# Home Surveillance Setup



## squigglethecow (Dec 26, 2008)

I have some....untrustworthy....neighbors who have been steadily encroaching onto my property. They hang out in the driveway around my cars and today they were seen on the side of the house.

At any rate, I think it may be time to install a home surveillance system so I'm able to keep track of what goes on around the property while I'm not around. 

I would like to hook 4-5 cameras up via Ethernet (wireless is doable but I have no prob wiring everything) to a computer dedicated to saving all the video. I would need the cameras to be weatherproof.

Thus far I've found this and this camera, both have decent reviews but I dont know enough to understand the specs completely. One says it has a BNC connection type - but what is that? 

What stores (if any) specialize in this type of product? I love newegg but its selection isnt very large. 

Anyone on here have a system set up? Any advice/directions/things to know?


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## squigglethecow (Dec 26, 2008)

Also on the software side - I know Blue Iris is a popular choice. Does it work with any camera connected to the system?


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## Raylo (Feb 12, 2006)

Hi Squiggle,

This is a fairly complicated topic. There are several ways to go. (1) CCTV cams (the kind with your BNC connector) with a DVR, (2) CCTV cams and a capture card that lets your PC work like a DVR, or (3) a purely ip setup that uses ip network cams that connect to your network wired (normal ethernet or POE if cam and switch can support it) and/or wirelessly (802.11g).

I am running a 4 cam setup with Blue Iris on my PC and 4 ip cams. Blue Iris supports a large array of ip cams for MP4 and MJPEG and includes a generic H.264 profile. It is fairly straightforward to get up and running if you are a little familiar with basic video and network settings and such. It allows you to set up recording on motion detect or continuously and provides a webserver so you can monitor everything remotely when you are away from home.

One thing I would say is not go cheap on the cams... although most will do reasonably well in daylight. But low light and night time are much more challenging. Pure weatherproof outdoor cams can get very $$ so you might be able to put some indoor cams in windows facing out depending on sun angles and such. Also, if you don't want to spring for a true high quality day/night cam you can use a motion detect flood light to illuminate the scene when someone is afoot nearby. Also, those IR illuminators on the cheap cams tend to be very weak so don't believe their advertised night time ranges.

Some quality cam brands are Axis, ACTi, Bosch, etc. In addition to their higher end stuff Axis makes a couple of nice moderately priced wireless models like this:

http://www.amazon.com/M1031-W-Network-Camera-Small-Indoor/dp/B001PF095K

But again this is not a true day night cam so you'll need a light source outside if looking out a window at night.

I don't have any experience with the cams you listed so can't specificaly advise. A good place to start is just with a search on Amazon or some such for network or ip camera, or CCTV camera, etc. There are many purveyors and lots of competition.

Oh, one more thing... video server software with a multi-cam ip setup uses a fair bit of computer power/resources. Make sure to consider that.


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## squigglethecow (Dec 26, 2008)

Thank you for the detailed reply, and I'm sorry I didnt respond back. I got a bit overwhelmed with classes.

I'm not TOO concerned about cameras working at night, since everyones usually home after dark and I doubt we'll have problems then. My big issue is during the day when everyones at work or school. Just today two of the kids who hang around next door were standing my our mailbox talking....its just weird. Who talks by another persons mailbox? 
Anyway daytime is my largest concern and motion-senor flood lights wouldnt be an isue to install if it came to that. 

I was thinking of building a PC and connecting all the cameras too it w/ blue iris to record everything. The largest obstacle is running all the wires. I've already wired my house w/ Ethernet and the attic is NOT a fun place to be working in. 

I know power and video lines need to be run separately, which is kinda a pain since I'll need to be finding places to plug everything in (there aren't any outlets on the exterior of the house). When people install systems like this do they usually install a bunch of outlets together and plug everything in there or do they just run wires to the nearest outlet indoors?


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## Raylo (Feb 12, 2006)

You don't need separate power and video lines if you use power over ethernet cams... and have a POE switch or injector. Data and power both go over the network cable. Also, there are plenty of wifi cams out there. For those all you would need is a power outlet for each... and, of course, a wireless router or access point on your network.


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## squigglethecow (Dec 26, 2008)

What cameras would support power over ethernet?


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## squigglethecow (Dec 26, 2008)

Also if the cameras are ethernet will the computer w/ blue iris be able to record multiple streams simultaneously? 

For example if I had 4 cameras all connected to a switch, and a computer running blue iris connected to that same switch via a single ethernet cable would the computer be able to differentiate and record all the streams at once?


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## Raylo (Feb 12, 2006)

Yes. Once you have the cams on your network (they have browser interfaces to set them up) you have to add each camera to Blue Iris. Part of that setup is to specify that the cam is a network cam and it's ip address. Keep adding more cams. I don't know what the max number is but I have 4 running and recording 24/7.

Blue Iris also lets you configure it's included web server so you can view the streams and archived videos remotely over the internet, so you can keep an eye on the place while you're at work or wherever.


