19 replies to this topic

[LouczarGStudy]

My current media PC for my TV in the living room is my old gaming laptop.  It works OK.  But, I want to build a a new one that will do 4K res to the TV.  I have a list of the remaining items I need to buy.  At least 2 of these are going to be added to the list.  Something similar to this...

https://www.amazon.c...ameras wireless

I just started looking into these.  Given recent events over the last several months at home, something like this is a must.

The only downside is that I will need to buy at least one more hard drive for the PC.

To my point.  Does anyone have any specific experience with low cost IP cameras?

Thanks,
Lou

[MacCionoadha BeanSidhe]

Unfortunately, I don't, but I'm sure someone on here does. Hopefully, the members who do know will answer you soon.

[MrsFrootloops]

Lol, we just gotta wait for siguie to see this post.

[MacCionoadha BeanSidhe]

[Vlawde]

haha my first thought as well

[lorddraven2000]

Kinda on the same page with that one, lol. At least we are all in agreement.

[earthlydelitesGStudy]

C'mon Siguie, don't leave us hanging!!

[KlaineyGStudy]

MrsFrootloops, on 28 April 2018 - 10:39 AM, said:

Lol, we just gotta wait for siguie to see this post.

LOL, yes we do

[MrsFrootloops]

Where is siguie? I've been checking back all weekend, and nothing. Did pooky eat him? Is he lost in the catacombs? Entombed in the graveyard out back? Fell into the bermuda triangle? Lurking in the lagoon? Snatched by sasquatch? Abducted by aliens?

[MacCionoadha BeanSidhe]

True, I wonder where he is, as well. Hmm, I hope he hasn't encountered Black Shuck or the Best Goon Brenn (Beast of Bodmin Moor).

[KlaineyGStudy]

MrsFrootloops, on 30 April 2018 - 08:21 AM, said:

Where is siguie? I've been checking back all weekend, and nothing. Did pooky eat him? Is he lost in the catacombs? Entombed in the graveyard out back? Fell into the bermuda triangle? Lurking in the lagoon? Snatched by sasquatch? Abducted by aliens?

He is vacuuming

[siguie]

I don't vacuum that's bot werk


Yeah yeah I'm cheap wifi camera guy :sigh: sorry I'm late


Gawd  there is sooooo much to go over but the first thing you need to decide on is what will the primary use be, followed by what do you want to record and how do you want to be able to access that info.

If you are going for dedicated home security then you will want the highest resolution you can afford and video files saved at low frame rate. For example I have one camera that records 480 video at 6fps {normal video is 25 to 30fps} this is so I can have a 24hr loop system that uses an ultra cheap NVR {Net VIdeo Recorder} and one 32Gb SD card. The problem with saving continuous video is it requires a LOT of storage space ... every time you double the resolution you basically quadruple the size requirement.

NVRs can be purchased quite cheaply ... a decent cheap one is only about $40 ... Mini NVR ... oh and I quite like Chinavasion BUT keep in mind these Do NOT include the storage media and that's where prices JUMP. You can use old system drives but mine all carped out within a month and get harvested for their magnets. If you want a serious system you will be paying big bucks for a high end network drive OR do what I do and use SD cards and solid state drives but again the problem is BIG SSDs cost way too much.

A way to get around the storage issue is to only save video when motion is detected but then you start needing more advanced detection systems and that can also up the cost :sigh:


Anywho here is some basics to look for ... First check the {video sensor} CMOS size 1/4 is pretty much the lower limit 1/3 is betterer Second check the optics, this basically requires reading reviews or spending way too much on name brand manufacturers. Basically some companies know next level buyers are looking for better sensors so use larger CMOS then screw everything up by cheaping out on the optics.

Unless you really really understand your local router system do not get an outside IP camera ... a lot of people get angry because they are marketed as "wireless" but the vast majority require a wall wart and there is almost never an easy way to power the cameras AND keep everything weather proof.


Yeah this is going to take forever ... so first Do NOT get that :carp: system from Amazon ... the main issue is it's an APP access system and not only is the app carp it requires that you make sure your wifi password does not contain special characters in particular ' and & which means the software they are using is questionable.

