NGC any security camera experts here?

[fotoguzzi]

I want to upgrade our security cameras, the picture quality we have is good but view over the web is slow and the system (TPlink) does not have the best support. My backyard cam can tilt and pan but there's a delay in the response. Here's how they look.



Doing research on cameras on the web is exhaustive and I'm not getting anywhere trying to compare them all. I like some features of the Arlo2 because it's completely wireless.. but they don't pan or tilt. What are the best other options? That don't have a subscription fee for web access.

Also, I want to mount a camera on the mast,



I need a pan tilt base that can be wired but must be reliable, I don't want to climb the mast more that once, Can anyone recommend a base for this?

[Ncdan]

Im no “expert” but I can attest for the Kuna brand that I use and it’s a Bullet proof system. Price is around the 200.00 mark.
PM me for further info if you like.

[Wayne Orwig]

I have been using a couple of Wyze pan cams.
They are very cheap. They can be set to sent alerts for motion. They do not (currently) need a pay subscription.

They only work through a smartphone. And you have to buy a 'waterproof' box for outdoors. I have one in the RV, running off of a solar panel. It sends a message when someone walks by and records it. (close enough for WiFi but no power.)

Guzzi content... they are cheap, but they work.

[antmanbee]

Look into Hikvision cameras and NVRs. Or use Hikvision cameras and Blueiris software on a PC.
What resolution are you looking for? What field of view do you need?

[guzzi4me]

I installed a Night owl system. Basic, no tilting/panning but picture quality is pretty good.

As far as their customer no service I would not recommend them. But the equipment seems good. It is hard wired, I didn't want a wifi based system.

There are a lot of systems out there. I would suggest nothing less than 4k video.

Wish I had your backyard! Looks great....


Jeff

[OldMojo]

Those look pretty good for consumer grade cams over the internet. If they're reliable and stable, and fluidity of motion and control response are your only problems, I'd suggest experimenting with a combination of A) optimizing your data rate on-site and B) reducing the data rate required by the cameras.

So if they're wireless, is it feasible to run them wired? If not, can you upgrade your wireless router, or just relocate it to get the best signal? You may ultimately be limited by the available upload bandwidth at the site. In that case, your only option will be to tweak the video settings to get the best mix of fluidity vs detail.

A lot of cams are set to their highest resolution and 30 frames per second out of the box. 20 or even 15 FPS is usually fine and significantly reduces the data rate. Same for resolution -  taking it down a notch or two may still render a perfectly usable level of detail.

This is starting to get tech-y, but do you know what type of video compression the cams use?  H.264 and H.265 are currently the most efficient, but yours could use MJPEG, which uses several times the data. Yours may be selectable in the setup.

[fotoguzzi]

Thanks for that. They use .H264 compression and true the delay is at least partially due to upload speed. The cameras I have now are HD so that's another reason for delayed response. I can live with that slowness but the website for TPLink is pretty poor that's why I'm looking at other options. I think Arlo might be better as they have a larger market share of these things. Best part about Arlo is the fully remote placement, they use battery power, no plug. Batteries said to last 2-6 months. If I get the "2" the website saves video for a week no charge.. the newer "3" requires subscription and I'm not getting into monthly payments. A kit of 4 Arlo cameras is about $400. And includes a base station that can also record. I guess I can buy them and return if I'm not happy with their system.
For the mast cam I think the Arlo Can be plugged in to A/C but I need a pan/tilt base then.

[jrt]

I have been using a couple of Wyze pan cams.
They are very cheap. They can be set to sent alerts for motion. They do not (currently) need a pay subscription.

They only work through a smartphone. And you have to buy a 'waterproof' box for outdoors. I have one in the RV, running off of a solar panel. It sends a message when someone walks by and records it. (close enough for WiFi but no power.)

Guzzi content... they are cheap, but they work.

I use Wyze cams as well.  They recently came out with an 'outdoor' version, but it does not pan.  Frankly, the indoor versions seem to work fine outdoors with the smallest amount of protection.   I have one at my front door.  I had one out back, but it died after two years of being exposed to weather.  For $20, I can live with that. 

[fotoguzzi]

Want to pass on my results. I got a couple cameras from REOLink, not very expensive at all and customizable. I can choose HD quality as well as frame and bit rate.. this lets me speed up somewhat the upload delay. The internet service is poor out in the country so the adjustability is key to my happiness. Picture quality over the web is acceptable. Each camera has an SD card to record from motion sensor and can also record in the cloud on the REOLink website/app. A single camera cloud set up is free, minimal charge to add other camera recordings.





Wow it works good. I can see the paper delivery guy drive up at 6am in the dark, night vision is great.



And the best part is they are powered by a small solar panel that charges an internal battery.
The camera above the driveway can pan and tilt so I can get a full view of the yard and even see out to the lake.
Pic from a screen grab of video so not as clean as I see it live.

[Ncdan]

Want to pass on my results. I got a couple cameras from REOLink, not very expensive at all and customizable. I can choose HD quality as well as frame and bit rate.. this lets me speed up somewhat the upload delay. The internet service is poor out in the country so the adjustability is key to my happiness. Picture quality over the web is acceptable. Each camera has an SD card to record from motion sensor and can also record in the cloud on the REOLink website/app. A single camera cloud set up is free, minimal charge to add other camera recordings.





Wow it works good. I can see the paper delivery guy drive up at 6am in the dark, night vision is great.



And the best part is they are powered by a small solar panel that charges an internal battery.
The camera above the driveway can pan and tilt so I can get a full view of the yard and even see out to the lake.
Pic from a screen grab of video so not as clean as I see it live.

Thanks for the tip on Reolink. We needed a couple new units for our river house as one of our cheapies had gone bad. My wife, the research fanatic did some research and reviews and these does seem to an excellent unit and cost efficient. We just ordered a couple for indoor use. Let us know how the outdoor model fares. Thanks