CCTV -advice required

[michael howarth 1Participant @michaelhowarth1]

Given the state of the world at the moment, it seems to be incumbent on the individual to take any steps necessary to protect their lives and property, because no one else will. I have been considering installing CCTV but have been put off by lack of knowledge and wiring it up etc. However, I received an email from Screwfix the other day and on sale there was a CCTV camera costing circa £100 which was solar/battery powered and seemed as if it might fit the bill. Just screw it on the wall. I reckon one back and front should cover the house and workshop. It is compatible with iOS App, whatever that means – but is not compatible with Apple Home? So now I am a wee bit baffled. I have no faith in “independent” reviews on the net. I do use an iPhone. Any advice offered will be gratefully received.

Mick

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

All these cameras have their own ‘app’ so they can continually try to upsell their premium service. They have a vested interest in being non compatible with any other provider or home control system and all traffic goes via their backend not direct on your LAN.
They have no interest in making the app any more than basically functional rather than efficient and user friendly. Even the professional system we have on the Church hall has a poor user interface indicating the development budget was cut as soon as they had a basic capability and none of the company management actually use their system. Outdoor versions are compatible with the weather in the Gobi desert where it does not rain.

[michael howarth 1Participant @michaelhowarth1]

Thanks Bazyle. I must say that I suspected this from the “reviews” I have been reading. It prompts me to ask whether cameras mounted indoors and looking out of windows are feasible?

Mick

[Ian ParkinParticipant @ianparkin39383]

I have a couple of systems installed…. A swan system with 5 cameras (but can have 8) hard drive to store “events” great picture quality during the day but in hours of darkness not so good (black and white with IR lighting)

if you knew the person in the clip you may be ok but otherwise forget it.

others cameras are Google cams both wired indoors and battery powered,waterproof for outdoors I have 2 with largeish solar panels keeping them topped up otherwise you need to charge after 5 days or so..

great quality but again great for watching wildlife but useless at night….(for evidence)

also a nest doorbell works great But not at night..

the swan is hard wired

all the others are connected to network and you can check from anywhere with phone

if you want extended storage of events you pay about £5 monthly with google..otherwise events only stored for 24 hours

 

[michael howarth 1]

On michael howarth 1 Said:

Thanks Bazyle. I must say that I suspected this from the “reviews” I have been reading. It prompts me to ask whether cameras mounted indoors and looking out of windows are feasible?

Mick

If the camera is duel use normal daytime and IR night then do not use behind glass as during hours of darkness all that you will see is the white of the light reflecting off of the glass

[Colin HeseltineParticipant @colinheseltine48622]

I have a Swann camera setup which is hardwired ethernet.  This has worked very well.  Other than when burgled just before Xmas and they took money and wifes car keys and then her new car was taken.  Somehow the miscreants disabled the camera at the front so it did not record them, they re-aimed the one at the rear but it could still partially see them.  We were broken into just before 3 am (whilst asleep) and the front camera recorded nothing but at 5 am when we think they reappeared it was working and showed a van driving and stopping outside our property.  Up to now I have not managed to find out how a hardwired camera can be temporarily disabled.  Any ideas.

Colin

[Paul LParticipant @paull58212]

I use a 3 camera system from Eufy. The cameras are wifi and have a solar panel on top of them, so no need for wires. There is a base unit the cameras pair with that records the videos and can link them to an app on your phone (android and iphone). There is no subscription to pay.

A Door bell can be added as well as other devices.

The cameras are 4k and have night vision.they can record sound and have a speaker so you can talk via the camera. They all charge via the solar panel very well.

I have the system installed for over a year now with no issues at all. The kit is a bit pricey but it covers every aspect of a CCTV system I need WITHOUT a subscription .

https://amzn.eu/d/dKDm4ng

Here is the kit on Amazon. I paid less when it was on offer at Costco.

 

[John HaineParticipant @johnhaine32865]

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/domestic-cctv-using-cctv-systems-on-your-property/domestic-cctv-using-cctv-systems-on-your-property

Worth noting this.

[Stuart Smith 5Participant @stuartsmith5]

John

Yet the first thing the police do if there is an incident is to ask people in the area if they have any cctv!

I think they are probably quite happy if people record views of the street.

