Does anyone have CCTV at home that they can view live on their phones, but also record onto a HDD as well? If so, which system have you used/purchased? looking to cover around 4 'angles' if possible. Night vision/IR would also be fantastic.

 

I have an android phone if that makes any difference.

 

Ta

CAn't recommend technology (any IP based camera system will probably do what you want), just be careful where you point them...

 

http://www.scottishlegal.com/2017/02/07/bto-wins-landmark-oppressive-use-of-cctv-case/

 

I got my system via Maplin. Although I have the option to view on my phone, I don't comment. 

I have 5 cameras and iirc  500gb hard drive. 

From personal experience I'd used fixed position cameras rather than tilt, pan and zoom. They sound good on paper but are compromised on night vision. 

I have one of these, operates faultlessly, send alerts to my phone when motion detected, records to micro sd card. Recordings and live view can be viewed on phone.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-Smart-Home-Camera-Outdoor/dp/B00NY2P6NC/ref=pd_sim_147_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=J80PH42G73NS7579G3S3

I have 4 eBay special ebay cctv cameras which feed into a VM running on my server. The VM runs Debian with motion and motioneye installed with allows me to view the cameras from anywhere (via vpn) on anything with a browser and also to record on movement. 

 

As aspman says you need to be careful - personally I went round to my neighbour and showed him what I can see with them (catches a little of their car) and made 100% sure they were ok with it. 

 

 

Edited 1 March, 20179 yr by gullyg

With the system I have you can pixelate out areas you don't want to cover; house wall, roof, neighbours property, street. 

 

You could also contact your local plod and see if they have either a crime prevention or community beat officer, and run your system by them, and what/who it is covering. 

 

I went to my local station, but they weren't really interested to be honest. 

I had a professional system installed mid-September last year.

 

Spent £2k on the spec I wanted, and it has an annual service each Sept.

 

I wanted A 4 camera system, with a box that can take up to 8 cameras if I want to add more in the future.

 

All the cameras record in 1080p and the recording box has a 4TB hard drive.

 

80% of the exterior of our souse is covered, you could avoid the cameras if you wanted to but the 'pin you down' so there is little point in trying to evade them.

 

Thanks to IPS fire & Security based in Worthing West Sussex for fitting it all, and making sure I was happy.

 

I want for a professional system because the components are MUCH better quality, as is the software too.

 

All the cameras can be monitored on smartphones and tablets while I'm away from home too.

Edited 11 March, 20179 yr by Macdemon

I also have a professional HD 1080 4 camera system with a DVR which I installed myself last Sepember using Cat 5 cable, video balans etc.  The system parts also cost about £2k. The cameras are all fixed and cover the vulnerable areas of my property which is in a rural location.  It is capable of being viewed, both live and recorded, over the Internet via mobile, laptop, etc.  I am extremely pleased with it and now wouldn't be without it.

 

One unexpected bonus is that one of the cameras also covers my 4 vegetable plots and at night the infra red lighting on the camera is the same wavelength as that used by the night sight on my 97K, which means as soon as the worst vermin it is possible to have in a garden (rabbits) appear on the camera I can go out and take them out without using the sight's inbuilt torch thereby saving battery time.  

 

What at I would advise is to steer clear of Swann and similar cheap packaged kit. The difference in quality and durability between that and the professional kit is very significant.

 

Edited 14 March, 20179 yr by x19

I've got a professional 8ch system with 30m IR camera (Sony CCDs), which supports internet view, record on motion (in a defined area) with a buffer to record the 10 seconds before the 'motion event' occurs.

 

Have provided the police with footage numerous times for incidents off my property, and some footage has been used in court.  A drunk clambered over my orangery roof breaking it and then denied being there - the footage clearly showed his clothing, which matched what he was wearing when picked up by the police a few streets away.

 

As above, avoid the cheaper end of the market - such as Swann.

I wouln't totally dismiss Swann and their like.  Nor am I dismissing professionally installed systems either.

 

However, I have had a Swann system installed in my property for approximately 6 years, and now I will probably jinx myself, I have had no problems.  I was quoted between £2000 -£3000 by several companies for what my property required.  Instead I bought a Swann All-In-One 8 Channel 4 Camera system which i had professionally installed by one of the companies that offered the £2-3k option for a total cost of approximately £800-900.  I've since added another camera to the system and replaced two of the Pan Zoom and Tilt cameras (which still work and have been put to good use by their new owner) and replaced them with fixed location cameras.  And that is one of the benefits of Swann and their ilk, you can buy their products off the shelf. I just popped into my local Maplins.

