Spec me a CCTV System

radderfire said:
I would say no. You can start with the 8 channel 2TB and then add an External HDD via eSATA Port to boost storage if you find it necessary (providing your NVR model can do this).
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Thanks - thought so too. And in any case I can also swap out the onboard HDD at some stage if I want, I think. I also read that the 16 and 36 units are a lot louder
 
Finally got annoyed at BlueIris and bought a Hiwatch NVR (Hikvision consumer arm), apart from a silly issue with my mixed 16:9/16:10 cameras, its been much better. Didn't sign up to any Hikvision services for remote access as I use my firewalls VPN for remote access to it. Next on the list, bung the NVR and cameras on their own vlan and block all traffic apart from NTP.
 
So after the great advice last time, i'm back again. I have two Hikvision ColorVu set-up's for different family properties, general format was DS-2CD2387G1's and G2's with some of the LSU/SL derivatives where I need two-way talk on a DS-7616NI-K2 and the same camera's with a DS-7604-K1 elsewhere. They've genuinely been invaluable, no down time, but the NVR side seems to have a margin of error on detection zones which is mildly annoying, and feels a little less polished than say Unifi Protect which is more family friendly. At the time Hikvision's doorbell offering wasn't that great, so i've also got Blink doorbells at each, this works reasonably well and means people aren't bothered by CCTV alerts, but if the doorbell is pushed, they know about it.

However, wife's best mate has just married and is moving into a new property, it's got a commercial shopfront for his showroom and he'd like a doorbell and camera for both the shopfront and the same again for the house along with an audible trigger as/when the showroom door is opened. Obviously, the G2 LSU/Sl units have inputs and the 7616-K2 has alarm outputs, would this be the way to go for the door buzzer or should I suggest he grabs something else? Are the Hikvision doorbells any better than they used to be or should I still consider something like Blink? I quite like the NVR side on my Unifi Protect stuff, doorbell is excellent, but the cameras are quite average, this place is 10 minutes from the sea and I have seen what the Unifi G3's and G4's look like after a few years outside, are Dahua any better overall at this point?

Thanks :)
 
Generally speaking Reolink gets recommended here. The camera quality is good, so maybe they could also fulfil your other requirements. I'm also wondering if Google Nest products might be worth looking at.

To help your research, here's all the brands you could be considering:

Ajax
Arlo
Blink
Dahua
Ener-J
ESP
eufy
EZVIZ
Google Nest
Hikvision
Lorex
Netatmo
Reolink
Swann
Tapo
UniFi
Yale
 
radderfire said:
Generally speaking Reolink gets recommended here. The camera quality is good, so maybe they could also fulfil your other requirements. I'm also wondering if Google Nest products might be worth looking at.

To help your research, here's all the brands you could be considering:

Ajax
Arlo
Blink
Dahua
Ener-J
ESP
eufy
EZVIZ
Google Nest
Hikvision
Lorex
Netatmo
Reolink
Swann
Tapo
UniFi
Yale
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Wow... Just looking at that list, I have to ask, do you know anything about CCTV or did you just ask ChatGPT for a list of companies who offer camera's and not ask it to exclude the ones with horrible histories/who just re-brand the same Chinese kit?
 
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radderfire said:
Yes I do. No I didn't.
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OK, i'll play along. Arlo are battery powered wifi toys, Ener-j are low grade Chinese rebrands, so are ESP, EZVIZ and Lorex, in fairness Eufy are slightly nicer, Netatmo we're back to over priced toys again, Reolink aren't garbage tier, but they're distinctly mediocre on anything other than paper. Swann is a horrible suggestion, remember when they broke app support over night because they changed Chinese OEM and didn't extend the developer support contract? Tapo (TPLink) has a nicer ecosystem than Reolink, but again they buy-in and re-brand and the cameras are cheap, often lack PoE which requires two cables run and the cloud pricing.... Yale is basically just the same business model as Swann, but with slightly less cringe/horrible history. Unifi also has an uncomfortable journey to get to protect, the cameras don't last well and certainly not in a seaside environment, but the NVR side isn't bad, and the cameras are getting better, Dahua/Hikvision make decent camera's and reasonable NVR's and my question clearly lends itself more in this direction. Oh and oddly ChatGPT you missed Nest and ANNKE, HiLook and Ring, they feel like more obvious suggestions if you're trying to push consumer grade choices, that is if you were actually replying based on knowledge. Ajax is more alarm orientated, but not an awful suggestion given the brief.

