Home security camera systems

[Wakeyfox]

Following a few burglaries in our area I'm seriously considering getting some security cameras installed but there are quite a few options about. 

 

Has anyone got any good advice? 

 

Probably looking at doorbell plus 2 cameras (side and rear of house) probably with light as well. 

 

I started off looking at the Ring systems, but I didn't realise how many other similar options there are from Blink, Arlo, Eufy etc... 

 

Doe anyone have any experience with the battery powered ones as I'd prefer those (for ease of installation and to save the cost of having to get a man out) but not really wanting to have to access the cameras to charge them too regularly. Eufy even do a battery/solar camera with light which they reckon probably won't ever need changing (which seems a little far fetched). 

 

Or does anyone just have dummy cameras up as a deterrent? (not looking to burgal you!!!) 

[Sir Shep]

I’ve got about 6 ring cameras set up in and around my house, pay a sub of about £80 per annum and all but one are either mains or battery operated. Batteries last a long time and don’t take long to charge. Can’t fault it really but I would wait until they are on offer which they often are! 

[Jattdogg]

Get a big dog. Lol

[Greg2607]

1 hour ago, Wakeyfox said:

Following a few burglaries in our area I'm seriously considering getting some security cameras installed but there are quite a few options about. 

 

Has anyone got any good advice? 

 

Probably looking at doorbell plus 2 cameras (side and rear of house) probably with light as well. 

 

I started off looking at the Ring systems, but I didn't realise how many other similar options there are from Blink, Arlo, Eufy etc... 

 

Doe anyone have any experience with the battery powered ones as I'd prefer those (for ease of installation and to save the cost of having to get a man out) but not really wanting to have to access the cameras to charge them too regularly. Eufy even do a battery/solar camera with light which they reckon probably won't ever need changing (which seems a little far fetched). 

 

Or does anyone just have dummy cameras up as a deterrent? (not looking to burgal you!!!) 

I've got the Eufy Solar one and I haven't charged it for 18 months since I first charged it.  It drains over the winter obviously, but it lasted all winter. 

[Raj]

@Strokes is your man.

 

Dont ask @tom27111 whatever you do!!

Edited 27 July 2023 by Raj

[Freeman's Wharfer]

I started with Hive cameras and a Ring doorbell but noticed because they were motion-detecting they sometimes missed things (like someone walking up to my front door).

 

Decided to just get a proper CCTV system put in. It cost a bit more but the cameras are constantly recording, the quality is brilliant and it saves everything to the hard drive.

 

Once you factor in the cost of installation, annual subscriptions and all of the cameras themselves with Ring/Hive etc. a proper CCTV system would probably come out cheaper and you’re protected against price hikes that I’m sure will come once Amazon have everyone at their mercy with Ring.

[Bellend Sebastian]

21 minutes ago, Greg2607 said:

I've got the Eufy Solar one and I haven't charged it for 18 months since I first charged it.  It drains over the winter obviously, but it lasted all winter. 

I was too tight to go for the solar option and got the rechargeable one. Doesn't last quite as long as claimed but I'm still only charging it every couple of months (but means has to be installed somewhere you can get to it easily).

 

I like them because there are no wires and they're completely stand alone - no hub needed. Also, pretty cheap as you never have to wait long for them to be on offer. Think I paid £75 for a Eufy E40 and bought a second one on Prime Day recently as only sixty quid 

 

 

[ian__marshall]

Whatever system you go for just make sure that it comes from a company with a proven track record of data protection, and doesn't have back doors that could potentially compromise the security of your home network. 

[Molson Canadian]

I built a new house approximately 3.5 years ago.  My cousin is a electrician so got a very good deal on the electrical high and low voltage even helped him do some of the work.  My NVR can handle 20 cameras at the moment 16 cameras are hardwire installed with CAT6 cable.  I have 2 dedicated tv screens setup in the house for the security camera displays.  I feel like scarface watching them all the time.

 

In my opinion if someone wants to get in and rob you they will do it regardless of cameras or not.  They can wear facemasks and just do it.  All you will be left with is video footage which in turn you could give to the police who in turn will tell you nothing they can do and tell you to call your home insurance to find out about replacing stolen items.

 

Anytime a house or car alarm in my neighbourhood goes off nobody even pays attention or acts on it.  They may have a look to see and ensure its not their own car but that's about it.

