Looking forward to learning about IP cams, i know literally zero about them. Thanks for having me!
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- Thread starter imwatchingu
- Start date
I'm looking to setup a casual ip cam or three around my house to check in on things via my cellphone. My budget is going to be less than $200 if thats possible...is there a dummy guide on here for a simple setup like i'm desiring?
tangent
IPCT Contributor
- May 12, 2016
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Welcome! Check out the cliff notes in the wiki
IPCamTalk WiKi | IP Cam Talk
3 good cameras and related hardware will run more than $200.
IPCamTalk WiKi | IP Cam Talk
3 good cameras and related hardware will run more than $200.
ahh, ty, that 'how to secure your network' is exactly what i needed. As far as cameras go, i dont want to spend more than $200...what cameras can i get off amazon that will keep me protected?
mat200
IPCT Contributor
- Jan 17, 2017
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Welcome @imwatchingu
Q: What cameras can i get off amazon that will keep me protected for about $200?
1) That is a very difficult price point for a decent setup.
2) What do you mean by protected?
Do take some time and look closer at the cliff notes.
I know when I first started to look at ip cameras my expectations were completely out of sync with reality.
Take some time to determine what you really want to accomplish and what does "keep me protected" really mean.
Does it mean crooks see the cameras and run away? - get some dummy cameras! Bigger the better!
Does it mean if you get robbed you have good images to give the police?
Does it mean if a car hits your parked car at night you can ID the car to some degree?
tangent
IPCT Contributor
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This is the more specific page in the wiki I was referring to:
IP Cam Talk Cliff Notes | IP Cam Talk
Bare minimum you need a camera, cable, and a PoE switch or NVR with PoE. If you don't have a computer running software to record your cameras like Blue Iris or an NVR you may be able to limp a long recording to a micro sd card in the camera for a while.
The bottom end of cameras worth owning is around $90-120 per camera.
IP Cam Talk Cliff Notes | IP Cam Talk
Bare minimum you need a camera, cable, and a PoE switch or NVR with PoE. If you don't have a computer running software to record your cameras like Blue Iris or an NVR you may be able to limp a long recording to a micro sd card in the camera for a while.
The bottom end of cameras worth owning is around $90-120 per camera.
tangent
IPCT Contributor
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remember real cameras pretty much never have flashing lights.
tangent
IPCT Contributor
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The irony is you can get some really awful cameras for about the same price as a convincing fake in some cases. They're truly horrible things that produce images you'd expect 15 years ago and often try to install viruses on your computer, but they do produce actual video.
By protected I mean the accessibility of my home network. The cameras I'm looking to use around my home arent for intruders, per say. I want to be sure that someone cant hack my camera or the connection from my cell phone to my home network and do malicious things to it.
I just need a camera or two (or three) to be able to see certain things at my home at any given time of day....this isn't even for security purposes.
I live in a rural area, so my close range wifi should be ok? right? Can I get away with using a wireless camera and then just secure my [smartphone to home network] connection?
I'll be reading the cliff notes as well
I have no interest in dummy cameras at all. I wanna be able to see my house from my cell phone and not worry about someone hacking my acct....i dont even know how much i care about recording the video and being able to access it later.
+1 to what @psnsfrg said.
If you intend to view the cams on your smartphone ONLY while you're at home on your Wi-Fi then that's doable and can be secure. But if you want to view them on your smartphone while AWAY from your Wi-Fi then that's another issue altogether and it's not as simple or as secure as those ads make it appear to be.
All inexpensive camera solutions in which you view your camera(s) via an app on your smartphone are 99.9% most likely P2P. Known as "Peer-to-Peer" topology, the simple explanation is this: You get onto your home Wi-Fi with your smartphone, power up the camera, scan a QR code on the camera with your smartphone or enter a UID (Unique Identification #) and ta-da! you're in! You can see what the camera sees on your smartphone! Sounds too good to be true, right? That's because...IT IS! Using your Wi-Fi, your camera's stream is uploaded via Internet to an off-shore server (the "cloud"), likely in China, then transmitted back down to your smartphone via the Internet either through your LAN (your local Wi-Fi) or your WAN (your cellular Internet connection from your cell phone service provider) when you are NOT at home on your Wi-Fi.
The UP side to P2P:
1) Cheap
2) Quick
The DOWN side:
1) Allows your LAN (home network) to be accessed by a foreign entity.
2) Exposes your sensitive info that may exist on your LAN's networked devices.
3) Makes your LAN vulnerable to host malware, bots for DoS attacks, etc.
4) Dangerous and risky!
5) Can incur periodic subscription fees for access, even after free trial.
6) At the very least, requires fast Internet upload speeds on your LAN (greater than 2.0 Mbps generally).
If after reading this you are still willing to purchase and use a 1 to 4 camera P2P setup the by all means, go ahead....it's a free country. But if that's
the case, please explain why you came to this forum, asked for advice and chose not to take it.
