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video surveillance

F

FrankLee

Jan 1, 1970
0
Does anybody know of a good home video surveillance system?

I have a neighbor who has been periodically vandalizing our property
over the past 3 years. I want to set up a hidden camera system to
record him. The police said they can't do anything unless I catch him
on camera.

He does a couple hundred $ of damage per year. And I'm afraid for the
safety of my family.

My budget is about $300 but maybe can go higher. I have a good working
pc I can use for a system.

Any suggestions/ideas helpful.

Thanks,

FrankLee
 
M

Matt Ion

Jan 1, 1970
0
FrankLee said:
Does anybody know of a good home video surveillance system?

I have a neighbor who has been periodically vandalizing our property
over the past 3 years. I want to set up a hidden camera system to
record him. The police said they can't do anything unless I catch him
on camera.

He does a couple hundred $ of damage per year. And I'm afraid for the
safety of my family.

My budget is about $300 but maybe can go higher. I have a good working
pc I can use for a system.

Any suggestions/ideas helpful.

Would a simple webcam inside a window work? Or is it a dark area that
this damage is occurring in? Does the camera need to be outdoors, and
do you need more than one?
 
B

Beachcomber

Jan 1, 1970
0
Would a simple webcam inside a window work? Or is it a dark area that
this damage is occurring in? Does the camera need to be outdoors, and
do you need more than one?

This company is known for having a large selection of cameras and good
prices (I have no affiliation ... just bought some stuff from them
once.)

http://www.supercircuits.com/

From past experience... The problems you are going to need to solve
might include the following...

1. Inexpensive cameras, in general, do not perform well at night.
You may need to go with infrared illumination. Catching the guys face
on camera and identifying him might be difficult.

2. Storage - The more disk space you have, the better. If you are
recording 24/7 you will have hours (and hours) of nothing to see. If
you go with motion detection, you will save some on all that wasted
space, but at the price of increased complexity. Does your recorder
put in a time/date stamp?

For example, how do you set the threshold of motion to detect if
something critical is happening? Remember... you will have different
lighting conditions throughout the day/night/variable weather.
Multiple cameras compound this challenge.

What is the guy doing specifically? Can you install a sensor (for
example) if he is breaking into a shed and stealing your property? Is
he messing with your vehicles? An alarm trip that turns on the video
recorder might be more feasible for you...

3. How about audio? If the guy is caught in the act and becomes
threatening. It might be a good idea to record the audio portion of
the incident. Again, you might have issues of extra complexity -
weatherproof microphones, etc.

Beachcomber
 
B

backspace

Jan 1, 1970
0
This company is known for having a large selection of cameras and good
prices (I have no affiliation ... just bought some stuff from them
once.)

http://www.supercircuits.com/

From past experience... The problems you are going to need to solve
might include the following...

1. Inexpensive cameras, in general, do not perform well at night.
You may need to go with infrared illumination. Catching the guys face
on camera and identifying him might be difficult.

2. Storage - The more disk space you have, the better. If you are
recording 24/7 you will have hours (and hours) of nothing to see. If
you go with motion detection, you will save some on all that wasted
space, but at the price of increased complexity. Does your recorder
put in a time/date stamp?

For example, how do you set the threshold of motion to detect if
something critical is happening? Remember... you will have different
lighting conditions throughout the day/night/variable weather.
Multiple cameras compound this challenge.

What is the guy doing specifically? Can you install a sensor (for
example) if he is breaking into a shed and stealing your property? Is
he messing with your vehicles? An alarm trip that turns on the video
recorder might be more feasible for you...

3. How about audio? If the guy is caught in the act and becomes
threatening. It might be a good idea to record the audio portion of
the incident. Again, you might have issues of extra complexity -
weatherproof microphones, etc.

Beachcomber

See http://scratchpad.wikia.com/wiki/CctvCameras for the Watec brand
which is what you want to use. Night vision needs a very low lux
resolution, you can't go below 0.003lux or the image smears. Lower lux
values are for use in http://scratchpad.wikia.com/wiki/AstronomyCameras
 
J

Jim

Jan 1, 1970
0
This company is known for having a large selection of cameras and good
prices (I have no affiliation ... �just bought some stuff from them
once.)

http://www.supercircuits.com/

From past experience... �The problems you are going to need to solve
might include the following...

1. � Inexpensive cameras, in general, do not perform well at night..
You may need to go with infrared illumination. �Catching the guys face
on camera and identifying him might be difficult.

2. �Storage - The more disk space you have, the better. � If you are
recording 24/7 you will have hours (and hours) of nothing to see. � If
you go with motion detection, you will save some on all that wasted
space, but at the price of increased complexity. �Does your recorder
put in a time/date stamp?

For example, how do you set the threshold of motion to detect if
something critical is happening? �Remember... you will have different
lighting conditions throughout the day/night/variable weather.
Multiple cameras compound this challenge.

What is the guy doing specifically? �Can you install a sensor (for
example) if he is breaking into a shed and stealing your property? �Is
he messing with your vehicles? �An alarm trip that turns on the video
recorder might be more feasible for you...

3. �How about audio? �If the guy is caught in the act and becomes
threatening. �It might be a good idea to record the audio portion of
the incident. �Again, you might have issues of extra complexity -
weatherproof microphones, etc.

Beachcomber-

Check your local laws about audio recording. Surprisingly ( but not
really, if you think about it) there are numerous laws regarding the
recording of conversations without permission, even and sometimes
especially during the commision of a crime. In your situation, (and it
also depends upon what state you live in), you could lose in any law
suit,simply because you taped audio. Video, on the other hand, as of
yet, has not been the issue of as many laws and mostly has fewer
restrictions, except in "expected privacy" situations. Just check it
out with the police or perhaps the district attorney and do it in
writing ..... just as a precaution.
 
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