Lets talk security cameras

Broke EF

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Just as the tile says, lets talk security cameras. What are the best options? DVR, NVR, local recording, cloud, memory card??? POE, IP, Wireless, pan & tilt, night vision?

I know there are a million options out there. In general, I like the idea of POE. Easier install with no worries about power at some locations, and more reliable than wireless. I am on the fence about recording, as in dedicated DVR/NVR or local computer. I think I would like both local and cloud, but I have not looked into it a lot. What brands are good, what ones to avoid.

Lets hear it

Sean
 

Lord Tin Foilhat

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https://www.thechicagogarage.com/forum/showthread.php?t=144330


Poe cameras, poe switch and homemade nvr running milestone essential software.

If you want cloud, you just pay for a service and can set milestone to archive video to a cloud source if you really want it. Personally I don't do cloud storage, just local 2TB drive.
 

Lord Tin Foilhat

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Milestone Essential+

Enterprise grade video software for free, up to 8 cameras, unlimited recording, mobile app, etc.

I haven't personally used blue Iris but it seems popular. The reason I recommend Milestone is because its been around for a long time and is used on 1000+ camera systems so its extremely robust. They also regularly test new cameras and release free driver pack upgrades to support newer cameras along with product upgrades at least once or twice a year. I think they are over 4000+ supported models and support ONVIF and RTSP protocols for the off brand cameras.
 

Lord Tin Foilhat

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So it looks like the Reolink cameras are the go to bang for the buck right now. Just be sure to get a good POE switch for them? What software do you like? I was looking at Blue Iris.

Sean
Yeah get a good poe switch that has a good amount of dedicated wattage. Estimate 15-30w per camera, although some should only use 7w. The reo's claim less then 8w but true power readings tell a different story.

Some cheap switches claim more power or spread power across all ports instead of per port. Read the specs or go name brand poe switch which should have no problems with power (Cisco, ubiquiti, Brocade, dell, hp, etc..)
 

Broke EF

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I am bringing this back from the dead for more info. I want to build a dedicated NVR for the new house, and wanted to get some input from you guys. I am not really sure how many cameras I will run yet, or what I will do for recording. Right now I have it recording on motion, but I am not sure I want to keep it like that. At least I probably wont for some of the cameras going forward.

So what kind of specs should I go for? Do I need a lot of processor? Lots of RAM? OS will be on a smaller SSD and will record to a larger drive, but how large?

I know this is all very vague, but I am just starting to get a plan together and I got to start somewhere. Thanks for the help!


Sean
 

RebelGTP

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My visit on this one:

The best company IMHO for a home camera system is Lorex by Flir... Yes, the same Flir that makes those insanely clear night vision camera systems for Law Enforcement Helicopters and military applications.

I have a wired system that came with 8 cameras and the DVR (2TB Drive) that I paid $500 for. It even has free (limited) cloud support and a set of apps that work with a free Dynamic DNS account that comes with it (yourwebsite.lorexddns.net or some shit like that). They also have IP camera setups as well as PTZ and wireless cameras.
 

Lord Tin Foilhat

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My NVR is also my PLEX server.

I am running an AMD FX-8320E with 16GB of RAM. NVR wise it handles 7 HD cameras (1080p or greater) recording 24/7 with motion on as well. I built it for under $500 for sure.

IDLE it sits around 10-20% CPU usage and 5GB of RAM.

Client viewing adds about 5-20% usage while active depending on what you are doing (Playback, live viewing, watching 2 cameras vs 8, etc..)

You also have to think about recording storage. How long do you want to store video for? personally I only keep about a week of storage. Anything I want to keep long term I will export and save it to another drive.
 

Broke EF

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I really have no idea. I would think under 10 for outdoor cameras, but I am also going to put up a building at some point. Lets plan for 20, which is WAY overkill but I would rather have the power/space if it isn't too insane to build.

I would like to be able to pull up the feeds any time, yes. I don't plan on having a command center room with a wall of feeds or anything, but would want the ability to quickly view them.


Sean
 

Broke EF

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If you are building a PC for it, any current gen I7 or Ryzen 7 will be able to handle that. Get 16-32GB of RAM.

The only thing with those amount of cameras is you will need to pay for a software license over 8 cameras.

Yeah, building a new PC just as an NVR and keeping my PLEX separate. You think it needs an i7? RAM makes sense, and guess I need to sort out how large of a drive(s) I need.

I am running Blue Iris which supports up to 64 cameras, so I should be good on the software side of things.


Sean
 

Lord Tin Foilhat

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Yeah, building a new PC just as an NVR and keeping my PLEX separate. You think it needs an i7? RAM makes sense, and guess I need to sort out how large of a drive(s) I need.

I am running Blue Iris which supports up to 64 cameras, so I should be good on the software side of things.


Sean

I5 and maybe even an I3 would handle it I'm sure.

I just like to over build and leave some overhead performance wise. Tends to increase reliability a bit when the processor isnt running balls to the wall all the time.
 

Lord Tin Foilhat

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do any of these do neat things around machine learning or computer vision yet? there's lots of tinkery stuff available but i've never found a good use case or project to play with something yet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKY0vG6YIl4

most VMS software does not do this but have API integration for software that does.

I know metra runs AI on their cameras to detect left bags, running people, virtual geofencing and other out of the norm metrics.
 

CMNTMXR57

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My situation is that I want to have a couple cameras at the other house. That house has no internet connection and I don't want to as no one is there to use it.

I do have an old PC there. Is there some setup that can wirelessly stream to that PC from the cameras mounted whereever I want.

There have been a rash of thefts and the neighborhood recently and last week, the sensitivity on one of my motion lights was turned down to minimum.
 

Broke EF

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Alright fellas, it is go time on the NVR build. I know AMD just announced (released?) new CPU's but don't know anything about them.

I believe I said already I will be under 10 cameras for now (I think 6 or 7), but want some room to expand later. I had pieced together a set up for this last time I brought it up;

i7 8700
8TB WD Purple
250GB SSD
I don't remember what I did for memory

I want to say it ended up around $1500. If possible I would like to stay closer to $1k including a rack mount case, power supply, OS, etc.

Lets get a final build for this!

Thanks,
Sean
 
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