Anyway, i'll seek my answers from people who know more than me about the subject, respectfully in this case that's seemingly not you, but thank ChatGPT you for the list :)
 
Avalon said:
Oh and oddly ChatGPT you missed Nest and ANNKE, HiLook and Ring, they feel like more obvious suggestions if you're trying to push consumer grade choices
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No, I didn't miss Nest, this was one of my initial suggestions, and just to clarify, the list isn't recommendations, it's a list of possibilities as I think helps to know what brands are out there before narrowing down to particular products. As you say, there are only a handful of premium brands worth considering, but I think Nest might be worth looking at for your use case.
 
Avalon said:
he'd like a doorbell and camera for both the shopfront and the same again for the house along with an audible trigger as/when the showroom door is opened.
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So what are the functionality requirements for the showroom? Are they:
- Audible alert to owner when showroom door is opened (assuming showroom door is left unlocked)
- Audible chime to customer when they walk through the showroom door, so they know owner is notified
- Video doorbell or separate doorbell and camera?
- What does the camera need to cover?
- Do you want one integrated system for both the showroom and house?

Door sensors are available from Tapo, Ajax and Ring, but I'm not sure they can do all you need.

You've asked quite a lot of things in your original post and it may help if you break the questions down a bit.
 
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radderfire said:
Generally speaking Reolink gets recommended here. The camera quality is good, so maybe they could also fulfil your other requirements. I'm also wondering if Google Nest products might be worth looking at.

To help your research, here's all the brands you could be considering:

Ajax
Arlo
Blink
Dahua
Ener-J
ESP
eufy
EZVIZ
Google Nest
Hikvision
Lorex
Netatmo
Reolink
Swann
Tapo
UniFi
Yale
Click to expand...
Add Amcrest to that list. They are rebranded Duaha
 
Seems a lot of bashing in here and rather than me troll through 222 pages is there anything worth buying under £200? Ideally 2 cameras but will consider 1 if it’s not feesible at that price point. I’ve seen a few good reviews of Eufy cameras but not sure.

I just want it to record the front and back of the house and store it for x amount of days.
 
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Quinnaay said:
Seems a lot of bashing in here and rather than me troll through 222 pages is there anything worth buying under £200? Ideally 2 cameras but will consider 1 if it’s not feesible at that price point. I’ve seen a few good reviews of Eufy cameras but not sure.

I just want it to record the front and back of the house and store it for x amount of days.
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Maybe this for out the front:

reolink.com

Reolink Duo Floodlight WiFi | 4K 180° Panoramic Dual-Lens WiFi Camera with Floodlights | Reolink Official

Equipped with two ultra-bright floodlights, the 4K dual-lens WiFi camera comes with 180° panorama, smart detection, color night vision, two-way audio, etc.
reolink.com reolink.com

It's going to be quicker for you to setup a WiFi system, although a PoE wired system would be more reliable but you'd have to run all the cables.

I would take a look at Reolink products. You'll be able to monitor from the Reolink app and use SD cards in the cameras to store footage. If you want to up the budget you can get an NVR to record everything. There's probably no need to go too expensive as the first product mentioned above would act as a deterrent by itself. As others have said though, other security measures are needed as well as CCTV.
 
Reolink have also just released the Argus 4 Pro, which is battery powered, if you want an easy install, although long term it's better if they are on mains for power:

[Official] Reolink Argus 4 Pro - 4K 180° Wireless Solar Security Camera

Argus 4 Pro is the world's first 4K battery-powered camera with ColorX night vision and dual image stitching, providing 180° super wide field of view in true full color during day and night. Other features: Dual band Wi-Fi 6, smart detection, solar powered, etc\t\t
reolink.com reolink.com
 
radderfire said:
Reolink have also just released the Argus 4 Pro, which is battery powered, if you want an easy install, although long term it's better if they are on mains for power:

[Official] Reolink Argus 4 Pro - 4K 180° Wireless Solar Security Camera

Argus 4 Pro is the world's first 4K battery-powered camera with ColorX night vision and dual image stitching, providing 180° super wide field of view in true full color during day and night. Other features: Dual band Wi-Fi 6, smart detection, solar powered, etc\t\t
reolink.com reolink.com
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Thanks, there’s a chance I might be able to run a cable, if I did what’s the method and cost of storing the cctv footage ? I don’t want to have to change an SD all the time if I’m placing it pretty high up. Is there any form of cloud storage ?
 
Quinnaay said:
Thanks, there’s a chance I might be able to run a cable, if I did what’s the method and cost of storing the cctv footage ? I don’t want to have to change an SD all the time if I’m placing it pretty high up. Is there any form of cloud storage ?
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Yes, there's the Reolink Cloud:

cloud.reolink.com

Reolink Cloud: A Safer Place for Your Recordings

Reolink Cloud is designed to record all motion videos securely, so you don't miss any events that matter to you.
cloud.reolink.com

Which will store motion detection events.
 
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