home security/ multi media

[murdock]

as most of you know i am by now means an expert this field....so please feel free to steer me in the right direction if i am not doing something right or there is a better easier way.

i have setup a variety of cameras around my house...linked it to a dvr and now managed to network it to my tv...netbook and a small 7 "....i still need to run the network cable from my office to a central point in the house so that i can link the tv...dvr...and my house computer to the internet...there is wireless connection but i find it tooo slow...so i want to install a cat5 or 6 cable

tried to connect to the internet but havent had time to set it up yet...thats the next step

the design...

firstly i made a sketch...taking into consideration the following factors....

analog or digital...went with analog...simply because the ip/tcp cameras are great for good quality live footage...but cost a small fortune and once compressed to a recorder loose the quality...using a good quality analog camera is cheaper and if setup correctly can give a pretty good pic...even though it converts to black and white at night if the ir leds are being used or the lighing is not bright enough to keep the colour

easy access points...low fence....blind spots that i cant see from the windows of the house...trees and shrubs (movement)

family access front gate and parking...unloading...in case of hijacking


positioning of lighting and if they work on day/night switches or switched and how bright....which will affect the camera picture quality and glare.

then i decided what type of camera to install....

what lux is available from the lighting and what the camera ir capabilities and distance.

how far the camera is from the point of view...for example the gate camera is 20 metres away from the gate...is it a critical camera...do i want to identify the person....so do i fit additional lights at the gate and use a higher quality camera with a bigger lens and no ir capabilities

the cameras mounted on the side of the property are being used as motion sensors...but the quality of the picture is not critical...but i want to know if someone walks past...setting up the camera blocks so that only the areas higher than the dogs is detected and the pixels quality set a little lower so that it doesnt keep switching on...this i believe is going to be a bit of trial and error...these cameras were also positioned taking this into consideration....that the lights and movement from traffic on the road doesnt affect the motion settings.

now i just need an iphone and i can view link directly to the dvr or netbook to view the cameras from any location using the phone.

i am aslo considering mounting a small screen in my bedroom so that if i hear a noise i dont even have to get out of bed...just look up at the screen which will indicate if the dogs have activated the alarm or an intruder

[murdock]

considering a wireless sensor costs about the same as a good quality 540 tvl...40 metres ir camera and i have to install a dvr.

i am considering fitting the cameras low enough to cut out the dogs and just above the fence to monitor the fence if someone tries to jump over it...it will set off and alarm and i can see if it is a false alarm or an intruder.

[Just Gone]

If u are not an expert, why dont u get one in to advise u? First question popped into my mind
was - u want all this but u dont have a screen in your bedroom? ?

[murdock]

"expert"...where do you find one or better still what is the criteria required to become an expert...other than a course on cctv and dvr setups...which i have completed...and experience which comes with time...i dont know of any formal qualification...after asking one of the more experienced installers here to answer some questions and the crap installtion which are done by cctv personel...and people have the cheek to complain about electrical installtions...i think alarm installer do the worse jobs followed by cctv and electric fencing...i have decided to rather do the installation myself.

i have already completed the installation setup the network to my netbook and tv...i dont have a tv in my bedroom...because if i want entertainment i will fit mirrors...i just need a small 7 " screen mounted on the bedroom side of the house...can even be in the passage...because the other side of the house has a camera which covers the lounge and kitchen entrance and is locked to prevent access to the bedrooms if there is a breakin on that side...at least with a small screen i can see before i open the doors.

[murdock]

Quoted from a CCTV website...


CCTV Security System Design

“It’s perhaps unfortunate that many of the CCTV systems currently in use, are so badly designed, configured and installed, as to render them only marginaly better than a complete waste of money

Time and again, serious crimes take place in full view of relatively high performance surveillance cameras, and the resulting images shown on the TV news do little to dispel the myth surrounding the existence of a Yeti (or Bigfoot).

