lets talk home security cameras

My94GT

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I just got into a new home I had built with the wife and am looking into home security camera systems. I'm looking to see what people have and what they suggest. in our previous condo we used Nest in home cameras to keep tabs on our dogs as we had a neighbor that would complain. Now we have a single family home with a yard and already just days after moving in I feel may have a problem with a neighbors dog jumping their fence to go after ours while my preggo wife is outside with them.

this I cant have, and while yes I could simply call animal control, I too am a dog owner so id like to give benefit of the doubt first so I will speak with the owner and make sure he understands I will not tolerate this. I would however like to have a quality camera system to record any activities outside the house so if this happens again, or any other unforeseeable events occur they can be documented accordingly.

I would go with nest outdoor cams but its such a pricey set up for the cloud storage, I'm wondering if there are equal or better set ups I can buy to install that have a DVR or something of the sort to record on. My main concerns are video quality, and having access to footage via an app on my phone for real time notifications and viewing.
 

jrandy

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I have a few Ring cameras and I'm not thrilled with them. I've been wanting to switch to something similar to your requests.
 

13COBRA

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Should've had lines run before you finished the walls.
 

My94GT

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Should've had lines run before you finished the walls.
not really an issue as I have access through the attic and above the garage for running all the wires. the interior cameras I will continue to use my existing nest cams I have. I'm looking for exterior cameras. wiring can be run and they will be mounted in similar location to flood lights which were installed at the time of the build.
 

13COBRA

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I have buddies who have the Swann setups and like them a lot.
 

BigFatMatt

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I bought a Samsung 1080P kit that came with 4 wired cameras and a 4 channel 1TB DVR. Got it on sale for around $250. I wanted hard wired vs wireless since wireless cameras use batteries and take up bandwidth.

I like it a lot. Their mobile app lets you view live video, or watch previously recorded events. The cameras detect motion and start recording and you can adjust the sensitivity to your liking.

I installed everything myself, ran the wires through the attic which wasn't hard to do at all.

The only issue was setting up our router to allow us to view the cameras remotely... I had to call tech support but they were very helpful and walked me through the whole process. It's working great now.
 

GodStang

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HAHA I see what you did there! I use FOSCOM. I really like them but use them for indoor. My buddy who got me into them brought it up on his phone and was like look you can see my girlfriend at home. Come to find out they were using them for Adult Website broadcasting. I got the cameras anyway and they have a great picture and great features.
 

EatonEggbeater

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Find a central location for the switchgear, run all wires there- including drops to where you'll be using your computer. An outlet in that area is helpful.

Get a gigabit POE switch with as many POE ports as you can; you'll need them later. Mine is a Netgear GS110TP, but today I'd look at the GS108pp ($135.00+- Amazon)

All cameras POE; you only need 1 CAT 6 wire to each. Install motion lights if you can, (edit, saw you already had wires there) (camera locations and motion lights are usually good at the same locations, and motion lights deter crime well)
500 feet of CAT 6 wire and termination tooling. You'll have extra. I like the Platinum Tools RJ45EZ system for connectors; it's dummy-resistant.

Specific stuff, I like certain GW security cameras, dome style: GW4571MIP ($159), and bullet style: GW4555MIP ($135) both 4MP cameras. Other GW security cameras cause problems with the software. These cameras are fixed pan/tilt, remote zoom and night vision, so expect to spend some time setting them up. Night vision cameras emit a dark red light, criminals know what this is, and will rob your neighbor.

Install and configure Blue Iris software. $60.00 The software that comes with all the cameras I've tried is sketchy, BI works out of the box, and is easy to configure.
 

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13COBRA

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Find a central location for the switchgear, run all wires there- including drops to where you'll be using your computer. An outlet in that area is helpful.

Get a gigabit POE switch with as many POE ports as you can; you'll need them later. Mine is a Netgear GS110TP, but today I'd look at the GS108pp ($135.00+- Amazon)

All cameras POE; you only need 1 CAT 6 wire to each. Install motion lights if you can, (edit, saw you already had wires there) (camera locations and motion lights are usually good at the same locations, and motion lights deter crime well)
500 feet of CAT 6 wire and termination tooling. You'll have extra. I like the Platinum Tools RJ45EZ system for connectors; it's dummy-resistant.

Specific stuff, I like certain GW security cameras, dome style: GW4571MIP ($159), and bullet style: GW4555MIP ($135) both 4MP cameras. Other GW security cameras cause problems with the software. These cameras are fixed pan/tilt, remote zoom and night vision, so expect to spend some time setting them up. Night vision cameras emit a dark red light, criminals know what this is, and will rob your neighbor.

Install and configure Blue Iris software. $60.00 The software that comes with all the cameras I've tried is sketchy, BI works out of the box, and is easy to configure.

So how much for you to come set up a full system in my house?
 

EatonEggbeater

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So how much for you to come set up a full system in my house?
If I was local I'd help when I could for free.

And I'll work with you on parts I used, and you can put it together yourself. That's what i did.

I still need to configure my gateway for smartphone viewing.

I actually looked up 'Woodbine Maryland' to see how close it is to see if could help him on it. (too far)
 

13COBRA

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If I was local I'd help when I could for free.

And I'll work with you on parts I used, and you can put it together yourself. That's what i did.

I still need to configure my gateway for smartphone viewing.

I actually looked up 'Woodbine Maryland' to see how close it is to see if could help him on it. (too far)

I'd pay for a plane ticket lol
 

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