Good luck!
If you intend to view the cams on your smartphone ONLY while you're at home on your Wi-Fi then that's doable and can be secure. But if you want to view them on your smartphone while AWAY from your Wi-Fi then that's another issue altogether and it's not as simple or as secure as those ads make it appear to be.
All inexpensive camera solutions in which you view your camera(s) via an app on your smartphone are 99.9% most likely P2P. Known as "Peer-to-Peer" topology, the simple explanation is this: You get onto your home Wi-Fi with your smartphone, power up the camera, scan a QR code on the camera with your smartphone or enter a UID (Unique Identification #) and ta-da! you're in! You can see what the camera sees on your smartphone! Sounds too good to be true, right? That's because...IT IS! Using your Wi-Fi, your camera's stream is uploaded via Internet to an off-shore server (the "cloud"), likely in China, then transmitted back down to your smartphone via the Internet either through your LAN (your local Wi-Fi) or your WAN (your cellular Internet connection from your cell phone service provider) when you are NOT at home on your Wi-Fi.
The UP side to P2P:
1) Cheap
2) Quick
The DOWN side:
1) Allows your LAN (home network) to be accessed by a foreign entity.
2) Exposes your sensitive info that may exist on your LAN's networked devices.
3) Makes your LAN vulnerable to host malware, bots for DoS attacks, etc.
4) Dangerous and risky!
5) Can incur periodic subscription fees for access, even after free trial.
6) At the very least, requires fast Internet upload speeds on your LAN (greater than 2.0 Mbps generally).
If after reading this you are still willing to purchase and use a 1 to 4 camera P2P setup the by all means, go ahead....it's a free country. But if that's
the case, please explain why you came to this forum, asked for advice and chose not to take it.
Good luck!
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I want to view my home from two cameras from my smart phone when i'm not at home. Is this possible? If so, can i use the most inexpensive camera ipcamtalk.com reccomenmds and make it secure...secure meaning I want to view it from my cell phone when i'm away from home and noone else can see it.
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mat200
IPCT Contributor
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I realllly appreciate the level of dedication that has been put together with the cliff notes and wiki and the time and dedication that all of the members of this forum have given....and it seems i may not be in the right spot...but there must be an in between....ya know, obviously the cameras you mentioned are easily hacked into...but the cliff notes is just massively overwhelming for someone who doesnt want or need to dedicate that amount of time to it.....there must be a happy medium somewhere. My intital budget was clearly too low...i'd be willing to spend more but i want to copy and paste someone elses setup to save me the countless hours of shopping, price checking etc
I'm not looking to undermine all of the hardwork placed forth here, but i just want an easy....'ok buy this camera, use this software on your LAN and then use this on your phone and this willl get you by'
If my expectations are not realistic lemme know, b/c i really am unable to dedicate the hours it takes to get a full 100% understanding of everything...the cliff notes are filled with dozens of acronyms that i need to keep going back to remember what they mean...it talks of camera lenses and so much detail about HDR and other things that i have no clue about, and frankly if i took the time to learn this like all/most of you do...i'd probably start my own business installing cameras.
mat200
IPCT Contributor
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Hi Imwatchingu
The choices basically comes to "cloud camera" and less DIY knowledge VS better and more cost effective on premise camera / system however someone will require some DIY knowledge to setup ( could be a person you hire to set it up ).
In your case, if you have a IT friend to help you set up a VPN and show you how to use it, it can be a good way to go w/a on premise solution.
Otherwise perhaps a Nest camera - which naturally will cost you more on the long run in addition to using up bandwidth and requiring a stable internet connection, but it requires less though and DIY knowledge to get up and going.
The choices basically comes to "cloud camera" and less DIY knowledge VS better and more cost effective on premise camera / system however someone will require some DIY knowledge to setup ( could be a person you hire to set it up ).
In your case, if you have a IT friend to help you set up a VPN and show you how to use it, it can be a good way to go w/a on premise solution.
Otherwise perhaps a Nest camera - which naturally will cost you more on the long run in addition to using up bandwidth and requiring a stable internet connection, but it requires less though and DIY knowledge to get up and going.
looney2ns
IPCT Contributor
looney2ns
IPCT Contributor
fenderman
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There are many folks who have done this by themselves within a few hours. If you cannot dedicated a few hours then go hire a contractor because clearly your time is more valuable than the markup a contractor places on the product and installation. Then hope that you get good cameras and proper security measures implemented. The likelihood of both is probably less than 20 percent.
tangent
IPCT Contributor
- May 12, 2016
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You don't need to follow every rabbit hole in the cliff notes. Just read them once without clicking any of the links, then read them again clicking some links you think are important.
There are lots of threads where people ask for advice on exactly what to buy and where to install it. Look around a little and you'll find some.
There are lots of threads where people ask for advice on exactly what to buy and where to install it. Look around a little and you'll find some.