Anyone using home security cameras?

[firebird1999us]

We have a second house and have been toying with the idea of adding a security camera for the driveway/exterior and a second one for in the garage... a friend of mine has a Nest camera that seems to work great. I'd like to keep it reasonably priced (under $200 a camera) and am looking for any suggestions

 

[LS2GTO]

Depends if you want to just monitor for the most part and record only as needed or if you want record everything.

Me personally I just wanted a camera system to monitor the area and not necessarily record all the time. So I got a Uniden 755 which comes with up to 4 cameras and a nice 9" screen. It only has up to 32gb of recording, but again I don't need to record everything so it works for me.

If you want to record everything, there are a few setups that have 1 or 2 terabyes of space but are more expenisve and don't usually have their own dedicated monitor.

 

[FIVEHOE]

My boss has a pretty cool system where you can monitor via smartphone and its setup to only record when it detects movements. The recordings are set to get re-written after an extended period of time.

 

[Blown 89]

If you get something make sure it records to a DVR and that it has night capabilities. Also make sure you have good lighting. Even cameras with IR capability work better when something is well lit. I wouldn't mess with motion detection....there's usually a delay and often times it's enough to miss something important.

Something else to keep in mind....if you're a gun owner it's a good idea to hide the cameras. Should you have to use force it's not always prudent to have it on video so you'll want that as an option rather than the cameras being in plain sight and having that decision made for you. It's amazing how lawyers will skew the facts using things like 911 calls, video, etc. I'm not a lawyer though so take that fwiw.

 

[Drive XR7]

Something else to keep in mind....if you're a gun owner it's a good idea to hide the cameras. Should you have to use force it's not always prudent to have it on video so you'll want that as an option rather than the cameras being in plain sight and having that decision made for you. It's amazing how lawyers will skew the facts using things like 911 calls, video, etc. I'm not a lawyer though so take that fwiw.

It's interesting. I had a Texas sheriff once tell me if you have to shoot someone in your home, make sure there's only one side of the story. Texas juries and judges almost always side with homeowners who defend their property.

 

[7998]

A few words of advice, when it say 200 ft of night vision it's really 100 ft. And buy the best definition cameras you can afford.

 

[2000gt4.6]

Anyone have a specific setup they recommend? A all in one box style unit?

 

[7998]

http://www.samsung.com/us/security-and-monitoring/security-systems/

Samsung, easy to use and easy to install and affordable.

 

[EatonEggbeater]

I wouldn't mess with motion detection....there's usually a delay and often times it's enough to miss something important.

This isn't always true: I set up a Netgear system some time ago and when it saw motion, it started the recording 8 seconds before the event.

So look at the stat's on the software.