It wouldn’t be quite so bad if you could tell whether the creature was male or female, but perhaps that's just a little too much like rocket science”.


when i started with cctv i watched as people installed cameras...how they ran the cables...the first installation involved 650 cameras in one installtion at a cost of around R40 million...was rather blown away by the whole thing...it was interesting to watch how the installation came together then alll the big screens where installed in the security room...and the capabilities of the cameras which where installed...i have found a cctv installation design program which does all the calculations for the field of view...lens selection and it explains what to expect from the camera and its location...ie what you will achieve with the camera you install and its capabilities...when you think about it...its much like taking a picture...if you only have a 0.33 meg camera with no zoom or flash...you cant expect to take a picture 60 metres away then try blow it up if it is pitch black dark....however if you select the correct camera and lens...install the appropriate lighting...you could get a good quality picture...but then you need to decide what you actually want out of the picture....facial identification...or just movement and colour of clothing....i would be interested to see how many cctv camera installers have a program to design...or just thumb suck ...but i suppose it is like everything you will get the chances and the people who actually have the correct qualifications and the design software.

the cameras on the N3 driving out of durban as a good example of a waste of rate payers money....i can only asume that the cost ran into at least a R100 million...and still to this day the one one as you leave springfield park faces the houses on the M19 and the one at the pavilion hangs down looking into the ground...years later.

[murdock]

something else which got me thinking...anyone can buy a cctv camera or complete package...install it anywhere and record...like myself...i dont belong to anything or not registered with anyone...yet i can set up a camera on the property next door and monitor all your activities...by just pointing them in the right direction...mmmm

another issue which we have just had recently...was a robbery which took place on an adjacent property...now the owner wants the footage...which was capatured...my customer has told them to go fly a kite because they where not prepapred to pay anything towards the installtion of the camera...was the robbery recorded and if so what are my customers rights to handing over the information...are there laws in this country...i will be looking into this today...and also be looking into other legislation....registration etc.

something i noticed in the uk forums was the amount of people using cctv cameras mounted on vehicles for deliveries...collections and work being carried out as a security backup...this would be an interesting thought...to mount cctv cameras on my van which record 24/7 which i can access 24/7 if required...i have noticed that the dvrs which i have installed have iphone access...and all the other smart phones but the iphone has an app which you just download to you phone and it works...the dvrs are also 12VDC so i can run the cameras and dvr off a battery in the van...no need for an invertor (why i say bonus no invertor is because of the uneccessay power consumed by the invertors even when idle)...have the cameras setup that theu send a message to you if some is walking around your vehicle...and when you van has R200 000 worth of equipment in it...a couple thouseand on a camera setup is nothing...my monthly insurance all risk cost what basic camera setup would cost....mmm something to look into

[Just Gone]

Yes you are right ...... there are many so called "experts" in ANY field ....... and yes the security field and the electrical field do seem to attract the guys without jobs - they start off doing steelwork and think they can progress to the elctrical side of things - I see many bad installations as well as bad elctrical jobs of simple things like wiring up a db board where you can see the guy was in a hurry and doesnt even give a damn about neatness as well. I suppose that is why I have been in the business for over 15 years - you learn as you go along, you maintain your standards and try to improve from one installation to the next and the majority of my work comes from refferalls.

We spoke about experts ........ getting the degree or the diploma or the certificat to say that you have qualified in the course you have obtained does not make you the expert. It takes years and years to become fluent in your field to be able to safely impart your knowledge with confidence and prove that you are slowly becoming an expert in your field. But there are experts out there.

You mention that some installations are a complete waste of time - you do have to take a few things into consideration when looking at an installation and the first being the budget - does a person want to basically just know and see that there is an intruder, therefore this would bring the cost of the camera down - does the highway personal just want be able to distinguish basic traffic and to be able to zoom in on the number plate or do they want to see more like colour of car and/or identify people walking or in the car etc etc - not everyone wants too much detail - they just want the basics. I have many different clients from both sectors!

[wynn]

This is an interesting thread.

My CPF are talking about setting up cameras at the 5 or 6 entrance/exit choke points to our neighborhoods to observe traffic especially after a crime has been committed, so if a car has been stolen we can see which end of the neighborhood it exited and notify the cops to look in that direction. Also if there has been a crime what vehicles came in and out of the neighborhood before and after the crime.

We are aware of certain vehicles being used for a lot of the crimes in our area (colour and model only) if we could see their registrations and when they come in and leave we could take action.

The idea is to have each choke point observed by a camera or cameras and recorded, then we should also be able to dial up and observe at anytime, downloads should be automated at regular intervals.
Problem is what camera and communication device do we need, what size UPS? cant be too big, the Municipality will allow us to use street poles and draw current for these devices within reason but they must be small enough to not be an eysore or a target for theft.
The idea that we can also set up different looking dummy cameras all over the area as a deterrent, we could have a regular article in the local press showing pictures taken with a normal hand held camera where you can see faces and vehicle registrations as a decoy the perpetrators wouldn't know what the real cameras looked like or where they are.

[samanthaflax02]

Nice post! Also very informative.