Spec me a CCTV System

[Psycho Sonny]

Why would you want the cameras so high up? All you’ll see is the tops of people’s heads at the typical distances you get in a UK front and rear garden.

They’ll also be out of view so the deterrent effect is reduced or even removed.

people say you should have them in both. low down for face recognition and high up to see the bigger picture. car's, etc.

i have a nest hello for getting low down pictures of anyone on my driveway. so having 4 high up made sense for me to cover the wider picture.

plus you can still make out majority of peoples face and ID them from high up also if positioned well. most people will look up at some point. if they don't then chances are they would see your lower cameras from a mile off and have their faces covered regardless.

it's a good point but i think i will be fine.

 

[maschio]

I'm a bit unsure if I should be choosing a 2.8mm or 4mm lens for my cameras. The camera will be up in the eaves of a two story house. Any pointers on making a decision?

The 2.8 has a slightly wider and shallower FOV. I have both and in my case both lens sizes would work wherever i put them. Don't put them so high up that you need to risk you neck if you have to get to them to clean the occasional cobweb off.

 

[Thebug]

You really need to check the camera specs as a lens Field of view can vary a lot, some 4mm lens are nearly as wide as 2.8mm depending on the sensor

 

[maschio]

True but he is asking about the colorvu which i have.

 

[Thebug]

Also have colorvu and the 4mm is wide at 94 degrees horizontal

 

[pinkpound]

True but he is asking about the colorvu which i have.

Also have colorvu and the 4mm is wide at 94 degrees vertical

How are you both finding the colourvu for night performance ?

 

[michty_me]

I'm now thinking on the acusense as I was told the colorvu illumination is permanently on through the night.
I believe the Acusense can be set that the light comes on when motion is detected.

 

[Thebug]

How are you both finding the colourvu for night performance ?

Very good, but i have a street light about 20m from my camera meaning that area is bright and drive was dark so have to have the light on the camera a little brighter than i would have liked to balance it out, putting on blc also helped a lot

 

[michty_me]

Those of you with the HikVsion NVR's, Is it worth spending the extra on the 7608NI-L2/8P compared to the 7608NI-K2-8P?

I'm only looking to fit two cameras at the minute but was swithering between the 7604 and 7608 but noticed users were able to upgrade the 7608 to V4 (The k2 version being a bit buggy though so was pulled from hikvision)

 

[sja360]

I'm now thinking on the acusense as I was told the colorvu illumination is permanently on through the night.
I believe the Acusense can be set that the light comes on when motion is detected.

I've tested mine, admittedly I have street lights all around the road. white led never came on. I think it's more likely if you have say a cottage and a blacked out driveway or main road.

 

[michty_me]

I've tested mine, admittedly I have street lights all around the road. white led never came on. I think it's more likely if you have say a cottage and a blacked out driveway or main road.

Ok, That makes sense. I believe you can also disable the light also but the camera has no IR to assist it in dark areas.

 

[maschio]

You can turn the led light off and on and adjust the brightness. The camera works very well without the supplemental light even in darkness.

 

[michty_me]

You can turn the led light off and on and adjust the brightness. The camera works very well without the supplemental light even in darkness.

Thats good to know then!

 

[Psycho Sonny]

Those of you with the HikVsion NVR's, Is it worth spending the extra on the 7608NI-L2/8P compared to the 7608NI-K2-8P?

I'm only looking to fit two cameras at the minute but was swithering between the 7604 and 7608 but noticed users were able to upgrade the 7608 to V4 (The k2 version being a bit buggy though so was pulled from hikvision)

Personally I'd go with the cheapest you need which will last you for 5 years of use. Then in future there will be newer and better models. I plan on keeping my current setup for 10 years before I decide to upgrade for example. So I just went with the cheapest that met my spec.

 

[michty_me]

Personally I'd go with the cheapest you need which will last you for 5 years of use. Then in future there will be newer and better models. I plan on keeping my current setup for 10 years before I decide to upgrade for example. So I just went with the cheapest that met my spec.

I think you are right to be honest. A good way of putting it really. I guess I should just go for the 4ch item then. No point spending hundreds more if it will essentially do the same thing just now.

 

[Psycho Sonny]

I think you are right to be honest. A good way of putting it really. I guess I should just go for the 4ch item then. No point spending hundreds more if it will essentially do the same thing just now.

yeah no point buying an 8 port if you only plan on using 4 channels.

i have a 4 channel NVR and 4 cameras.

in future I will sell my NVR and POE switch. Buy an 8 port POE switch and a 8 channel NVR.

i will then take my current 4 cameras and mount them lower down. then the new cameras mount them where the 4 are currently.

that way my higher res cameras will be higher up and my lower res will be lower down. as in the future we will only get higher and clearer cameras so it makes sense to have them higher up and the older cameras lower down.

 

[michty_me]

yeah no point buying an 8 port if you only plan on using 4 channels.

i have a 4 channel NVR and 4 cameras.

in future I will sell my NVR and POE switch. Buy an 8 port POE switch and a 8 channel NVR.

i will then take my current 4 cameras and mount them lower down. then the new cameras mount them where the 4 are currently.

that way my higher res cameras will be higher up and my lower res will be lower down. as in the future we will only get higher and clearer cameras so it makes sense to have them higher up and the older cameras lower down.

I ended up placing an order not long after I replied earlier.
I went for the 7604 NVR and two 4MP darkfighter 2345FWD cameras.
I always do the same and think we'll it's only £50 for this little upgrade then it soon adds up. Gave myself a slap and went for the sensible option.
I may pull in another cable and add a 3rd camera though at some point to cover a section that may be missed.

 

[Siliconslave]

has anyone done anything interesting with the camera alerts from your hikvision nvr / cameras? - i'm wondering if something like IFTTT or the like could stream alerts somewhere to allow you to process them and do facial IDing in the cloud?

Also anyone come across a way to add PIR or magnetic break sensors for alerts?

 

[JRJ]

My Original plan was to use the 2 camera option with my Synology NAS front and back and a Video doorbell for main door, I'm currently running all the Cat 6 for network points and once this is done I'll be moving onto the cameras but the more I think about it the more I think I will end up adding more cameras to this system, if I installed a NVR in the network cabinet do I need to change my cabling plan or is it just camera to NVR for each camera, do NVR's do POE or do I still need the additional switch?

 

[Siliconslave]

the NVR can connect directly to the cameras via Cat 6, think the POE depends on the NVR (i've got. a DS-7604NI-K1/4P and it does function as a POE switch)- alternatively you can just put the cameras on the same network as the NVR.