LM home door cams, security cams, etc.

My next door neighbor has an in-law that is a problem. He's spent time in jail for kicking in their front door and is prohibited from going on the property. He's been coming around lately and sitting at the curb. I recognize the sound of his POS car. Last night some another car was doing donuts in their yard and zooming up and down the street.  I'm sure it's him and I guess he's going to do stupid again.

It's not my business, but stuff like this does impact our neighborhood. Any GRM advice for property cams? I guess the easy button is Ring or the like, but I know BayCargo has cheap cameras. Don't know anything about this topic. Can the Hive drop some knowledge on me? 

Ring had some very very very serious privacy and ethics issues. I would steer towards a closed circuit still that's not connected to the internet due to those concerns.

I also am interested in personal CC cameras for my property and my newly acquired land. 

Javelin said:

Ring had some very very very serious privacy and ethics issues. I would steer towards a closed circuit still that's not connected to the internet due to those concerns.

I thought that was the Nest? Not sure. 

I remember watching a review of the two on YouTube last month.

Depends on how crazy you wanna go and how much you wanna spend.

There's the Ring doorbell, which is meh. My Ring 2 turned in to a brick after a national issue and the subsequent update that followed. The Ring spotlight/flood light is ok, but pricey. 

Ring, Nest, etc all require a subscription fee on top of the costly buy-in.

There's the Arlo Pro 2 which is wireless, has pretty good video, and isn't terribly expensive (sub $300 for a two camera set up and their version of an NVR). Another good thing is that you don't have to pay a subscription fee. Since they are wireless, there could be lag issues, which may be a con for you.
 

I'm actually in the process of building out my CCTV for the house; will be DIYing a basic-ish mATX computer running Blue Iris software and either Hikvision or Dahua low-light cameras (2MP or so) that are PoE. The downside is Hikvision and Dahua are partly owned by the Chinese government; locking down those cameras is a suggestion I read about constantly.

I do commercial buildings for a living and we use strictly Axis cameras. They're great, not banned for use by the US government, and the views these newer ones we've been installing are absolutely beautiful. The downside is that they're beyond expensive and just aren't possible for the typical homeowner to buy and install.

Ring has had some enormous problems and security concerns. Nest has as well. So has Alexa. Basically, your security system should talk to your own system and nothing else if you're serious.

The solution for Shadeaux's problem is to call the cops. Getting video of someone doing donuts at night isn't going to do anything, because all you're going to get is headlights. Also, motion-sensitive lights will work well for deterrence while a hidden camera will not.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Well, we've called the cops a lot between this guy and the nutty lady down the street. If something goes down, then heck yeah, but I don't want to be the guy always calling 911 about something. It's about being prudent and paying a little more attention to things outside the house.

Subscription services are right out, I'd much rather DIY and own what I've bought. We have a couple of Sonus systems and right now they have about updated me out of using them. At some point it's a speaker with two wires. Don't make me go there, Sonus.

In reply to FuzzWuzzy :

Know anything about Lorex?

You can buy cameras that screw into light sockets really cheap on Amazon. They connect you WiFi and you can view them from your phone where ever you are. The also have motion sensing and a speaker too actually.

Ive used them before, they aren't bad at all

I bought these set of 4 cams of Amazon last summer for $118.  Now they are even cheaper.  Each needs an SD card of about $10 each.  I use them indoors and I have not bought the subscription.  

do you need to have 1080p ?  and how much bandwidth do they take ?

If you just wants pictures , there are Trail  Cams  that you use to track animals at night ,  they activate with movement , 

If this guy is crazy you need to watch your back  ,  best if the Cops catch him because you probably do not want to go to court  because he will get out of jail !

Maybe ask the cops what they think you should do , 

Good Luck and stay safe

In reply to Shadeux :

Lorex is owned by Dahua, so they're fine. Just inflated price and made for an English-speaking market.

If you wanna go cheaper, Amcrest and Reolink are decent enough. Not sure how good their low-light vision is, though; plenty of videos on Youtube to help compare certain brands/models.

z31maniac said:

Javelin said:

Ring had some very very very serious privacy and ethics issues. I would steer towards a closed circuit still that's not connected to the internet due to those concerns.

I thought that was the Nest? Not sure. 

I remember watching a review of the two on YouTube last month.

Googling says it's both...

I have a few Nest outdoor cameras and some random amazon indoor cameras. I like the nest cams because I can review anything from anywhere for the past 3 days for a few bucks per month. I've heard some services that are motion activated don't pick up everything and sometimes activate a little too late. The night vision is incredible as well. The random amazon cameras (~$50) say they are 1080p with night vision. They work great during the day but night vision outside is terrible so take it for what its worth.

If you're handy you can just run network cable throughout the house and hook to a central video recording device. Probably can hook that up to a computer and get access anywhere. That seems to be the preferred method when I was looking into it but with my limited free time I went the easy route to sell my data to google.

Nest @ night

Vs cheap Amazon camera at night

Granted I have a little more light in the other picture but I think the Nest would be better in the back 

I have three Wyze cams.  So far, no big privacy issues, great picture, easy phone interface.  They wifi to your router, then you can use the app to recognize the cameras.  I have one inside to terrorize the dog, one at the front door and one at the rear door so a thief can easily steal it.

