POE camera & NVR advice & recommendations

[dougri]

Been out-of-the-loop security tech-wise for a while... looking for advice on POE cameras for home use and NVR options.  Would rather spend the $ up front for on-site NVR than cloud-based subscription unless there is a very good reason for home use.  I currently have a Synology DiskStation and would not be averse to another if the 'surveillance station' app is any good.  Want to be able to monitor remotely, would prefer motion-based recording if it is dependable (is on-camera detect better?).  I'd love an up-to-date primer on setting up a decent home security camera system if one exists, or a pointer to a thread here that covers the basics.
Thanks!

 

[pete_c]

Here have gone to using Grandstream IP HD cams.  I have an NVR but addicted to my ZM stuff (two servers today). 
 
The above noted using a script here that compiles the day's events on one camera in MP4 format and another script that does a time lapse of a couple of cameras.  I personally like the transcoding / compilation here to small easy files.
 
I can transcode these files to any size resolution today.  Note this is tinkering with Linux (climbing in to the rabbit hole) playing with bash, python and perl scripts.  (not using a gui but rather command line stuff).
 
The above noted I am taking the stuff above to my automation touchscreens which are not NVR consoles but rather just a means to connect to my linux NVR.
 
The computers (CPUs) are better and faster in the new cameras than the older ones. 
 
The Grandstream cams have RTC with battery, storage, SIP and many autonomous functions and do many of the IP HD cams today. 
 
I am not saying here that Grandstream is better.
 
Many new cameras have these features.  (prices range from less than $100 to over $500 depending on the quality and features sets). 
 
Stick to wired POE cameras as wireless is not soup yet (although many folks use wireless cams).
 
I am now at 3-5 MP cameras.  The higher the MP the more you can do CPU wise along with multiple streams. 
 
Here the Grandstreams do JPG, MJPEG, ONVIF, RTSP just fine and it is nice to have a choice. 
 
Many cams now only do RTSP / ONVIF. 
 
Using video algorithms is still not soup yet (for outside stuff) and today many cameras have separate wired trigger terminals.
 
My best built (way better than Grandstream) are the old Optex combo cameras with outdoor PIR integration (and much more).
 
External monitoring is very dependant on what you ISP provides and typically that can cause a bottleneck especially with multiple streams.
 
Note this part is not related to the console on the internet or better software (even with compression). 
 
My latest (and now a couple of years old) NAS box is just an 8 drive X 4TB (32TB) hot swap drive, mITX motherboard, LSi (IBM M1015) SATA controller and NAS4Free dedicated to my personal stuff and not ever used for the CCTV NVR stuff which is kept separately.  NAS on steroids running levels above any embedded off the shelf NAS box (which I have two more of ).
 

 

[drvnbysound]

Here's a recent thread that discussed a lot of the same topics:
 
http://cocoontech.com/forums/topic/29351-poe-security-camera-system/