there too! Apparently our old myspace page still exists. We haven't lived there for years. But we totally had all kinds of expensive shit in there. Instruments, computers, you name it and it was totally a place anyone could come and go even if we weren't there. We never had anything stolen. Everything was totally communal. No one got into fights. No one worried about shit except me because I had a cat which I would lock in my room when bands would play and she was super friendly, but also quite skittish when in came to lots of people. We BBQ'd every night, drank and smoked on the porch. Those were the days.

I guess what I am saying is, do you really need cameras?

Semper, consider one of these:



I got one a few years ago for less than $20. Records (video & audio) for two hours on a mini SD card. It's not really suitable for my OP purpose but is handy for all kinds of stuff (i.e. records surprisingly decent audio). No viewfinder, but you can quickly get a sense of the field of view and aim it accordingly. Also works as a webcam with included software.


82, I love the U District, or did when I hung out there a lot in the '70s. Anyway, I hate to say I "need" cameras but in our location, leaving doors unlocked etc. is out of the question. I can't count the crimes I've witnessed over the years just looking outside my window from where I am at this moment typing.

C'mon, everybody's doing it! It's the Information Age!

yesh - those look pretty handy...

over here the local police station would have a crime prevention officer who would advse on home security etc & have leaflets - not sure if they do them in your part of the world

A friend installed a system last year that had what seemed to be great cameras, infra red too. But the images all were cloudy and he removed it and returned it. I'll find out which system that was so you can avoid it or try it yourself. I can't imagine any company could stay in business if the images their cameras captured were not clear, so maybe his experience was unique. Might be a day or so... he's away opening up his seasonal camp right now, but I'll get back to you with whatever info he's got to offer.

Iamwhomiam, thanks! I haven't bought anything yet. Meanwhile I reconnected the old B&W unit, which is even fuzzier than I remembered. Be nice to get clear images.

Semper, good idea, thanks, the po-lice might indeed have suggestions.

I would like to get one for the front of the house. Something that would record litter bugs. The amount of empty cigarette cartons, pop bottles and beer cans in my front yard, really gets on my nerves. I know it's not an issue for the local police, maybe a by-law officer which our town has, still I would like to put an end to it.

Okay, looks like I should get a hard-wired system that comes with a DVR, which plugs into a regular TV or a computer monitor for display. Plus you can plug it right into an existing computer and stream the video online, using free web space provided by the manufacturer. Motion detection and automatic night vision are standard.

Pretty good deal for US$180, when you get the 500GB hard drive with it ($138 with no HD); for $250 you can get a 1TB HD and front-panel controls on the DVR (preferable to relying only on the included remote control).

It appears that millions of these systems are being sold.

Creative possibilities abound, too, with the four-camera switching software; I think I've seen some music videos shot with these systems. But I need to learn more about that.

you may have trouble getting clean cuts, there's likely to be some video compression noise as the transport streams switch and you have to wait for a full frame to come along for the picture to clear up.

I think I would recommend a hard cut-off switch, so when you don't want any chance of the camera's being accessed you can cut them off physically. run long Ethernet cables through a small hub you can power off with one switch. Unless you WANT the feeling of potentially being in your own self shot reality tv program, airing gawd knows where. It's a hard problem to have 100% trust in the un-hacked status of the computers involved.

Get a bunch of these. Or something like it. Go to places that have obviously upgraded their security systems but still have the old cameras mounted and ask if you can have them for an art project you are working on. They can write it off as a donation.



Find the most conspicuous old skool cameras you can and totally adorn your domicile with them in a gesture of art and history. Even if they don't function they would definitely stand out. Some would get the joke and those who are too young and stupid would stay away and not fuck with your shit. Fasten a couple of LEDs on them per camera for night time use. Train ivy to wrap around them and trim where the lens area is. I dunno. I hate living with cameras out of my control and when you freely invite them into your house, you're living with something you intrinsically hate.

Elvis » Fri May 09, 2014 4:26 pm wrote:Okay, looks like I should get a hard-wired system that comes with a DVR, which plugs into a regular TV or a computer monitor for display. Plus you can plug it right into an existing computer and stream the video online, using free web space provided by the manufacturer. Motion detection and automatic night vision are standard.

Pretty good deal for US$180, when you get the 500GB hard drive with it ($138 with no HD); for $250 you can get a 1TB HD and front-panel controls on the DVR (preferable to relying only on the included remote control).

It appears that millions of these systems are being sold.

Creative possibilities abound, too, with the four-camera switching software; I think I've seen some music videos shot with these systems. But I need to learn more about that.

hard wired meaning the cameras wired directly to the dvr/whatever ? if you do that the wires can be followed back to your recording device and your recording and devices stolen. just something to consider.

BOOGIE66 wrote:hard wired meaning the cameras wired directly to the dvr/whatever ? if you do that the wires can be followed back to your recording device and your recording and devices stolen. just something to consider.

Thanks, I did consider that, and with the single camera I so far installed, I ran the wires directly into the high ceiling where the camera is mounted. To an observer, where the wires go from there in the attic would be impossible to determine, and a big effort to find out. The better cameras I want to get are more tamper-proof, concealing the wire behind the mounting flange.