Loop recording, event recording, etc.  2-way voice, so it works just like a ring minus the button.  I have talked to my mailman before... got a motion detection notice, checked the phone, saw it was my mailman, hit the button and talked to him.

If you wait for sales on Amazon, they can be had for dirt cheap... like under $50 for a pair.

My ex wife set one up pointing at the dog crates at her house and sent me an invite so I can watch the "kids" when she has them.

Highly recommended.  Only downside I have found is that the ones I have don't secure to anything.  They have a magnetic base and some steel pucks with 2-sided tape, but they don't "mount" like a Ring or Nest.  I could easily put a screw through the base, but the mounts aren't sturdy.  If someone decides they want to "borrow" my cameras, they can just take them.  I had them inside looking out the window, but I was limited in how I could aim them.

I think the thing that would deter their theft is that they are serialized and unique with their own sorta mac address.  If someone stole mine and set it up in their house, I would just have a nice view of their patio.  Its easy to add a stolen Wyze cam to their own app, but they can't block my permission to it.

Wyze cam.  I love the night vision.  It's helped by the 4" of snow right now, but it's great.

Great input from all, thank you! GRM is awesome!

I'm leaning towards a DIY setup with hardwired cameras with a PC offline running stuff. I have what I need laying around except for the cameras. Perhaps grab some cheap cameras and hook things up and how it goes. I can always upgrade stuff.

Javelin said:

z31maniac said:

Javelin said:

Ring had some very very very serious privacy and ethics issues. I would steer towards a closed circuit still that's not connected to the internet due to those concerns.

I thought that was the Nest? Not sure. 

I remember watching a review of the two on YouTube last month.

Googling says it's both...

Yeah. I wasn't sure. I saw the big sale on Ring doorbells right around Christmas, but then watched a review comparing the two and I felt like there were enough issues with both to not buy one. 

I'd really prefer an integrated security/alarm/lighting setup vs a mix of things. But I need to call someone out and see what that would actually cost me.

..so are we saying that the self-contained DVR + camera units that The Hammer Store has for sale aren't worth getting?  I've been looking at options for the workshop where there is no phone line or Internet access.  I want to put in at least 2 external cameras and 2 or 3 internal cameras and then mount the DVR up and out of the way to make it less likely that someone would be able to grab it on their way out.  And, of course, I'm not gonna spend a lot for that muffler...

I have 10 Blink cameras covering the outside of the house.

I also have a older Swann hardwired system with 6 cameras. 

I do not have any cameras inside the house.

The hardwired system is connected to a 24" monitor that sits on the desk in the living room so it gives you a real time look around the house. It also records motion. My dog prefers it. He spends a fair amount of the day watching that monitor so he can bark at anything that moves. 

The Blink system works better if you want remote viewing. The Blink cameras are also better quality and with offsite storage you don't have to worry about the thief stealing the DVR and taking the evidence with him.

In reply to wae :

Personally, no. Most of them are gonna be junk with 720p or worse. Their low-light visibility will also likely be junk. The kits at Home stores or the cheap sub $200 Amazon/eBay ones remind me of the janky looking liqour store or gas station cameras that can barely make anything out. You'll also likely be locked in to that particular brand if you ever wanna expand if the supplied DVR can even handle it.

But the cavaet to that is if it's in a location with only power, no ethernet and you're wanting barebones and cheap, then go for the DVR kit. Just don't go in expecting amazing views. It is technically better than nothing at all if something were to happen.

We still have a few switch sites and call centers utilizing DVRs/analog cameras and I absolutely hate them.

 

Another vote for WYZE cams. @ ~$25/each, they're very affordable. They aren't perfect, but they are getting better. The default free cloud recordings only last for 12 seconds, then have a 5 minute cool down period before they record again. This can be resolved by either or both, putting and SD card in, or paying their $1.50/month/cam for "full motion recording". (A.K.A. records the whole time there is motion, not just 12 seconds, and no cooldown period.)

Person detection was half decent, but is currently on hold due to the partner withdrawing. I believe they are working on an in house solution. (They send out email updates fairly frequently, kinda nice that they are open about what they are working on.)

Also, they have the "WYZE Sense" kit that you can add Motion detectors, and door/window sensors. I have only tested the motion sensor so far, and it works well. The WYZE Sense stuff can also talk to Alexa to trigger sequences/routines too.

The other thing with WYZE cams, they are indoor only. People sell enclosures to put them outdoors, but I have not personally tested them yet. I point mine out the window from inside, and the picture and motion detection quality is still very good. 

If I were in a long term house, I would definitely take more time and make my own DIY system, hardwired POE, etc. I just don't want to run wire in the current house. (Lazy) Hikvision has come highly recommended to me by my friend who does camera installs. I've helped him with a few and they are definitely nice. 

In reply to AWSX1686 :

I've seen reviews of people who put thw Wyze outdoors and other than some lagging during freezing temperatures, they function fine.

I've been wanting to wait on getting a Wyze as they've been talking about developing one specifically for the outdoors on the forum. Everyone was expecting a before Christmas release, but nothing yet.