Jake Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 Right then, I want a half decent a CCTV setup to protect my driveway, garage and cars. Only need a single camera. Will be externally fixed to the house. Must have reasonable quality colour picture. Must be able to record to PC Anything else I need to consider? What am I going to need? Anyone recommend anything or place/website to buy from? Thanks guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 Maplins seemed to have some good bits... Get a few night vision cameras and a decent standalone PVR which accepts multiple inputs, they aren't as expensive as I thought myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spidermonkey Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 make sure it's rock proof Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Posted May 14, 2008 Author Share Posted May 14, 2008 Maplins seemed to have some good bits... Get a few night vision cameras and a decent standalone PVR which accepts multiple inputs, they aren't as expensive as I thought myself. Standalone PVR? Is that really necessary? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc_p Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 Pvr? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 I'd go with an IP camera and just record onto a PC - just make sure it's got decent resolution at night when most of the bad things happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Posted May 14, 2008 Author Share Posted May 14, 2008 I'd go with an IP camera and just record onto a PC - just make sure it's got decent resolution at night when most of the bad things happen. Can you recommend anything? From eBay would be ideal (for ease of purchasing) I don't want anything with battery powered cameras though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 Can you recommend anything? From eBay would be ideal (for ease of purchasing) I don't want anything with battery powered cameras though. Would you be wanting wireless or cable? Most are intended for indoor use too so it might cost a bit more for outdoors unless you can build it a little perspex house to live in Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Posted May 14, 2008 Author Share Posted May 14, 2008 I can do cabled if necessary. Obviously wireless would be easier to install and preferred unless sacrificing image quality/functionality much. Outdoor use is a must. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustGav Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 Standalone, purely because it is cheap and doesn't rely on a PC to be up and running... (although I do run mine to a PC and record anyway... ) http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?TabID=1&ModuleNo=115181&doy=14m5 http://www.maplin.co.uk/Search.aspx?menuno=80105&FromMenu=y&doy=14m5&MenuName=DVRs%20-%20Digital%20Video%20Recorders http://www.maplin.co.uk/Search.aspx?menuno=80092&FromMenu=y&doy=14m5&MenuName=Wired%20CCD%20Professional%20Cameras Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 I can do cabled if necessary. Obviously wireless would be easier to install and preferred unless sacrificing image quality/functionality much. Outdoor use is a must. I'd probably opt for wired to be honest, the wireless ones can drop out now and again. Something like: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220232630559 I think CCD is better than CMOS but someone clever might have to confirm that. 720x576 at 30fps is pretty good, works down to almost complete darkness (0.1 Lux). My only concerns would be that it's unbranded, the software might be complete pants and it's a seller in Hong Kong so you could get stung for customs. Given how many things like this are available from over there it would be really good if someone we trust like Nic could handle the sales, probably for less than we'd pay on eBay too. It would be good if we could see one up and running first too and check it out at night as well as in the daytime to see how wide the field of view is etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Posted May 14, 2008 Author Share Posted May 14, 2008 I'd probably opt for wired to be honest, the wireless ones can drop out now and again. Something like: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220232630559 Excuse my ignorance, but that's just a camera, isn't it? Surely I can't just connect that up to a PC and have it record, can I? Seems too easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 Excuse my ignorance, but that's just a camera, isn't it? Surely I can't just connect that up to a PC and have it record, can I? Seems too easy. It has the rest of the fun built in, IP cameras are quite clever The software on the PC does most of the hard work, the camera has it's own OS / webserver so you can browse to it though. From the looks of that one you just hook up the network lead, power and a mic if you want sound and that should be it, you'll connect to a default address over the network to configure it all in the same way as you would when adding a wireless router, tell it about your network, configure zones for motion detection etc and away you go... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewOW Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 It has the rest of the fun built in, IP cameras are quite clever The software on the PC does most of the hard work, the camera has it's own OS / webserver so you can browse to it though. From the looks of that one you just hook up the network lead, power and a mic if you want sound and that should be it, you'll connect to a default address over the network to configure it all in the same way as you would when adding a wireless router, tell it about your network, configure zones for motion detection etc and away you go... I might have to get myself one of those for when I move. Sounds like fun. I haven't had a look at it yet, but do you know if its MacOSX compatible? EDIT: Balls. No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 I haven't had a look at it yet, but do you know if its MacOSX compatible? That one doesn't seem to be, I suspect you'll have to pay 4 times as much and have a shiny finish first Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewOW Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 That one doesn't seem to be, I suspect you'll have to pay 4 times as much and have a shiny finish first I'd imagine it'll be called iCCTV, and will be bundled with a copy of iTunes and some nice earphones too, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbourner Posted May 14, 2008 Share Posted May 14, 2008 And Safari no doubt. Standalone, purely because it is cheap and doesn't rely on a PC to be up and running... (although I do run mine to a PC and record anyway... ) http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?TabID=1&ModuleNo=115181&doy=14m5 http://www.maplin.co.uk/Search.aspx?menuno=80105&FromMenu=y&doy=14m5&MenuName=DVRs%20-%20Digital%20Video%20Recorders http://www.maplin.co.uk/Search.aspx?menuno=80092&FromMenu=y&doy=14m5&MenuName=Wired%20CCD%20Professional%20Cameras They look good, bit pricy for the quad + HDD + camera but I might have to invest later in the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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