New CCTV equpitment advice

Hi Guys
I’m a newbie and need some independent info on equipment to purchase. Reading through some of your very helpful posts I was hoping, I could be pointed in a no non-scene, buy this and buy that , job done approach. Or whether given my remit, I need to spend more money?
I’ve done a fair amount of reading/research and looked at few cameras for difference in resolution. Been to Maplins and a specialised cctv store, but came away with the feeling that I could get much better value for money and in the first instant I knew more about the subject than the salesman at Maplins.
Okay so let me set out my stall.
I’m an electrician (I guess that helps) and the installation is into my mother’s house.
She’s 88 yrs old, suffers from ‘A typical Parkinson’s – (which means she can hardly talk) there is the on-set of dementia and she recently fell and broke her hip.
We have employed a full time – live in carer (who I think isn’t up to the task – but that’s a different story)

So I have a budget of £400, for this I want 6 cameras with infra red, a 8 channel DVR, 500 gig Hard drive ( I think ?) with plenty of audio inputs. Motion and sound detention only, I don’t want to scroll through hours of inactively – or maybe I do? Can you set the detectors to record for a certain period after the sound/motion is detected regardless of if nothing else happens?) All cameras will be indoors.
To save on costs I was going to run Cat 5 cable with video baluns and M/F power jacks, plus there’s a coupe of lengthy runs, so may have issue with volt drop.
I want to be able to view/listen remotely from my home PC and Android phone.
I’m not particularly up on the Internet side of the install, but from what I understand the DVR needs to have a DNS facility.
I want motion and sound detection and it is ‘crucial’ that the microphone is sensitive and the audio of good quality. You see, my mother pushs and key fob button that rings a bell to alert the carer that she needs to go to the loo (when ever I’ve turned up unannounced the carer has her ear plugs/phones in watching downloaded films on her lap top, oblivious to her surroundings) And when I ask, she always explains that mum’s just been to the toilet… (hummmm ?) Also I need to make sure there isn’t verbal abuse going on – now or in the future – with perhaps a new carer.

As I’ve had to look after my mother for the past three days (Christmas) I’ve been privy as to the failings and demands on the carer and these need to be corrected as it becoming clear she may not be holding up her side of the agreement – one example of watching her laptop while my mother sits in her own urine (to much info I know – but, there could be could other cctv add-ons that I hadn’t thought of, that you guys might be able to suggest ?)

So a recap
Budget of £400 for a system that will last at least 5 yrs +
6 indoor cameras (Infra Red)
8 channel DVR – 500 gig H/D ( I think) plenty audio inputs - DNS enabled)
Remote connection via PC and Android phone
Motion detection and Quality microphones for sound detection/recording
Some technical advise will be needed regards the internet hook up, I don’t mean from you guys (but something tells me I’ll be back !) but perhaps where I purchase the equipment (maybe it’ll come with the DVR? )
Am I barking up the wrong tree and being too ambitious regards my budget?
Or is it do-able?

Hope you can advise

I recently installed a system to record 8 cameras at D1 resolution (anything less than D1 is useless), and spent twice your budget.
You might be able to build a system for £400 but the resolution of the pictures will be poor and I think you will be disappointed with the results.

Your 8 way dvr is going to cost around £400 and that's just an average good quality unit, not a cheap Chinese no support unit... Think you need a rethink on the cost.. Just fitted some 650tvl domes on a samsung 960h dvr and the picture quality was better than a standard dvr but you will need more storage than 500gb.

Just out of interest I had a look at a typical web shop. Bearing in mind this is for indoor use you could buy some cheap webcam type cameras and a low grade DVR, power supplies etc for not much over £400 but it's going to be a pretty awful and unreliable job.
I thought I was doing well to get mine done for under £900, and that was with a good discount through a friend in the trade.

