CCTV Advice Please

rdmbfossa

Hi, I'm wanting to install CCTV to our house. I purchased an Arlo Pro 2 system from Amazon due to the convenience, easy install, free cloud recording for 7 days, good phone app. However I haven't installed it yet and I'm now thinking with a bit more initial effort I could install an IP system with the advantage of not having to charge batteries, higher quality pictures and proper onsite recordings.

I want to install 3 camera's, two will be easy install's and one a bit trickier to run the cable. It would be easier to run the cables to my integral garage and install the NVR there, this also has the advantage if anyone did break in they would have to gain access to the garage through a locked door before they could get to the NVR. I believe Hikvision is a recommended brand although I've read of spyware, not sure if this is something I need to worry about it, there's not much of interest in my drive or back garden. My main requirements are a good quality picture and a good android/ios app that will give me notifications when there is motion detected by the camera's.

My questions are;

Is there a recommended seller for Hikvision?

Do Hikvision have a good app for live viewing and replaying footage?

Is having the NVR in the garage without a monitor a good or bad idea?

Is the spyware anything to worry about for Joe public?

A clould backup would be nice if the ongoing costs were free or minimal, if I install a Hikvision system is it easy to set up your own cloud recordings to a service like BT cloud which I get free with my internet or do Hikvision offer their own service?

Thanks you.

rdmbfossa

Many thanks for your reply. Do you need a monitor connected to your setup for the initial install or is it all configurable from the app? If you don't use cloud storage is there any easy way to have a backup of your data in the unlikely event that someone does break in and manages to steal or destroy the NVR?

mushii

Its always best to initially set-up using a TV or monitor. Afterwards you can use a PC with  iVMS4200 on it. You can also load iVMS4200 onto cheap Kodi boxes to view your cameras on other TVs in the house.

I always keep my NVR locked inside a secure cabinet / cupboard. You can always back your NVR up to a NAS located elsewhere in your home.

rdmbfossa

OK, setting up a monitor for the install should be fine. That's a good idea with the Kodi boxes, would be handy for the bedroom TV at night. That's what I thought maybe add a NAS up in the loft. Thanks for your help.

mushii

YVW

rdmbfossa

Do you think 4mp turret cameras with darkfinder would be a good purchase. One would cover my drive which is around 10m X 15m, one for rear patio door and garden 15m X 20m area, one for rear door and shed 10m X 10m area.

mushii

It depends on which aperture you go for on the camera. Lower the aperture number, the wider the field of view, the shallower your depth of view. It’s always a trade off. You cannot just look at pixel numbers when specifying cameras.

JulianDS

I looked at buying and installing myself but it was only marginally more to get a pro installer, presumably due to different margins on the products.

rdmbfossa

I was thinking 2.8mm for all the cameras as I would like a wide angle view of over 90 degree to cover the area. The front drive and back door will be at single story eaves height and the rear garden slightly higher as that part of the house is two story. Anyone who would be attempting to break into the house via any of the doors would need to get close to the camera so hopefully you would still get a good close up view of them.

william149

You may want to hang fire, one of my biggest gripes with my Hikvision CCTV system is the constant & regular false alarms, be it due to rain, leaves blowing in the wind, shadows or birds.
I've tried making all kinds of adjustments & adding cross lines, but it's still far from perfect to such an extent we turn off the notifications a lot of the times, which defeats the whole purpose
Having looked at their website they have a system (not sure if it's in development or already to release) called Acusystem, which to be honest looks very promising to negate the above issues, may be worth having a read..
Hikvision AcuSense - Hikvision Core Technology