Can I create a ip camera CCTV system?

Safari

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Is it possible to create a CCTV system (offline/local only) with PoE and/or wireless ip cameras connected directly to a wireless router or access point without using a NVR.

I want to use ip cameras with large capacity sd cards that can connect to a offline router, then be able to wirelessly access the cameras local live feed and recorded video by connecting my phone or PC to the router.

Is this possible, and Is there free software that can accomplish this?

I was going to setup a cheap analog CCTV system but ip cameras offer better clarity and more options.
 

IpCam_User

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Yes, you can do this. If you have a rough idea of how many cameras you will be using and may want to add later this will determine the size of the POE switch you will want. If you are going to be looking at some of the higher end PTZ, you may want a POE switch that supports the newer standard(s) as well as the older ones (at, af, bt). I use the Ubiquiti USW-PRO-24-POE Gen 2 switch, with CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD PFC Sinewave UPS System, 1500VA/1000W, and Cat7 Outdoor Cable Triple Shielding SSTP Ethernet Cable. All of my cameras have the SanDisk 256GB High Endurance Video microSDXC Card installed in them. I have several UniFi in-Wall HD Wi-Fi Access Point (UAP-IW-HD-US) that I also run from the switch.

However, you are free to use whatever hardware you desire!

Highly suggest having a UPS as it has saved me many times with power flickers/outages. (Both for my computers and networking equipment.)

Highly suggest that the camera are on their own network (or hardware) and that network does NOT connect to the Internet. My switch above is connected to a Raspberry Pi4 to assign a static DHCP IP to each camera. Later if I want to/need to, I can put a USB to ethernet in the Pi and connect that to my normal network and use the Pi as a NAS for recording the camera feeds. As for watching the feeds on the phone, there are several programs that would be able to do it. I like TinyCam Pro and paid for it. For me, it was well worth the money.

-------------- I do not work for, nor get paid to advertise or any other benefits. Links are provided just to show exactly what I use. I highly suggest doing your own research to find the equipment that best suites your needs and budget. -----------------------
UniFi in-Wall Wi-Fi Access Point (UAP-IW-HD-US)

CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD PFC Sinewave UPS System

SanDisk 256GB High Endurance Video microSDXC Card

Cat7 Outdoor Cable

UniFi in-Wall HD Wi-Fi Access Point

Ubiquiti U Fiber Multi-Mode SFP 10G - UF-MM-10G

OM5 Multimode Duplex Fiber Optic Cable (50/125) - LC to LC {Fits SFP above}

Unifi Dream Machine Pro UDM-PRO

Seagate Skyhawk AI 10TB Surveillance Internal Hard Drive
 

Safari

Getting the hang of it
Joined
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Messages
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Yes, you can do this. If you have a rough idea of how many cameras you will be using and may want to add later this will determine the size of the POE switch you will want. If you are going to be looking at some of the higher end PTZ, you may want a POE switch that supports the newer standard(s) as well as the older ones (at, af, bt). I use the Ubiquiti USW-PRO-24-POE Gen 2 switch, with CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD PFC Sinewave UPS System, 1500VA/1000W, and Cat7 Outdoor Cable Triple Shielding SSTP Ethernet Cable. All of my cameras have the SanDisk 256GB High Endurance Video microSDXC Card installed in them. I have several UniFi in-Wall HD Wi-Fi Access Point (UAP-IW-HD-US) that I also run from the switch.

However, you are free to use whatever hardware you desire!

Highly suggest having a UPS as it has saved me many times with power flickers/outages. (Both for my computers and networking equipment.)

Highly suggest that the camera are on their own network (or hardware) and that network does NOT connect to the Internet. My switch above is connected to a Raspberry Pi4 to assign a static DHCP IP to each camera. Later if I want to/need to, I can put a USB to ethernet in the Pi and connect that to my normal network and use the Pi as a NAS for recording the camera feeds. As for watching the feeds on the phone, there are several programs that would be able to do it. I like TinyCam Pro and paid for it. For me, it was well worth the money.

