Taking the plunge

[uniquename]

Been reading a long time off and on. Moved to a new home in December, so as I whittle away at my many things to do, I am getting closer to a cam setup.

In my old house, I had a few indoor cams (one fixed, and a few foscam PTZ). Never really had things set as I wanted, just tossed together. New house is one I like much better and it's time to get things set for my way as I do all the smart home things. Unfortunately, it was a spec build so I didn't get to add cat5/6 wiring as I would have. Basement is unfinished which makes wiring to external from my comm rack easy. Current thought is I will run 4 outdoor cams (thinking bullet cams that cross each other on front and rear of house). I'm also looking at 4, possibly up to 6 internal cameras that I'll geofence so they don't record when I am home (except one room will be 24/7 even if I am home). I truly would have loved if an NVR would do the job, but in my time reading...BI is what I will need (over 20 years in IT...I will be picky on how it works). Been looking at refurb PCs for a lower power, but sufficient system. I may ask about that when time comes.

My main concerns(off the top of my head):
-I may have to do wifi with some of the inside cams. ( I do have rock solid wifi with enterprise grade Ruckus gear). How bad is this in the opinion of BTDT people?
-Not looking to crush my power bill, so the PC will be picked...somewhat carefully. I am not going to waste 10 hours searching to save $10/year.
-I'm thinking of a dual NIC Blue iris PC so cameras can be on a dedicated subnet. Will that make remote view with VPN painful to use...or just to set up?
-Are motion sensors on cameras decent? I have a couple zwave sensors that I'll be using (they also tell temp and will use for scenes)...should/can I tie them to cameras in any way?
-Can I buy a 4 or 5MP camera and run it at a lower resolution? I spent a few minutes looking and didn't see that answer.

I'm a little pissy my ring "elite" doorbell won't work with BI. Does anyone bother paying for the service once they have a real system?

I did read the wiki, and the cliff notes. I also like long walks on the beach, or short walks to the liquor cabinet. So, hi.

 

[looney2ns]

You want to know who did it, not just what happened. So camera placement takes planning and testing locations.
Most bad stuff happens after dark, so low light capable is key.
These two cams are at the top of the game.
Review-Dahua Starlight IPC-HDW5231R-ZE 800 meter capable ePOE
If you don't want audio, then this: Review-Dahua IPC-HDW2231RP-ZS Starlight Camera-Varifocal
You need to study the Cliff Notes again, your other questions are answered.

Avoid WIfI for cams.
Avoid bullets and domes outdoors, use turrets.
Don't mount cams higher than 8ft outdoors, if you want face ID's.
Study the calculator that is mentioned in the cliff notes.

 

[uniquename]

I will go back to the cliff notes...I kept feeling like it was more NVR based so I didn't pay great attention. Apparently I do need to because I didn't even think about turrets, at least I didn't just go buy stuff right away Trying to do this right, and for the most part...once.

My first thing will be running ethernet once I figure out external placement. I will do what I can to avoid wifi indoors...but I expect some may have to happen depending on how many cams end up indoors.

 

[mat200]

I will go back to the cliff notes...I kept feeling like it was more NVR based so I didn't pay great attention. Apparently I do need to because I didn't even think about turrets, at least I didn't just go buy stuff right away Trying to do this right, and for the most part...once.

My first thing will be running ethernet once I figure out external placement. I will do what I can to avoid wifi indoors...but I expect some may have to happen depending on how many cams end up indoors.

Welcome @uniquename

The Cliff notes were not designed just for NVR setups.

At this time most of the 4MP cameras currently available have not been that impressive to the members, the recent 5MP have been nicer. ( newer sensor = better results )

Remember to check the reviews.

Recommend picking up a Review-Dahua IPC-HDW2231RP-ZS Starlight Camera-Varifocal and start testing and playing with it, you'll learn a lot more with a camera in hand while checking out the notes.

 

[uniquename]

Solid idea to have one cam on hand to start with. Once wires are in place I can move it around and test exact mount locations. I'll have a service loop on each and won't finalize the external wiring until I get it how I want it.

 

[looney2ns]

5gal bucket, rocks, 8ft 2x4 makes a portable test rig.