home security cameras

I have 4 outdoor Nest cams. They're expensive compared to most alternatives and you pay for storage (I have the 10-day plan). But the software is great, they come complete with everything you need. Hi def video with sound. The digital zoom is great because they're 1080p. Infrared is almost as clear as daytime. Setup is easy and they are rock solid - they stay online so long as you have Internet access. If you don't it tells you that the camera is offline and sends you a snapshot of the last thing it saw. You can configure zones and alerts through the app or the website. No complaints at all.

I use www.ring.com. The best so far i have used foscam/junk/dropcam too expensive for monitoring. Netgear is great but like ring door bell and stick up cam with solar charger. Check them out

I installed a Lorex system (purchased from Costco) several years ago and it has worked flawlessly. I have 8 HD cameras and a 2TB DVR. I receive email notices every time the cameras detect motion with a picture in the email of the camera view. Remotely, I can playback all the cameras or watch the live feed. These cameras have a secondary lens for night vision and at dusk mechanically switch to the night vision lens. The night view is remarkable. You cannot approach my house from any side without being on camera. With HD, I can read logos on shirts from people that come to my front door. I particularly like seeing the playback of a stranger coming around the corner to the front door (already on camera from the driveway) and looking up and seeing the camera (located about 9 feet up on the front porch). More than once, I have watched them stop, then reverse and leave. Always makes me wonder what they were planning on doing at my front door. When the DVR finally fails (hard drive running 24/7 for years will give up the ghost at some point), I plan to use the existing camera cables as a pull string and replace with Axis POE cameras recording to a Synology NAS.

We installed cameras when we took a four-month trip to the U.S. and Canada. We don't have motion detection but we have remote access via internet. We would download playbacks for different things we could see that were of interest; the gardener hadn't cut the grass, the pool needed attention, the cats were fed and played with, etc. We were also able to catch a person who was vandalizing houses, I won't go into details on that, but neighbors who knew we had cameras contacted us. We downloaded the events, sent them via email, and the culprit was fired from his job.

It gave us some piece of mind and we found it very useful. We just had one camera replaced yesterday as the cable was accidentally cut by the gardener. When you're 3000 miles from home, it's good to see what's going on.

We have already talked about adding motion detection.

I have a Foscam. It is continously buffering video so if motion is detected you can select how much "pre-recording" is saved with the motion event.

Foscam cameras are great when they work. The problem seems to be the interface between the camera and the home wifi system. Since I don't speak wifi I have to call in an expert to get us back online.

3 dog nights wrote:
Anybody got one that works well? Over the years I've bought Guardzilla and Piper systems to monitor the house while we're traveling. Had limited success. My daughter will stop by to water plants and one or the other will register that shes there, but rarely both. A buddy just installed SimplySafe and I'm waiting for his reports.
What experience have any of you had? Is there one that does what it says it will, at a reasonable price?

What you are seeing is pretty much normal for WiFi cameras.

I deal with several Motorola Hubble WiFi cameras, typically for FREE "monitoring" the WiFi cameras only take SNAP SHOTS when enough movement has been detected. The movement detection sensitivity can be adjusted faster or slower detection.. However the SPEED of the snapshots and the speed of the camera waking up from movement cannot.. That results with many events not being recorded or a blurry pix of movement..

Now, if you PAID a monthly fee, Motorola Hubble can be setup for LIVE video recording via a external website.. But it costs money, you depend on the vendor to support the website and your pix and info information is no longer PRIVATE.

Personally, I am not impressed (I know there are a bunch of folks here that will be up in arms on how great their WiFi cameras work).

If it was up to me (it isn't my choice in this case so I deal with the junk), I would instead opt for a FULLY WIRED camera system to a camera DVR system that has remote Internet access. With those systems your video is RECORDED onto a hard drive. You can REMOTE IN via a desktop, laptop or even Android and review the VIDEO (not snapshots).. Sure, you pay a bit more upfront and have some hassle with running wires but in the end the results will be better and no website host fees.

The best part of a wired camera/DVR is no third party external website host required which CAN be discontinued by the vendor anytime they no longer want to support, and/or no monthly payment until you die..