 

Location of your cameras is a very important consideration which from my experience a lot of installers overlook.  In a previous life I was responsible for seizing and exhibiting CCTV footage from various sources, and one of my biggest gripes was the poor location these 'professional' companies had placed the cameras.   It was normally a 'if only they had placed the camera a few centimetres higher/lower/to the left etcetera'.  I had to get two of my cameras relocated due to poor initial location. 

 

The bottom line is buy what you can afford, be sure of your requirements, and think seriously where you want the cameras placed. When you finally make your decision on the system you want, see if there are any videos on YouTube et al of the system in action, how to use it and most importantly, how to download the footage.  Another problem I had obtaining cctv footage was that owners either did not know because the User Interface was so convoluted or confusing or were not allowed to download footage unless the installer/contractor did it.  For a fee.  I'm not aware of non-business owners being charged a fee, or having any restrictions being placed on them, but it may be worth getting that confirmed.

 

 

Edited 17 March, 20179 yr by Guest

I'd advise anyone fitting CCTV at home to have a chat with Police . Not so long ago, I had problems with one nasty neighbour. Long story, short- he was in the second hand car/van from home ,selling on the street corner business, and he'd had a visit from his landlord, a local authority, and trading standards, and I was suspected/blamed. Shortly after , his kids ,decided that the street was a good place to play a sort of football. But it rapidly became a game where the ball was hoisted in the air, and my wing mirrors on te car parked off road was the target/ or just my front door/windows/anything to cause annoyance. I asked the kids to go elsewhere, and next thing I knew, there was a tirade of abuse- my reply - it's all on camera, and that was only a bluff . Next time I drove down the road, he was out, trying to block my path, till I made it obvious that I was getting him on camera( I'd taken my good camera out to take photo's of dog in park, but the sight of it stopped him dead. Then came the kids with a ball. Car/door/ windows- all was fair game. I appeared at a window. Next came a visit from police- he'd accused me of taking photos of his kids.

So dead easy with one of this type of trying to protect property, and getting accused of taking kid photos.

Just a bit curious what issues people are having with Swann kit? 

17 hours ago, StevesTruck said:

Just a bit curious what issues people are having with Swann kit? 

None in five years of continued use. I only replaced the two PT&Z cameras with fixed position cameras because I didn't do enough research before purchasing. That was my fault. 

On the plus side, this gave me the opportunity to place them in a better position than the ones chosen by the installation company. 

 

Looking into installing CCTV and I am happy to admit that im pretty confused... CVI, AHD, SDI, TVI etc  

 

DIY fit would be preferred but I don’t know what to go for, it must be Mac compatible, I want as crystal clear as I can get, stored on a HD with the option to view on an iPhone....

 

I have looked on CCTV42 and there are some pretty good videos, I was all for ordering through them until I read a few reviews who claim whilst their stuff is good it’s overpriced meaning I could get better for the same money. Their c/s is apparently second to none though.

However everything they sell is re-branded with their name so no idea who makes it.

 

What Im looking for is:

4x 2.8 - 12mm cameras (recommended by CCTV42 so you can zoom into what area you want to cover)

1x 3.6mm camera (for inside a 4m x 4m workshop)

They are all 1080P (but only 2.1MP)

 

HD 1080P TVI Hybrid DVR (8 channel) c/w 3TB hard drive

 

All the Cat5e cable and fittings etc 

 

This comes in at just under £1k

 

From what I can gather TVI is the format to go with for best clarity?

 

One other comment - I had a camera up in the early days when locally we had nightly visits from gangs of yobs. For security and getting evidence a camera in open sight is good, but change that to one obvious one ( be it a dummy or not)  in full view and then add a covert one and whilst the hats/hoods obscure some features from the seen camera, the hidden one sees a lot that those who wish to remain unknown don't want you to see.

I've got a basic Swann system and it works well on a phone app. 

Swann system installed too after attempted break in just before Christmas last year. Works well and simply to setup including the mobile app which no harder than scanning a bar code 

I decided to go with a QVIS IP system in the end.

 

6x 5MP eyeball cameras

2TB NVR

CAT6 cable (may as well make it as future proof as possible for the negligible extra cost over CAT5)

 

I’m about half way through the install at the moment so unsure on the quality but I have been assured it is spot on.

On 01/03/2017 at 23:10, Fin69 said:

With the system I have you can pixelate out areas you don't want to cover; house wall, roof, neighbours property, street. 

 

You could also contact your local plod and see if they have either a crime prevention or community beat officer, and run your system by them, and what/who it is covering. 

 

I went to my local station, but they weren't really interested to be honest. 