Stuart

[Stuart Smith 5Participant @stuartsmith5]

I have had  a Swann recorder and cameras for a few years. The recorder went faulty a couple of years ago and I replaced it with a different brand from CPC.

The new one works with the old cameras but can also connect to any IP cameras on the same network. I have a couple of indoor TP-link cameras that I can view on an app on my phone but I can also connect them to my recorder.

As others have said, you may struggle to identify anyone unless you get high resolution cameras, particularly at night.

You need to decide what you want them for. I have an alarm that notifies me if it is triggered so I got the cameras mainly to check for anybody about if the alarm goes off. In my experience, The police do not respond to alarms unless there is evidence there is someone actually there.

Stuart

[Mike HurleyParticipant @mikehurley60381]

Same as Paul L, I bought an Eufy system 3 or 4 years ago. Easy to set up and cameras work fine day or night. No subscription. 2 cameras used , straightforward to configure. Just need a top up recharge via a usb socket on the back every 12 months or so depending on time they are active.

No connection with the company, just a satisfied user.

Mike

[Taf_PembsParticipant @taf_pembs]

I have recently expanded my system, I have a TP-Link Tapo out door camera at the rear of the house watching the lane at the side (which is also the access to garage) and the garage with ‘activity’ zones to alert me if anyone goes near it. I’ve now expanded it to have a camera in the garage and door sensors.

The app is pretty reasonable and although they try to get you to sign up to a ‘cloud’ service it’s not needed at all, the cameras loop record to internal SD card or to a card in a little hub. The hub is needed to connect the door sensors. This can then be used to set up or control anything from lighting to power just by something being triggered (not that I have bothered with any of that.

EDIT.. It’s all wireless and easy to install.

I have a short cut on my phone home screen that sets the detection for the garage cam and sensors to live in 1 go which if triggered sounds an alarm in the house as well as notifies me .. well my phone.

It is a very cost effective system and you can add bits as you go. All wireless and pretty easy to set up etc.

The down side is I had to blank off the IR LED’s built in to the external camera and fit a couple of separate IR floods. The built in IR LED’s in the camera are so close to the camera itself that once on at night any mist, rain, cobweb, dust etc will trigger a movement or person alert. This is a problem for any self illuminating night camera so was kind of expected really.

Happy with it so far and can access and control it from anywhere very easy thanks to the wonders of the interweb (could keep an eye on the cats from Norway!).

I think the 4k external pan tilt etc camera was about 40 quid, door sensors 11, hub 15 and internal pan tilt etc camera about 18 – all ‘ish’ on amazon (they always have a sale on!)

[Robert Atkinson 2Participant @robertatkinson2]

Big issue with wirless camera systems is that they are easily disabled by an RF Jammer. These are routinely used by the gangs doing keyless entry car theft.

[Stuart Smith 5]

On Stuart Smith 5 Said:

John

Yet the first thing the police do if there is an incident is to ask people in the area if they have any cctv!

I think they are probably quite happy if people record views of the street.

Stuart

The people in the street may not be even if totally innocent.

[Robert Atkinson 2Participant @robertatkinson2]

Unfotunatly the department responsible for enforcement of the rules don’t seem to care about personal CCTV recording outside their property.
https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/home-cctv-systems/
They advise reporting it to the Police, local authority or landlord and then say if you do report it to them they effectively won’t do anything:

“What will the ICO do if I make a complaint?

You can complain to us if you think a CCTV owner isn’t following the rules. We can send a letter asking them to resolve things (eg put up an appropriate sign or respond to your requests).

After this point, there’s a limited amount of action we can take to make the person comply. It’s highly unlikely we will consider it fair or balanced to take enforcement action against a home CCTV owner.”

So no enforcement.

Robert.

[PlasmaParticipant @plasma]

I know that if a criminal were caught on cctv that was not properly sited or whatever then there wouldn’t be much push back from the courts to render such footage inadmissible.  Dash cam for example cannot have warning signs and picks up whatever is in front of the camera.  This is not the USA where lawyers can get you off if you throw enough money at an issue.

I’m told there are cameras that work just a well at night available. As a previous post has said the camera has to be out of reach of thieves to stop it being moved or covered. No knowledge of radio jamming on cameras but I’d prefer POE, power over ethernet. Only one cable to route back to the recorder. Make sure that’s hidden as burglars will look the steal it along with their images.

[Author]

Posts