home surveillance cameras

[Smitty Two]

Asking for recommendations for a video camera/recorder system for home
security. Costco sells several "Q-See" brand packages, but I'm a little
skeptical about the quality, based on the price. I'd rather buy 2 or 3
high quality cameras than 16 mediocre ones. (OTOH I'm not much
interested in pissing away money unnecessarily.)

More or less open to any suggestions about specific brands to buy or
avoid, or suggestions on other aspects of the overall system that I
should be paying attention to.

Burglar alarm is monitored, and sheriffs DO respond quickly, but I'd
still like to get clear images of anyone who decides to do a smash and
grab when no one is home. Have no idea how many pixels that would
require, or other camera specs. I've seen too many TV shows of liquor
store robberies where the security footage falls way short of providing
clear images of the perps.

[Jan Philips]

On Sun, 29 Jul 2012 17:27:14 -0700, Smitty Two <notpublicinfo@cox.net>
wrote:



I've been researching these but I haven't bought one. Some of these
look good:

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

[notbob]

On 2012-07-30, Smitty Two <notpublicinfo@cox.net> wrote:

You can spend all kindsa $$, or not. There is Zoneminder:

[Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

....but I think it's strictly Linux. Jes a thought.

nb

--
"I didn't know I worked here.
I must've forgot my apron"
Support labelling GMO foods
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[Dean Hoffman]

On 7/29/12 7:27 PM, Smitty Two wrote:


I ended up with a Clover (Wisecomm) brand. It works ok but isn't
all that clear. I can recognize me walking across a yard. It has a
recording card, and a 7" monitor. Two cameras.
I learned a couple things. "Wireless" isn't. The cameras and the
dvr/monitor need 120 vac. Wireless means the cameras don't need to be
directly wired to the receiver. I thought briefly about using some sort
of solar setup with an inverter. Summer is a busy time for me so I
didn't pursue that thought. It was easier to wire up some 120 vac.
The other is the cameras aren't meant to be out in the open. I think
the term is "weather resistant". That means they're meant to be under
an overhang or otherwise protected from direct rainfall.
My intention was to buy the Svat brand. They were on backorder so I
passed on those. Another one I looked at seriously was called Defender.
Look at the ones on Amazon. There is a lot of commentary about the
ones sold there.
It looks like a couple companies build several versions/brands. The
pictures and descriptions seem very similar.

[Robert Macy]

On Jul 29, 5:27*pm, Smitty Two <notpublici...@cox.net> wrote:

you should post your request in
alt.security.alarms
from that group's recommendation for superCircuits, I bought 4 cameras
of a potential 8 camera system.
Incredible quality of video. The cameras were external day/night
vision which meant they had a ring of red LED's around the lense that
provided illumination at low light levels. unless you looked directly
at the camera you couldn't even see these red LEDs when they were on.

They are powered by 12Vdc, so you can run low voltage cabling, not
120Vac around

if you can find my name recommending the system you'll get a better
description. Any questions, I always reached a human.

[mike]

On 7/29/2012 5:27 PM, Smitty Two wrote:

No alarm system will prevent someone from stealing your stuff if they
really want it.
The purpose of an alarm is to suggest to the thief that it would be
lower risk to rob your neighbor instead. Fake cameras do that as well
as real ones.

As you noted, you're not gonna get clear pictures from any unattended
camera system you can afford.
The experiment is easy. Take your 640x480 webcam and stick it in the
window.
Check out the relationships between viewing angle, resolution and focus.
Try it in different lighting conditions. Bottom line is, unless someone
sticks their face in the camera, you're not likely to get any incriminating
pictures.

If your camera has motion tracking, auto focus and optical auto zoom, you
may have a chance.

If you want to prevent smash and grab, spend your money preventing the
smash. Bars on the windows are much more effective than cameras on the
windows.

Go down to the local surveillance camera store and get some demos.

[George]

On 7/30/2012 2:49 PM, mike wrote:

But if you have decent cameras and a decent DVR it may actually enable
the prosecution of the riff-raff.



Depends, the "all this for $399" big box outfits are a waste of time but
there are decent cameras that aren't a fortune.

[Meanie]

"mike" <spamme9@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:jv6kvu$vu3$1@dont-email.me...
Bars on windows are big no nos with the fire dept. They not only look
hideous, they can trap someone inside if there is a fire.

[HeyBub]

Meanie wrote:

ALL of my window burglar bars open with locks that cannot be manipulated
from outside. I caution any overnight guests that, in case of fire, go for a
window, not a door. The burglar-barred doors are key-locked from both the
outside and the inside.

If the squints DO get in, they'll have to haul their haul out through a
window, which would discourage them from stealing my $1,200 dishwasher (that
I got for forty bucks).

I have no real experience with security cameras but you might consider
attaching whatever you select to a UPS. Those who de-feather chickens as a
hobby often cut the power to a building in hopes of disabling security
devices.

[Smitty Two]

In article
<629120f8-aaca-4e3a-8c67-48da6dd6279d@d24g2000yqh.googlegroups.com>,
Robert Macy <robert.a.macy@gmail.com> wrote:


Thanks. I'll check out the website. Your thread on the referenced group
seems to have expired from Eternal September's server.