praveen
Hello,
For my house, i want to buy a wireless camera security surveillance system. Obviously, there are too many options. Can someone give me a feedback on any preferred brand or any feedback on what I should be looking for while buying this costly system? One potential option I found so far is
Swann SWDVK-825508 8-Channel Digital Video Recorder with Smartphone Viewing and 8 x PRO-550 Cameras
by Swann
Answer
For consumer grade systems, Swann and Lorex make fine equipment. I installed a Swann 8 channel (using only 4 cameras - but planning to add 4 more cameras later). The included/free SmartPhone app for remote viewing works well but can use lots of battery power as it is a stream of video over wifi. The included 8 cameras in the system you listed don't have a very far night vision "throw" (about 10 feet). Another option to consider is this 4-camera, 8 channel DVR kit
http://www.swann.com/s/products/view/?product=1530
plus four of these:
http://www.swann.com/s/products/view/?product=1144
Any camera with a composite video feed will work including those from Lorex, Q-See and others.
Consider adding a VGA monitor or TV (I use the "extra" video inputs on 4 TVs located in different rooms of the house so visibility is not so limited to a single place).
The system you linked us to is not a "wireless" system. The connection between the cameras and the DVR is a wired connection. The cable connecting these items has a connector for the video; a connector for power and a connector for limited pan/tilt/zoom control. (The zoom is the part that actually works - you would need a pan/tilt head in order for that capability to work and the zoom is digital zoom - not optical zoom). Keep this in mind: A single cable with multiple connectors connects the camera to the DVR and power.
In a wireless video system, the camera needs power (wire #1). The video is sent to a base station wirelessly. The base station connects to the DVR (wire #2) and power (wire #3). A "wireless" security camera uses more wires than a wireless system.
http://www.swann.com/s/products/view/?product=1028
The only thing "wireless" about the DVR kit in the link you provided us is that when the DVR is added to the computer network at your house, that wifi signal sending video to a smartphone or Windows computer is wireless.
Another option is to use IP network based security cameras but a dedicated computer (rather than a standalone DVR) is needed to be recording the video. These cameras tend to be a bit more expensive, especially it they are outdoor rated. And they need local camera power, too - so not exactly "wireless" either. Because they become a node of the local house's computer (IP) network, the complexity moves from the analog camera cabling to computer network implementation.
In either case, making the video stream available to a computer or a smartphone - locally or remotely - requires a decent knowledge of computer network configuration (especially if the computer network is to be secure).
For consumer grade systems, Swann and Lorex make fine equipment. I installed a Swann 8 channel (using only 4 cameras - but planning to add 4 more cameras later). The included/free SmartPhone app for remote viewing works well but can use lots of battery power as it is a stream of video over wifi. The included 8 cameras in the system you listed don't have a very far night vision "throw" (about 10 feet). Another option to consider is this 4-camera, 8 channel DVR kit
http://www.swann.com/s/products/view/?product=1530
plus four of these:
http://www.swann.com/s/products/view/?product=1144
Any camera with a composite video feed will work including those from Lorex, Q-See and others.
Consider adding a VGA monitor or TV (I use the "extra" video inputs on 4 TVs located in different rooms of the house so visibility is not so limited to a single place).
The system you linked us to is not a "wireless" system. The connection between the cameras and the DVR is a wired connection. The cable connecting these items has a connector for the video; a connector for power and a connector for limited pan/tilt/zoom control. (The zoom is the part that actually works - you would need a pan/tilt head in order for that capability to work and the zoom is digital zoom - not optical zoom). Keep this in mind: A single cable with multiple connectors connects the camera to the DVR and power.
In a wireless video system, the camera needs power (wire #1). The video is sent to a base station wirelessly. The base station connects to the DVR (wire #2) and power (wire #3). A "wireless" security camera uses more wires than a wireless system.
http://www.swann.com/s/products/view/?product=1028
The only thing "wireless" about the DVR kit in the link you provided us is that when the DVR is added to the computer network at your house, that wifi signal sending video to a smartphone or Windows computer is wireless.
Another option is to use IP network based security cameras but a dedicated computer (rather than a standalone DVR) is needed to be recording the video. These cameras tend to be a bit more expensive, especially it they are outdoor rated. And they need local camera power, too - so not exactly "wireless" either. Because they become a node of the local house's computer (IP) network, the complexity moves from the analog camera cabling to computer network implementation.
In either case, making the video stream available to a computer or a smartphone - locally or remotely - requires a decent knowledge of computer network configuration (especially if the computer network is to be secure).
Cheap surveillance cameras?
Lauren
I want to put up some small, easy to hide/be hidden cameras around my property and house. Preferably ones that let me stream the live video feed to my laptop. The cheaper the better. Post everything you find. Thanks.
Answer
"Cheap" generally denotes poorly made and fast to break requiring replacement.
A better suggestion is to buy the value and "less expensive". Generally, you get what you pay for.
Before we go too far... there are basically two different technologies and both work fine.
1) Analog cameras connected to a security DVR that is connected to the local area network. The DVR generally has a hard drive and embedded operating system that records the video and the network connectivity provides for computer or smartphone access.
