Installing a New Video Surveillance System

[1voyager1]

After hearing about a few home invasions in our local area, I put a video surveillance system up around the exterior of our home.
It was 4-1/2 years ago and only a 4 camera 720p system, adding 2 cams later.
Since then, I've become more knowledgeable about them [far from expert, though], became dissatisfied with the quality of the surveillance, and have watched the improvements in the technology.

Then, we got the insurance checks, set up for a new roof to be installed, and someone came into our backyard, cut a banana tree down and stole the bunch from it.
It really pi$$ed me off.
After days of rerunning surveillance video, I could not find where and when they came in to do the deed.
We are surrounded by jungle with a very rough lava terrain mine field under it.
Almost certainly, they had to come in by the driveway.
There was an un-monitered path around the house, now being watched.

I have finally installed a solar security light that I had bought over a year ago.
Then, I bought a new Swann 4k 8 cam/16 channel system with a host of newer capabilities.
I intend to add 2 more 4k cams with 2 way audio, strobe light and siren alarms.
I'll fix that SOB.

It's not the bananas so much as the fact that they undoubtedly came into the yard and looked around, then came back with a machete to take the bananas.
Someone was scoping our place out.

After I get the cams on the house installed, giving 100% coverage around the house, I'll set the others around the property to cover all possible avenues of entry and movement through the property.
It'll take 8 to 10 cams to do it all thoroughly.
Cabling to all the remote cams will be buried and they will be mounted on steel poles with the cabling running up the inside of the poles.

Maybe I'm over reacting, but I don't think so.
I am a very private person, and I feel violated.

[terracore]

I had a decent CCTV system until lightning hit a coco palm that was *near* the AV cable and fried the whole system, including the DVR unit and a GPU that was in my PC (the DVR and PC shared a monitor).

The replacement system is wireless and the cameras are powered by a standard USB cord. Three of the cameras are remote from the house and powered by mini DIY solar setups that also power motion activated security lights. So I'm not running cables everywhere.

[1voyager1]

Hi tc,
I considered going with wireless cams but came to the conclusion they were not as reliable as hardwired Power Over Ethernet [POE].
The IP cams will be recording to the NVR and directly to a PC, then dumped to online storage as long the i-net is up and running.
4k resolution requires a lot of storage, much more than 720p, about 8x the space.
I have plenty of 1,2 and 4TB hdds in and for the PC to store at least a week of 24hr 4k recordings.
My 5ea 720p cams could be stored on a 1TB hdd as about a week of video at 24hr recording.
The 4k will require at least 8TB to hold the same, probably closer to 16TB for 10 cams, but has much better controls to reduce down to alarms, motion, line crossing, face recognition, infrared intruder detection, and other triggers.
I will have a lot to learn about getting it set up correctly.
The software for this new system is much better and easier to work with than that for the 720p system.

I'm assuming your system resolution is 1080p at best, ... = 2M pixels.
The 4k system is = 8M pixels.
If I'm right, that's 4x the resolution.
That judgement is open to revision if your resolution is different from my assumption.

Using USB to power your remote cams means that you'll need to string the cabling in an exposed overhead position, if you're not burying it.
Otherwise, you'll be dependent on batteries and SD cards for the cam operation.
I was not liking exposed overhead cabling going out to the cams.
I will not trust to batteries and SD cards.
3 or 4 of my cams will be 200 to 250' from the NVR.
I want that cabling buried, not exposed.

After the roof is done, I'll be enlarging the 3" rainleaders from the roof to the catchment tank to 4" because of this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szRK8vukN5k

That was during the last heavy rainfall a week or two ago.
It's at least the 2nd or 3rd time since the eruption.

It'll require trenching to bury the new piping.
I'll rent a trencher and dig the trenching for the cabling at the same time.

The NVR, cameras, and PC can be operated from the generator giving coverage, if wanted, during power outages.
I can go on with more reasons for why I'll be doing it this way.
But, that pretty much justifies it for me and is more than enough for now.

[kalakoa]

Something like this helps:

https://www.amazon.com/Ubiquiti-ETH-SP-E...00R20OIAY/

I've also used the APC version:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BKUSS8/

This one sounds pretty good:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GBLFFNK/

[MarkD]

Good descriptions, 1voyager1. All this technology has the potential to really help in crime control.

It is surprising it's taking as long as it is to catch on, especially the GPS tags to catch thieves who have stolen property.

The first bait cars for thieves were used more than 30 years ago, and the technology back then was archaic.

East Hawaii law enforcement should do a community outreach program where people who put GPS tags in expensive things like generators (or non-expensive things like a bunch of bananas, if you prefer!) can register the tag with the police, who then respond if the item is stolen.

Catching any sort of thieves--even agricultural thieves--is a worthwhile thing.

[1voyager1]

Sorry tc, I read your post then became absorbed in making my response and forgot about a few things you had said.
But, that doesn't change any of my reasoning for how I'd like to do it.
But, thinking about lightning and kalakoa's post got me to thinking again.
Fiber optic could be an alternative.
But, it looks to be a bit more expensive than I'd be comfortable with, more aimed at commercial and enterprise applications .
I will look further into it, though.

Chances are I'll end up going with my usual attitude towards risk.
The same attitude that made me look things over, assess the risks, then decide that the probability of an eruption taking our home in our lifetime, if we bought in LZ1, was fairly remote.
I admit, it was close.
But, we still ducked the bullet.
So far the gamble has paid off.
I expect it to continue doing so.

The cabling being buried 12 to 18" should afford some protection.
Lightening in our area, so far, seems to be from cloud to cloud and rarely very close.
Except for one time.
But, it was still from cloud to cloud.

Then, I'm reminded of that dark unlit crosswalk with the worn down paint across 130 at the Pahoa P.O. street.
The more times I go by it and no one is in it, the more likely it becomes that someone will be in it the next time I go by it.
I'm getting very paranoid about that crosswalk, that I might run someone down in the dark.
Lightning and lava don't give me that kind of reaction.

I am planning on using gel filled direct burial shielded cabling with at least some PVC conduit in the trenching.
That should give a bit more lightning protection.

@MarkD
As long as the local court system thinks it is better to turn them loose rather than paying to incarcerate them, things will not get better.
We all need to become more proactive in protecting ourselves.
Being aware of what is going on around yourself is the first step.

[Seeb]

Does anyone have an easy/cheap idea for a one camera system.

[Obie]

Ring

[kalakoa]

Fiber isn't really that expensive anymore. A prefab LC-LC patch can be pulled (very carefully) through 1" conduit.

The whole thing doesn't have to be fiber, either; a fiber link between the camera PoE switch and the "house net" (with DVR and PC) would keep a lightning strike from taking out the PC when it fries the cameras. This strategy could be repeated: with 2-3 camera switches, damage could be limited to "some" cameras.

Standalone fiber/copper mediaconverters exist. There's plenty of resellers with cheap enterprise gear. Just make sure to get the fiber that matches the transceiver (both connector and type), and note that SFP is a slot for a transceiver module (sometimes included, sometimes not). Best to standardize, here, so you don't need multiple flavors of fiber patch. You probably want SX transceivers (range = 550m) and multimode fiber with duplex LC connectors.

Netvanta 1531P (by Adtran) is a relatively cheap PoE switch with two SFP ports, I like them because there's no separate term-limited feature license keys as with modern Cisco ... and they're available from Amazon.

[1voyager1]

I am thinking that I might like to go with fiber, ... maybe.
It'll require that I learn a whole new set of definitions, acronyms, specifications and such.

I think I'll go work on setting up to get some kabochas planted, letting this roll around in my head for a while.