What Do You Think of This Home Security Deal?

• 

  BensonP on 30/01/2017 - 21:29

  -1

  Always makes me laugh when people look at security systems. They are only a deterrent. A proper system should include an Uninterruptible Power Supply.

  Otherwise I can sneak up to your house and turn your power off in the metre box and go to town on your house. Cameras and security find it hard to record without electricity.

  Just a thought ;)

  • 

    dasher86 on 30/01/2017 - 21:44

    Some cameras run off batteries these days.

  • 

    chumlee on 31/01/2017 - 06:02

    What if the power box is inside the house and a smart meter is the only thing outside?

  • 

    boomramada on 31/01/2017 - 10:03

    +1

    Uninterruptible Power Supply for camera, seriously?
    depend on who you try to catch, druggies who try to break in? they are usually stupid enough to break in without a mask, mash the window.
    If they are pro, they usually wear a mark. cutting the power is waste of time for them.

• 

  kupkes on 04/02/2017 - 17:05

  +1

  It is a little bit difficult to make an informed comment as there are no model numbers provided and it is marketed as 'Hikivision OEM Non-Branded Hardware' (Note - I assume this is meant to be HIKVision). In the professional world HIKVision is often seen as a cheap alternative, and this appears to be the cheap alternative to the cheap alternative.

  What are you planning to use the cameras for, is it for monitoring, or for after the fact review / evidentiary type purposes? While IR illumination sounds like a great in theory, unfortunately 'it was a grey male with a different shade of grey hair wearing a grey jumper who showed up in a grey car' doesn't really cut it in court. For this you might be better off ensure you have good lighting around you place and choose a camera with good low-light capability.

  Price would also seem on the high side, and you are probably paying a premium for the 4K, which is unlikely to provide any benefit around your house and will just fill up your storage faster. While 4K sounds great (and I am surprised it isn't included in the "The Hifi Guy" sales pitch if it is included), the cameras are actually quite bad in low light conditions.
  Equipment is likely to be worth less than $1000 and the rest is installation.

  If you decide you really need CCTV, some manufacturers provide software you can run on an old PC (laptop is idea since the battery acts as a UPS) that you can use for free for a few cameras:
  - Pelco Digital Sentry (https://www.pelco.com/video-management-solutions/digital-sen…)
  - Synology Surveillance Station (download in package manager if you have a Synology NAS)

  You can then pick up a few cameras from ebay or a wholesaler like Hills (http://clearance.hills.com.au/security/cctv-surveillance/). At Hills, your Axis, Panasonic and Pelco are 'high end' cameras more likely stay in colour mode with lower light levels. The other brands are closer to the Hikvision I would imagine - although the lower resolutions may have a positive effect on low light performance.

  If this works in your environment, and you find it useful to have, get a dedicated NVR and more cameras at that time, but I wouldn't start off with the $2000+ solution you have found.

  • 

    Almost Banned on 04/02/2017 - 20:44

    Damn - good answer!