Members Phantasm Posted December 27, 2006 Members Share Posted December 27, 2006 Usually there's someone here that knows something about everything, so here's what I'm looking for... I've been thinking about putting up some outdoor surveilance cameras to monitor my front/back yard and side driveway. A DVR to record them would be nice and if they were motion activated that would be cool. It would also be nice if they could record stuff at night. Obviously I don't know a whole lot about this. There's a kit at Sams that has all the items to do this sort of thing, but I figured if someone else knew about something better I'd take their experience/knowledge under consideration.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thelurker Posted December 27, 2006 Members Share Posted December 27, 2006 I have no experience with the equipment, but some with the results. Don't expect to get "evidence" (other than the most vague) useable in court. I can't count the number of people who've brought me a still from a security camera, shot at night, zoomed all the way out, etc. and expected it to look like something off of CSI. The fact is, any normal video camera only takes an image 640 x 480 pixels. Viewed as a whole, they look okay, but there just isn't any detail to speak of when "zooming in" to the image. It isn't there because the camera couldn't handle the detail. The upshot is, you can't read a license plate that is made up of 6 pixels. Same for a face. If it's a crap camera shooting in the dark, it's even less likely. Some in-store security setups are good enough to get recognizeable features, but you won't get that from essentially a webcam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RIC N BACKER Posted December 27, 2006 Members Share Posted December 27, 2006 I work in a high security field and have installed high tech DVR systems in low light conditions.what you see at Sams club is not anywhere on the level of quality you should use. PM me your email address, your age, criminal status and occupation and we can discuss it further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fretless Posted December 27, 2006 Members Share Posted December 27, 2006 we just installed this at work http://sentinelcctvstore.lorextechnology.com/product.aspx?id=1244 works really well , can also be viewed via internet , so far perfect performance . We cought the neighbor using water , everyday , and filmed a robbery in progress across the street . Burned a CD and gave it to the Police . They tried to rob a Gun shop and were greeted by bullets in less than 5 sec. 1 guy dead the other off to jail . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hotblack Posted December 27, 2006 Members Share Posted December 27, 2006 Preface: I know a little about this stuff. I've used some of the Panasonic DVR security solutions. Depending on the model you get, you can hook up about six cameras, set automatic record times, motion sensing record times, view over the web, automatically erase after x-number of days, etc... The nice thing is that you can add any camera to the recorder via a BNC connection. Depending on the model, you may be able to control zoom in and out. You can decide whether you want an all weather camera, something with infa-red, or an indoor camera. This is a Panasonic that I've used. The only big issue has been settings getting erased when the power goes out, so I would recommend getting a UPS with whatever security system you buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FreestyleIntruder Posted December 27, 2006 Members Share Posted December 27, 2006 I did this {censored} for my job about 5-6 years ago. Tech may well have marched on since then, so bear that in mind... First issue - do you want it as a deterrent, or do you want it as something that will actually catch bad guys? You have a choice between covert and overt here, in other words (think of it as the difference between an Ampeg stack and a little EA rig - both might do the same ultimate job, but one makes a bigger visual statement) If you want to catch peeps at night, you'll have to use B&W cameras, and you'll need IR floodlights to cover the area being monitored. The problem there is that the IR bulbs are pretty frail, and will need pretty frequent replacement (as in every couple of months or so). You can also get cameras with their own built-in IR LEDs, but those tend to have a pretty short range, low resolution and a low depth-of-field, so likely would not be admissable in court, if that's what you're after. I don't know what the laws are in the US WRT data protection, and police recommendations as far as things like required resolution go - it might vary between forces, states - I just don't know. The cameras are the main bone of contention AFAIK (again, 5 - 6 years since I did this) Most DVRs will probably have motion detection, plus nifty features such as remote monitoring (ie if you have broadband connection, you can monitor your back yard from the other side of the world) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Fireball_73 Posted December 27, 2006 Members Share Posted December 27, 2006 Saw something on a UK tv show called "The gadget show" earlier in the year about a fully integrated and customisable security system, set up using your computer, and alerts you by texting your phone. I'll try and YT it. EDIT: It's not on there. Sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BassDemon Posted December 27, 2006 Members Share Posted December 27, 2006 I've found a motion detecting sensor light and a guard dog work just fine in keeping people off my property. If I put up cameras they'd probably get stolen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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