Spec me a CCTV System

T1Cybernetic said:
@skyripper your image sort of reminds me of my night time. My neighbour also has that kind of night time recording but like a divvy he has his cameras inside the house behind his window :p

The problem I'm having with my cameras are spiders! and spider webs. Does anyone have a solution because night time recording is a bloody mess :( Day time is excellent and when the spider webs are gone the footage is great too, I just can't seem to keep them away. I don't know if I have anything recorded at home to compare day/night but I'll have a look when I get home.

I purchased a cheap set of ANNKE cameras a year or two ago (Maybe longer) and they've been fantastic. It's a E200 1080p 4 camera setup and only cost around £115'ish with a cheeky discount at the time. I know there are way better cameras and systems out there but I'm confident it does exactly what's needed in our little end of the street ;) Minus the spider problem.
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Thats what we use.

Or switch to soft white LED illuminator cameras.
 
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I am hoping to upgrade our home CCTV and am a bit undecided on the route to take.

Currently we have a rather whiney dedicated NVR box with one 4tb WD Purple in it and two cameras connected.
The NVR is in our lounge under the TV as we use the TV for reviewing footage etc. However, it outputs noticable noise if the TV is turned off.

The upgrade I am considering is to add at least another two cameras, possibly three.
Options would seem to be to go for a dedicated NVR box with 5 or more inputs or change the NVR box for a NAS solution with an HDMI port such as QNAP or Synology and a switch.

Would anyone know if a NAS based solution will provide less noise output compared to the rather whiney NVR box I have now?
If it would then I seem to have to decide between QNAP or Synology.

A few months ago I purchased a QNAP NAS (TS 435-D), probably in haste and still in its box, for the CCTV upgrade use and also for data storage.
Having read about the two manufacturers Surveillance apps it seems Synology has the edge.

Therefore, do I keep the QNAP TS 435-D as a dedicated storage NAS and buy a second hand Synology NSR1218 (with HDMI port) for the CCTV
Or, do I risk the QNAP as a single NAS solution for both CCTV and storage or do I stick with an NVR dedicated box for CCTV.

Decisions, decisions....
Buy in haste, repent at leisure.
 
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Firestar_3x said:
Buy better cameras with local storage, throw the NVR away.

Hikvision ColorVu Acusense is a good model range to start looking at.
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The spec says they have onboard storage of 256gb, in terms of duration, how many days would this equate to at 1080p resolution at 30fps?
Also, we use a TV to review footage via HDMI connectivity to the NVR, I assume with cameras that have local storage we would need to use a PC to review footage?
 
Bint Box said:
The spec says they have onboard storage of 256gb, in terms of duration, how many days would this equate to at 1080p resolution at 30fps?
Also, we use a TV to review footage via HDMI connectivity to the NVR, I assume with cameras that have local storage we would need to use a PC to review footage?
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PC / Tablet / Phone can all be used to view live and recorded footage, both on your local network and remotely.

Record duration depends on quality and time recorded, don't see the point recording 24/7, so on motion only it depends how much activity you get, 2hrs of recording a day will need less than 150gb a month.
 
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Firestar_3x said:
Buy better cameras with local storage, throw the NVR away.

Hikvision ColorVu Acusense is a good model range to start looking at.
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Thank you for the suggestion but on reflection I would be spending money on 4 or 5 new cameras when I already have two good cameras installed and operational and another two here ready to be installed.
Rather than swap out all my existing cameras I prefer to retain them and change things on the NVR/NAS side of things. This also allows me to keep the TV as a footage viewing option.

Hence, I am back to my original questions of:

do I keep the QNAP TS 435-D as a dedicated storage NAS and buy a second hand Synology NSR1218 (with HDMI port) for the CCTV
Or, do I risk the QNAP as a single NAS solution for both CCTV and storage or do I stick with an NVR dedicated box for CCTV.

Any anvice on this most appreciated.
 
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Bint Box said:
Thank you for the suggestion but on reflection I would be spending money on 4 or 5 new cameras when I already have two good cameras installed and operational and another two here ready to be installed.
Rather than swap out all my existing cameras I prefer to retain them and change things on the NVR/NAS side of things. This also allows me to keep the TV as a footage viewing option.

Hence, I am back to my original questions of:

do I keep the QNAP TS 435-D as a dedicated storage NAS and buy a second hand Synology NSR1218 (with HDMI port) for the CCTV
Or, do I risk the QNAP as a single NAS solution for both CCTV and storage or do I stick with an NVR dedicated box for CCTV.

