Home CCTV advice please

KEEPGREEN

Hi everybody,

For those who's houses are secured with CCTV at the front of the house and at the back, i need your valuable advice please .

Firstly , which are the best brands to consider?

Did you have to apply for permission ( from the council/police ) before you had your's installed ? 

What attributes should I be looking for in a CCTV camera before i decide to buy?

Did you have your CCTV installed by a professional ? If so , what questions should I be asking before i give them the job to do?  

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks .

Papi Jo

I have no direct knowledge of this, but I suggest you contact your insurance company. They might have a list of potential devices / sellers, and they might even give you a rebate in your insurance fee if you install such devices.

pansyface

We have CCTV around the property. Two types. One that was installed by a professional company in order to deter/film potential burglars near the house doors and windows and one that we use just for watching wildlife in the garden. The quality of the pictures, particularly the night vision is striking. 

I am not a technical person, and I’m useless when it comes to anything to do with computers, cameras, “the cloud” etc.  I’m not especially handy with drills and screwdrivers and I don't much care for climbing ladders.

You can buy kits, which have maybe three or four cameras, a tv screen and the box containing all the gubbins that records what the cameras see for a couple of hundred pounds, maybe a little more. But then you will have to climb a ladder, drill holes in the house, attach the cameras, fix the cables to the wall (if they have cables), adjust the focus by shouting to someone indoors with an eye on the tv screen, and then sort out all the indoor stuff with the gubbins box. Not for me, I’m afraid.

On the other hand, you can ask a professional person to come and look at your house, recommend a system, give you a quote, come along and do all the hard work and possibly even set you up with an annual maintenance programme. 

Our system is getting on a bit and we approached a local company for their advice. They recommended a Huawei system with two cameras, a tv screen, a gubbins box and all the work done and tidied up for almost £2,000. So far, we haven’t got round to deciding if we want Huawei watching our guests, invited or otherwise.

As with any camera, the quality depends on the technical specifications. We went for the best we could afford eleven years ago and have had them checked every year. They are bullet proof (!) and vandal proof. 

No need for council permission. We live in a national park with strict rules about lots of things but nobody has ever wittered about cameras. In fact the police have asked us on several occasions if we can supply them with footage. So far they have caught three burglars, one red diesel merchant, a wife beater and several underage drinkers. We live in a dark lane. The miscreants all thought that they were invisible. One bloke even parked his vehicle directly outside the house so that we could read his number plate. Infra red is a wonderful thing.

You are not allowed to point your camera onto a neighbour’s property. And you can’t record sound. Otherwise, you can do what you like.

BenCotto

Questions questions to pose to a professional installer. We used one but went into the arrangement rather naively.
* Can the system be deactivated by someone shining a bright torch at the camera?
* How easy would it be for someone to cut the cables?
* Does the system work on motion sensitivity?
* Will the system need an annual service? How much will it cost?
* Can I access the recordings on an iPad or laptop?
* Can I view recordings away from home?
* Can the installer remotely gain access to the system to perform updates?
* How many days’ recording are stored on the hard drive?
* Do I have to tell the neighbours or ask their permission?
* Can the system blank out certain areas such as a neighbour’s drive or the road at the front so recordings are not being made that are intrusive or irrelevant such as every passing car?
* How sensitive are the recordings in the dark?
* Is it easy to take screen shots - e.g. of the bloody badgers! - from the recording?
* How much will it cost? That much! Forget it!

Our system is made by Abus and we did not have to inform any authority. However you do have to put up a prominent notice saying your property is covered by CCTV. If you don’t do this, we were told, any recordings would not be admissible evidence in court.

As an update to Pansyface’s post, our system consisting of 5 cameras was put in three years ago and cost c. £1800. Never once filmed a burglar, litter dropper or even a low grade ne’er do well. 

BenCotto

Though we have not filmed any crims, on holiday in Italy we were able to show our Italian friends live footage of two badgers trundling through the flowerbeds. “Did you buy them?” asked Beppe. “Yeah, sure, Beppe. A special 2 for 1 deal at Badgers R Us.’ Honestly!

KT53

We are also looking into CCTV.  My basic requirements are:

Good night 'vision'.

