Spec me a CCTV System
- Thread starter Sirrel Squirrel
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Thank you for taking the time to reply.
Would this extend to (say) offerings from the likes of Arlo, Nest, Eufy?
The reason for asking is that my neighbour very kindly lent me an old Arlo. camera and base station to try out (the one with free 7 day rolling cloud storage), just to see what the FOV would be like. There was no option - at least not that I could find - for ‘masking’ and I was left wondering if it was perhaps because it was a very old system or I hadn’t paid a subscription to unlock extra features.
I’m happy to pay what it costs. I just don’t want to make an expensive mistake.
No, I wouldn’t class those systems as surveillance systems. They’re basically fancy toys.
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Thank you.
I appreciate I need to read far more of this thread than I have so far had time to do, because if I had, then I’m sure the answers are all there.
However, if you could bear with me then i would welcome any brief pointers as to what you think I should be looking at.
Basic requirements;
1 or 2 cameras to cover back garden
Possibly 1 camera to cover side door
1 camera at front.
Privacy masking.
Motion alerts to my phone or Ipad.
My brother is an electrician by trade so he could in theory look after any wiring.
I have reasonable IT skills although do get a bit lost when looking at routers.
Thank you and quite understand if you don't have time to reply just now.
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Having lots of issues setting up storage in HikVision.
Fresh drive 2tb WD Purple.
Given it root NFS access. Test button in Net HDD works but when I go to format in NDD Management, it formats for ages then eventually gets stuck at initializing.
I then try and make two datasets on the drive each with just under 880000mib quota and following the NFS approach above the drive status shows as Error, without letting me format.
Then trying a SMB share with a user with full edit access, it shows the wrong capacity for the dataset, formatting progresses to near the end then errors
I'm using TrueNas to set up the pool / dataset and shares. I think i'm getting permissions correct as it seems to be able to write to the folders and modify the files.
Fresh drive 2tb WD Purple.
Given it root NFS access. Test button in Net HDD works but when I go to format in NDD Management, it formats for ages then eventually gets stuck at initializing.
I then try and make two datasets on the drive each with just under 880000mib quota and following the NFS approach above the drive status shows as Error, without letting me format.
Then trying a SMB share with a user with full edit access, it shows the wrong capacity for the dataset, formatting progresses to near the end then errors
I'm using TrueNas to set up the pool / dataset and shares. I think i'm getting permissions correct as it seems to be able to write to the folders and modify the files.
Have a look at the equipment installed by @Avalon above - the lower cost HiView system he initially looked at would be fine for your requirements or the more expensive HikVision parts would be pretty much everything you could ever want. It’s pretty much state of the art in the low cost/professional marketplace. HiView is Hikvision’s prosumer gear so it’s pretty decent but if you want something you can really rely on, I would go with the HikVision setup. £500-ish in parts and if you can do the labour yourself then maybe £100 in cable and fittings.
Exactly what Hikvision software are you trying to get running? You do seem to be making it quite complicated. I’m sure you have your reasons for doing it the way you’re doing it and if it’s not the way the Chinese software engineers wanted you to set it up (simple) then you are quite likely to run into loads of issues.
I am looking for help in what to buy to time lapse a new building development next to my house.
I currently have 2off 4MP IP DS-2CD2347G1-LU ColorVu Hikvision Fixed Turrets monitoring my house connected to a Synology with Surveillance Station. This works very well.
This is me standing 1/3 of the way up the field looking back at my house..
I am thinking to hire a spider cherry picker (not sure if thats right name) as conservatory below it and install right at top of gale end for max height
Questions
Is location of camera ok or should I put higher on a pole?
Any better suggestions how to access top of gable end than a cherry picker?
What camera would be best for this? I like Hikvision
I would like to use Surveillance Station but unsure if it can do very long time lapses?
Maybe I could get camera to just save pics direct to Synology?
What interval should I use? Its 90 houses so I expect this to take 1- 2 years
I probably need to get moving with this as they are already marking field and diggers could roll in any day.
Cheers
I currently have 2off 4MP IP DS-2CD2347G1-LU ColorVu Hikvision Fixed Turrets monitoring my house connected to a Synology with Surveillance Station. This works very well.
This is me standing 1/3 of the way up the field looking back at my house..
I am thinking to hire a spider cherry picker (not sure if thats right name) as conservatory below it and install right at top of gale end for max height
Questions
Is location of camera ok or should I put higher on a pole?
Any better suggestions how to access top of gable end than a cherry picker?
What camera would be best for this? I like Hikvision
I would like to use Surveillance Station but unsure if it can do very long time lapses?
Maybe I could get camera to just save pics direct to Synology?
What interval should I use? Its 90 houses so I expect this to take 1- 2 years
I probably need to get moving with this as they are already marking field and diggers could roll in any day.
Cheers
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Got it working in the end with a SMB share. I was just using too much of the actual folder location instead of just the folder share.
God knows why NFS doesn't work.
Out of interest, which part do you think is complicated? Presumably using a Nas instead of a DVR?
I already have a NAS, so I'm using that instead of buying additional hardware. The UI supports it, in its own clunky way.
For reference
Web version V4.0.1 build 210924
On the HikVision training course they’re pretty clear that it’s the same software they run on the NVRs, just set so you can run on other hardware. They don’t cover VMs or running it on anything other than a straight PC. Software like Surveillance Station is specifically designed to run on a NAS platform so that may be a better option. Dahua DMS is basically set up in such a way as to make it near impossible to use on anything other than installed straight on the hard drive of a PC.
