CCTV system
- Thread starter Jupiter01
- Start date
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Where are you based?
With your budget getting an NVR and the cameras you need isn't realistic.
Swann would probably meet your budget, but as you are very well aware not many rate there reliability.
With your budget getting an NVR and the cameras you need isn't realistic.
Swann would probably meet your budget, but as you are very well aware not many rate there reliability.
im north of London but I will be fitting it myself if you are querying the fitting costs.
is £600 insufficient for a reasonable residential CCTV system? All of the Maplin ones are within this price and there are many more online which are well below this amount. Im well aware that I could spend much more...
Are my requirements too outlandish?
is £600 insufficient for a reasonable residential CCTV system? All of the Maplin ones are within this price and there are many more online which are well below this amount. Im well aware that I could spend much more...
Are my requirements too outlandish?
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It isn't a case of you cant get something that looks good for your money at that price range.
It is more a question of reliability and suitability for what you need it to do at that price range isn't realistic.
The comments on this thread alone are buy the best you can afford for the situation you need them for.
The biggest most common mistake with CCTV is to buy unsuitable equipment, whether over or under spec for the situation, whether good equipment or complete rubbish.
The next mistake is to install it inappropriately, ie cameras not in the correct places to do the job they need to do.
Then badly install the equipment.
I am sure theres a few more but you catch the drift. buy the wrong gear you will find your hands digging deep to replace the rubbish you have bought with what you needed.
Installing it in the wrong place may end up with you wasting some time and touching up to do when you put it in the right place.
Badly installing it well you either learn or you don't and if you don't the money is wasted no matter what you do.
If you were local I would pop round and spend some time going through it, but alas your not.
The problem is knowing what is right for your situation, how much is an acceptable compromise in the cameras ability and reliability versus what you need it to do.
It is more a question of reliability and suitability for what you need it to do at that price range isn't realistic.
The comments on this thread alone are buy the best you can afford for the situation you need them for.
The biggest most common mistake with CCTV is to buy unsuitable equipment, whether over or under spec for the situation, whether good equipment or complete rubbish.
The next mistake is to install it inappropriately, ie cameras not in the correct places to do the job they need to do.
Then badly install the equipment.
I am sure theres a few more but you catch the drift. buy the wrong gear you will find your hands digging deep to replace the rubbish you have bought with what you needed.
Installing it in the wrong place may end up with you wasting some time and touching up to do when you put it in the right place.
Badly installing it well you either learn or you don't and if you don't the money is wasted no matter what you do.
If you were local I would pop round and spend some time going through it, but alas your not.
The problem is knowing what is right for your situation, how much is an acceptable compromise in the cameras ability and reliability versus what you need it to do.
@secureiam I really appreciate the offer and indeed your help thusfar.
I need to make some decisions now and hope that you folks can guide me. Since I am about to plasterboard one of the bedrooms (the rest will follow) I need to lay the cable for CCTV. I am inclined to go with a PoE system as I think it will be the future direction for this tech. Also, with this in mind, should I use Cat6? I have a bundle of Cat6 at the moment so could use that.
Beyond this, I assume that the external cameras need to be at around the 2.5 metre height so that they can't easily be pulled off and at the same time, can catch someone's face?
Indoors, I was planning too have one in the hallway looking down at the front door and finally one at the top of the stairs.
Welcome everyone's thoughts.
I need to make some decisions now and hope that you folks can guide me. Since I am about to plasterboard one of the bedrooms (the rest will follow) I need to lay the cable for CCTV. I am inclined to go with a PoE system as I think it will be the future direction for this tech. Also, with this in mind, should I use Cat6? I have a bundle of Cat6 at the moment so could use that.
Beyond this, I assume that the external cameras need to be at around the 2.5 metre height so that they can't easily be pulled off and at the same time, can catch someone's face?
Indoors, I was planning too have one in the hallway looking down at the front door and finally one at the top of the stairs.
Welcome everyone's thoughts.
cat6 will be fine.
With ip based cameras before shelling out you can connect it toa switch with poe and view the image on your lapto or tablet using the ipaddress as assigned.
If its not suitable get it swapped out and the camera hasn't been damaged by fitting it up.
externally you may want to think about vandal protection if they are mounted low, but if it catches the person trying to vandalise it does it really matter?
With ip based cameras before shelling out you can connect it toa switch with poe and view the image on your lapto or tablet using the ipaddress as assigned.
If its not suitable get it swapped out and the camera hasn't been damaged by fitting it up.
externally you may want to think about vandal protection if they are mounted low, but if it catches the person trying to vandalise it does it really matter?
On the video quality, Maplin are usually flaunting the Swann on this basis. They have a live demonstration to show how much better it is than the other brands but I've sensed some resentment towards that on this forum.
I agree with you on the vandalising. Also, there are additional cameras indoors as per earlier post, which would catch the intruder again. Is 2.5 metres around the correct height to balance the recording angle and vandalising potential?
I agree with you on the vandalising. Also, there are additional cameras indoors as per earlier post, which would catch the intruder again. Is 2.5 metres around the correct height to balance the recording angle and vandalising potential?
The problem with Swann is they don't make anything , they just rebadge other stuff, I know Swann have used some older Hikvision IP cameras re badged , they have also used some TVI cameras and AHD cameras that I know is a format Hikvision don't make, so it's luck of the draw .... If in doubt stay clear !
Have to be honest, Swann is cheap and I only know of aerial installers installing the stuff rather than a security tradesperson.
