As I’ve just done the incredibly stupid thing of reserving a house (before selling my flat…) I need to start planning home security (just in case I get it), alarm will of course be installed, but I fancy adding in some cams.
Wonder if anyone has any recommendations on IP cams for home security purposes.
A lot of my colleagues use Netgear Arlo cams, but not overly keen on having to recharge the batteries (especially if they are high up), so ideally something that either has a power source or is hardwired via ethernet.
Check out Ubiquiti Unifi stuff. Make sure to avoid garbage like Foscam and similar (they’re all the same Chinese crap underneath with slightly different branding) as they are full of vulnerabilities, unless you have the time & skill to properly isolate them on their own network segment away from the internet.
My dad lives in a relatively safe area and all his neighbours have alarms (you can tell by the sticker on the door) so that makes his house the “easiest” to burglar.
It’s always better be safe than sorry!
(Edit: paradoxically it can also make you a target since the ones with alarms are most likely the ones that have something worth protecting)
It’s a tough one… my in-laws moved into a new build estate in Edinburgh and pretty much every single house that didn’t have an alarm or a dog was burgled within the first couple of months
Alarms are a funny one - The amount I hear alarms in the village (a very safe village may I add), because people don’t set them properly, or pets end up setting them off is ridiculous.
People become numb to the sound of it, so if it went off in the middle of the night whilst you were away, I’m not sure anyone would bother checking (unless you’d asked a neighbour to keep a look out).
Cameras are a great idea - no recommendations, but keen to see what people suggest.
I’m afraid I file that along with ‘think of the children’, ‘something must be done’, ‘the cheque’s in the post’ and one more that can’t be said on a polite forum.
We have Arlo and the batteries last a good long while, the software is pretty decent. They don’t need to be super high up, ours are reachable. As there are a bunch of them it would be impossible to sneak up on any to remove them without being seen by others. Definitely worth checking out.
They’re also working on a doorbell which will integrate too.
It’s certainly an option, but if everyone did that then the effectiveness of the deterrent would be reduced over time. Anyway, this thread was meant to be about IP cams so I’ll be quiet now and read with interest as I’ve thought about getting some myself
I’m considering getting some security cameras too.
I’m torn between traditional camera systems which record 24-7 locally (with no ongoing subscription fee) and systems which record motion-activated clips to the cloud for a subscription fee (e.g. Ring, Nest, Arlo, etc).
If I go for the latter I’m likely to go for Ring. My reason’s are
I can see myself wanting some of their other current and upcoming products (doorbell, garden lighting, alarm) so would be nice to have all integrated in one app
Their subscription is quite inexpensive (e.g. compared to Nest)
Cameras can be wired
(most important for me) each member of the household gets a separate account and therefore can configure their own notification preferences. This does not seem to be the case with other systems I’ve looked at.
If I go Ring, I’m waiting on their 2018 cameras to get released
I was looking at their stuff before… which in general I like, only annoying factor is the NVR which gets slated and I cba buying and building a unix box to run the software.
I was leaning toward ring for the cost of the gear/subscription… defo much better than Nest’s offering… and the 2018 stuff looks interesting…
