cctv

[oneidadan]

Hello, looking for a bit of advice on cctv cameras.

Due to there being a large population of feral children in our neighborhood, and their predisposition for damaging anything that looks shiny, we'd like to set up a cctv camera or twelve.
I've seen one on ebay that has 8 cameras, a hard drive, and is accessible through the pc monitor or a smartphone. It's 260 pounds including delivery but it's from America. Dies anyone know if there will be compatibility issues with it over here, or does anyone have any recommendations for different systems?
Fanks very much.

[JUDWAK]

i got me some night vision camaras off ebay i did not pay much for them
i got extending leads (usb 2) to them
and i record with debut video capure

[JUDWAK]

over all cost was less than 100 quid

[POPEYE]

Not sure if the "region" grading will affect the playback side of things, the US uses the NTSC (think thats right) and we (europe) use the PAL system, worth sending them an email asking, Bad isn't it when you have to install cctv because of these little bstds, zero tollerence!!! sooner the better, never mind 9pm, make it all day

[JUDWAK]

all my cars have been damaged
its not nice
i feel like dishing a kicking out

[Apache]

The basic thing that will be different is it will be 110V. Not that big a deal as you can get a transformer. The cameras will all need new power adaptors too as the ones supplied will also be 110V.

The second thing is the video will be 60Hz frame rate so it wont work with UK tellies unless your telly specifically supports 60Hz - unless they use a digital standard which *might* mean it's OK.

I've seen cheap CCTV suppliers in the UK - I built a monitoring system for tests in work using CCTV gear a bit back. Got basic cameras for £10 a pop, a multiplexer for £50 and used an existing HD recorder we had. Try piecing together what you need yourself rather than buying a package with features you dont need.

[Ambobeer]

If you're after something basic then B&Qs probably the answer.

The thing to remember is CCTV is rarely any good other than a visual deterant. You may well get some nice images of some little scroat un doing your bull bar but identifying them is another matter entirely.

To "identify a person" the image on screen needs to occupy a height of 1.3metres. Once that's compressed down onto a monitor of about 12" height it's not giving you a right lot to see.

You can have an image with lots in it but very little detail or; lots of detail with little in it. Imagine playing with the zoom lens on your camera.

The only way you will achieve good results is to have an all singing and dancing set up with fully functional cameras that move about and zoom in and out with a man operating it 24/7.

You may as well sit outside in a sentry box.

[Overland Tonka]

Big lights that switch on movement as well??....or send the kids down here to join the others we have!

[kamaangir]

Hi
There are some things to consider before dishing out your cash:

How large is the target area that you would like to monitor?

What is the primary purpose of the system?

How far are the cameras to be mounted from the area that they are to monitor?

How far will the cameras be from the control/recording equipment? (how far and easy will the cable run be?)

Is it for mainly day or night viewing?

Can you install it your self or do you need to get a company in to do it?


The 1st thing I have to dispel is the myth that CCTV stops a criminal from doing something, a camera attached to a wall is not going to physically stop someone walking into your property, the system if installed properly will at best give you some footage of the incident.
Locks, gates barriers are much better at stopping some one getting in, in the 1st place.

Don't bother buying anything from overseas or even ebay, there will be no warranty when things go wrong, and buying cheap means things will go wrong!
I can recommend a few suppliers on-line that will be cheaper than most on ebay and be UK based so can accommodate warranties etc..

Another myth is day/night cameras, white light and infra red have a different refractive index. This means when the white light hits the lens it bends differently to IR and thus hits a different part of the pickup. This means that a camera set up during the day will be out of focus as soon as the IR led's switch on.
Most cheap cameras don't even have adjustable focus.

Any way that's enough reading for one post.
Answer some of the questions at the top and I will make a recommendation based on the answers.
Hope that helps.
cheers

[Paul1566]

I got a usb camera for a tenner that comes with software that has motion sensing activation and on 350gb hard drive i can record 456hours of vga video with sound....... great for catching the cleaner nicking the biscuits and rifling through our drawers when we first moved to our new office........ motion detection is pretty good....

[oneidadan]

Many thanks for the replies I'm not so good at multi quoting so I'll try and answer everything I can here.

Judwak, is the debut capture thing a computer program, I don't mind hooking cameras up to the PC especially if they are able to record onto a hard drive (I have a 1tb hard drive that can be used for it)? Does it slow the PC down any?

I'll scrub the American one then if it's likely to be more hassle than its worth and I'll have a go at finding a cheap second hand system or putting one together myself, thanks Popeye and Apache.

To Ambobeer, I may well just sit outside tonight although I knew I shouldn't have sold my nightvision rifle scope
Identification isn't terribly important (sort of lol). It tends to be the same lot of yoofs that do most of the annoying stuff, and they are very easily identifiable to us. I realise it would be unlikely that it could be used as evidence, but I'd be happy if they could just identify them to us.

To Kamaangir, rather than me explain the way our houses are laid out it might be easier to go to google maps and have a look at our postcode: NG19 0BH. The picture is a bit old as our yard is now covered and sealed as a garage There's a car access road at the front and a small footpath at the back and ideally we'd like to cover both sides of the house as we get trouble front and back.
You can see the areas are fairly small and we don't mind getting several cameras to cover different angles.
The purpose of the system is to (hopefully) deter, but primarily to identify to us, who causes the most problems. Cameras covering the garden would most likely be for night viewing and the garage for day viewing. We'd like to to cover in front of the garage doors and the top of the garage roof.
From garden to PC it would run about 6metres and from front of garage to PC it would be about 7 metres (roughly).
I would like to install it myself.
I would say the house is fairly secure, we don't really need the cameras to deter break ins, but instead to record anti-social behaviour.

Again many thanks for the replies, it's only low level stuff, nothing serious but it starts to get a bit annoying after a while, and I don't fancy spending another 3 hours cleaning egg off the house.
At least the surf is safe and secure

[mr.rosco]

all my cars have been damaged
its not nice
i feel like dishing a kicking out

Same, and I live in Surrey in a small town that was statistically the 9th safe place to live in the UK last time they checked. You mix alcohol and boredom and it doesn't matter where you are. The government need to find activites to keep the youth of the streets.

[Overland Tonka]

Same, and I live in Surrey in a small town that was statistically the 9th safe place to live in the UK last time they checked. You mix alcohol and boredom and it doesn't matter where you are. The government need to find activites to keep the youth of the streets.

Reigate is luuuvlyyyy......seriously though why should the government find activities??

The communist governments had fun activities for the youth and I seem to remember the Nazi party had a great youth movement full of fun stuff... It's up to us as parents to educate our kids and inspire them in work and play.

This comes from a single parent who bought up three kids all of which have good jobs, have never been in trouble, intelligent and are polite, friendly and caring.

[shokenore]

Too much ?
http://youtu.be/u0pdmj5JdDY

[oneidadan]

Given the option I'd nuke them from orbit.........















It's the only way to be sure.