Any anvice on this most appreciated.
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The QNAP will be very expensive for more than 2 cameras as you gave to buy licenses for the software and it’s not the best software in the world once you have shelled out for it.

A basic (no hdd) NVR is about £45 and that‘s probably where my money would be going.
 
skyripper said:
The whine from your NVR is probably fan. You could swap it out, its probably a 40mm or so.
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The NVR fan was worse than it is now, it was really bad.

I opened the NVR up when I installed the 4gb WD Purple and reseated the 40mm fan on some rubber to try to reduce the vibration.
It worked to some degree but the fan and the WD Purple are still making noticable noise if the TV is turned off.

I think the NVR is just a cheapo model, it came as part of a kit I bought with a couple of cameras.
A better NVR might sort things out?
 
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WJA96 said:
The QNAP will be very expensive for more than 2 cameras as you gave to buy licenses for the software and it’s not the best software in the world once you have shelled out for it.

A basic (no hdd) NVR is about £45 and that‘s probably where my money would be going.
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Thank you for your feedback.

I tend to agree with you that using the QNAP for CCTV is probably my worst option. Their surveillance software is supposedly not as good as that of Synology and camera licensing is going to cost once I get beyond the default number that are included.

I have seen a few two bay Synology NVR units with HDMI port going on the auction site for less than £100. My thoughts are to either get one of these or look for an improved model of dedicated NVR.
Are there any popular dedicated NVR's that get positive reports? I have no knowledge of what makes are good or bad with these units.
 
Armageus said:
I'm not sure that's an illumination issue - looks more like a cobweb or misting on the camera
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Had a chat with the cctv supplier who were super helpful, so shout out to Adam @ https://www.cctvkits.co.uk/ who suggested it was probably the glass dome on the camera.
So I spent today swapping the 'duff' camera with one from inside the garage, and reinstating the NVR.

Below is an image from the 'duff' camera without the cover...


And a working nightime driveway image..


I'm well happy with that. Will get a replacement vandal dome, which I assume I've managed to scratch on the brickwork while doing the adjustments and hunting for the reset button previously.
 
Bint Box said:
The NVR fan was worse than it is now, it was really bad.

I opened the NVR up when I installed the 4gb WD Purple and reseated the 40mm fan on some rubber to try to reduce the vibration.
It worked to some degree but the fan and the WD Purple are still making noticable noise if the TV is turned off.

I think the NVR is just a cheapo model, it came as part of a kit I bought with a couple of cameras.
A better NVR might sort things out?
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There are no ‘better’ NVRs really. They’re all basically the same hardware with slightly different firmware and user interface software.

If you’re otherwise not fundamentally unhappy with your current NVR get a Noctua fan and a biggish SSD or a hybrid drive so it’s quieter.
 
spile said:
I run QVRPro with two rebranded Duaha cameras (Amcrest). It’s been solid and I have no issues with Qnap.
As an FAQ I like https://ipcamtalk.com/wiki/ip-cam-talk-cliff-notes/
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And would you pay £50 per camera to add more cameras? Given that you can get a really decent 8-channel PoE NVR for £100+hard drives. And do bear in mind these things run 24/7 so would you rather have a 25W NVR that is the PoE power as well or a 35W NAS and a 50W PoE switch?

I do understand people wanting to use Blue Iris etc, and simply put, it’s not a financially or economically viable option.
 
WJA96 said:
I do understand people wanting to use Blue Iris etc, and simply put, it’s not a financially or economically viable option.
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It does depend on whether you already have other systems/network kit that can be utilised.

I already had PoE switches in use and added a VM for Blue Iris to an existing server. Even with 13 cameras (most 8MP), Sense AI and ANPR its only adding 12 to15W to that server's power use and that includes creating streams of six cameras to two kiosk mode Android tablets 24x7.

I didn't take this approach to save power and mine isn't a common case, but the running costs of Blue Iris and similar can be very good. However for friends and family I always recommend NVRs so I don't end up as the support person :)
 
Simon42 said:
It does depend on whether you already have other systems/network kit that can be utilised.

I already had PoE switches in use and added a VM for Blue Iris to an existing server. Even with 13 cameras (most 8MP), Sense AI and ANPR its only adding 12 to15W to that server's power use and that includes creating streams of six cameras to two kiosk mode Android tablets 24x7.

I didn't take this approach to save power and mine isn't a common case, but the running costs of Blue Iris and similar can be very good. However for friends and family I always recommend NVRs so I don't end up as the support person :)
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I completely agree.
 
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