Spec me a CCTV System

Soldato
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Wales
Morning All.

I need a new camera for the front of my house to replace my old Hikvision IP that feeds into my nas.

Would the Hikvision DS-2CD2347G1-LU colorvu be the best choice or the Hikvision DS-2CD2385G1-I darkfighter?

Both come out roughly similar price?
 
Soldato
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Dundee
For those that went with the colourvu, does the white led annoy you or neighbours with constantly being on during the night? Can you get away with utilising Street lighting to produce a decent enough night-time footage?

Similar to the above, looking at either and I originally thought colourvu but I hate the idea of the white led being on all the time making it glaringly obvious that my cctv is there.
 
Associate
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25 Oct 2014
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For those that went with the colourvu, does the white led annoy you or neighbours with constantly being on during the night? Can you get away with utilising Street lighting to produce a decent enough night-time footage?

Similar to the above, looking at either and I originally thought colourvu but I hate the idea of the white led being on all the time making it glaringly obvious that my cctv is there.

The light can be switched on or off. I have mine with the light off permanently as i prefer the cams to be discrete. The image is great regardless but i'm hoping that a future firmware release allows the option for the light to be turned on when motion is detected.
 
Associate
Joined
25 Oct 2014
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220
Morning All.

I need a new camera for the front of my house to replace my old Hikvision IP that feeds into my nas.

Would the Hikvision DS-2CD2347G1-LU colorvu be the best choice or the Hikvision DS-2CD2385G1-I darkfighter?

Both come out roughly similar price?


Jump to the 20 min mark.

 
Associate
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17 Apr 2007
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London
Hi all, which branded cable (cat5e I assume) is recommended for cctv? The cable will be inside and outside so would need a good quality cable to withstand the UK weather :)

Also, are the 2 piece RJ45 connectors the way to go?

Lastly, is it recommended to install a camera mount (deep base) or, its perfectly ok just to screw the cctv camera to the outside wall and then just run a cat5e cable straight into the camera?
 
Soldato
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The Darkside
Hi all, which branded cable (cat5e I assume) is recommended for cctv? The cable will be inside and outside so would need a good quality cable to withstand the UK weather :)

Also, are the 2 piece RJ45 connectors the way to go?

Lastly, is it recommended to install a camera mount (deep base) or, its perfectly ok just to screw the cctv camera to the outside wall and then just run a cat5e cable straight into the camera?

Cat5e or Cat6 (Excel or Connectix) external grade. EZ-RJ45 pass through connectors with the EZ-RJ45 crimp tool is what I use on a regular basis. Two piece connectors were dumped in the bin.

Only need a deep base mount if you plan to terminate or have the connection outside instead of inside the cavity in the wall or in the soffit of the roof etc.
 
Soldato
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The Darkside
The light can be switched on or off. I have mine with the light off permanently as i prefer the cams to be discrete. The image is great regardless but i'm hoping that a future firmware release allows the option for the light to be turned on when motion is detected.

Apparently this can’t be done with a firmware update. They would have to release a new camera model with technical changes.
 
Associate
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Apparently this can’t be done with a firmware update. They would have to release a new camera model with technical changes.

Bit short sighted of HIK tbh. Not sure i would have used it on all the cams if it was possible but would have been a nice feature. Appreciate the heads up.
 
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Telford
been using hikvision ivns-4200 pcnvr for a while now, after upgrading w10 version it does not play live videos properly anymore

so looking at changing to the new version but struggling to set it up, can find the cameras no issue but cannot seem to see anywhere to add the HDD to record to

what am i missing?
 
Associate
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27 Apr 2018
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1,320
Hey all,

I am in the market for a new CCTV system, I am not that in the know regarding CCTV but have a basic idea of what I want.

Ideally:
High resolution and crystal clear
Very good night vision
Wide angle lens if possible
The abillity to set perimiters via software, for notifications / triggers to my mobile device when this is breached
Camera total would be 8, cat 5e cable runs are already in place

Edit: I can see HIK Vision do perimeter protection, they also do thermal cameras. Are thermal cameras appropriate for home usage?

All input appreciated

Thanks!
 
Soldato
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22 Nov 2010
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5,709
For a single camera setup what would be the best route? Nest, ring. Or is the blink systems good? As such you get get 2 for the price of one nest
 
Caporegime
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21 Jun 2006
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38,372
For a single camera setup what would be the best route? Nest, ring. Or is the blink systems good? As such you get get 2 for the price of one nest

Nest has much better AI, picture quality and features but also high subscription costs.

