Looking for opinions on Surveillance systems

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  • blackboltss

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    Looking for an 8 camera Surveillance system for my home. Needs to have a hard drive. Any opinions on which system to get or where to look? Hope to stay around $250-300. Been looking on amazon but still undecided.
    Thanks for any help! Merry Christmas!!
     

    bowhtr1

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    Looking for an 8 camera Surveillance system for my home. Needs to have a hard drive. Any opinions on which system to get or where to look? Hope to stay around $250-300. Been looking on amazon but still undecided.
    Thanks for any help! Merry Christmas!!
    I was looking at the arlo system. Might get one.

    Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
     

    noob

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    I think the price range really limits your options. That being said, this meets all your requirements.
    https://www.samsclub.com/sams/qsee-8x8-1080p-1tb-hh-wd/prod18670269.ip?xid=plp:product:1:9

    8 camera's
    Under 300
    Has a hard drive

    Personally, If I were looking for camera's I would look into POE (power over ethernet) camera's that way only 1 wire would have to be fished through the walls.

    My house has the power supply for standard camera's in my attic, and wires run, I just have no idea to where. Ended up cutting the wires out of my bedroom b/c I do not feel the need for a system.
     

    swampfoxx

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    I work for FLIR in the Security division. Yes, that FLIR. Our division provides systems for Fortune 500 companies (Google, AMEX, Experian, Shell Oil, etc.), and most of our cameras cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars. That said, we also own Lorex, which can be purchased from Sams, Costco and directly from Lorex (https://www.lorextechnology.com). Right now, there is a 15% off Warehouse Sale on the website. I have the pro-grade cameras at my house because I am a Beta tester for new products, and have no direct experience with the Lorex cameras, but they are our #1 source of income, year in and year out, and we sell a $hitload of them.
     

    340six

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    I was gonna jump on one of these. it was same size hard drive I think but was 6 or 8. They are always on close outs And was waiting. as they they go for less. I wanted more than 4 camera's
    https://auctions.samsclub.com/auction/auction/view/id/3513378/

    This is a Swann brand. maybe not the best but fur the $ the auctions go for normally. recording continuously from 8 channels for 8 days+ onto a 2TB hard drive (expandable to 3TB),
    I almost pull the trigger on this same set up few times
    https://auctions.samsclub.com/swann...p-cameras-2tb-hard-drive-and-100-night-vision
    Sam's sell's them on the auction site. when the newer models come out.
    They sometimes go real cheap

    I do not know much about this stuff but want to stay with wired but wonder how good the wireless is Pro / Con to them


    I got one for someone like it and also one with wires both were well worth the $ vs notta
     
    Last edited:

    thperez1972

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    I think I'll chime in here and make a few suggestions from a law enforcement perspective. As a detective pulling and processing video from a surveillance system for evidence or suspect identification, there were some things that made it more difficult. Some systems use a proprietary output that wraps the video and the player into one executable file. Some systems save the file in a proprietary format and have their own player. Other systems use an uncommon CODEC. Ideally, you may want a system that can export video in a common format. The video may eventually be broadcast on the news to help identify a suspect or in a courtroom to help convict someone. Or it might not, depending on the video export.
     

    Saint Peter

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    Take a look at Alibi their blackline I have that system I paid just under 2k but records in HD and very sharp night time is ok if your in 30ft of camera.
    As pres said it makes a difference on how you can pull video mine is stupid easy I have given pd video for occurrences in my area on a jump drive easy peasy
    Also if you have any question you get to talk to an American on the east coast not some broken English speaker just saying and the warranty is awesome had an issue after 2 yr with a camera and sent me brand new one. Easy to install and its a cat5 not multiple wires
     
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    jlee

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    I realize that the OP selected a system, so this is for anyone else looking at this. Many of the BNC (analog) style systems on the market today are white-labeled products from a single source (e.g., Zmodo). These systems work but are usually made with extremely low quality parts and fail often. Customer service may be great, but the warranty usually runs out and you're left with a bunch of non-working junk.

    I've used three "quality" cameras: Axis, ACTi, and Arlo. While there are other quality options, these seem to work well -- especially for the price. It's important to separate the cameras from the DVR system. I recommend using Milestone Essentials Plus with a PoE camera from a reputable brand. Milestone is free for up to 8 cameras and will run on any modern Windows Professional OS.

    Arlo is a bit different from the other cameras in that it's battery powered, wireless, and works as an external service. I wouldn't use it as a primary thing, but have used it several times in an office complex where a quick and discrete deployment was required (and caught two cleaners stealing items).

    Generally, IP-based camera systems running with DVR units cost in the $2-4000 range for 8 cameras. You can spend a couple hundred dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars -- at the end of the day, reliability wins. Systems in the same realm as Zmodo just haven't proven to be reliable (I've seen at least a dozen failed installations).
     

    thperez1972

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    Systems in the same realm as Zmodo just haven't proven to be reliable (I've seen at least a dozen failed installations).

