CCTV security help.

[Mesterh]

Looking to get a decentish cctv system for the yard.

 

ATM I have a gsm alarm that txts and calls me when activated, so im after a cctv system that I can remotely access when the alarm activates.

 

I have been told that using a SIM card is a no go as the data needed would cost a fortune so it looks like I will have to get a phone line in.

 

Anyone have any experience in using something like the above and any suggestions as in what to buy?

[wakarb]

Deffo a phone line needed and broad band if you can, that way you will able to get real time footage very quickly. A recorder will cost you from around £300 upwards, this will get you enough storage for a month at very close to real time.

 

Its a very difficult thing to get right with out experiance. Decent def cameras are a must and lighting is a big issue also (at night that is)

 

Basicly it comes down to how much you want to spend as with everything

[Big Dan]

This any good to you???

 

Just found it in another thread:

 

Stealth trail Cameras and scouting Camera, wildlife and game cameras

[hazzygawa]

Maplins. Have a good selection. Even ones that you can see real time on your iPhone.

 

Word of advice tho- when I was in there last looking at CCTV. There are cordless cameras, which I thought were great, but next to them in a glass case was a bit of kit that would pick up the signal of any cordless cameras within 300 mtrs and show what they are recording on a small screen.

 

Really good for a crook so he can stay out of range of the camera.

 

Cabled cameras= good.

[openspaceman]

I'll describe our system just to illustrate problems, we use 500GB on 2 cameras 1 DVR and that lasts about a month, the compression is high so that whilst the cameras give a decent image in real time the playback wouldn't pass the driving test for eyesight.

 

To my mind the biggest problem is isolating the incident when reviewing by playback so I think one of those pir wildlife cans would be a handy adjunct, I do use one on the site. I also think hot swappable disks would be handy.

 

Most seem to feature a " record on movement" function but I cannot get that to work. It seems to be done by software analysing the screen. Playing back a day's recording at 8 speed is still 3 hours and you'll miss something. This sytem, of unknown make supplied used by our computer guy, has next to no functionality in remote playback.

 

Do not use cameras with built in infra red leds, the back glare from spiders' web makes night views impossible, arrange a separate light source.

 

I've just reviewed the bandwidth for remote viewing, and bearing in mind it only uploads about 1 frame from each camera in 10 secs, so you cam miss a lot even though it is recorded at base, in 47mins it has used 50MB.

 

The big advantage is seeing a machine is where it was parked and a door is still intact.

[Mesterh]

Cheers for the info all, very much appreciated.

 

 

Will deffo look into getting broad band.

 

I have seen that scout cam but not sure on the costs using a mobile network etc.

 

Having a look at maplins stuff now but it still is baffling!

 

Catweazel, what Im really after is to see what is vaguely going on if the gsm alarm gets triggered ie false alarm or get down there quick! Although detail would be handy so maybe a mix of something like the scout cam with a DVR?

 

Any ideas on what would is needed to record a decent image? I see stuff like H.264 compression.

[farmer]

cctv direct in leeds have a website took me along time to get it right. I have the killer cam hard drive and 3 killer cam cameras with 2 infra red lights on each works well in black dark also got ptz can look round yard and zoom in on cars or faces.

Andy

[Big Dan]

I have seen that scout cam but not sure on the costs using a mobile network etc.

 

Assuming it takes a regular SIM card Giffgaff do a PAYG tariff which has unlimited mobile internet and texts for £10 a month :-)

[Rob D]

I have a system I got of ebay.

 

Definition is good and you can watch over the internet or your iphone BUT it took me a long long time to get it all working....

 

And there is a major drawback with IP cameras (cameras you can view over the internet) - without going into all the technical detail if your hub switches off and on or refreshes your external IP address changes.

 

And if this changes then when you dial in to look at your cameras the address set up in your phone/computer will be different from the one your hub now has.

 

The only way you can then get the new address is to go to your hub and find it out manually then put the new address into your phone.

 

This is not a problem if you have stable power supply and hub but if your hub starts playing up it knackers the system....

 

You can get a static IP address which doesn't change but this apparently costs a lot and is not a one off cost but something you rent monthly.

 

You also have to figure out how to 'port forward' i.e. when you want to view remotely your hub needs to forward you to the DV and this is where you pull your hair out understanding the difference between external and internal IP addresses....

 

All that said my system cost £370-00 inc vat + the cost of monitor for 4 IP cameras with infra red.

 

Now the landlord saw the set up and got some cameras from Maplins but the definition and picture is no where near as good and nor is the playback.

 

I'm going to do an article type thread on my camera system on my chainsawbars sponsered forum and I'll set it up so people can PM me for the IP address and password and see what it's like to remotely access them.

[Mesterh]

Assuming it takes a regular SIM card Giffgaff do a PAYG tariff which has unlimited mobile internet and texts for £10 a month :-)

 

Now that is cheap.

 

I have a system I got of ebay.

 

Definition is good and you can watch over the internet or your iphone BUT it took me a long long time to get it all working....

 

And there is a major drawback with IP cameras (cameras you can view over the internet) - without going into all the technical detail if your hub switches off and on or refreshes your external IP address changes.

 

And if this changes then when you dial in to look at your cameras the address set up in your phone/computer will be different from the one your hub now has.

 

The only way you can then get the new address is to go to your hub and find it out manually then put the new address into your phone.

 

This is not a problem if you have stable power supply and hub but if your hub starts playing up it knackers the system....

 

You can get a static IP address which doesn't change but this apparently costs a lot and is not a one off cost but something you rent monthly.

 

You also have to figure out how to 'port forward' i.e. when you want to view remotely your hub needs to forward you to the DV and this is where you pull your hair out understanding the difference between external and internal IP addresses....

 

All that said my system cost £370-00 inc vat + the cost of monitor for 4 IP cameras with infra red.

 

Now the landlord saw the set up and got some cameras from Maplins but the definition and picture is no where near as good and nor is the playback.

 

I'm going to do an article type thread on my camera system on my chainsawbars sponsered forum and I'll set it up so people can PM me for the IP address and password and see what it's like to remotely access them.

 

I will keep an eye out for that, thanks.