Build / Selection Help & Location Assistance

[dougdimmadome]

Hey guys, I've been reading and watching a ton over the past couple of weeks, but there's just so much to take in. What I have in mind is a 6-camera setup with Blue Iris as my NVR. Here are my theoretical build items, so feel free to give feedback. I'm also attaching a drawing of the property and what I had in mind initially. Goal would be to identify anyone messing with my car or the tool shed (door is facing house), if the deterrent isn't enough. Google Maps isn't up to date, so I tried to draw it out as best I could with dimensions. Soffit sits about 14' off the ground, so that's most likely where they'd be placed.

PC: Dell Optiplex 7040 SFF Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz 8GB DDR4 256GB SSD Win 10 Pro | eBay (i7-6700) or Dell Precision 3430 Core i5-8500 3GHz 8GB DDR4 1TB Win10 Radeon Pro WX2100 SFF | eBay (i5-8500 w/Radeon WX2100) ? Is the GPU worth anything? DeepStack times?
Storage: WD Purple 4TB
PoE Switch:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B082KM1796

Cable: trueCABLE CAT5e Outdoor Shielded Direct Burial or is there any reason to go with CAT6 here?
Cameras: In Positions 2&5 I was leaning towards 4MP ColorVu turrets, 4mm? 2.8mm?
In Positions 1, 3, & 4 - maybe IPC-T2831TM-AS-S2 or IPC-T5442T-ZE in position 1? What about the 6th camera?
Should I get some sort of motion lighting on the side looking over the yard?

Please let me know what you think and if you need any additional info!

 

[dougdimmadome]

Bump

 

[sebastiantombs]

My first comment is that if mounted at 14 feet your cameras will not be much good for anything close to your house unless you like just getting the top of heads. For identification purposes they need to by substantially lower as in no higher than seven and a half feet.

I also think you're trying to cover too much with too few cameras. Each side of the house could use two cameras at each end looking back toward each other so they watch" each other, or at least the approaches to each other. A 5442T-ZE should work well for watching your shed, but that will be its only purpose because it will be zoomed in to get the shed rather than the area near the house.

Don't get caught in the megapixel trap. Stick with the following if you want good night vision -

Disclaimer - These sizes are what the manufacturers advertise and may, or may not, be the true size of the sensor in the camera.
1/3" = .333" Great for 720P
1/2.8" = .357" (think a .38 caliber bullet) Great for 2MP
1/1.8" = .555" (bigger than a .50 caliber bullet or ball) Great for 4MP
1/1.2" = .833" (bigger than a 20mm chain gun round) Great for 8MP


Either PC should handle the load very easily but you should consider adding another 8GB of RAM for overhead.

There is no reason for direct burial cable with the camera locations you show. Just use regular CAT5e or CAT6 CMR rated cable. Cameras connect at 100Mb/ps so, technically speaking, cable capable of gigabit speeds is overkill. On the other hand it does future proof a little and is generally heavier gauge. Stick with solid copper cable, not CCA (copper clad aluminum).

 

[samplenhold]

Everything that @sebastiantombs said and then:

Not sure what the 2831 is going to buy you?

If the cable is not going to be buried, then you do not need direct burial cable. If you are going to run cable outside in the sun, then get UV rated cable.

As stated above, 14' high is a problem with getting face shots. But if you focus the cam far away, then the angle cuts down and may work. See graphic below. The only way to know for sure is to test it. Use a test rig like in the WIKI.





Buy one 5442 ZE cam and use it for testing. No need to buy all of the cams at once. Use that one for testing and get experience on what these cams can do. It is good you have a plan, but be flexible. Plans tend to change as one gains experience.