    Coming from someone who has used dozen upon dozens of surveillance systems, I've seen quite a few systems in the same realm as Zmodo that have been quite reliable for quite a long time. Obviously they won't be as good as an IP setup. But for a fraction of the cost of IP, some of those cheaper systems work quite well and generate very usable footage.
     

    wcweir3

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    I have a zmodo that the wife got without talking to me it works but the quality of the cameras is poor had a woman steal a Trump sign in daylight and you could not even make out the make of the car from 40 ft. The woman face at 30 ft was fair and you could recognize her if you could find her but that is it.
    The unit is OK but that is it, moved it to the camp and I am looking for a unit that the police would be able to identify a suspect if needed (hopefully never)
    Wingate
     

    thperez1972

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    I have a zmodo that the wife got without talking to me it works but the quality of the cameras is poor had a woman steal a Trump sign in daylight and you could not even make out the make of the car from 40 ft. The woman face at 30 ft was fair and you could recognize her if you could find her but that is it.
    The unit is OK but that is it, moved it to the camp and I am looking for a unit that the police would be able to identify a suspect if needed (hopefully never)
    Wingate

    Look for a higher resolution and perhaps more frames per second. The trade-off will be storage. In some cases, the limit that determines quality is the dvr. A system with HD cameras may be able to display a good live image but the dvr should be able to record the HD image as well. I've run into systems before that display HD but record each channel at DVD quality (480p).

    The issue comes from the pixelation when you zoom in. If the unknown person's face covers about 10% of the width of the field of view, a 1920x1080 camera will result in the face being about 192 pixels wide. That should be pretty good for identifying an unknown person. At 5% for the face, you're down to 96 pixels. You're getting close to moving away from making an unknown ID to only recognizing a known person. That seems to be the issue you were running into.

    Obviously, a 2K or a 4K camera will give you more pixels to zoom in. And, as mentioned before, the trade-offs will be cost and storage space.
     

    wcweir3

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    That is good to know about the recording at DVD quality was always looking at live video in the stores and not what would be recording.
    Thanks
    Wingate
     

    thperez1972

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    That is good to know about the recording at DVD quality was always looking at live video in the stores and not what would be recording.
    Thanks
    Wingate

    I would say that issue was more prevalent in some of the older systems. As video compression has gotten more efficient, the DVRs have been able to better catch up with the cameras. If you're researching a new system, it may help to try to look for the owner's manual online to see if it lists any sort of video quality limitations.
     

    swampfoxx

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    Keep in mind that analog cameras are either 480 or 520 lines unless they are HD over coax. This translates to around 0.25 megapixels, whereas the lowest HD IP camera (1290 x 720) is about 0.9 megapixels, almost 4x the resolution. Going to Full HD (1920x1080) gets you 2 megapixels. We (FLIR) no longer sell analog cameras, however we do sell HD over coax, so that you can get high resolution images over existing coax rather than having to pull new Cat5.
     

    wcweir3

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    Keep in mind that analog cameras are either 480 or 520 lines unless they are HD over coax. This translates to around 0.25 megapixels, whereas the lowest HD IP camera (1290 x 720) is about 0.9 megapixels, almost 4x the resolution. Going to Full HD (1920x1080) gets you 2 megapixels. We (FLIR) no longer sell analog cameras, however we do sell HD over coax, so that you can get high resolution images over existing coax rather than having to pull new Cat5.

    That is good to know as I am now looking at the same system as blackboltss "LOREX 1080p Camera System with 8 Channel DVR and 8 1080p Outdoor Security Cameras"
    Wingate
     

    BoudinKing

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    i use LTS Security , bci connection with the best picture available now that being said you get what you pay for i own 2 businesses and 2 houses and i have a total of 96 cameras 64 at one business 8 at each house and 16 at another business install you could do your self look on ebay first time i bought them i paid 300 a camera and like 700 for dvr , now you can go on ebay and find the cameras sometimes for 55 each you can buy the cable on amazon 4 100 ft bnc rolls for 40 bucks the dvr is the most expensive depending on how much storage you want to hold , but i have seen used ones for 150. ive had only a few cameras go out and they were the outside cameras and had them replaced by the company very easy and it was after the hurrican i guess wind and water some how made its way into them they go up to 4 mp i believe i just have 2mp , lorex is i decent camera they are more budget friendly but it is what it is , arlo is ok but i hear there is a lag depending on wifi connection then talk about replacing batteries zmondo is pretty cheap on amazon , good luck to you i recommend Lts to all my friends and family and after seeing that there is really nothing to install them ive helped everyone
     

    thperez1972

    ESSAYONS
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    i use LTS Security , bci connection with the best picture available now that being said you get what you pay for i own 2 businesses and 2 houses and i have a total of 96 cameras 64 at one business 8 at each house and 16 at another business install you could do your self look on ebay first time i bought them i paid 300 a camera and like 700 for dvr , now you can go on ebay and find the cameras sometimes for 55 each you can buy the cable on amazon 4 100 ft bnc rolls for 40 bucks the dvr is the most expensive depending on how much storage you want to hold , but i have seen used ones for 150. ive had only a few cameras go out and they were the outside cameras and had them replaced by the company very easy and it was after the hurrican i guess wind and water some how made its way into them they go up to 4 mp i believe i just have 2mp , lorex is i decent camera they are more budget friendly but it is what it is , arlo is ok but i hear there is a lag depending on wifi connection then talk about replacing batteries zmondo is pretty cheap on amazon , good luck to you i recommend Lts to all my friends and family and after seeing that there is really nothing to install them ive helped everyone

    Amazon also has some pretty good prices. Especially on keyboards. $13 with prime shipping if you are a Amazon Prime member. A new keyboard will come with all the latest bells and whistles like a shift key for capitalization and especially a period key for punctuation.
     

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