Security Camera System

[Bdsankey]

I've been wanting to add a security camera system to my home ever since we bought it and yesterday was nudge I needed. Someone blew up our custom mail box yesterday that my mother-in-law made and I would like to have something to go on in the event that it happens again or in the event that someone decides the stuff in my garage is nicer in theirs. Realistically I'm looking for 6-8 cameras and I would prefer PoE/IP cameras as I eventually will build a home NAS setup for more redundancy but can deal with a clunky NVR for now as long as its reliable for a few years.


I've been looking at Lorex 4k bullet cameras (model E861AB) as the local Sam's Club has them on a good deal ($799 for NVR/8 cams/all ethernet cables/etc). https://www.lorextechnology.com/4k-...p-camera-with-color-night-vision/E861AB-E-1-p


Anyone have a better recommendation? I'd rather "buy once - cry once" within reason.

 

[GMC_2002_Dmax]

I Have LOREX on my home and shop, they are powered by the Ethernet cable, they are color and color night vision if you have enough light.

COSTCO is where I purchased them, they have a phone app as well, set your alerts up, they have been flawless.

I also have the camera system and the routers on a battery backup also from COSTCO, so if power goes out it keeps the system live and recording as well as the router and internet stays up during any situations with outages.

4K NVR

 

[Bdsankey]

I Have LOREX on my home and shop, they are powered by the Ethernet cable, they are color and color night vision if you have enough light.

COSTCO is where I purchased them, they have a phone app as well, set your alerts up, they have been flawless.

I also have the camera system and the routers on a battery backup also from COSTCO, so if power goes out it keeps the system live and recording as well as the router and internet stays up during any situations with outages.

4K NVR

Thank you, they (Lorex) seem to have a good reputation. COSTCO also sells this same setup I'm looking at. I will look at putting them on battery backup, IDK why I didn't think of that.

 

[Fingers]

I bought an EZVIZ system off Amazon. 12 cameras. 1080p resolution. Very easy instal and I really like being able to see the shop from anywhere via the phone app.

 

[Bdsankey]

I bought an EZVIZ system off Amazon. 12 cameras. 1080p resolution. Very easy instal and I really like being able to see the shop from anywhere via the phone app.

Being able to view it on my phone/receive notifications is very nice which is one reason the "all in one" boxes are nice. Blue Iris (the software I eventually will use) offers that but takes the camera limit off of things as you can run much more powerful hardware. Eventually I'd like to run cameras inside the home in the common areas. The one thing that is a must for me is PoE/IP cameras vs wireless or even analog/coaxial. In my opinion PoE/IP cameras offer better support for the long term and easier upgrade paths down the line should something become outdated.

 

[ShopSpecialties]

I am using Arlo and it is not to bad and the Sheriffs dept/County Attorney said the quality was good. I have 5 cameras at 720p HD but thinking about upgrading to 1080p. Install is very easy, batteries last longer than expected before needing recharged and you need to have good internet.

 

[TheBac]

All I know is I see more and more of those ring doorbells every year. I have fun with them, and just treat the delivery as if im handing the pkg right to the customer.
I admit though that it's sad we live in a time when criminals are just about everywhere.

 

[1FastBrick]

Definitely get 4k quality.

 

[Bdsankey]

Definitely get 4k quality.

That's the plan. The Lorex bullet system I'm looking at is 8mp/4k cameras (8x) and Lorex's NVR (network video recorder). I'm glad that the Lorex NVR will accept a switch which means I can run switches into various locations (in the garage, outdoors etc) where I can cut down on cable runs entering the home as well as make it MUCH easier to expand in the future once I build a more robust home server.

 

[1FastBrick]

I was looking into a system through Fry's electronics a few years back and the video quality of 4k is unreal when shown next to a 1080DP. I didn't end up going through with it as I was looking at possibly having a service come out and install a full system. Mainly I didn't want to deal with running the cables...

The guy was busy and never really got back to me and I just moved on...

Recently we had some cars broken into in near the front of the house and I wish I had it because it would captured something. One was unlocked the other they broke the window. They really didn't get anything of value either. I was told a couple of charge cables and the rummaged through the other one.

 

[Bdsankey]

That's the major benefit I've read about the 4k cameras vs 1080p cameras is the clarity that is observed as well as the better image quality especially when zoomed in.

 

[fish]

I’ve been running lorex Poe 4K system for a couple of years now. Along with ring floodlight and door bell, and i also have a yi camera up in the garage.

Lorex was $700 for a system with 8 cameras. The app is pretty crappy but the image quality is incredible. I can remotely view all the cameras and go back in history, it’s a bit of an ordeal but not impossible.

Ring cameras are crap quality, but the app is amazing. Biggest downside is the monthly fee and no onsite memory. All the footage is uploaded.

