Home Security Camera Setup

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HyperBlade

41 posts

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#304047 31-Mar-2023 10:59

Currently have a home with 4 hardwired outdoor security cameras (red/yellow connectors), the main unit (DVR?) has died.

So I'm looking at redoing the setup.

My wishlist is:

Hardwired cameras (I'll rerun any required cables)
Ideally motion detection (configurable zones a plus)
Ideally notification on phones (multiple devices) for movement/alerts
Regular updates (not sure if that's a thing, but don't want something easily hacked)
Non chinese based software.
Under $3000

I am currently also in the market for a new NAS (which is outside the budget above) I'm looking at either synology/qnap, or freenas which potentially could be used to store the files.

I also run a server with virtual machines at home so can have another vm hosted on that but I'm not really wanting to muck around at a technical level, more just really want something that works reliably.

Looking around most of the stuff I looked at is Chinese based.

It looks like POE cameras are the way to go these days so I can pull new ethernet cables in to replace the existing ones.

Does anyone have any advice on the different components I should be looking at e.g. NVR vs NAS, software and the different brands to avoid, or look at?

gehenna

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#3057054 31-Mar-2023 11:11

Look into Unifi Protect if the budget stretches far enough. It's a good ecosystem, easier if you're already in it though.

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Silvrav

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#3057055 31-Mar-2023 11:13

I recently went with these:

https://www.reolinks.com.au/product/rlc-810a/

I have them behind a vlan so they cant talk to any other services except my home server. from there I have then hooked up to home assistant and synology that provides me my remote and on the phone access.

They have motion, person, pet and vehicle detection and I have them powered with a POE switch in my network cabinet. therefore I only had to run cat6.

MadEngineer

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#3057069 31-Mar-2023 11:44

Regarding motion, see if you can set whatever system you get such that you have 24/7 recording but with the motion function applying as a highlight in the recording. Nothing worse than not capturing footage due to the target of interest moving slowly between areas of shadow and not triggering the recording.

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MarkM536

256 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3057110 31-Mar-2023 13:37

Now days it's digital IP Cameras, using a network cable between each camera and powered via POE (power over ethernet).

Most 4-16ch NVRs (Network video recorders) have a built in POE network switch to power and connect cameras too.

Good points for a system:

CMOS (imaging sensor) size is suitable to the resolution: 4MP - 1/1.18", 8MP - 1/1.2" (Bigger is generally the better for capturing at night with less motion blur.)
Focal length matters for the application, cameras are not magic at capturing detail if you selected the widest lens. 2.8mm is about the widest for most areas and a higher number is more zoomed in.
Cameras cannot capture number plates at night without proper tuning and placement. ('ANPR/NPR' cameras and a bit of trigonometry is needed).

Axis (Sweden) is great when it comes to updates, a good app and a non-Chinese brand.

They're far better quality than the consumer oriented Chinese Reolink or Swann/Concord (manufactured by RaySharp) but it comes with a price tag for not being made in China.

There's also Avigilon (US) or Hanwha (Korea). Plenty more camera brands have appeared since NDAA happened (there's a list somewhere on IPVM).

Basically all cameras now days have a form of 'AI' to classify the difference between a person, vehicle, animal or other movement.

To setup a rule; an area is drawn or a line. So when a person or vehicle crosses the line/enters the area, it triggers and event. Other events can be an object goes missing or appears.

Event can be sirens, lights, relay output, network event, app notification and plenty of other things. It ain't a Reocrap that's limited!

I highly suggest recording 24/7 and using the 'AI' events to tag in the playback when something has happened.

duckDecoy

794 posts

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#3057158 31-Mar-2023 14:37

Silvrav:

I recently went with these:

https://www.reolinks.com.au/product/rlc-810a/

I have them behind a vlan so they cant talk to any other services except my home server. from there I have then hooked up to home assistant and synology that provides me my remote and on the phone access.

They have motion, person, pet and vehicle detection and I have them powered with a POE switch in my network cabinet. therefore I only had to run cat6.

These are what we got, you should also be able to get the NVR too for well under your 3000 budget.

BUT it does light up our phones sometimes, I just cannot seem to dial the sensitivity in right. We are bush based so loads of trees and shadows etc, if you don't have as much nature as us you might not have this issue.

