Someone has been using a remote to open my garage, has keyed the cars, and taken some items. I am pretty sure I know who it is, but I want evidence. I changed the remote codes, but she is still able to get in - I have one of the older systems for which I believe universal openers are available, and she is certainly technically sophisticated enough to have and use one of these. I could upgrade the security on the door opener, but I suspect that would just lead to a different and possibly more dangerous line of attack- what I want is something I can take to the police.

I am looking for a cost-effective CCTV system that will allow me to obtain and record an identifiable image of someone in my garage. I am reasonably competent at installing electronics - I have a home theater with front projector and ran the wires myself, and everything works - so I should be able to set up something simple myself. There are shelves in the garage where I could readily put cameras, and there are also outlets. I was thinking that I need IR, but there are lights that go on when the garage doors are opened and various posts in these forums seem to disfavor IR - I am open to recommendations. I believe that wireless would be best so I do not need to run wire through the walls, and so I do not have the recording sitting in the garage where it could be taken. I do not want to use my existing PC full time for monitoring, so I believe that a dedicated DVR would be the most cost-effective solution, but again I am open to suggestions - although I can not imagine that buying a PC as a part of the system would be more cost effective than buying a DVR. I could use the PC to view recordings from the DVR periodically, I just don't want the PC to be continuously devoted to DVR duty. I do not think that I need internet viewing - I would be happy with something that I look at once every few weeks or after an incident, even if it involves bringing a monitor to the DVR or taking a DVD or card out of the DVR and to my computer. I am thinking that 4 cameras would be good - 1 for the walk-in garage door, and one for each of the two garage doors (4 because there do not seem to be 3-camera systems). Perhaps I could use the 4th on the street through a window - I think she sometimes opens the garage door to see who is home and then closes it and runs away if there are cars in the garage.

I have seen the systems at Costco, but they seem not in favor on these forums. While I am willing to spend a little more, I would like to know what I am getting if I do.

So I am basically looking for:

- cost effective - maybe no more than $500 total ? - could be a little more, if I knew what I was paying for
- wireless cameras (x4)
- probably no IR / night vision is OK
- recording, dedicated DVR (?)
- motion sensitive recording (?) - this seems to be highly desirable so I do not use excessive storage space and do not need to view a lot of empty room, but again I am not an expert and I am looking for recommendations - I am also not sure how this works - do the cameras have motion detectors and do not capture images unless there is motion, or do the cameras send continuous feed and the DVR selectively records based on whether the image changes ?
- easy to set up and use

I am a newbie to surveillance, so specific recommendations as to particular models of cameras, DVR, and anything else that I would need are appreciated.

Thanks in advance for recommendations.

4 of these!

http://www.cctvoutlet.com/SPEC%20SHEETS ... 100808.pdf

1 of these! http://www.cctvoutlet.com/SPEC%20SHEETS ... 100908.pdf

ADD a hard drive of your own and presto!

What do you think?

i dont have any suggestions for you for under $500 for 4 cams and a DVR that arent your typical "costco" type packages, but i just wanted to answer your question:



the camera sends constant video to the DVR. the DVR will have an on screen setup menu that will allow you to choose motion recording on that channel, and the DVR is what detects the motion and decides to record.

i think you could get into a decent DVR for $300-$400, esp if you only want 4 channels, and dont need remote viewing. I've seen some cost effective stuff from avtech and such. the dvr is the heart of your system. before choosing any cams id search out and buy a nice DVR within your budget, with the options you desire most, and with good recording quality. the record quality is important since you want to be able to give this to the police and identify her face. i dont think a budget DVR will have good recording/compression quality that fits into your $500 budget with the cameras. you may have to stretch your budget a few hundred dollars IF you want a DVR with good recording quality. For what you described to us for your needs, if it were me, i would want something with at least 4CIF (as opposed to CIF or 2CIF).

that said, there are a lot of entry level systems in that price range that are def worth a look.

its been said here a million times, you get what you pay for!

also, i wouldnt totally rule out wired cameras, either. do you have a lockable closet in your garage that you might be able to put the DVR in? or, what about above the garage? is there a room, maybe an office on the second floor that is located directly above the garage where you could run the wires through the garage ceiling and into the office? or, maybe an office next to the garage where we can fish the wires?

good luck with catching the suspect!