Yi, well.. like it sounds, I’m sure someone Chinese dude is bored of watching my pretend to be a mechanic in the garage, but it’s cheap, no monthly fee and the app is descend.

 

[1FastBrick]

They had 2 different brands at the time in the store. I remember them having Infrared heat sensensing along with motion sensing that would activate it in the dark.

I don't remember if it had a built in security light like the current models do from Swann. At the time they had a 1TB and 2TB for recording. I believe you could log in through an internet connection if you set that up as well.

Been so long since I looked into this stuff...

 

[Bdsankey]

I’ve been running lorex 4K system for a couple of years now. Along with ring floodlight and door bell, and i also have a yi camera up in the garage.

Lorex was $700 for a system with 8 cameras. The app is pretty crappy but the image quality is incredible. I can remotely view all the cameras and go back in history, it’s a bit of an ordeal but not impossible.

Ring cameras are crap quality, but the app is amazing. Biggest downside is the monthly fee and no onsite memory. All the footage is uploaded.

Yi, well.. like it sounds, I’m sure someone Chinese dude is bored of watching my pretend to be a mechanic in the garage, but it’s cheap, no monthly fee and the app is descend.

Thanks for the heads up on the Lorex. Currently thats the system I'm leaning toward. Like you said, its around the $700 mark (currently $799 at Sams Club w/8 cams/NVR/cables) which makes it not a bad deal since the cameras are usually ~$180 each. I am curious how the entry level NVR would handle more than 8 cameras since Lorex claims you can use switches to extend/add cameras. If the entry Lorex NVR box can truly handle my ~10-12 total cams when I'm done I'll be happy since not all 12 will record at once. The only one's I'd have on 24/7 would be the one facing the driveway and back yard, the rest would likely be on motion sense which should help keep things running smoothly. I would immediately upgrade the hard drives in the NVR unit as (from what I can tell) it has 2x hard drive bays and will support 3tb in each drive bay.

 

[fish]

I also have the camera system and the routers on a battery backup also from COSTCO, so if power goes out it keeps the system live and recording as well as the router and internet stays up during any situations with outages.

4K NVR

I seriously need to get around to doing that.

 

[fish]

Thanks for the heads up on the Lorex. Currently thats the system I'm leaning toward. Like you said, its around the $700 mark (currently $799 at Sams Club w/8 cams/NVR/cables) which makes it not a bad deal since the cameras are usually ~$180 each. I am curious how the entry level NVR would handle more than 8 cameras since Lorex claims you can use switches to extend/add cameras. If the entry Lorex NVR box can truly handle my ~10-12 total cams when I'm done I'll be happy since not all 12 will record at once. The only one's I'd have on 24/7 would be the one facing the driveway and back yard, the rest would likely be on motion sense which should help keep things running smoothly. I would immediately upgrade the hard drives in the NVR unit as (from what I can tell) it has 2x hard drive bays and will support 3tb in each drive bay.

It's worth a shot, I would also reach out to their customer support. When I had questions they responded right away.

 

[Bdsankey]

It's worth a shot, I would also reach out to their customer support. When I had questions they responded right away.

Thats on my list as well as verifying what happens when the camera gets cold. Sam's Club lists it as -40f to 122f but Lorex lists it as -4f to 122f. I don't think I'll ever see -40f here (haven't yet, been close) but -4f would be very common to get below. I just want to ensure that no damage occurs when that happens.

 

[fish]

Thats on my list as well as verifying what happens when the camera gets cold. Sam's Club lists it as -40f to 122f but Lorex lists it as -4f to 122f. I don't think I'll ever see -40f here (haven't yet, been close) but -4f would be very common to get below. I just want to ensure that no damage occurs when that happens.

Right, I have the opposite problem of you. I'm in Phoenix where we'll get up to 120f, so in direct sun the camera has to get up to 150f easily. I know I couldn't touch it with barehands if I needed to. None of the cameras have skipped a beat on me.

When we go out of town, I'll turn off the AC and the house inside will sometimes get up to 95f, the NVR doesn't have a problem with that temp either.

 

[Bdsankey]

Just called Lorex, they're -40f to 122f and he said as long as there aren't more than 8 cams recording at once it shouldn't be an issue. If the guy is wrong well then that's an excuse to upgrade the NVR once my shop is built (building a 40x40 next year but that's a topic for another day).

 

[SmokeShow]

Not to drive traffic away from here, but there was a pretty good discussion on this topic over on CompD recently. A fellow over there gave recommendations for components to DIY a PoE system for similar money to that Lorex system y'all are talking about. Difference I guess I see is that with components you can pick which app you choose to use, what computer hardware you want, etc.