Seeking Inputs on Wired CCTV Systems for the Home of Decent Quality

[K4EET]

Greetings fellow RR colleagues,

This time I get to pick your brains for a change. I am seeking inputs on "decent quality" wired CCTV systems for the home to replace an existing CCTV system. This will be a total system changeout possibly including new cable runs for camera relocation. Recording capacity need not be huge (a day or two is fine) unless high capacity does not impact costs that much. Night vision is a must whereas audio is not necessarily needed. Number of cameras is probably five; maybe expandable to eight would be a nice feature. Picture quality needs to be "good enough" for identifying perps at night in dim lighting conditions and at high noon during bright sunshine conditions..

Note that I am trying to avoid being too specific with requirements and specifications because I want inputs that I can review. The features and specifications of any and all systems suggested here will be reviewed for their merit and how they compare against other manufacturers.

Finally, if you have first-hand experience with any system that you might mention, please let me know that too. What has been your experience with that system? Have you had to use it to successfully identify perps; especially at night? How many cameras was your system configured for, how large was the recording media and what was the duration of a track before it overwrote itself? Etc., etc., etc. ...

Thanks everyone! I am soliciting inputs because it has been a while since I have worked in/with the industry of CCTV manufacturers. There may be some new companies out there that are worth looking at for a wired home CCTV system that I've not heard of. So please, give me any and all of your thoughts. I don't want to miss anybody in this field that is worth looking at. Thanks again!

Dave

 

[prcguy]

A few years ago I did a lot of research and there are tons of new companies peddling home security camera stuff. I narrowed down my needs to wired Ethernet cameras with power over Ethernet and went with Reolink. My DVR handles up to eight cameras and powers them all over the Ethernet cable. The DVR has a 2TB drive and with eight 4MP cameras running I can get upwards of two weeks before it records over itself. All the cameras have areas you can designate for motion sensing and that will save hard drive space and the system can also text or email you when it detects motion. You can also view live motion or recordings from your cell phone.

The entire system is remote controlled via your cell phone or a local keyboard and monitor and setup is really easy. I have experience with other systems where you had to get into your home router and add port forwarding to allow the system to be accessed from the outside but Rolink has figured everything out and it does it automatically. I have also tried to hack into the system and it doesn't even show up on my router, its very well protected from hacking, even within your home LAN.

Here is an example of a starter system with a DVR that can handle up to eight cameras and this comes with three 4MP cameras with IR night vision and have a really good picture. You can also get their newer 5MP cameras at slightly more cost. 8CH 2TB HDD NVR 4MP PoE Outdoor CCTV IR Security Camera System Kit Waterproof | eBay

 

[K4EET]

@prcguy, thanks so much for your comments. Do you know what country of origin Reolink lays claim to?

 

[prcguy]

I haven't looked at the label but I'm pretty sure its China.

@prcguy, thanks so much for your comments. Do you know what country of origin Reolink lays claim to?

 

[bharvey2]

A couple of years ago I started looking for a replacement system for work. I finally opted to go with cameras and DVRs made by HikVision. The one I went with was pretty large. 128 camera capacity. However, They have much smaller versions available. HikVision maintains several lines of cameras, both analog and PoE. The video quality on the camera models I've used (all PoE) has been outstanding. A viewing app for your smart phone is also available at no cost. While the camera system is a Chinese product, They are of good quality. Out of the dozens of cameras installed so far, only one has gone bad. It was mounted to a machine frame that was constantly vibrating so I can't really fault the camera.

 

[K4EET]

@bharvey2, thanks for your comments too. I'll check out HikVision as well although I would like to try not to buy Chinese made equipment. It seems like everything is made in China these days. Nothing against the Chinese people, I would just prefer to buy American.

 

[bharvey2]

@bharvey2, thanks for your comments too. I'll check out HikVision as well although I would like to try not to buy Chinese made equipment. It seems like everything is made in China these days. Nothing against the Chinese people, I would just prefer to buy American.

I looked for that too. While many were represented by U.S. companies, it seems that any I could find were made overseas, quite often in China. If you'd like some first hand knowledge of HikVision products feel free to ask. I'd be happy to help if I can.

 

[K4EET]

<snip> If you'd like some first hand knowledge of HikVision products feel free to ask. I'd be happy to help if I can.

Thanks for the offer. If I have any questions, I'll look you up. Thanks again! Dave

 

[LS101]

I know this is a old post but for the ones interested in Security systems this is a site you all should look at before you jump in and buy something you'll regret, believe me you'll regret buying one of those 4K systems from a big box store, sure they look great in daytime what about night time junk totally useless for night time security. Some all ready know that just about all the systems you find at big box stores are made by one company Dahua,Lorex systems are made by them, they don't let you know that you can use other and better cameras on there NVRs, they want you to buy theirs. you want a camera to see at night and in color just look at some that says starlight and look at the videos,can be pitched black out side and if you just point it where they just get a little light its like daylight in that area, point it a block away at a neighbors porch light and there whole front yard is like daylight it dosn;t take much light to turn everything in to daylight. now when something happens you can at lest give the police a description of there clothing, try that with a big box setup you will not get it. Any if anyone is interested here is the link to the site Read before you buy you wont regret it.
IP Cam Talk

IP Cam Talk

IP Cam Talk is a place to discuss IP Cameras, CCTV, home automation, security, Blue Iris & everything related.

ipcamtalk.com

 

[K4EET]

Hi @LS101. Thanks for chiming in with the link! I personally have not purchased a replacement system yet so will take a look at the forum. Was not aware of this website. Thanks again!

I know this is a old post but for the ones interested in Security systems this is a site you all should look at before you jump in and buy something you'll regret... <snip>
IP Cam Talk

IP Cam Talk

IP Cam Talk is a place to discuss IP Cameras, CCTV, home automation, security, Blue Iris & everything related.

ipcamtalk.com

 

[LS101]

I am sure you will find all your answers in this site they also have a wiki site too, I have a Lorex system that was given to me and after having i would never buy one, I still use the nvr but i have now switched out all the 4k cameras to Dahua starlight's and have not looked back since, I have 2 PTZ 60x cameras can zoom in at close to 1 mile and a bunch of smaller cameras I cover about 30 acreas of proporty with the PTZ. Dont let 4k suck you in !!!!