Critique my home security hardware choices! 6 PoE Cams, 1 NVR

[lippstuh]

I am helping my parents put together a home surveillance system. There have been two recent incidents at their house where a home surveillance system would have helped. I've done about 8 hours of research on this forum (awesome resource!!) and various Google searches. Please help critique what I put together below. I appreciate all the help!

WIRES AND ROUTER
I plan to have a professional help wire all 6 PoE cameras. We have a Linksys WRT54GL router. Do we need to upgrade the router?

NVR
Hikvision DS-7608NI-SE/P
2 x Western Digital Purple 3TB

CAMERAS
I chose the following cameras based on the information I know online. I would like to have decent picture especially at night. All cameras below are PoE to keep installation simple (if that's not a good choice, let me know!). All-in-all, we are hoping 6 cameras would cover the house's perimeter but the NVR allows 8 total. Is 6 enough?

LOCATION	DESCRIPTION	MODEL
Front, Right	This is located right at the front door. At night, the front-door light will be on	DS-2CD2532F-I S W // Dome // 4mm
Front, Left	This is closest to the street and will cover everything beyond the drive way. Would be ideal to cover a large angle since this camera is mounted in the middle left.	DS-2CD2332-I // Turret // 2.8mm
Side, Right	Width of walkway is narrow (~5 feet). Needs to cover 25 feet of the walk way.	DS-2CD2032-I // Bullet // 2.8mm
Side, Left	Width of walkway is narrow (~5 feet). Needs to cover 70 feet of the walk way.	DS-2CD2632F-IS // Bullet // Variable
Back, Right	Mounted at the right corner of the house.	DS-2CD2032-I // Bullet // 4mm
Back, Left	Mounted in the center, left of the house. Should cover a wide angle to supplement the back-right camera.	DS-2CD2332-I // Turret // 2.8mm

Do I need anything else like a back up power supply? I am planning to purchase everything from CCTV Camera China (http://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/N3Lh6E4).

I hope what I am posting is appropriate for this thread. Sorry, I am such a noobie so any help is appreciated!

 

[fenderman]

Welcome to the forum. Your choices are good. Couple of notes.
1) Buy the cable and plugs for the installer (tell them this beforehand) or confirm the quality ...use good quality cable not Copper clad aluminium..solid copper not stranded. Use cat6 as the price is negligible for a small install like this. Monoprice is a good source.
2) the 2032 bullet is not available in 2.8..use the turret, its a better cam in every way..
3) You probably dont need 6tb of storage if you are using motion detection one drive should suffice.
Understand that the 2632 is a manual varifocal adjusted once during installation...not a motorized varifocal.
You can put it all on a ups if you wish..this is a good unit http://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-CP1000PFCLCD-Sinewave-Compatible-Mini-Tower/dp/B00429N192/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1419912463&sr=8-10&keywords=cyberpower+ups

 

[blake]

Like Fenderman stated, just go with the 2332 turret cam for all locations and be done. It comes in 2.8 or 4mm. My last install was all 2.8 lenses and they look great!

 

[TechBill]

Yes I would upgrade that 10+ years old router for sure. Two reason, faster processor and better WiFi encryption if your parent uses WiFi devices.

I would go with one of those N dual band routers. Netgear WNDR3700 is a good one if it still on the market.

Bill

 

[fmflex]

My suggestion with regards to the router would be to check whether DD-WRT or TomatoUSB supports it and load that instead.

Agree with the above suggestion to use turrets over bullets.

 

[Sabot]

Quick question, why turrets over the bullets (too late for me... for I got all bullets! DOH! ) What makes the turrets better in every way? When I got into this "hobby" I thought I read that bullets where better for outdoor use. Granted, I see both are rated IP66. I see with the 2.8mm lens that I would get more coverage. Just wondering.

 

[fenderman]

Quick question, why turrets over the bullets (too late for me... for I got all bullets! DOH! ) What makes the turrets better in every way? When I got into this "hobby" I thought I read that bullets where better for outdoor use. Granted, I see both are rated IP66. I see with the 2.8mm lens that I would get more coverage. Just wondering.

The turret is more vandal resistant-with a bullet its pretty easy to just push it out of the way. The turret also has a single EXIR led which has been shown to be slightly better for night-vision over the leds in the bullet..as you mentioned the turret is available in 2.8 while the bullet is not. Finally, the turret is more compact and aesthetically pleasing (although that is a personal preference)...

 

[lippstuh]

Thanks for the suggestion/feedback for Turrets, wires, NVR hard drives and router (especially the router). You guys are awesome and super knowledgable.

I installed DD-WRT on their router a few months ago to help with some signal strength issues. Helped a bit, but definitely is still a weak spot in their system (they have a 2-story house). I will look into the Netgear suggestion and continue to research other N dual band routers. Is there anything else I should look out for?

Can turrets be mounted on the wall? The front door location (front, right) doesn't have a "ceiling" to mount on, only flat walls because it is a 2-story house. Is that going to be an issue?

 

[fenderman]

The router will not be an issue at all if you are using the poe ports on the NVR..in fact even if you use a separate switch the router is a non issue..that said, its a g router and if they were having signal issues then it might be time for an upgrade anyway. All you need is a good reliable N router..dont get caught up in the AC frenzy because it is unlikely that they will ever take advantage of it.. For good range I have found the Asus N66u to be a good router...albeit a bit pricey...they do go on sale for about 100 every so often.http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006QB1RPY/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687742&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B008ABOJKS&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0EKPCEX799Z0HN32DPZ1

The turret can be mounted on the wall because since its a ball design it gives you three axis of rotation.
One final consideration is placement of the NVR...since it has the poe ports the fan will likely be loud for cooling....maybe someone with the exact model can chime in about the fan...there may be demos on youtube...if its in a closet it wont matter much...