I would personally get a minimum 4 camera setup and get a NVR as in the long run it will cost you less over time. However no backup to the cloud. So if someone breaks in and steals the NVR it's useless. It's more for attempted break ins or incidents and a deterrent. I back mine up with a nest hello with 5 day cloud recording so i'm hoping that would catch it if the NVR is stolen.

the benefits of the doorbell are worth the sub cost alone.

Having just 1 camera and a NVR makes little sense as for so little cost and additional work you can have 2-4 instead.

My Dahua cameras for example were around £45 each. So it's nothing to add more cameras. If I'm getting one wired I might as well get 4 wired in at the same time it costs peanuts to do if being done at the same time.

Even if you don't think you need 4. It's best to have multiple angles and have cross coverage. With one camera I could approach it from the side and smash it. You need a camera covering the approach angle of the other camera.
 
Soldato
Joined
22 Nov 2010
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5,709
Nest has much better AI, picture quality and features but also high subscription costs.

I would personally get a minimum 4 camera setup and get a NVR as in the long run it will cost you less over time. However no backup to the cloud. So if someone breaks in and steals the NVR it's useless. It's more for attempted break ins or incidents and a deterrent. I back mine up with a nest hello with 5 day cloud recording so i'm hoping that would catch it if the NVR is stolen.

the benefits of the doorbell are worth the sub cost alone.

Having just 1 camera and a NVR makes little sense as for so little cost and additional work you can have 2-4 instead.

My Dahua cameras for example were around £45 each. So it's nothing to add more cameras. If I'm getting one wired I might as well get 4 wired in at the same time it costs peanuts to do if being done at the same time.

Even if you don't think you need 4. It's best to have multiple angles and have cross coverage. With one camera I could approach it from the side and smash it. You need a camera covering the approach angle of the other camera.

Cheers. For my property I think 2would be useful but 1 would give a huge peice of mind.

A wireless or mostly wireless system would very much be the easiest for me. A nest with one power cable would be easy enough but running multiple ethernets back to an NVR would be a royal pain.

I already have the Google nest so thought it would be a good idea to stick to a range of one companies smart products.
 
Soldato
Joined
9 Mar 2003
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14,056
It's no more difficult to install a POE (power over Ethernet) camera than it is a Nest, they both require a single cable. By far the easiest way to to cable both up the outside of the house into the loft through a sofit. Having any NVR up there too will significantly reduce the risk its stolen in an actual break in.

Ring also do battery powered cameras with rechargeable batteries and solar panels to either completely power them or at least lengthen the battery life significantly. The downsides are the same as Nest though, they are expensive to buy, have subscription costs so the total cost of ownership is very high. With the battery powered ones you also need at least 1 spare battery to rotate round all your cameras while you charge them and batteries will need replacing every few years.

I wouldn't get a blink camera if its going anywhere near a 'high traffic area', the batteries are only rated 72 seconds of use per day (recording, live view etc.) and relies upon only making a 5 second clip during any activation to get the '2 year battery life'. Don't get me wrong they would be fine for inside a shed or garage but not a front door, you'll be replacing the batteries all the time. The 'free' storage is only around 2 hours of footage and the image quality just 'okay' (5 second clip uses 750kb of data, for 1080P that's a low bit rate).
 
Caporegime
Joined
21 Jun 2006
Posts
38,372
Cheers. For my property I think 2would be useful but 1 would give a huge peice of mind.

A wireless or mostly wireless system would very much be the easiest for me. A nest with one power cable would be easy enough but running multiple ethernets back to an NVR would be a royal pain.

I already have the Google nest so thought it would be a good idea to stick to a range of one companies smart products.

I agree with the post above.

Nest's cameras are what £330 for the nest IQ outdoor camera. then you need to install it. say another £150. then £30-£40 a year in sub costs. so over 10 years total cost. £780+

My mate just got 4 hikvision colourvu, nvr and HDD for £840 supplied and fitted.

so £780 - 1 camera or 4 of the best night capability cameras for £60 more?

smart cameras are a con long term unless you don't care about the money.
 
Soldato
Joined
22 Nov 2010
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5,709
Its It's worth thinking about. Although, I don't have enough property for 4 cameras plus I only calculate £550 for 10 yr ownership.

£150 camera
£0 install as I can do that
£400 Sub for 10 yrs
 
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