security camera system question

[jcawley3]

anyone here in the biz? I got a quote for 2 outside color with night vision and 2 inside hidden camera's 420 res. 4 channel 250g dvr installed.. for $1475

or

same cameras but with 8 channel dvr 500g for $1750 (may want to add more cameras later)

is this a fair price? thanks.... John

 

[GSTOY]

John,

I'm not in the biz, but I'm a broadcast engineer, what's the lux specs of the cameras? The lower the number the better such as .010 or .005 etc. You want lower lux numbers for better night time resolution, basically how well the camera sees in the dark. B&W cameras will generally give better resolution during the night over color cameras, and some color cameras will only display B&W during the night because of lower light levels, which isn't a bad thing. Also on the dvr, what codec is it using to record the video? H264 and Mpeg are the more common, and lastly, when the dvr runs out of disk space, does it just record over the oldest files or just stop recording. Just a few things to consider.

 

[jcawley3]

not sure on the lux....the dvr will start over....the cameras only record when motion is detected...and they go to BW at night.....the quote I was sent showed the camera's priced at $128 a piece..the dvr was the kicker at $700 and something.....for the 8 channel

 

[jcawley3]

called a few companies that are local this is the only guy that has called back or showed up for an estimate....there are some cheaper system I can find on the internet but like everything you get what you pay for I guess.....

 

[GSTOY]

If night time video quality is important to you, I would find out what the lux ratings are on the cameras before you commit. A lot of times to get people in the door, the camera's that companies spec for the lower end system just aren't the greatest.

The overall price installed, seems about right, but if you think your going to expand the unit to 8 inputs on the DVR, now is the time to do it.

 

[jcawley3]

ok, thanks for the input..... I will have to find out about the lux

 

[KevinB]

I'm in the biz. What is the make and p/n's of the equipment? That's not a bad price. The reason only one company came out is because most residential leads are a bust. You give them a $2K bid for good equipment and they freak out. "I can go to Walmart and buy 8 cameras and a DVR for $700." I usually say..."Good luck" Usually for a residential system, we quote Honeywell equipment. It's fairly priced and works great for residential and small businesses.

 

[rmar]

Thread jack alert.

Kevin, Through out a few ideals on parts for I am looking also....Thanks.

 

[KevinB]

Any of these Honeywell domes work good.
HD50 - Super High Resolution Fixed Lens Vandal Dome Camera

HD51 - Super High Resolution Vandal Dome Camera with Vari-Focal Auto Iris Lens

HD70 - Super High Resolution Fixed Lens Day/Night Vandal Dome Camera with Infrared Illuminators

HD73 - Super High Resolution True Day/Night Vandal Dome Camera with Vari-Focal Auto Iris Lens and Infrared Illuminators

HD4U - Ultra Wide Dynamic True Day/Night (TDN) Color Rugged Mini-dome camera

HD4CH - Vandal Dome Camera

We've had good luck and pretty much no service calls on all the above.

These DVR's work good too:
HRDP DVR Performance Series - 4, 8 & 16 Channel embedded digital video recorder

HRDP4F - 4 Channel Embedded Digital Video Recorder

HRSD8/16 - 8 and 16 Channel Embedded Digital Video Recorder

The Everfocus brand cost a little less money, but we've had rock solid performance for residential and small commercial:

Product Category Page

 

[KevinB]

We just put a bunch of the HD73's in a college bar. They got busted for underage drinking and not carding. The HD73's ended up working great in the low light. We were able to recognize facial features from as far as 50' away. Not bad for a <$200 camera imo.

 

[jcawley3]

I'm in the biz. What is the make and p/n's of the equipment? That's not a bad price. The reason only one company came out is because most residential leads are a bust. You give them a $2K bid for good equipment and they freak out. "I can go to Walmart and buy 8 cameras and a DVR for $700." I usually say..."Good luck" Usually for a residential system, we quote Honeywell equipment. It's fairly priced and works great for residential and small businesses.

its not residential, I have a small import auto repair shop.... I can forward you the quote if you don't mind taking a look....

 

[rmar]

Channels = the # of cameras?

 

[jcawley3]

yes.... or possible cameras...... I need at least four to cover my needs but if I wanted total coverage I need 3 more.....but geez that dvr is high!

 

[rmar]

Can you use a hard drive and a old computer?

 

[phillyturbosix]

For a cheap basic system around the house that works I use good old VCR's to record my camera's. I get 8 hour tapes and a local TV repair shop sells VCR's to me for about 25 bucks a piece. If I'll be away for more then 8 hours I have a time lapse hooked in as well. I use a multiplexer I found on ebay for next to nothing and the camera's I got off eBay for 79.00 shipped each. CCTV Sony CCD Day Night Infrared Color Camera 480TVL - eBay (item 360142524179 end time May-16-10 00:42:04 PDT) So for about 150 bucks I'm watching it all cheap. The camera's look great and I've had 3 people locked up with them and they were used in court for crimes in the area where someone just so happened to go past them. They are color during the day black and white at night. That seller on eBay also sells systems and all kinda security parts. I want to get a good DVR that can record a week's worth or so live. The problem I see with the "record on motion" camera's is most of the time the person is just about out of the frame before the thing fires up and starts recording. A friend of mine had his camera's recording like that and you would see the person's leg just outside the frame because they already passed by the time the camera and record kicked in. I'd rather chew up the space and have live real time recording.

 

[salvageV6]

It's a fair price installed.

I'd rather have the DVR triggered by a remote PIR or door/window switch system so you get full recording of the event.

Yes you can use a basic older computer with a huge hard drive in it to record cameras, cards are available with the newest mpeg, and H264 recording capability as well as networking and remote monitoring capabilities.

Most of the money is in the install and wiring so that would depend upon the complexity and difficulty on that part as to the fairness in price.

Inwall or in pipe wiring hidden wiring obviously is more costly than exposed on metal beam or wood frame industrial building type installs.

Locked hidden case for the DVR is a good idea or redundancy of recording etc.

 

[SGRIM]

Any of these Honeywell domes work good.
HD50 - Super High Resolution Fixed Lens Vandal Dome Camera

HD51 - Super High Resolution Vandal Dome Camera with Vari-Focal Auto Iris Lens

HD70 - Super High Resolution Fixed Lens Day/Night Vandal Dome Camera with Infrared Illuminators

HD73 - Super High Resolution True Day/Night Vandal Dome Camera with Vari-Focal Auto Iris Lens and Infrared Illuminators

HD4U - Ultra Wide Dynamic True Day/Night (TDN) Color Rugged Mini-dome camera

HD4CH - Vandal Dome Camera

We've had good luck and pretty much no service calls on all the above.

These DVR's work good too:
HRDP DVR Performance Series - 4, 8 & 16 Channel embedded digital video recorder

HRDP4F - 4 Channel Embedded Digital Video Recorder

HRSD8/16 - 8 and 16 Channel Embedded Digital Video Recorder

The Everfocus brand cost a little less money, but we've had rock solid performance for residential and small commercial:

Product Category Page

Hmmm, I have been looking a trustworthy opinion on this stuff for years... Is this what you would use in your house?

I bought 2 16 camera systems and feel like both are for childs play. I am looking something real...

TIA

 

[KevinB]

If anyone here wants more info, send me a pm and I'll send you my number or email. I don't check the email that's linked to my account here more than once every few weeks.