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Outdoor surveillance systems
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i'm very confused by these systems. i get the difference between analog and IP-based cameras. i get that the centralized (some kind of box with a hard drive) systems are usually wired, either via ethernet, and with POE for long runs, or with coax cable.

one thing i really do NOT get is whether any of these central boxes have wireless cards, can connect wirelessly to a wifi. that's my preference. outdoor cameras (no need for more than 4) that are night and day vision, motion activated, power over the data cable, and the data can be stored on the system's hard drive and/or the data is stored on my computer or at least prompts, still shots, something is communicated wirelessly to my wifi so that i can see the activity on my desktop (which is mac) AND perhaps on my iPhone.

anyone know about this stuff?

Dan Empfield
aka Slowman
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Re: Outdoor surveillance systems [Slowman] [ In reply to ]
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What is the issue regarding whether it's wired or wireless? They can all be viewed from other wireless devices, either within the local network or remotely over the internet (including your phone), typically via apps.

I don't profess to know much about them, only going by the system my folks had installed recently. There are a significant number of variants as to recording intervals, triggers etc.

I'd be surprised if you couldn't find a system that can do what you hope it to, except disarm and cuff perpetrators. For that you'd need one called The Forge.
Last edited by: mv2005: Jul 10, 17 8:01
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Re: Outdoor surveillance systems [mv2005] [ In reply to ]
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mv2005 wrote:
What is the issue regarding whether it's wired or wireless? They can all be viewed from other wireless devices, either within the local network or remotely over the internet (including your phone), typically via apps.

right. the thing is, what i need is for the device itself, the central device, to connect to my wifi wirelessly. i can't tell if any of these devices do that.

Dan Empfield
aka Slowman
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Re: Outdoor surveillance systems [Slowman] [ In reply to ]
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Does it matter whether it has built in wifi or plugs into an access point to connect wirelessly? I assume the latter is possible.

Sorry I don't have the answers you seek but I'm sure someone else here does.
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Re: Outdoor surveillance systems [Slowman] [ In reply to ]
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Hardly any of the off-the-shelf equipment really satisfied my needs. Most require hardwired ethernet, had long cable runs, etc. I did buy an Arlo to try it out but the Arlo's base station requires a wired ethernet connection.

For a completely wireless setup, I built up an ubuntu server that connects wirelessly to my router and IP cameras. With the server, I have used both Zoneminder and MotionEye to manage the cameras. Both are pretty feature rich with ZoneMinder being much easier to use. Plus, this setup has the advantage of being more flexible - for example, I have MotionEye running on a Raspberry Pi. Whenever it detects movement in my front yard, it emails me pictures of the yard so I can see what's happening.
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