The Framers Forum

Can anyone make any recommendation of a security camera system that they use and are happy with its performance?

Ideally I am looking for:-
Multiple cameras - perhaps 4+
Good picture quality
Wi-fi enabled to minimise cabling
App based monitoring
Decent amount of HD storage or cloud-based?
Reliability

Would be great to hear your experiences and the pro's and cons of the system you use. Thanks.

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As there appears to be a bit of interest I'll elaborate on my question by adding my experiences.

We invested in an inexpensive Swann system (DVR4-1260) maybe 5-6 years ago. It was purchased from Screwfix with very little research into it capabilities. It runs 4 cameras from a base unit via wiring which had to be discreetly hidden. Initial setup was relatively easy. The unit doesn't have a huge storage and unless you manually remove footage regularly it overwrites itself in a few days - not ideal if you want to check back further in time. The unit connects fine to a nearby TV via a HDMI cable.

The manufacturer has an app for monitoring away from location. This is where the system falls down for me. The reliability is not good. Often you are unable to connect and if an email is received that movement has been detected we sometimes are unable to access cameras to see if its anything more sinister than a moth! The app is rarely updated and from the reviews I'm not the only one with these troubles.

Overtime the unit has become glitchy in its performance. The timestamp on the footage is very erratic and often displays a complete different date and time to the actual. The manufacturer says you are able to update the software the unit runs on but we have never been able to get this to work.

Overall a system with potential but let down by its reliability, and I guess at the price we paid for it can't really grumble too much...

HikVision are considered to be amongst the best. We've had ours for about 3 years in the house. Make sure that the hard drive or drives are the heavy duty or network ones as ordinary hard drives will burn out quickly.
Recently, there was an incident in the local area and the police wanted video from out system from 3 weeks previous. The specialist officer said that Hikvision were one of the best for video quality.
Hope that helps.

I have recently used the following company for a pet friendly wireless alarm system for my house and have so far been impressed with the system, app and company that supplied it.
I am going to look in to a CCTV system with them for when we move shop and some CCTV for home that I can monitor via a APP on my phone
http://map-security.com/ (for some reason it says the site is insecure on my PC) but the link works OK for me and I trust it.

The alarm manufacture I used was PYRONIX they seem to be middle ground between budget and high end

So if you would rather just search it they are called :

MAP Security Products,
Unit 22F Beacon Business Park,
Norman Way,
Severnbridge Industrial Estate,
Caldicot,
Monmouthshire NP26 5P

This is a lot easier and cheaper to do than you might think. The small USB type webcams for home use are easily connected to any older computer that you may have and is now no longer in use. A USB hub will enable you to connect a number of cameras to your older computer, if you don't have enough USB ports and there are free, or shareware software packages cable of displaying multiple cameras and storing the video images for you.

You will need to search for the right software package to suit your needs and consider uploading your data to online cloud storage, if that's what you want, but at least in principle that should not break the bank. I don't have such a system, so I'm not able to make any specific recommendations. There is often online recommendations of particular software from actual users who discuss the pros and cons as well.

This suggestion may, or may not meet everyone's individual needs, but it may be worth checking out.

I was mulling over something like this the other day.....

What I would like is to be able to set up a number of cameras on the outside of the property and have a small monitor inside.
Running cables is a bit of a no-no so wireless would be good. I don't need remote apps and record facilities and all that.

Looking on the net I couldn't find anything that fits the bill, although I didn't look too hard.

Any steers appreciated.

Mmmm.......If you can't run any cables, how will the cameras be powered? solve that problem and the rest should be easy.

Unfortunately wireless cameras need wires to power the camera

I never thought of that.

There are a number of solar powered wireless ip cameras on the market.

I have always preferred wired vs wireless. The POE type systems are excellent. (Power over ethernet) It uses the ethernet for the camera signal, and uses some of the unused wires to supply power to your cameras. This way, it will run at a higher speed with no signal quality/loss issues, and won't be subject to being intentionally blocked. If you have a battery backup/UPS on your system, the power will continue to the cameras during a power failure.

We have systems like this at our frame shop (8 cameras inside and out), at home, and at my second job. For those, I have had good luck with Lorex branded products (which are actually Dahua re branded). We have a mix of 1080 (HD) IP cameras, and some 4k cameras in critical outside areas where we want to see license plates. The systems are relatively inexpensive, and do the job!

At the shop, we have a 25" computer monitor plugged in at our upstairs design counter, and a second one down in the basement "saw room". Both of these are connected to the NVR (Brain/controller) via HDMI (with a splitter, to use 2 monitors at once). This lets us see all of the cameras while working in the back. It records everything for 2 weeks. We can retrieve or live view recordings via smartphone app, via those 2 screens, or via any PC in our out of the office.

The landlord of our building has one of those solar wifi cameras that is remotely monitored, but tells me that the internal battery only lasts about 4-5 hours past darkness. (It only charges while there is sunlight, and it isnt sufficient)

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to look me up.

Mike

If anyone wants a really cheap and cheerful solution I’ve repurposed an old iPhone (an iPhone 4) and run an app called “presence”

This detects movement and if it does then it starts recording and sends me an email alert.

I’ve set up some rules so that it only detects between 7pm and 7am except on sundays when it’s all day as well.

When I’ve popped in on a Sunday to pick something up it’s always worked!

That's a GREAT use for an old/retired smartphone! I see people do that for auto dash cams, too.

I've just ordered a Wyze pan and tilt camera from Amazon US after reading some good feedback from US framers. I'll let you know how I get on...once it arrives, I think its coming by sea judging by the delivery time.

I'm surprised the local Amazon in your country doesn't stock these, too.

For the inexpensive ones that stream to a cloud server, I have recommended at least a dozen of the inexpensive Wansview cams.

These are ideal for someone who only needs 1 or 2 cameras and doesn't want to pay for a full system that saves things locally. Such as monitoring just the front counter, a garden shed, watching pup while at work etc. Motorized can move all around, 2 way audio, night vision, and only $30 USD. These type of cams do use a lot of internet bw, work over wifi, need a nearby power source, and often have a small monthly fee. Wyze is in the same category.

I believe only you can view those videos. It says "This video is private"