Spec me a CCTV System

I have a new 4Tb HD and old 4Tb so if that NVR is OK for me then I don't begrudge the guy making his bit on it - Providing at the end of the day it all works with good clear pictures and recording then I can go ahead with it - I also have the two old cameras the first bloke took out -They were working but there wasn't a reset button on them - I would like to get them fitted as well.
We will see.
Thanks for clearing that up.
 
DXP55 said:
I have a new 4Tb HD and old 4Tb so if that NVR is OK for me then I don't begrudge the guy making his bit on it - Providing at the end of the day it all works with good clear pictures and recording then I can go ahead with it - I also have the two old cameras the first bloke took out -They were working but there wasn't a reset button on them - I would like to get them fitted as well.
We will see.
Thanks for clearing that up.
Click to expand...
I’m not saying he’s making too much - he’s probably only making £30 or so on it, I’m saying the £200 one is a better recorder and to ask your installer why he’s not offering you one of those instead.
 
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I am a old codger who sits in front of PC and monitors for a good few hours a day - The guy I have lives a stones throw away but didn't know untill few months ago.
He asked the company what they would reccommend giving them my setup and this is what they sent him.
I do feel that it is now dated and they want to remove stock.
Will I notice any difference between these two NVR's just sitting here looking at them - The cost isn't important -Keeping a local guy happy is more important to me.

This has been dragging on now for 6 months - If you have a big job it's easy but my little job no one want's to do it.
 
DXP55 said:
I am a old codger who sits in front of PC and monitors for a good few hours a day - The guy I have lives a stones throw away but didn't know untill few months ago.
He asked the company what they would reccommend giving them my setup and this is what they sent him.
I do feel that it is now dated and they want to remove stock.
Will I notice any difference between these two NVR's just sitting here looking at them - The cost isn't important -Keeping a local guy happy is more important to me.

This has been dragging on now for 6 months - If you have a big job it's easy but my little job no one want's to do it.
Click to expand...

The challenge is, as you say, where you make your money. On a surveillance camera install quite often folks make zero money on the equipment but charge a good day rate for their labour. People who work quickly do really well with that business model. The trade price for that recorder is £235+VAT so your guy who is supplying it at just under £300 is only making £15 on it. On one hand, he’s making £15 for just turning up but in the other hand, he might just have that recorder on his van and it’s been sat there for 12 months. The cheaper one will do the same job (actually slightly more) for less money. I wouldn’t have brought it up if I didn’t think the cheaper one would work as well as or better than the one for £300. If you think your guy will look after you, then start that relationship. If you don’t then ask him to quote on a cheaper one.
 
Thanks.
I am getting worried now in case he has just upgraded someones system and he recovered this and never asked the dealer anything.
He said he gets his stuff from Connectec - it's trade only when I looked.

I will ask him to bring it sealed when he comes (if he comes).

Anyway thanks for your help and comments -made things a bit clearer.
This is actually worse than buying a second hand car. :)
 
I take it Reolink is the best option for a 2 or 3 camera setup at home with a max budget of about £500, or should I be considering something else? Happy to do the wiring and install it myself, so would just be the equipment.

Currently have Blink, but would like the option of 24/7 recording and better image quality. Have even considered keeping the Blink in place merely for the alerts.
 
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DXP55 said:
Thanks.
I am getting worried now in case he has just upgraded someones system and he recovered this and never asked the dealer anything.
He said he gets his stuff from Connectec - it's trade only when I looked.

I will ask him to bring it sealed when he comes (if he comes).

Anyway thanks for your help and comments -made things a bit clearer.
This is actually worse than buying a second hand car. :)
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Unfortunately you get very cynical. The guy almost certainly did ring them up and they will always recommend their most expensive recorder and the guy is almost certainly making minimal margin because he’s trying to be a decent human being.

That recorder is a BEAST. If you had 8 x 4K cameras and you wanted to watch playback of 3 of them simultaneously that’s the recorder for you.
 
Hi guys. Not sure if it's been discussed but what is considered the best budget, subscription-free CCTV system these days? Wireless and battery powered is a must.

I'm looking at Ring (expensive), Blink (middle of the road) and Tapo (unsure0.

Would want around 2/3 camera tops and an easy-to-use, lightweight app to check.
 
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Wi
MrMarvelous said:
Hi guys. Not sure if it's been discussed but what is considered the best budget, subscription-free CCTV system these days? Wireless and battery powered is a must.

I'm looking at Ring (expensive), Blink (middle of the road) and Tapo (unsure0.

Would want around 2/3 camera tops and an easy-to-use, lightweight app to check.
Click to expand...

Wireless surveillance is quite hard because of power consumption. Anything putting out a reasonable IR or visible light is going to burn through a battery very quickly. Have a look at Reolink’s solar powered cameras.

https://reolink.com/product/argus-3-ultra/ although you’re paying a big premium for the solar power.

Realistically anything battery powered under £2000 is a toy limited either by night time image or battery life. And the WiFi starts to get flaky as well because if you won’t run cables for surveillance then it’s nailed on you won’t run cables for an outdoor access point. If you go PoC HDCVI, which I know is unfashionable in this IP world, you can get a 3 camera system with a decent AI recorder for under £200 plus whatever hard drive you want. And that will just work, reliably, all the time.
 