 

You can install all the cameras and alarm systems you want still not guarantee. Look at all the famous footballer houses in England that have been getting robbed with nobody getting arrested. 

Edited 27 July 2023 by Molson Canadian

[Jattdogg]

26 minutes ago, Molson Canadian said:

I built a new house approximately 3.5 years ago.  My cousin is a electrician so got a very good deal on the electrical high and low voltage even helped him do some of the work.  My NVR can handle 20 cameras at the moment 16 cameras are hardwire installed with CAT6 cable.  I have 2 dedicated tv screens setup in the house for the security camera displays.  I feel like scarface watching them all the time.

 

In my opinion if someone wants to get in and rob you they will do it regardless of cameras or not.  They can wear facemasks and just do it.  All you will be left with is video footage which in turn you could give to the police who in turn will tell you nothing they can do and tell you to call your home insurance to find out about replacing stolen items.

 

Anytime a house or car alarm in my neighbourhood goes off nobody even pays attention or acts on it.  They may have a look to see and ensure its not their own car but that's about it.

 

You can install all the cameras and alarm systems you want still not guarantee. Look at all the famous footballer houses in England that have been getting robbed with nobody getting arrested. 

Lol at the scarface comment.

 

I agree with this. I do have a nest doorbell camera which is  great for a quick check out front. The kids play out front so i open the nest app while im working to keep an eye on them 

per say. It also helps with not answering the door for people i  dont know (sales, jehovah's etc). 

 

Your setup sounds ideal though for what i would do if i went that route.

 

I thought about going the hard drive route but after thinking about costs and what exactly i have in my house that is worth to be stolen i said fook it.

 

Interestingly enough, the police have rung my doorbell asking if i had any footage of stolen vehicles and both times i did and emailed it to them. Wasnt great footage but i suppose they peice it together with other submitted videos to proove a case.  Outside of that the footage isnt high def in distance

[Strokes]

2 hours ago, Raj said:

@Strokes is your man.

 

Dont ask @tom27111 whatever you do!!

Bloody Ring are killing the domestic market for the installers.

They have their place but just remember if your internet is down, which it will be during a powercut or if someone buys a £20 jammer from Amazon. They will not record anything.

 

Its much harder to defeat a wired system with battery back up, that uses a central based hard-drive rather than these cloud based systems.

 

EZVIZ do ones similar to ring with a SD card built in that records when WiFi is down. But lights fed from the mains can still be unreliable.

[abc]

Neighbour had an installer fit Netvue cameras. I'm tight and OK with DIY. I bought WIFI cameras from Netvue. They have a micro SD card in that records the footage 24/7. Drill a hole though the wall and plug them in to a wall socket inside the house. Connect them to your wifi and you are done. App on your phone accesses the cameras live, or use the app to see and download the SD card recorded footage. Camera are £30 - £100 a pop depending on which ones you go for. They have solar and battery type as well. outdoor cameras

[Monk]

How do you all feel about privacy? I feel waaay uneasy about giving Amazon videos of my property they have enough data on me as it is. 

[Molson Canadian]

On 27/07/2023 at 14:31, Jattdogg said:

Lol at the scarface comment.

 

I agree with this. I do have a nest doorbell camera which is  great for a quick check out front. The kids play out front so i open the nest app while im working to keep an eye on them 

per say. It also helps with not answering the door for people i  dont know (sales, jehovah's etc). 

 

Your setup sounds ideal though for what i would do if i went that route.

 

I thought about going the hard drive route but after thinking about costs and what exactly i have in my house that is worth to be stolen i said fook it.

 

Interestingly enough, the police have rung my doorbell asking if i had any footage of stolen vehicles and both times i did and emailed it to them. Wasnt great footage but i suppose they peice it together with other submitted videos to proove a case.  Outside of that the footage isnt high def in distance

 

The only thing i don't like about the Ring type cameras is the yearly subscription fees. My entire system is HIKIVISION.  I have a doorbell camera made by them as well it is wifi but connects to my NVR network and shows on my security screens along with phone.  Only thing i didn't like about my system was the constant alerts i was getting on my phone to begin with, had to adjust the settings.   The cameras are very sensitive to motions etc.  Was getting alerts all the time.  The nightvision on them though is amazing once it detects motion the cameras adjust and light up the view area creating a clear picture.  Possibilities are endless now with low voltage works. Cameras hooked into home automation systems etc.  My cameras can even announce on my alexa devices they have sensed movement.  It's insane. 