Anywho the most recent camera I bought was this one ...
Xiaomi MIjia Dafang Smart Home 120 Degree 1080p HD Intelligent Security WIFI IP Camera Night Vision IR-cut Motion Detection Monitor


It works great and I got it cheap on preorder BUT again it's app only and the app is the weak link and I mostly have to hack into it to get it to do what I want.


K that said I think people just getting into this will be happier with things like DLINK cameras I have a DCS930L and a DCS932. These are the bottom of the line D-Link cameras and in addition to an app which is ok {not great but not horrible} you can create an account {free} and login using a browser and stream view from anywhere Additionally if you understand FTP accounts and email services like gmail you can setup both motion and sound triggers as well as time schedules and have snapshots emailed to you when there is a trigger event AND ftp to an archive storage.

I also wrote the how-to back in 2014 for this last part ... DCS-930L D-Link Wireless IP Camera  
... yes that is one of my forums and no you don't want to join ... the point here is they are still working great

Lastly for most people I just tell them to use an Amazon Cloud Camera it's $120 to get the camera and $7 to $20 per month for storing your info for 7 to 30 days. No it's not perfect BUT it is pathetically easy, it's what most people want and I don't have to help anyone so a win WIN

If you already have your own website you can do everything Amazon does for about $30 and that's a one time payment.

If you enjoy tech and tweaking it to your will you will be able to do oodles more like adding a wifi camera do a stealth quad copter ... to um check your roof for ... stuff ... or you can add a infrared blaster and camera to a little rc car and run it under your house looking for leaks, bugs and insulation issues etc.

Anywho lots of options if you are into tech tweaking otherwise Amazon Cloud Cameras

.

Edited by siguie, 02 May 2018 - 02:19 AM.

[LouczarGStudy]

Siguie,

Very nice!  This is the type of feedback I was looking for.  Obviously, you are no novice to the PC arena.  All of my dead hard drives (at home and work) get gutted for their magnets too.

Drive space should not be a problem.  The media system will have 10-12 TB of storage.

I dont plan on this for security.  It is a nice alternative feature for setting it up.  I plan on only setting up 2.  One in the living room that can see the upstairs hallway and the other is undecided.  Maybe in our bedroom that will be pointing across the foot of our bed and towards the bathroom or in the living room pointing towards the kitchen and laundry room.  I'm on the fence for where to put the second and may have to get a 3rd...

Motion activated would be more desirable for screening captured video.  I want to capture and store on my soon to be built PC.  I would review all video from it...which is why I want to do this on my media PC.  Since it will be connected to the living room TV.  So much better for viewing videos :-).

Intended camera locations are all close to AC outlets and would be in the same room / next room as the wireless router.

The real reason I want to do this is due to the things that have happened in my house recently.  It would be best if the camera had good night vision.  Most of the things that have happened around me in my house have been at dusk or later in the evening.  Even the when the dogs were watching something moving across the room that we could not see and then they went crazy like ready to attack and kill someone (2X) had happened at dusk or a little later.

I am pretty sure I mentioned it before.  I am a MTS Product Dev Engineer for AMD.  Specializing in memory controller bring up and debug on our server products.  I've known my way around computers since graduating college in 1988.   We are a few weeks away from getting our first rev of a new CPU we are developing.  Once it arrives, I will be back to 12+ hour days.  I need to get this done before it hits.

Thanks,
Lou

[siguie]

Ah ok no I didn't realize you were an MTS engineer but I guess that explains a lot

First you need to learn to write more accurate Thread Titles 'cuz I was avoiding this thread on account of having to deal with explaining GPU and storage issues to friends who insist they need to upgrade from 1080p to 4k    Second unless you are using local cloud storage with multiple drives you may want to rethink using your media storage system. I burnt out atleast 4 drives and that was back in the 240 {pre 480p} days. Basically home computer hard drives are not meant to run continuously forever ... atleast that's my assumption.