-------------- I do not work for, nor get paid to advertise or any other benefits. Links are provided just to show exactly what I use. I highly suggest doing your own research to find the equipment that best suites your needs and budget. -----------------------
UniFi in-Wall Wi-Fi Access Point (UAP-IW-HD-US)

CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD PFC Sinewave UPS System

SanDisk 256GB High Endurance Video microSDXC Card

Cat7 Outdoor Cable

UniFi in-Wall HD Wi-Fi Access Point

Ubiquiti U Fiber Multi-Mode SFP 10G - UF-MM-10G

OM5 Multimode Duplex Fiber Optic Cable (50/125) - LC to LC {Fits SFP above}

Unifi Dream Machine Pro UDM-PRO

Seagate Skyhawk AI 10TB Surveillance Internal Hard Drive
Thank you for all that information. There should be only 3-4 cameras I want to monitor. I'm assuming the software will be able to control recording times, bit rates, frame rates etc?. Three cameras will be close enough to the router to do PoE, one camera might need to be wireless if I need it.

Also, do you know of any IP/wifi cameras with sd cards that have their own hotspot, or are capable of connecting to my phones hotspot (non activated phone without data) to stream live local video and access the cameras recorded videos from my phone without the need for a proprietary app that needs internet access, maybe RTSP or with third party software?. That way I can bypass the router if possible and go all wireless
 

IpCam_User

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For 3 or 4 cameras I would use the UniFi 8-Port (US-8-150W) Switch. With Cat6 or Cat6a cable (or above) POE should be able to go approx 300ft (100m). If you need longer than that even wifi might not be of help and I would look in to a fibre run.

Each camera I have allows me to setup the default frame rate, bit rate, etc. The also allow me to set when/what it will record to the microSD card I have installed. (i.e. Motion detect, line cross, abandoned items, and/or continuous)

As for the recording, if you plan on doing that on a phone you will either need a really large battery or have it plugged in constantly. If you really need something other than the camera to record the videos and need to do it cheaply, perhaps a Raspberry Pi and Blue Iris might work for you. While TinyCam Pro can do a lot of things, I just use it for viewing and if you are interested in it I would suggest looking up its features to see if it will do what you need/want it to do.

I am not aware of any wifi cameras with their own built in hotspots; however, that is not to say if they exist or not. As for connecting to a phone's hotspot, if the phone is transmissting a SSID, and you do your initial setup to tell the camera to communicate over that SSID then it will be able to use it. Just know, the initial setup will require a wired connection to the camera for configuration, the phone should be transmitting the SSID so you can verify the connection. Also, if the SSID goes away for any reason, I could not say if you would have to go through the entire initial connection again to view it when the SSID returns. In any case you will need to make sure each camera either has a static IP address that your hotspot can reach or that the hotspot software you are using can give the cameras an IP address when they connect.

The camera(s) you purchase will determine if you they will need proprietary software or if they can use something else. I make sure all my cameras are compatible with ONVIF standard. If you are interested in using RTSP then you should verify the camera can transmit that standard before purchasing it.

------------- Switch ---------------
UniFi 8-Port (US-8-150W) Switch
 

Safari

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As for the recording, if you plan on doing that on a phone you will either need a really large battery or have it plugged in constantly. If you really need something other than the camera to record the videos and need to do it cheaply, perhaps a Raspberry Pi and Blue Iris might work for you.

While TinyCam Pro can do a lot of things, I just use it for viewing and if you are interested in it I would suggest looking up its features to see if it will do what you need/want it to do.

I am not aware of any wifi cameras with their own built in hotspots; however, that is not to say if they exist or not.
No, I dont plan on recording from my phone, only observe live feeds. All recordings will be saved on the camera and/or, as you mentioned, a raspberry pi. Good idea

I bought a cheap small "spy camera" from Amazon years ago and it had a wifi hotspot that you had to connect your phone to before you used the app for a live view. My campark action cam -and Go Pro- also have the same built in wifi hotspot that connects direct to the phone and its app for a live local feed. But those cameras are not designed to be on 24/7, and the connection distance is only about 10-15 yards

I think the best solution is the offline router with PoE. I'll study all the info you sent

Thanks
 

IpCam_User

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If you go with the Raspberry Pi4 8GB card (or one of its competitors) you will not need a "router". A router is only needed when going from say, the Internet to your home network. It is used for changing networks (think intersections of roads). A switch is used for connecting devices to the same network (think of the homes with driveways connected to a single road). Access points are just where a network goes from wired to wireless but is still on the same network as whatever it is connected to (granted the Access point that I linked above can connect to multiple networks (and keep them separate), which is one reason why it is more expensive than some others).

If you come up with a draft idea of what you are thinking about, open a new question with it in there. There are a lot of smart individuals here (and many way smarter than I) that are willing to help; however, you will have to do the work and ask questions when you get stuck. Good luck and you are welcome.
 
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