Best four-camera + DVR small business security system?
September 12, 2015 8:29 AM Subscribe
Small office seeks a four camera + DVR setup for security. Not hidden cameras. Best options, best values? Things to watch out for?
Your budget and needs weigh heavily on this decision.
For about $3.3k, I did six cameras, a Mac server and an 8-camera license of SecuritySpy.
In my system, two of my cameras are PTZ, three of them are stationary, and one of them is a USB webcam near-ish the server itself.
My requirement was at least 720p, I was in charge of the budget, and we did all of the installation ourselves.
I also self-imposed that all of the cameras were to be Power over Ethernet, so the cable runs would be easy.
SecuritySpy has a camera compatibility matrix, and it publishes its own web server so you can watch the cameras or the stored footage.
posted by tomierna at 11:17 AM on September 12, 2015
For about $3.3k, I did six cameras, a Mac server and an 8-camera license of SecuritySpy.
In my system, two of my cameras are PTZ, three of them are stationary, and one of them is a USB webcam near-ish the server itself.
My requirement was at least 720p, I was in charge of the budget, and we did all of the installation ourselves.
I also self-imposed that all of the cameras were to be Power over Ethernet, so the cable runs would be easy.
SecuritySpy has a camera compatibility matrix, and it publishes its own web server so you can watch the cameras or the stored footage.
posted by tomierna at 11:17 AM on September 12, 2015
I have installed two types of security systems. One was back in the days of videotape recorders. In that case, I used miscellaneous, 4-ch wireless cameras I was able to scrounge. I put each of them on their own channel, sent them to a 4-ch receiver and routed the video to the recorder. The main advantage was they were wireless so no video cable needed although they did need power wherever they were positioned. The main disadvantages were (1) trying to make sure they all were positioned so the signal was always a good one and (2), they tended to not be infrared so they were useless at night.
Since then, I've installed two wired systems, each with at least one wireless camera. The advantages are the signal is much better (but image always depends on the resolution of the cameras - the higher the resolution, the better the image (but them more expensive the camera), almost all cameras available now are infrared, DVR's can store video for up to a month before re-recording over it and search/retrieval is much easier. Also, DVR's can be set to send your video over the Internet. The disadvantages is if you connect it to the Internet, anybody can potentially see it. Simple wireless cameras are almost non-existent nowadays.
Both of the wired systems I bought were cheapies from Harbor Freight - a four channel ($150 in 2008) and later, an eight channel ($250 in 2012). I supplemented them with extra cameras from Swann. None of them were PTZ. And sometimes, splitters and extensions were necessary depending on whether I wanted the cables to be easy to see or out of the way. But HF includes software that give you a viewer on your desktop, laptop or phone.
posted by CollectiveMind at 12:32 PM on September 13, 2015
Since then, I've installed two wired systems, each with at least one wireless camera. The advantages are the signal is much better (but image always depends on the resolution of the cameras - the higher the resolution, the better the image (but them more expensive the camera), almost all cameras available now are infrared, DVR's can store video for up to a month before re-recording over it and search/retrieval is much easier. Also, DVR's can be set to send your video over the Internet. The disadvantages is if you connect it to the Internet, anybody can potentially see it. Simple wireless cameras are almost non-existent nowadays.
Both of the wired systems I bought were cheapies from Harbor Freight - a four channel ($150 in 2008) and later, an eight channel ($250 in 2012). I supplemented them with extra cameras from Swann. None of them were PTZ. And sometimes, splitters and extensions were necessary depending on whether I wanted the cables to be easy to see or out of the way. But HF includes software that give you a viewer on your desktop, laptop or phone.
posted by CollectiveMind at 12:32 PM on September 13, 2015
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posted by contraption at 10:24 AM on September 12, 2015