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Please share your experience with Self-Monitoring Home Security System with Camera. Looking at all and very interested on what the folks here on City-Data think on their home security systems. Prefer those with no monthly fee THANK YOU!!!!
I just use Samsung Smartcams. You can check from your home computer or smartphone. They also do push notifications when activity is detected. Cheap and easy to set up.
I would consider a German Shepherd dog, myself. Self-monitoring: check. Cameras: two of 'em. No monthly fee: check - well, unless you consider dog food, vet bills, etc. Ability to make decisions and use judgement: check. Ability to deter evildoers from doing evil: check. Ability to secure and immobilize evildoers if they penetrate the perimeter: check.
Dogs require that you come home to take care of them, so they are not a substitute for equipment. Plus some criminals would either bribe them with food or shoot them.
Cameras are a valuable adjunct to enhance security, but the in-camera video motion detection of the best IP camera will be much more prone to false positives than even the cheapest professionally installed alarm with PIR and perimeter switches.
There are a few models of WiFi camera with a PIR sensor to trigger on any moving warm body; this is a good start, but still inferior to a real monitored alarm with supervision, etc.
Since nearly all cameras require low-voltage power wiring anyway, I'd rather go with hardwired Ethernet-connected cameras using Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) rather than connecting via WiFi. This does require running Cat5/6 cable to a central location, but eliminates the extra failure point of wireless networking.
Before buying your first camera, take a look at the list of cameras supported by Xprotect Go, Zoneminder, and Surveillance Center. If you standardize on models supported by one or more of these, you should be able to add an in-home network video recorder (NVR) at a later date.
Your best bet for compatibility is to look for cameras which explicitly claim ONVIF Profile S compliance with this logo:
Please share your experience with Self-Monitoring Home Security System with Camera. Looking at all and very interested on what the folks here on City-Data think on their home security systems. Prefer those with no monthly fee THANK YOU!!!!
I have had my security cameras and DVR unit for five years now and find it’s very valuable to knowing what is happening at times, I monitor my own unit through wi-fi or directly on the DVR & monitor.
My neighbor had a motion detection unit inside the house that was monitored by the security company. He was burglarized one night and the security company didn’t call the police because they needed to check with the homeowner first. I heard the disturbance of the breaking in at the backdoor. I checked and then called the police myself for him. The criminals were gone from the house in under 5 minutes which is normal. My security cameras were positioned in such a way to at least see the two guys leave and get into their car driving the opposite direction from my home; otherwise I would have good information on the description of the car.
The neighbor bought his own security cameras and discontinued the monitoring service. He now checks on his video remotely and doesn’t worry about a security company monthly billing or their failure to call the police.
I have several Panasonic and D-Link standard definition cameras. Some wired, some wireless. It's not always easy to run CAT5 to where I want the camera. All were bought on sale or clearance priced. About $19 to $40 each. They are inside and outside the house. They can be viewed from anywhere with a computer, tablet or phone. I use an android ap IP Cam Viewer Lite on my phone and tablets to view several Panasonic cams at once. D-Link has their own ap. The camera manufacturers provide a free DDNS service. Motion detected pictures are emailed to a email account off site. Lots of false triggering occurs so hundreds of pictures often get sent. It ain't perfect.The house was re roofed while we were 2000 miles away and i was able to somewhat watch the work. I can see if a package is delivered and have a neighbor pick it up. I put a large dial thermometer in view of one of the indoor cams so i can check the interior temperature.
Sometimes something happens to the network and some of the cameras become unreachable remotely but they continue to email pictures. The cameras cost nothing to use other than perhaps a share of what I pay to my internet provider.
The cameras are not a substitute for a monitored security system. I pay about $120 a year for security system monitoring. Monitor company will dispatch if they are unable to reach anyone on the call list.
The security system and monitoring service have nothing to do with the cameras.
Please share your experience with Self-Monitoring Home Security System with Camera. Looking at all and very interested on what the folks here on City-Data think on their home security systems. Prefer those with no monthly fee THANK YOU!!!!
I have found self monitoring works OK if you have your smart phone with you consistently, and are willing to check it at any time.
I have installed CCTV systems in all of my residences since 2003, I have made six moves since that time. Products and features available have only improved since then. I had systems with as few as two cameras, and as many as 15 cameras. I have never paid for a monitoring system.
What I have found:
1- Wifi cameras are only as reliable as your wifi signal, and sometime less so (cheap ones tend to drop connection on their own). I do not trust them as much as POE or analog cameras. Security needs to be consistent to work, and wifi cameras are not always consistent.
2- Motion detection driven alerting is still not a perfected art form. Get used to false alerts if you only use motion detection. It is better to have a space covered with a camera, and a separate sensor such as a door/window contact, glass break sensor, or passive infrared volumetric sensor actually trigger an alert for self monitoring. These sensors are connected to dry contact inputs on a POE switch or into the DVR recording the views, and are programmed to alert you instead of the motion detection software the cameras typcally use.
3- I still prefer quality analog cameras, that feed into a networked DVR. There is more up front labor (and cost, if one is not self installing), but they are simply more reliable in my experience, and less prone to latency issues when viewing them live.
Instead of using big box store packaged systems, or online packages via amazon such as Night Owl, Lorex, etc...., I have been very happy with a vendor out of Texas called Super Circuits.
One of my neighbors bought a wireless security camera system and can’t monitor it remotely from the iphone unless he has the computer router removed from the ip; can’t use both the computer, router and DVR at the same time. He’s very unhappy with it when he leaves the house as everything has to be done directly at the DVR unit. He said it had something to do with the ip connected to the router and couldn't be connected to the dvr unit at the same time.
I use an android ap IP Cam Viewer Lite on my phone and tablets to view several Panasonic cams at once.
I'm really happy with the android app called "tinyCam Monitor", I was using the free edition, to get rid of the ads and to support the creator I bought "tinyCam Monitor PRO" (currently on sale at 50% off). It works on even my oldest Android devices, so I use one of my otherwise useless no-service phones as a dedicated camera viewer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AksarbeN
One of my neighbors bought a wireless security camera system and can’t monitor it remotely from the iphone unless he has the computer router removed from the ip; can’t use both the computer, router and DVR at the same time. He’s very unhappy with it when he leaves the house as everything has to be done directly at the DVR unit. He said it had something to do with the ip connected to the router and couldn't be connected to the dvr unit at the same time.
Sounds like a bad router and/or a configuration problem. Get an expert to look at it.
Last edited by Nonesuch; 08-27-2017 at 02:36 PM..
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Cameras are NOT a substitute for "real" alarm