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## squigglethecow (Dec 26, 2008)

How do you know when a camera supports power over ethernet? I've never seen that listed under specs or features but maybe I just havent run across the right cams


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## Raylo (Feb 12, 2006)

Look in the "Power" area of the specifications. It'll look something like this Axis cam that works off a small power adapter -or- POE. I believe 802.3af is the current POE standard that includes self detecting and configuring, i.e. if you have compliant cam and compliant switch they will automatically power up the device via POE when you connect the ethernet cable w/o having to go in and manually configure the switch.

Excerpt from Axis spec sheet:
Power 4.9 – 5.1 V DC, max. 6.5 W
AXIS M1054: Power over Ethernet IEEE 802.3af Class 2 (max.
6.49W)

Here is the full spec sheet for their compact series of cams.
http://www.axis.com/files/datasheet/ds_m10_40705_en_1009_lo.pdf


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## squigglethecow (Dec 26, 2008)

So a system setup like

outlet -> switch -> ethernet -> camera 

and then switch -> computer

Would provide enough power and data transfer for everything? I'm asking because I've never used POE so its odd to think about running cameras over it. Though if it works it'd be a heck of alot easier to setup - since I'd be able to plug everything in in a single place rather than trying to run wires to random outlets


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## Raylo (Feb 12, 2006)

More like this:

........................................PCs 
.........................................|
.........................................|
Internet--cable modem--router(wired or wifi)--cams (non POE cams, wired or wifi)
.........................................|
.........................................|--POE switch (or POE injector)-- POE cams (can also connect non-POE devices to a POE switch but they will need to be plugged into their normal power supplies.

Of course, the modem, router, POE switch/injector and non POE network cams/devices all need to be plugged in to outlets.


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## CCT (Mar 21, 2009)

I picked up a Swann ADW-400 wireless and a Hauppauge 2250 TV card and a 500 GB WD HD.


Prices C$ ~200, ~100 and ~ 80. Additional cameras are expensive, but 4 camera units are available that'll do the same.


In any ev ent, nightime IR won't work looking out a window - reflection of the IR just closes everything down with these.

The Hauppauge stores .ts format (can convert to mpeg but it takes more room) and that plays well on Videolan.

The Swann has a 32 GB flash capability BUT comes with a 2 GB card. Still, if motion recording is set to 3 minutes, you can get a lot.

Downfall is, the IR nightime is crappy for picking up shadows due to IR LCD flicker. Need to be aimed well away from nearby objects, which kind of defeats that.

In any event, I just run the Hauppauge recorder from Dusk til Dawn (sounds ominous, don't it?).


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## Stu_computer (Jul 7, 2005)

I'm adding this for people in a similar situation looking for possible solutions...this is low tech but very effective...

Get some wooden stakes and a ball of twine and put it along the perimeter of your property (2 sides and backyard). Keep the twine between 18 inches to 2ft so a person has to deliberately step over it. If asked simply say you are thinking of putting in a fence. It helps the ruse if you can ask a few contractors to stop by to give an (free) estimate for fencing.

Add a couple of motion sensor securtiy lights, a very effective method of letting people know they are on your property after dark...and that they are now visible to you and the rest of the neighbourgood.

1/ By doing this you establish a visible boundry. Normally, people tend to respect visible boundries.

2/ It removes the ambiguity that tresspassing was accidental and not intended. Also, if video surveilence is added it clearly establishes the visible boundry was crossed and proves tresspassing occured.

3/ A few wooden stakes and a ball of twine is very cheap and easy to maintain.

4/ You may like a contractors suggestions for fencing your yard, it's up to you if you actually do fence it and if you hire a contractor or DIY.


Simply, you have to let people know when they've crossed the line, and 'marking your territory' in an non-offensive way of doing it.

Tip: if your thinking of adding home security devices check with your insurance agent first, you may get some tips that will lower the policy rates.


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## Raylo (Feb 12, 2006)

I did exactly this at my parents' house along where the property boders a road where people walk back and forth to the beach. Some would stop and let their dogs go potty in the yard.... I love dogs but that is just not right. The low barrier I made out of pvc pipes hamered into the sand with a thin poly rope run through it works great for this sort of thing.


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## Jason (Dec 30, 2001)

Raylo thank you for the information you have posted. We have been having a problem around here with kids breaking into cars and houses. I would love to have a nice DVR system setup, but it seems like 2k-3k is the starting price for a good basic system with a couple of cameras.

On a side note, I did purchase some cheaper trail camera's that hunters tend to use. They are working decent, but not the greatest. One is setup for pictures, the other takes a 10 second video clip. The video camera seems to have a delay or something, since I'm often capturing nothing.


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## 1mancrew (Dec 7, 2010)

Q-SEE makes a easy to setup and use camera system that will include everything you need. You can even use your I-Phone to log onto the DVR to see what is on each camera. you can pick up a 4 camera indoor/outdoor system for a couple of hundred that works real well.


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