 

[ADCS]

I have the newer Chinese version of that NVR, 7608N-E2/8P, and the fan is quite loud (high frequency obviously). Mine is currently in a closet and it can be heard with the door closed in the other side of the room (~30' away). It's not any worse than a typical desktop computer fan but it's loud enough to bother me. I am going to see if I can fit a larger fan and slow it down as well as sound insulate the closet door.

 

[fenderman]

@ADCS, thanks for confirming the noise level..There are youtube clips of folks adding larger fans and or resistors to slow the fans down (on large poe switches)...many poe switches have this issue...the ones ive heard are way louder than modern desktop machines...i cannot hear my machine at all (i dont have dedicated video card with a loud fan)...

 

[paarlberg]

The 2532 is a good option above a door, it is small and works well. Since you said there will be a light on, the limited IR on it won't be an issue. Also, having audio on the front door is nice.

 

[DrBo]

Hi!

Some comments:

- Are you absolutely sure the DS-7608NI-SE/P is with 8 (eight) PoE-ports?? I believe it should then be called DS-7608NI-SE/8P! I bought one under the clear impression that it would indeed have 8 PoE ports (I have 5 cams - HikVision DS-2CD2132-I) - but it turned out only to have 4!! Had to obtain a separate PoE switch for the 5th camera.. I heard HikVision would discontinue this model (don't know why) - but it still seems to be available at a number of distributors..
- Have you considered how much bandwidth your cams will need? Note that your NVR is limited to a maximum of 40 Mbit/s incoming bandwidth. IF you expect to run all 6 cams at 3 Mp @ high quality @ 25 fps, you will need close to double of that! http://www.stardot.com/bandwidth-and-storage-calculator. I have been through a great deal of problems with my setup, with the NVR freezing up frequently - and it appears that a possible reason can be that it becomes too busy (even with cams tuned down to lower total bandwidth). I have actually heard that to be safe, you should run below 80% of the specified max. incoming bandwidth (I have not been able to confirm this, though). An option might be to go for the DS-7616, which has an incoming bandwidth limit of 80 Mbit/s..
- I have heard (makes good sense!) that the highest resolution cams should be placed at the point(s) of access to whatever you want to put under surveillance. 2 of my cams monitor my driveway and main entrance to the house; people will have to go through their field of vision to gain access to either my garden or house. The 3 other cams are now running lower resolution/fps, since people entering e.g. the garden will still be recognizable if I have high-res shots of them from one of the first 2 cams.
- Make sure you get an NVR with a recent version of firmware (e.g. 3.1.0) - or be prepared to upgrade it (with the built-in risk of things going wrong)! The Motion Detection scheme of earlier firmware versions was worthless, as everything would trigger it!
- Note that officially, the HDDs you are looking at are NOT confirmed compatible with the NVR - at least not from HikVisions point-of-view! Unofficially, they are - I have a WD10PURX myself. WDC also confirms compatibility. From a position of being able to raise a claim against your vendor ("in the unlikely event that anything goes wrong!"), I would advise looking for e.g. a Seagate HDD.
- I can run months on with "only" 1 Tb storage (with motion detection - even with the "old" version which was triggered much too frequently).
- I do not have issues accessing the NVR through a WRT54GL - wired or wireless.

Just my 2 cents..

 

[Ookie]

Excellent thread.

lippstuh has gotten some good info. My only addition is to suggest an Asus AC-68U. ddWRT flashes to it pretty easily, although I have yet to do it, as I am pretty impressed with the stock firmware.

Does the 2332 turret have the firmware option to shut off the IR illumination? This option is present in my 2732 dome but not my 2032 bullets. The false motion recording with insects outdoors can be maddening with IR illumination.

 

[nowandthen]

Quick question, why turrets over the bullets (too late for me... for I got all bullets! DOH! ) What makes the turrets better in every way? When I got into this "hobby" I thought I read that bullets where better for outdoor use. Granted, I see both are rated IP66. I see with the 2.8mm lens that I would get more coverage. Just wondering.

The turret is more vandal resistant-with a bullet its pretty easy to just push it out of the way. The turret also has a single EXIR led which has been shown to be slightly better for night-vision over the leds in the bullet..as you mentioned the turret is available in 2.8 while the bullet is not. Finally, the turret is more compact and aesthetically pleasing (although that is a personal preference)...

I too bought bullets less than a year ago after reading multiple recommendations of bullets over the turrets. It was said, the main issue with the turrets was they did not have 3 axis adjustability. It seemed one had to buy the turret mount at addition cost. I prefer turrets, for reasons stated above. I would mount them on a ceiling or sidewall. Side wall would require pointing at a 45 degree angle (wall at 90 egrees to front door, camera on that wall aimed outward 45 degrees to catch door at one side of field of view and stairs at other side of field of view). I may just buy a turret and see if it works, hate to buy the little mounting brackets.

 

[fenderman]

I too bought bullets less than a year ago after reading multiple recommendations of bullets over the turrets. It was said, the main issue with the turrets was they did not have 3 axis adjustability. It seemed one had to buy the turret mount at addition cost. I prefer turrets, for reasons stated above. I would mount them on a ceiling or sidewall. Side wall would require pointing at a 45 degree angle (wall at 90 egrees to front door, camera on that wall aimed outward 45 degrees to catch door at one side of field of view and stairs at other side of field of view). I may just buy a turret and see if it works, hate to buy the little mounting brackets.

You dont need any mounting brackets for the turrets..the turret is 3 axis by design the ball is free to rotate.....you must be confusing it with the 2132 dome which is two axis...