I'd get that in writing, and a check of what is in view, as it's only too easy for some neighbour from hell to have little darlings that cause you problems and you face allegations of "taking photos of his kids". Old chestnut according to my old mate a council tenancy enforcement officer, but they still try it.

But when I had a cheap set up a few years ago , I found it better to have a dummy in full view ,with a covert camera.

Edited 2 November, 20187 yr by VWD

On 01/03/2017 at 23:10, Guest said:

You could also contact your local plod and see if they have either a crime prevention or community beat officer, and run your system by them, and what/who it is covering. 

DO NOT TALK TO PLOD! Lots of good reasons not to. But do get professional advice. As noted by others read the home office regs for England and Wales on CCTV cameras and privacy.

Do talk to neighbours. Between the three of us we have overlapping coverage with not pixelation. Fortunately we own the drive in front of the gardens and can cover that too. We also talked to the other four further up and basically anyone coming into the road is covered by multiple cameras at all times. Anyone looking to do anything dodgy isn't going to do just one house/car so we cooperate. Back gardens are different. We look after our own but it is difficult for anyone to approach from that direction.

On 14/03/2017 at 20:51, x19 said:

What at I would advise is to steer clear of Swann and similar cheap packaged kit

Yes. Swann have/had known weaknesses. As do all the similar Chinese makes. I must admit I haven't been keeping you with it over the last couple of years.

There are lots of things you can do. Change the default port numbering. Change ALL the passwords from any defaults.

Also the default ip addressing. Normally everyone uses 192.168.0.* Whilst 192.168 are "local" network you can use any numbers in the range 0 to 255 in the third position, Pick something random. eg 192.168.137.*

One tip most can't do is hard wire don't use wireless. My place is fully Cat5 hardwired and no wifi in the building. Well there is one in the summer house, when we turn it on but it is physically disconnected to the main network unless we want to use it.

I've used Tapo cameras at houses with great success. I also use them to monitor a property in Spain and India, again, to great success. I've not heard great things about Swann - we went for Hikvision for the home system, fully hardwired. It is better to have a 'proper system', but they aren't cheap.

1 hour ago, chills said:

DO NOT TALK TO PLOD! Lots of good reasons not to.

...such as? Aside from them not caring, there isn't really a reason not to. I wouldn't bother personally - as long as the majority of the FOV is on your property, you're fine.

FYI @daroya this thread has been dormant since 2018. Nothing wrong with reviving it though!

Edited 7 June, 20257 Jun by OccyVRS

1 hour ago, OccyVRS said:

...such as? Aside from them not caring, there isn't really a reason not to. I wouldn't bother personally - as long as the majority of the FOV is on your property, you're fine.

The average police person will not know/understand all the law involved. To be fair it is not their main concern compared to the thousands of other laws they have to contend with on a daily basis.

BTW you are wrong saying "as long as the majority of the FOV is on your property, you're fine." last time I checked it wasn't majority it was "all". Then you get into blurring/pixelation etc and what, if anything, the Police person knows/understands about the law in this area. Which if they have looked at the law for the first time just before coming out will be their first impression of it and to cover their arse.

Usually you will know your own property and that of the neighbours, the weak spots, where to put cameras and the normal flow out side one the road. You are also as likely to know the external threats as much as the police. So overall you will know more than the police in this respect. What do you actually need to talk to them about?

Also anything you say will be remembered and can be used in evidence etc. Also anything they see in the house. Finally if they know you have CCTV and know what it covers it puts you in a difficult spot if they come to you for footage.

You know you're arguing over an 8 year old post right?

6 minutes ago, StevesTruck said:

You know you're arguing over an 8 year old post right?

The original post may be 8 years old, but the current comment are, well, current.

The information hasn't changed much anyway in that time.

I've got a sticker up in my window about CCTV. You can't really see it, but it's there. Recording in a public place is perfectly legal, and if you're on my property then you'll be recorded too. Nothing illegal about any of that, AFAIK. I do agree however, that it's not worth the time. They either won't know, won't care, or both.

I don't think the police keep a record of who has CCTV and who doesn't. From personal experience, if footage was needed and we saw there was a CCTV camera, we'd get ROCU or local plod to go and knock on the door. You're perfectly entitled to say no and it won't be held against you.

It's the same argument as having a dashcam. It's great, unless in the moment beforehand you were speeding and contravening traffic laws.

@StevesTruck The information is still relevant! It wasn't us that revived it but hey, I'll offer comment. I personally wasn't arguing, per se - nothing wrong with having conflicting information. Life would be boring if everyone agreed with each other.