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The software is running on the camera, I'm just connecting to my nas for storage. Anyway seems to be working well enough now.
I'm intrigued by https://frigate.video/ and might get a Coral Accelerator, as it looks like something I could integrate into home automation.
I'm intrigued by https://frigate.video/ and might get a Coral Accelerator, as it looks like something I could integrate into home automation.
Oh, I’ve never seen that approach before. And you query the images from the handheld app?
It‘s not something I’ve seen. Interesting.
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app or web browser.
I access it via a dedicated IP on my local network, which I presumably could make externally accessible if I needed.
Currently I just have one camera, so i'm not sure how more than one would interact when it's the camera running the app.
I access it via a dedicated IP on my local network, which I presumably could make externally accessible if I needed.
Currently I just have one camera, so i'm not sure how more than one would interact when it's the camera running the app.
Loads of people just stick a high capacity SD card in the camera and then access it as you do. The cameras are designed to constantly stream data to a drive so yes, it should work if you put a path in the relevant box.
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@WJA96
Thank you so much for the reply. I appreciate your helpful advice.
Realising that it wasn’t quite fair of me to jump in at the end of the thread asking questions, I’ve now read back to page 100!!
I thought when I started my search for a very basic, simple, 2/3 camera set up, that my main concern was relating to which cameras/systems offered me the facility of privacy masking/filters due to the location of an area behind my house which I 100% do not want to cover.
However, having now read so many of your previous posts, I’ve come across something else which I have to get clear in my head before moving forward.
It concerns security and in particular, your posts 2779 and 2781. You mentioned that P2P is in use by most of the major brands for phone/tablet access to the cameras and ‘is inherently insecure’. You went on to say that the only secure way of connecting to a camera is by a VPN. And it is at this point that my reasonable IT knowledge/skills come crashing down around me because even though I know what a VPN is and does (and have trialled one provided by my IS security software provider) if it came to setting one up for real and understanding how the VPN works when connecting from outside the LAN, quite frankly I’d be lost.
So what I need to try to get clear in my head is;
1 If I were to buy a couple of cameras and an NVR (assuming I use the standard software), will this open port 37777 by default (i.e. by connecting the NVR to my router) or does the whole issue surrounding a P2P connection only become an issue if i attempt to access stored/live footage remotely (i.e. outside of my LAN)?
2 If I wasn’t bothered about accessing remotely (I realise that this limits the usefulness of a system somewhat), is it theoretically possible to set up the cameras and NVR with no connection to the router, thereby removing any P2P connection issues?
3 Whether I’m one of those with ‘too much but still not enough knowledge’ and would be better off with a professional installer?
If you have time to reply, then that would be great. If not, then I quite understand.
Thank you.
I think you have to keep things in proportion. P2P is a form of VPN, it just goes through a commercial server operated by the camera company. So the camera company can THEORETICALLY view your images.
I am a professional surveillance equipment sales/installer and 99.9% of the systems we install we just turn on P2P.
I generally recommend Dahua and the kit in the @Avalon post above is as good as anything I would install from Dahua.
I am a professional surveillance equipment sales/installer and 99.9% of the systems we install we just turn on P2P.
I generally recommend Dahua and the kit in the @Avalon post above is as good as anything I would install from Dahua.
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Thank you again.
I did wonder if i was in danger of over-reacting to something I didn’t quite understand.
I appreciate your help.
Could anyone give me the best option for a total home system?
It seems that not one company, that i've come across so far, do it all.
I'm looking for something like Ring, but which has decent 4k cameras like HikVision and supports PIR/Glass Detection etc.
I'm trying to keep it simple to just one app. It'd be nice to use Ring if they had 4K CCTV but they don't.
I've seen HikVision do home security systems plus CCTV, is that my best bet? How fluid is the Hik Connect app? Never used Ring but I imagine its fluid and easy for entire family to use? Wondering if HikConnect app is the same?
Also would Ring be safer for accessing the app than HikVision? In terms of outsiders being able to access it - I've heard HikVision needs frequent firmware updates.
Thanks
It seems that not one company, that i've come across so far, do it all.
I'm looking for something like Ring, but which has decent 4k cameras like HikVision and supports PIR/Glass Detection etc.
I'm trying to keep it simple to just one app. It'd be nice to use Ring if they had 4K CCTV but they don't.
I've seen HikVision do home security systems plus CCTV, is that my best bet? How fluid is the Hik Connect app? Never used Ring but I imagine its fluid and easy for entire family to use? Wondering if HikConnect app is the same?
Also would Ring be safer for accessing the app than HikVision? In terms of outsiders being able to access it - I've heard HikVision needs frequent firmware updates.
Thanks
Ajax plus Dahua or Hikvision. I don’t know why you think Hikvision require a high number of updates but in general you get 1 or 2 firmware updates over the life of the camera. I’ve installed many cameras that never had a firmware update.
Well my parents have been away for all of three days, so far we have had a very confused carer who was lost and two incidents of trespass from a neighbour who we now know not only walks his dog in the garden, but goes through the bins! My initial apprehension about spending more on a Hikvision kit has been replaced with a feeling of satisfaction as we now know what goes on at the property when it’s not occupied. It’ll be getting an extra camera or two next time I am down, and I am ordering extra kit for the next property this week.
My thanks again to @WJA96 for his advice
My thanks again to @WJA96 for his advice