Wireless security camera system. Any good ones?

[looney2ns]

Would need to have 5-6 cameras, decent night vision.
I believe in wired, but just checking to see if things have improved.
Or in general does wireless still suck?

 

[ArcadiaGP]

Would need to have 5-6 cameras, decent night vision.
I believe in wired, but just checking to see if things have improved.
Or in general does wireless still suck?

I'm in a similar situation. One thing to note about wireless... it still needs power. So either have a nearby outlet... or go wired and let the camera cable power it.

 

[woowoo2]

I went with Dahua, Hikvision is what we use at work.

720p or 1080I, POE, direct wired.

 

[melensdad]

720p or 1080I, POE, direct wired.

THIS

Never, never wireless.

2 DVRs and 23 cameras outside my property covering my buildings.

WIRELESS provides poor image quality unless you are willing to spend some big $$$

 

[david890]

Anyone know if the crooks can jam wireless cameras? A crook could build a 2.4GHz (or 900MHz or other such freq) transmitter to at least interfere, if not outright jam, a wireless camera. Use a scanner to detect any such emissions, then jam as necessary.

As such, I'd go with wired systems. More work on the front end, but less chance of interference and likely better picture quality.

Also, you can make your own IR "spotlights" using 1W IR LEDs. A string of these wouldn't look much different than someone who has left their Xmas lights up all year. These will augment the camera's own IR emitters, which tend to have a limited range. Wire them to a motion sensor to save power.

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

An enterprising crook could jam them, but he'd have to be someone like me. I don't know if jammers are available, but I wouldn't be surprised. I can show you a receiver that can receive video from any channel that was available at the time. If you have indoor cameras, you'd just be helping the burglar.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

I've heard a lot of good (and equally a lot of bad) things about Foscam. Those are on sale for today's Woot deal

Foscam Pan/Tilt Wireless IP Camera - Electronics.Woot

 

[looney2ns]

Thanks guys, think we'll stick with good ole wired.

 

[melensdad]

I've heard a lot of good (and equally a lot of bad) things about Foscam. Those are on sale for today's Woot deal

Foscam Pan/Tilt Wireless IP Camera - Electronics.Woot

Pan & Tilt cameras are pretty worthless for most homeowners.

You need to cover specific areas to watch your home, a P&T can only cover the area at which it is pointed and misses the areas where the camera is not pointed. Pan & Tilts are fun to use, but they typically end up pointed into one spot 23.75 hours per day, which means they miss the other areas 23.75 hours per day!

Most situations, both homeowner and commercial, are far better served by having 2 cameras instead of 1 Pan & Tilt camera.

 

[Thom2011]

As a previous installer of such equipment for 17 years and now the manager of a distributor of same equipment. . .GO WIRED! Less problems, better quality and more camera options to choose from. Don't buy cheap and stay with the popular name brands. Most offer 3-5 year warranties. Most consumers these days want cheap and easy to protect their families and property. That makes no sense to me. (Sorry, a little professional venting. . .) No I won't sell to you unless you are a professional in the business!

 

[looney2ns]

What are the popular name brands?

 

[melensdad]

What are the popular name brands?

Stay away from everything you can buy at Costco, Menards, WalMart, etc.

Stay away from anything that is proprietary where the cameras only work with the supplied dvr system.

 

[ruger1800]

An enterprising crook could jam them, but he'd have to be someone like me. I don't know if jammers are available, but I wouldn't be surprised. I can show you a receiver that can receive video from any channel that was available at the time. If you have indoor cameras, you'd just be helping the burglar.

Most meth head crooks just wear a mask, don't hear of many professional robberies

 

[Mr Evilwrench]

Most meth head crooks just wear a mask, don't hear of many professional robberies

Yeah, I overengineer everything.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

Apparently the Simplisafe Alarm system is about to get wireless camera options.

 

[melensdad]

Apparently the Simplisafe Alarm system is about to get wireless camera options.

Then there will be bad video feeds available through Simpisafe Alarm company.