An early siguie solution was to use a 4GB {maybe it was 2GB} SD card and a little script that ran periodically as a cron job that copied the files over every 4 or 6 hours. Basically write to a solid state buffer {SD, SSD Ram Drive, whatever} to give your drive a rest then copy over when ready.

Also are you planning on keeping your media system running 24/7? I put mine to sleep when not in use.

Another thing to keep in mind is that these cameras are more likely to be hacked and the really cheap ones from unheard of companies are more likely to have built in malware. The malware is usually used to spy on the people who buy the cameras but I wouldn't trust having a camera write files to a drive shared by computers that I might use for doing banking or any transactions


Now for catching ghosts   atleast two of my cameras were setup just for that {so far nuthin *sigh*). As for "good nightvision" pretty much anything will be fine as long as there is no IR filter {or you can remove it} the big issues is the light source{s}. A big issue with pretty much any security camera is that they have IR blasters too close to the lens so you get tons of orbs and bug streaks. A better option is to use a second IR light source off to the side and yeah I have a lot of those too but that will be another show episode    novella.

[MrsFrootloops]

Aw, sig, I don’t think of you that way, I just know you’re very knowledgeable when it comes to technology

[LouczarGStudy]

Sorry about the title.  I know your pain.  Everyone in my family thinks I am their 24/7 tech support person :-(.

The hard drives will be the least expensive part for me.  Aside from one carping out and losing whatever data / video I have on it...should not be an issue.

Initially, I will be running 24/7.  I'd like to look through the over night recordings out of curiosity.

I'm not too worried about the cameras getting hacked.  The malware is a concern which is why I try to stay with recommendations from others or known brand name products.  This system will be used only as a media server and video capture.

GREAT advice on the IR blasters.  I dont need any bogus orbs or other junk showing up.

Edited by LouczarGStudy, 03 May 2018 - 05:14 AM.

[siguie]

MrsFrootloops, on 03 May 2018 - 05:13 AM, said:

Aw, sig, I don't think of you that way, I just know you're very knowledgeable when it comes to technology

Why not, what's wrong with you?   I really am "cheap wifi camera guy"


Srsly I'm just more interested in seeing what I can do with stuff than I am in actually using the stuff SO cheap stuff is good 'cuz sometimes things go for absolutely no reason


As for being peoplez 24/7 tech support ... meh it's not too bad ... I get an average of 3 to 5 computers a year from people upgrading or just wanting a new computer and that 930l camera was a gift from someone who couldn't get it to work.

On that note if you are not interested in using cloud stuff maybe you want something like D-Link WiFi Indoor HD Camera ... it's a half priced camera 'cuz it's not cloud compatible BUT it does have an SD card slot

[siguie]

Louczar do you also have large numbers of 18650 batteries? I rescue them from laptops and use them in power banks and other projects. It turns out they are great for powering IP cameras AND ir systems.

[LouczarGStudy]

siguie, on 03 May 2018 - 10:56 AM, said:

Louczar do you also have large numbers of 18650 batteries? I rescue them from laptops and use them in power banks and other projects. It turns out they are great for powering IP cameras AND ir systems.

I never try to salvage any of the laptop batteries.  They are all usually dead well before my laptops.

[siguie]

Oh ok never mind then, I was just thinking that what you are doing might also be a "reasonable" investment for those wanting to start paranormal investigating

Here's my reasoning ... these cameras are cheap and useful home security/monitoring devices, so not only will people get experience using them they would be a more reasonable purchase since they are not just for ghost hunting. Then to convert them to a paranormal investigation tool just add batteries

The majority of these cameras can run fine on an ad hoc wifi network, and the cameras themselves tend to run on either 5V or 12V DC whch is pretty simple to setup with 18650 power banks. Also pretty much everyone hangs on to atleast one old laptop and they typically have six to eight 18650 batteries which is enough to make a lot of power banks

Also they are good for IR blasters or just basic LED lighting for video capturing



Anywho, I think when you are ready you should start a new thread about trying to capture video evidence of your ghostie with what you are using why you chose what you do etc. If nothing else I'm betting a lot of newbies will want to know. Pretty much everyone has home wifi and $20 to $30 for a camera seems a reasonable investment