2) IP based cameras connected directly to the local area network. If video is to be stored, generally, some sort of network device is needed to record the video. Sometimes this is a "network attached" storage device. Sometimes this is a computer dedicated to do nothing else but record/store the video. The cameras are contacted directly by your laptop (or smartphone.
In either case, we assume you have a need for night vision. Even if you don't, the cameras still need some sort of power. We assume there is power available to these "hidden" areas where you want to install the cameras.
Your requirement of "cameras around my property" tells me that you need outdoor rated cameras. These are generally more expensive than "indoor only" cameras.
"Wireless" is deceiving... we already know that the camera needs power - so that is basically one wire. With an IP based camera system, then the wifi at your house needs to be on and the cameras all need to be on that network - and when you add the network attached storage device or computer for recording the video, then all that configuration and attention is needed. And wires. If the cameras are analog connecting to a network connected DVR, then the cameras send only the video wirelessly to a base station "mate". Each camera has its own base station. The base station needs power (another wire) and the base station video connection plugs into the DVR (another wire) and the DVR plugs onto the network (another wire).
I strongly suggest using known, decent quality gear. I've learned the hard way that when you go "cheap" you pay for it 3-4 times more than if you target decent quality for a few more dollars.
For residential, consumer grade, equipment, I like/use/own/installed on my property, equipment from Swann and Lorex. The analog cameras are usually wired and start at around $140 each (outdoor rated and night vision). The cameras included with the DVR kits will get replaced pretty quickly, but are a good place to start and learn how everything works. Getting an 8-camera or 16 camera network enabled DVR allows you to grow the system with other cameras as you identify the need and you don't make the entire investment upfront. The DVR also has a video output so if you want, you can attach that to TVs throughout the house (with a spare AV-input) and computer connection is available (through the computer network) but not required for monitoring.
D-link makes decent IP network based cameras. You can use whatever windows based computer to be the storage computer - assuming it has enough available hard drive space to store the amount of video you want stored. Network Attached storage devices are cool - but have their own maintenance and administration issues to deal with. Getting this video on non-computer or non-smartphone monitors (like a TV) is difficult.
In either case, accessing the video when you are connected to the local area network (wired or wireless) is generally relatively easy to do - if you need to access the video from a remote location, then you need to be sure the access to the home network through the router is secured and that takes a different skill-set...
At the pro-level, Pelco makes good gear. It is by no means "cheap", but is robust...
"Cheap" generally denotes poorly made and fast to break requiring replacement.
A better suggestion is to buy the value and "less expensive". Generally, you get what you pay for.
Before we go too far... there are basically two different technologies and both work fine.
1) Analog cameras connected to a security DVR that is connected to the local area network. The DVR generally has a hard drive and embedded operating system that records the video and the network connectivity provides for computer or smartphone access.
2) IP based cameras connected directly to the local area network. If video is to be stored, generally, some sort of network device is needed to record the video. Sometimes this is a "network attached" storage device. Sometimes this is a computer dedicated to do nothing else but record/store the video. The cameras are contacted directly by your laptop (or smartphone.
In either case, we assume you have a need for night vision. Even if you don't, the cameras still need some sort of power. We assume there is power available to these "hidden" areas where you want to install the cameras.
Your requirement of "cameras around my property" tells me that you need outdoor rated cameras. These are generally more expensive than "indoor only" cameras.
"Wireless" is deceiving... we already know that the camera needs power - so that is basically one wire. With an IP based camera system, then the wifi at your house needs to be on and the cameras all need to be on that network - and when you add the network attached storage device or computer for recording the video, then all that configuration and attention is needed. And wires. If the cameras are analog connecting to a network connected DVR, then the cameras send only the video wirelessly to a base station "mate". Each camera has its own base station. The base station needs power (another wire) and the base station video connection plugs into the DVR (another wire) and the DVR plugs onto the network (another wire).
I strongly suggest using known, decent quality gear. I've learned the hard way that when you go "cheap" you pay for it 3-4 times more than if you target decent quality for a few more dollars.
For residential, consumer grade, equipment, I like/use/own/installed on my property, equipment from Swann and Lorex. The analog cameras are usually wired and start at around $140 each (outdoor rated and night vision). The cameras included with the DVR kits will get replaced pretty quickly, but are a good place to start and learn how everything works. Getting an 8-camera or 16 camera network enabled DVR allows you to grow the system with other cameras as you identify the need and you don't make the entire investment upfront. The DVR also has a video output so if you want, you can attach that to TVs throughout the house (with a spare AV-input) and computer connection is available (through the computer network) but not required for monitoring.
D-link makes decent IP network based cameras. You can use whatever windows based computer to be the storage computer - assuming it has enough available hard drive space to store the amount of video you want stored. Network Attached storage devices are cool - but have their own maintenance and administration issues to deal with. Getting this video on non-computer or non-smartphone monitors (like a TV) is difficult.
In either case, accessing the video when you are connected to the local area network (wired or wireless) is generally relatively easy to do - if you need to access the video from a remote location, then you need to be sure the access to the home network through the router is secured and that takes a different skill-set...
At the pro-level, Pelco makes good gear. It is by no means "cheap", but is robust...
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