Motion activation with a decent range.  Many only seem to have an activation range of about 5 metres and that would barely reach the ground if the camera was mounted just below the guttering.

Wireless.  I don't want cables running all through the loft and then down to the 'brain' of the system.

Easy playback and screen capture.

Capacity to hold at least 28 days info.

Remote access to view.

pansyface

Wireless systems do have their problems.

See this from “Which?” magazine.


Wireless systems can suffer interference from devices such as routers, cordless phones and microwaves, and can be blocked by heavy masonry or metal objects. Your filming may also be interrupted if your internet connection is lost. 


We were told that the amount of time recordings can be stored before being over written is affected by the number of cameras.

KEEPGREEN

Papi Jo said:

I have no direct knowledge of this, but I suggest you contact your insurance company. They might have a list of potential devices / sellers, and they might even give you a rebate in your insurance fee if you install such devices.

Clever , didn't think about this . 

KEEPGREEN

pansyface said:

We have CCTV around the property. Two types. One that was installed by a professional company in order to deter/film potential burglars near the house doors and windows and one that we use just for watching wildlife in the garden. The quality of the pictures, particularly the night vision is striking. 

I am not a technical person, and I’m useless when it comes to anything to do with computers, cameras, “the cloud” etc.  I’m not especially handy with drills and screwdrivers and I don't much care for climbing ladders.

You can buy kits, which have maybe three or four cameras, a tv screen and the box containing all the gubbins that records what the cameras see for a couple of hundred pounds, maybe a little more. But then you will have to climb a ladder, drill holes in the house, attach the cameras, fix the cables to the wall (if they have cables), adjust the focus by shouting to someone indoors with an eye on the tv screen, and then sort out all the indoor stuff with the gubbins box. Not for me, I’m afraid.

On the other hand, you can ask a professional person to come and look at your house, recommend a system, give you a quote, come along and do all the hard work and possibly even set you up with an annual maintenance programme. 

Our system is getting on a bit and we approached a local company for their advice. They recommended a Huawei system with two cameras, a tv screen, a gubbins box and all the work done and tidied up for almost £2,000. So far, we haven’t got round to deciding if we want Huawei watching our guests, invited or otherwise.

As with any camera, the quality depends on the technical specifications. We went for the best we could afford eleven years ago and have had them checked every year. They are bullet proof (!) and vandal proof. 

No need for council permission. We live in a national park with strict rules about lots of things but nobody has ever wittered about cameras. In fact the police have asked us on several occasions if we can supply them with footage. So far they have caught three burglars, one red diesel merchant, a wife beater and several underage drinkers. We live in a dark lane. The miscreants all thought that they were invisible. One bloke even parked his vehicle directly outside the house so that we could read his number plate. Infra red is a wonderful thing.

You are not allowed to point your camera onto a neighbour’s property. And you can’t record sound. Otherwise, you can do what you like.

Excellent info 

KEEPGREEN

BenCotto said:

Questions questions to pose to a professional installer. We used one but went into the arrangement rather naively.
* Can the system be deactivated by someone shining a bright torch at the camera?
* How easy would it be for someone to cut the cables?
* Does the system work on motion sensitivity?
* Will the system need an annual service? How much will it cost?
* Can I access the recordings on an iPad or laptop?
* Can I view recordings away from home?
* Can the installer remotely gain access to the system to perform updates?
* How many days’ recording are stored on the hard drive?
* Do I have to tell the neighbours or ask their permission?
* Can the system blank out certain areas such as a neighbour’s drive or the road at the front so recordings are not being made that are intrusive or irrelevant such as every passing car?
* How sensitive are the recordings in the dark?
* Is it easy to take screen shots - e.g. of the bloody badgers! - from the recording?
* How much will it cost? That much! Forget it!

Our system is made by Abus and we did not have to inform any authority. However you do have to put up a prominent notice saying your property is covered by CCTV. If you don’t do this, we were told, any recordings would not be admissible evidence in court.

As an update to Pansyface’s post, our system consisting of 5 cameras was put in three years ago and cost c. £1800. Never once filmed a burglar, litter dropper or even a low grade ne’er do well. 

Excellent info 

Papi Jo

@KEEPGREEN there's no need to quote a post that is visible on the same page, esp. a length one.