MrMarvelous said:
Hi guys. Not sure if it's been discussed but what is considered the best budget, subscription-free CCTV system these days? Wireless and battery powered is a must.

I'm looking at Ring (expensive), Blink (middle of the road) and Tapo (unsure0.

Would want around 2/3 camera tops and an easy-to-use, lightweight app to check.
Click to expand...
If you are price sensitive, you need to avoid anything with a subscription because they will bleed you dry over time. Something with local storage will work out considerably cheaper over time despite its upfront costs being materially higher.

Ring’s upfront costs are pretty reasonable, it’s the subscription that makes it very expensive. Ring looks cheaper if you only price in a year or two’s subscription, in reality you’d need to price in 5+ years. You’d also need to price in replacement batteries to wireless options.

Blink and Ring are both owed by Amazon, Blink it’s basically the budget version of Ring.

If you really want a CCTV set up, as @WJA96 says, a cabled set up is just superior and often cheaper.

Do you have any gutter down pipes in the right locations to hide cables behind? I’ve managed to hide all my exterior cables in this way.
 
It'll be wireless as I can't be arsed drilling through a foot and a half thick wall.

I'm happy with local storage if possible, just want a basic and cheap wireless CCTV system for the home while i'm away.
 
It's been a good day today - CCTV guy knocked door and dropped off 3 cameras and wall fixings I asked him to order.
So he hasn't been stringing me along over the last three month's.
He does a lot more than CCTV - Sparkey -- TV --etc. So now I believe he is snowed under.
So seems Jan could be the month.:rolleyes:
 
Can anyone recommend a 4 camera 4K POE always on setup that is on the local network only for the 4K stream, but supports apples HKSV for notifications?
I want a 7-14 day recording on the local network but access to notifications on my phone with HKSV.
I’m guessing I’ll need to use a RaspberryPi or something as well? Thanks
 
So, having spent some time reading though the thread, it seems that Dahua or HikVision are the way to go for quality, 24/7 CCTV.

From what I’ve read, Dahua isn’t really an option for a DIY install, as they tend to only sell to installers etc, and there could be warranty issues?

Is that the same with HikVision, or can I buy those somewhere and DIY install…if so, where’s the best, most reliable place in the UK to purchase from - BBB?

I’d really like high quality footage and decent night time images, possibly with phone alerts of some sort (app or text), so thinking of 3 of these - DS-2CD2347G2-LU, but have no clue on the NVR side of things. I think a 4tb drive would probably be a sensible option with 3 cameras, but I’m far from an expert at this, so I’d really appreciate some advice.

Budget - £500-1000

Thanks for any advice - Merry Christmas!
 
Diggsy said:
From what I’ve read, Dahua isn’t really an option for a DIY install, as they tend to only sell to installers etc, and there could be warranty issues?
Click to expand...

Or Duaha rebrands like Amcrest? I’ve a couple of these, old firmware but solidly built.
 
Finally got around to reconfiguring BlueIris after buying it a year ago. Just realised I bought the one camera version as there is no upgrade path :mad:
 
I've got 3 external Reolink PoE cameras up monitoring outside my house and car (more cams going up soon). I'm currently viewing them on my PC using the Reolink PC client and Android app. I've ordered a Reolink 36 channel NVR which should be arriving tomorrow to record 24/7 footage too.

I also like the look of BlueIris, does it work along side the Reolink stuff or If I use BlueIris will I not be able to record to the Reolink NVR too?
 
LeeUK said:
I've got 3 external Reolink PoE cameras up monitoring outside my house and car (more cams going up soon). I'm currently viewing them on my PC using the Reolink PC client and Android app. I've ordered a Reolink 36 channel NVR which should be arriving tomorrow to record 24/7 footage too.

I also like the look of BlueIris, does it work along side the Reolink stuff or If I use BlueIris will I not be able to record to the Reolink NVR too?
Click to expand...

I'm interested in the answer to this, so I had a look into it.

With a higher number of cameras it's best to use an NVR, as you will quickly use up storage capacity on your PC.

BlueIris would be a setup recording to the PC. What I'm not 100% on is whether you could use BlueIris on your PC whilst still recording to the NVR. I found a few links, and it didn't answer this exactly, but I get the impression you're either using your NVR as the recording and monitoring solution OR you're using BlueIris software on your PC to provide the solution. It seems to me that you couldn't stream the video data to each simultaneously. Hopefully someone will clarify.

Here are the links I found:

reolink.com

Blue Iris Cameras - Top 2 Picks, Step-by-Step Setup Guide & Hot FAQs - Reolink Blog

You can check the top 2 Blue Iris compatible cameras and get a step-by-step guide to adding cameras to Blue Iris (with videos). Also get detailed answers to the hottest FAQs.
reolink.com

reolink.com

PC vs NVR for Camera Footage & Recording Storage

Learn differences between dedicated NVR vs PC/computer for camera footage & recording storage.
reolink.com
 
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