 

Lol your mention of Jehovah Witnesses brought back memories of my great grandfather answering the door to talk to them.  A man who spent 28 years in the Indian Army explaining to them about Sikhism after they tried preaching to him.  Talking to them in his strict loud and precise military tone he spoke in.  Conversations would last a half hour sometimes.   After a while they stopped coming to our block all together, I think he eventually made them fed up and scared  

Edited 31 July 2023 by Molson Canadian

[Sly]

I’m on the wired HIKIVision as well.

 

I was abroad last week, checking on the house via the iPhone App. 

[ian__marshall]

I'd be very wary of the recent reports concerning spying and security vulnerabilities found in HIKVISION systems. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying other manufacturers don't exploit the data they gather for personal gain, but there's a big difference between using such data for commercial benefit, and using it for malicious purposes (both in the present and potentially in the future). 

[tom27111]

On 27/07/2023 at 21:35, Raj said:

@Strokes is your man.

 

Dont ask @tom27111 whatever you do!!

 

Why have I been bought in to this???

 

I've got a Ring doorbell (sorry @Strokes)

 

It's just handy for the amount of deliveries that my bloody 22 year old stepdaughter has. It's literally 3 a day. I don't even know what she's buying, but I'm on first name terms with the DPD guy.

 

The guy opposite us has got a full on shit hot CCTV system. He got robbed about 3 years ago, they came in through the fields at the back of his house and he has since covered every inch of his property. 

 

It's great, because some travellers tried to do some distraction technique robbery on us, which we obviously didn't fall for, and Kev over the road had it all on camera 

 

He said "oh shit, I don't think it's legal that my cameras cover your property"

 

Like I care, we get on really well, so if anyone robs me, he's paid for the CCTV.

[Strokes]

11 hours ago, tom27111 said:

 

Why have I been bought in to this???

 

I've got a Ring doorbell (sorry @Strokes)

 

It's just handy for the amount of deliveries that my bloody 22 year old stepdaughter has. It's literally 3 a day. I don't even know what she's buying, but I'm on first name terms with the DPD guy.

 

The guy opposite us has got a full on shit hot CCTV system. He got robbed about 3 years ago, they came in through the fields at the back of his house and he has since covered every inch of his property. 

 

It's great, because some travellers tried to do some distraction technique robbery on us, which we obviously didn't fall for, and Kev over the road had it all on camera 

 

He said "oh shit, I don't think it's legal that my cameras cover your property"

 

Like I care, we get on really well, so if anyone robs me, he's paid for the CCTV.

His cameras can look at your property, they can’t look at your windows or doors unless they are masked.

Don't apologise for having Ring, they are good bits of kit, they just have limitations that I don’t think everyone is aware of.

[Tommy G]

I'd get some advice... use these guys, I got them to install some stuff at my house - very good and know what they are doing. 

 

https://www.midsat.co.uk/

 

 

[Wakeyfox]

Thanks for all the comments. I've got a local firm coming out to give a quote/advice tomorrow afternoon.

 

I'm fairly sure I'll end up with a wired NVR system having had a look at the options.

[Daggers]

14 hours ago, tom27111 said:

...It's just handy for the amount of deliveries that my bloody 22 year old stepdaughter has. It's literally 3 a day. I don't even know what she's buying, but I'm on first name terms with the DPD guy.

*wearily agrees with this point*

 

And one of them ALWAYS comes when I'm having a shit.

[Strokes]

4 hours ago, Wakeyfox said:

Thanks for all the comments. I've got a local firm coming out to give a quote/advice tomorrow afternoon.

 

I'm fairly sure I'll end up with a wired NVR system having had a look at the options.

I think you’ve made the right choice.

[Jattdogg]

On 31/07/2023 at 12:45, Molson Canadian said:

 

Lol your mention of Jehovah Witnesses brought back memories of my great grandfather answering the door to talk to them.  A man who spent 28 years in the Indian Army explaining to them about Sikhism after they tried preaching to him.  Talking to them in his strict loud and precise military tone he spoke in.  Conversations would last a half hour sometimes.   After a while they stopped coming to our block all together, I think he eventually made them fed up and scared  

My dad wasnt in the indian army but used to do the same thing. Counter them with sikhism talk.  They never came back like you said