Arrgh !
Okay not the answers I was hoping for, but a really good honest starting point.
So can I address some issues. For example imaging, I don’t need it to be so sharp that I could use it in court (for example). I remember the days of 420 (or was it 450 line) TV in B&W and that was fine.
But now I’ve had a re-think re cost of camera/microphones and dvr perhaps I set my sights too high.
The Max the budget will go to £500, so perhaps I have to buy some used (branded geared off ebay). I just been round and measured up and thought about camera positioning (longest run 26m). Plus I can get away with 5 cameras not 6 as previously mentioned.
So do you have any advice on brands that I should be looking at ? (as from what been said so far the bundles on ebay for Sub 400 quid aren’t worth it – plus I also note they’re supplied from china, my mandarin chinese needs a little polishing ! Ha).
I guess as a start I could run the cabling and build on it .
Sound, as I mentioned is crucial, from the systems you’ve build/have what’s the sound quality like? Eg does it pick out speech or is there just a muffle of white noise?
That’s not really audible ? And what sort of mic did you use was it directional or omnidirectional?

You need to be very careful here on the legalities.
As you are effectively spying on the carer, you have pretty strict legal requirements to meet.
I'd be seeking advice from relevant medical peeps regarding your concerns before fitting any kit.

I'm not sure how you can call this 'spying'.
The sort of equipment he's talking about will be quite overt and very obvious to anyone in the house. Of course the carer may very well object to working under those conditions, which could lead to problems with the carer's service provider.

Sally2000 said:

I'm not sure how you can call this 'spying'.
The sort of equipment he's talking about will be quite overt and very obvious to anyone in the house. Of course the carer may very well object to working under those conditions, which could lead to problems with the carer's service provider.

Click to expand...

And the audio?
ICO are quite touchy about that.
And as the home is now the place of work. All legal obligations must be met.

as i said, with them sort of concerns, i'd be speaking to the relevant medical authorities for advice. The welfare of the mother is more important then hoping to catch someone not performing.

the ico say their guidance only applies to organisations and individuals using CCTV for limited household use are not covered by them or the dpa.

also it appears the op is at the step immediately before contacting medical authorities as he has no evidence to say whether his mum is being neglected or not. I would imagine just the introduction of the cameras would probably be enough to focus the carers mind on what's she's there to do - win either way.

In terms of gear we will only use samsung techwin going forwards...

Do you have the location of your supplier ? - I'll google the tel number.
I've just purchased a XDH16 Pro Realtime 16 Channel D1 H.264 Network DVR 1 tb hd, as had a complete review of budget and equiptment since my first post and the advice received from you guys, so thanks for that
Interested in the samsung 600TVL internal domes thou and at £35 each - good deal !!
Spying and Privacy ?
This is a point that I had considered and looked at briefly, but not as so far as to read through the ICO guidelines.
As I see it the video recording will be confined to areas that are used by my mother within her own home (not in the bathroom or toilets and [obviously] not the care’s bedroom). The carer will be fully aware that these are the conditions that she has to work under (nothing to hide, nothing to worry about - I hate this statement, but you get the gist of what I mean).
Regards the audio recording, verbal abuse can be just as and indeed some cases worse than physical abuse, if only, that it can continue without ever been arrested.
Our carer is self-employed, but prior to using her services, we interviewed a couple of agencies and they had no problem with the installation of a surveillance system.
Further, I’m not up on the difference between a dedicated care home and having someone who offers her services within your own home (in other words we’re not employing her), but a couple of the cctv suppliers that I’ve been speaking to ‘Online security products’ for example, have stated that since the recent exposure in the ‘abuse’ carried out at care homes, they have had a massive increase in orders and installations, so I wonder what their limitations are, re: audio/visual
Having said all of the above, thank you for bringing this to my attention and I will look into this further.
Cheers

Ps
I'll need the spec/ model of the Samsung 600 internal domes
Thanks

"Google is your friend"

For the price that you can buy genuine Samsung techwin for, I really would not bother with the likes of rubbish from System Q / CCTV direct - its all chinese rebranded junk ...they give it fancy names like "alien", "hero" ect and then they charge top dollar.

We are an NSI company and have now standardised on Samsung products.

Google is our best friend
But what lens does it have 8mm fixed , 3.6mm fixed . 2-10mm (I know it can't be this , but you get the picture).

Thanks