Jase2985

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#3057234 31-Mar-2023 17:47

i run 1x Loryta 4MP Ultra Low Light Turret Cameras IPC-T5442TM-AS 2.8mm and 2x 3.6mm ones. They are just rebranded Dahua ones running English firmware. brought from andy at empire tech on Amazon/Ali express. Cameras were about $300 each, wiring was done when i build the garage.

i have them connected to my Synology NAS and use surveillance station to manage the recordings. I also use the Synology DS Cam App to remote view the cameras.

I have the cameras setup to record 24/7 on the lower quality setting and have event recording at the highest quality. I keep the recordings for a month, and each camera takes up about 500Gb of space. I set all the trip wires, and recording zones on the cameras and have them send the alerts to survilance station and thats able to manage them.

I probably sent a good 2 weeks tweaking the settings to get them where i liked the picture during the day and at night.

andysh

208 posts

Master Geek

#3057354 31-Mar-2023 22:50

I have reolink camera's pointing at a Raspberry Pi running frigate with a Coral TPU. Bit to get it set up, but works well. I have got homeassistant doing the notifications. I do things a bit overkill though with running K3S at home... (which frigate and homeassistant are part off).🤷‍♂️

But as duckDecoy said, Reolink also does NVRs which would be lot easier to set up.

Biggest issue I have with my Reolink cameras is nighttime performance. I needed to identify someone unknown at night once with my camera - no way was it going to be possible.

I would also have a look at https://www.youtube.com/@TheHookUp/videos, he does great videos on cameras and the like

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Mehrts

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#3057400 1-Apr-2023 11:52

+1 for reolink cameras.

You can find great deals on camera + NVR bundles from ReolinkDirect via Amazon US and save hundreds compared to buying locally for the same product.

The two year warranty stands too when purchasing this way, as I've succesfully RMA'd an NVR that died after a year of use. Just had to buy a new one from Amazon US and then they issued a refund, and then send the broken one to some warehouse in Aussie. Reolink's support is great, no issues at all however they're not a 24/7 outfit, so replies can be a little delayed. From initial conversation to having the new NVR in place only took a week.

The NVR power supply accepts multi-voltages, so only the mains power cable needs to be swapped from the US style plug to an NZ/Aus three pin to IEC C13 one (Jug cord, or whatever common term you use. They're everywhere).

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HyperBlade

41 posts

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#3058408 3-Apr-2023 13:47

Thanks everyone for the feedback/information.

Unifi Protect looks really nice, but definitely up there in terms of costs, I like the idea of a closed system that just works, but also don't like the idea of a closed system at the same time. I need to do some more calculations on total costs to see if worth it, I can certainly see how it would suck you in with other stuff e.g. wireless etc.

The Reolink's are well priced, but are chinese, I don't want to be mucking round with firmware or trying to isolate them on the network, that's just to much work with to high a risk if i get it wrong, so wont go down that track.

Axis (Sweden), Avigilon (US) and Hanwha are hard to get a handle on as they are more business originated so getting pricing is difficult.

I've decided on an 8 bay Synology NAS so it's tempting to go down that route with surveillance station and maybe buy some Analog to ethernet convertors for the existing cameras, get everything working then I can upgrade the cameras 1 at a time to higher quality ones.

Mehrts

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#3058415 3-Apr-2023 13:59

HyperBlade:

The Reolink's are well priced, but are chinese, I don't want to be mucking round with firmware or trying to isolate them on the network, that's just to much work with to high a risk if i get it wrong, so wont go down that track.

Best security practices would state that you put ANY surveillance system on an isolated network from the internet, no matter the country of origin. Depending on your current network setup, putting the camera system on its own VLAN can be as simple as changing one setting.

If you want to have a physically isolated (airgapped) system, then firmware updates are simply carried out via a USB drive to the NVR. Reolink regularly issues firmware updates for the cameras and NVRs.

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HyperBlade

41 posts

Geek

#3058427 3-Apr-2023 14:11

Mehrts:

HyperBlade:

The Reolink's are well priced, but are chinese, I don't want to be mucking round with firmware or trying to isolate them on the network, that's just to much work with to high a risk if i get it wrong, so wont go down that track.

Best security practices would state that you put ANY surveillance system on an isolated network from the internet, no matter the country of origin. Depending on your current network setup, putting the camera system on its own VLAN can be as simple as changing one setting.

If you want to have a physically isolated (airgapped) system, then firmware updates are simply carried out via a USB drive to the NVR. Reolink regularly issues firmware updates for the cameras and NVRs.

Yes that's entirely true, and something I need to look at doing!

But avoiding installing devices that can be used to spy on you that are produced and sold by a company that's controlled by a state government known for spying and espionage is a really good start...