After my recent “incident” I’m going to be installing some kind of burglar alarm and possibly some cameras.
There are quite a lot of different solutions on the market, but I’m really not sure what to go for.
Ideally I’d like an alarm system that is loud ie. set it off and your ears are assaulted. It probably won’t be hooked up to any monitoring system beyond a GSM modem that would alert me (and my designated contacts). The idea behind an alarm being to dissuade whoever is breaking in more than anything else. As the house is on a very busy street only a few hundred metres from the local police station I don’t think much more is needed.
But the thing that I would really love to get is a few small cameras that could monitor the front and back of the house. Ideally they’d be hooked up to some kind of web based system so I could login and check what is going on remotely. Of course I’ve no idea what to even look for here – most of the cameras I’ve come across need to be hooked up to televisions etc., which really isn’t what I’m looking for.
So does anyone have any suggestions?
Hi Michele – these might be good? http://goo.gl/1LGr7 No experience or recommendation here, was thinking of getting some though – they seem to have what you’re looking for though?
Hope it helps you get over that. 😉
Michele, there are any number of IP cameras around, which you can set up in all sorts of ways – for remote monitoring, or to continually send pictures to a server as the view changes (based on motion detection software) – this is very useful if the next thief steals the security system as well 😉
Axis (www.axis.com) make a pile of different web-based cameras, some Ethernet (incl. PoE to reduce wiring) and some WiFi. I think they can all upload via HTTP/FTP based on a wired-in trigger like passive infra-red, but some also do internal software-based motion detection. We’re using a few in work which we’re happy with.
They’re not exactly cheap, though, but the image resolution is much higher than a TV-grade camera. Also may not be as discreet as you’d want for domestic use, unless an “I’m watching you” look is part of the plan.
Hi Michele
I’ve been doing some research on cameras too. In addition to motion detection, there’s a few models that will FTP up any images (still and video) when the motion detection is triggered. A few of the cameras record to an on-site hard drive but whats the point in that if they’ll be on a hard drive thats been stolen.
Dropcam looks interesting. It’s a managed service with a monthly fee.
Let me know how the research goes.
Depends how much money you want to put on cameras, the best ones I dealt with business wise are the axis cameras, one we went for were about 500 euros a piece. At home, I use the Dlink 932-L cameras, have two. For 100 euros, they are network/wireless and mail you went they see motion, have also an ios/android app.
Hi,
we’re using Mobotix Cams for surveillance. http://www.mobotix.com/
Not the cheapest, but the best!
best,
Swen
Try AVN801, it will certainly do the job that you want for the price.