2.5 M is a little over 8ft, and vandalism can still be easily achieved with the right tools, however its a good enough compromise in general terms to see the faces rather than tops of heads, again its the angle the camera is point that will give you a top of an head rather than a facial.
2.5 M is a little over 8ft, and vandalism can still be easily achieved with the right tools, however its a good enough compromise in general terms to see the faces rather than tops of heads, again its the angle the camera is point that will give you a top of an head rather than a facial.
At risk of this conversation doing a full circle, what do most residents install? I ask, since I wouldn't have thought that residents are spending £1000's on CCTV. Some residents, I'm sure will, as will businesses. Hence the question, if not Swann (around £600), what is the most popular amongst this segment of the market? Also, I'm not concerned about fitting price. Purchase only.
First things first. Why is Swann so bad?
They are very naughty when it comes to specifications. They aren't alone in this, the whole industry is rife with misinformation. Take their quoted ranges for cameras. They suggest effective optical ranges way beyond the capability of their cameras and flower it up with words like Crystal Clear. Their supposed 25 meter cameras might have an effective optical range of 5 meters or less.
Resolution. They seem a little confused in terms of what is and isn't high resolution / definition. 960H is absolutely bog standard D1 resolution but widescreen with the extra pixels filling in the bit on the edge of the screen. 720P is not High definition, it's sort of half HD. I would suggest 1080P as being full HD.
Wide angle cameras. This is where they fall flat on their face. You can throw umpteen pixels at your CCTV system but if you then use wide angle cameras the pixels spread apart rapidly as you move away from the camera. This means little detail is captured as you move away form the camera and so it only has a short effective range. Ignore any claimed ranges particularly those quoted "at night" or "IR range". Effective optical range is a very different beast.
Typically you will need several different cameras around your property for it to be effective so any kit that uses identical fixed lens wide angle cameras is unlikely to do the job.
Here is a Guide to CCTV cameras which explains more.
We look at properties over the internet whilst discussing through with the owner what they are hoping to achieve. From there we can suggest specific cameras and locations.
I've just priced up a typical HD 1080P 4 camera system comprising 4 channel DVR, 2TB AV grade hard drive, 2.8-12mm open dome camera, 2.8-12mm traditional camera, 6-22mm longer range camera, Open dome 3.6mm fixed wide angle camera (for an entrance door). Camera power supply, all the connectors to allow the use of customer sourced CAT5/6 cabling. That came to about £650 plus Vat with a bit of love thrown in on the price
A very different system to that found in somewhere like Maplins.
Please don't take that as a definitive list of what you would need, all systems are individual but it's a realistic guesstimate to gauge prices.
A final thought on IP cameras and PoE (power over Ethernet). We don't sell IP systems, we use high definition analogue. Our choice is HD-TVI. With PoE you can't necessarily choose how many pairs of wires are used to carry 12 volt power. With Analogue HD you can still use CAT5/6 cable and the connections are made via video baluns & DC plugs / sockets. To minimise voltage drop we suggest using 3 pairs or wires for 12 volt DC, 1 pair for video. Longer range outdoor IP cameras tend to be very expensive and can suffer voltage drop when powered using PoE.
Hope that all makes sense.
Henry
They are very naughty when it comes to specifications. They aren't alone in this, the whole industry is rife with misinformation. Take their quoted ranges for cameras. They suggest effective optical ranges way beyond the capability of their cameras and flower it up with words like Crystal Clear. Their supposed 25 meter cameras might have an effective optical range of 5 meters or less.
Resolution. They seem a little confused in terms of what is and isn't high resolution / definition. 960H is absolutely bog standard D1 resolution but widescreen with the extra pixels filling in the bit on the edge of the screen. 720P is not High definition, it's sort of half HD. I would suggest 1080P as being full HD.
Wide angle cameras. This is where they fall flat on their face. You can throw umpteen pixels at your CCTV system but if you then use wide angle cameras the pixels spread apart rapidly as you move away from the camera. This means little detail is captured as you move away form the camera and so it only has a short effective range. Ignore any claimed ranges particularly those quoted "at night" or "IR range". Effective optical range is a very different beast.
Typically you will need several different cameras around your property for it to be effective so any kit that uses identical fixed lens wide angle cameras is unlikely to do the job.
Here is a Guide to CCTV cameras which explains more.
We look at properties over the internet whilst discussing through with the owner what they are hoping to achieve. From there we can suggest specific cameras and locations.
I've just priced up a typical HD 1080P 4 camera system comprising 4 channel DVR, 2TB AV grade hard drive, 2.8-12mm open dome camera, 2.8-12mm traditional camera, 6-22mm longer range camera, Open dome 3.6mm fixed wide angle camera (for an entrance door). Camera power supply, all the connectors to allow the use of customer sourced CAT5/6 cabling. That came to about £650 plus Vat with a bit of love thrown in on the price
A very different system to that found in somewhere like Maplins.Please don't take that as a definitive list of what you would need, all systems are individual but it's a realistic guesstimate to gauge prices.
A final thought on IP cameras and PoE (power over Ethernet). We don't sell IP systems, we use high definition analogue. Our choice is HD-TVI. With PoE you can't necessarily choose how many pairs of wires are used to carry 12 volt power. With Analogue HD you can still use CAT5/6 cable and the connections are made via video baluns & DC plugs / sockets. To minimise voltage drop we suggest using 3 pairs or wires for 12 volt DC, 1 pair for video. Longer range outdoor IP cameras tend to be very expensive and can suffer voltage drop when powered using PoE.
Hope that all makes sense.
Henry
Just answered it yourself .....
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