Can anyone recommend a good video security system? I need one that can see at night,must be outdoor compatible, uses motion sensing and can record to a DVR. The most important thing for me is image quality, it must be very good. I always see those grainy crime videos on tv and wonder why someone even bothered paying money for the system.
That would depend on your budget and your determination. I installed a DVR card in a computer and use many different camera types but never get great results with night surveillance. How many cameras do you want to use? What is your ballpark budget and are you willing to do some building? Do you want a plug'n'play setup? Can you building some enclosures to house some cameras? Do you want wireless or wired? Do you want tilt,pan and zoom? There are so many options.
Try here:
i will be using 4 cameras
Ballpark budget of 500.00 to 1000.00
Not sure what you mean by building.
I want wireless unless there is going to be a range problem. I would like to place the DVR at the television, so the farthest camera from here would be about 30 to 50 feet. Currently I have a wirless dsl router at the tv that I use for the internet connection and to download movies from Direct TV.
Don't really care about tilt, pan or zoom. The most important thing for me is; can I see the hoodlums face or vehicle in the dark at 30 feet well enough to ID them.
I mean if you would be willing to build a camera enclosure to assure weather Proofing or you just want stock cameras.
Wireless can be costly if you want a good signal but 50 ft is not that far. The picture quality can be an issue with cheap wireless systems. Zoom is a good feature for getting in close enough to ID a person. Wide angle viewing mostly will not give you a good image of a face. As I mentioned a very cheap way to go can be adding an old used Handycam. I have several purchased for about $50 and work very well in limited light. You would need to construct a weather proof box which are a bit larger than some on the smaller cameras made for survailence. I have some that are mounted inside a bedroom window that work well. There are cheap Rotating Camera Platforms like
You have to seach for wireless security systems:
Radio Shack and other stores have cheap 2.4 Gig wireless systems that can output to TV or you can spend much more. I have combined many systems cheap and expensive and can supply you with many more references if you need any more personal information on what might meet your needs.
heard about a fellow who used motion sensor lights, not only did motion trip on lights but recorded too.
excellent PQ he sed very brite lights.
what you want to do is make your home or whatever more trouble than its worth.
a nice yappy dog, with motion lights should do this.
dogs detect motion noise etc etc before anyone else
You are so very right. You can however set your area of detection to be higher than the level of a dog or small animal if you like. It all depends on how far you want to go. When I am in my computer room on the third floor I can't even hear the door bell. With a monitor I know I don't have to get up to speak with the bible thumpers but want to get there for the UPS guy. Nothing records when the ball goes over my lawn but it does when the kid goes to retrieve it and stops to pick an apple from my tree.
Coupling your camera to a motion detected light helps that a lot. The tendency will be to look at the light when it comes on
My video setup has everything (TV, DVD, etc...) coming from a central point and distributed to every TV in the house. Then, I put a camera at the front door and have the doorbell switch the video. That way, I will be aware of the doorbell anywhere inside and can see who's there.
One of those TVs is in the bathroom, so I may see strangers with Bibles, and continue taking a shit.
One more thing, that video has caller ID on it too.
Dude, the least you could do would be to make that one interactive. Maybe even charge for the viewing.
These days you record to disk in a digital format and the software does the motion detecting. You can review it at high speed, jump to a particular time or skip by "event" (motion). Most can also be LAN connected. The software solutions are usually bundled with the PC card. I have an old system by Grantec (Eguard) that I got from a wholesaler for $40 when the world started switching to XP. It is W/98 only but if this is a dedicated system, who cares what OS you run.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.