Newbie advice please

Hi all,

This is my first post to be gentle please...

I live in a detached house in the UK, am looking to install a CCTV system, I am a techie by trade, and have a fully networked CAT6 house, with a server rack that cosists of 48 POE Switch, Patch Panel, Synology NAS and a whole host of other things too.

I'd like to install a IP based CCTV system, with a dedicated NVR, I am going to deploy 9 cameras in total, and really need some advice as to what cameras and NVR I should go for. There are so many options to choose from, I just don't know where to start, I have a fairly healthy budget 1500 or so, and happy to run and terminate CAT6 myself, and happy to chase cables into the reder of the house and make good to get a nice neat installation. Would be nice if the NVR is rackmountable, but not essential. I know I can use camera station on the Synology NAS, but not sure how could it is, and, feel that perhaps a dedicated NVR would be more reliable and more fit for purpose.

I cerrtainly want to go full HD, at least, but perhaps would like to go 3 or 4MP, quality is really important, I've got iPhones and iPads so would like apps that connect from within the network, and can port forward stuff to DDNS service which I already have setup for other stuff.

Greatly greatly appreciate your help and time, it's a real mine field, and there are plenty of companies who will happily take your money from you.

Thanking you all in advance.

Kind regards

Jo

Your situation looks very simple to me.

You can use Synology NAS as NVR or buy a dedicated one. Check Synology NAS' specs , install Video Surveillance app if missing or update it and check which cameras are supported. I suggest using Hikvision or Dahua, excellent value for money. Then, choose cameras for the specific purpose (resolution, lens, IR light, housing, additional features). If you need to use full camera's capability (not only video recording) , you should have NVR of the same brand. Since you already have PoE switch, just choose cameras with PoE supply.

That's it.

You'll need to take the Camera Device License into consideration.

http://www.amazon.com/Synology-Camera-License-Pack-CLP1/dp/B001MJ0JAO

At that kinda price $65 x 7 = $455 (Think it come with 1 or 2 free license), you'll be better off using a purposed built NVR.

http://www.amazon.com/HIKVISION-DS-7608NI-E2-8P-Network-Recorder/dp/B00VMNRZS4/ref=sr_1_4?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1461567359&sr=1-4&keywords=HIKVISION+NVR

Also reduce the overhead on your NAS if you are using it for other purpose as the cameras will be recording 24x7. Improve on your file/backup storage performance for the NAS.

You have your own POE switch, but it'll be good just to connect all cameras to the NVR's POE switch. Less traffic on your switches for other purpose.

Thank you for the advice, as I hadn't had a response for some days, I decided to trial a brand of cameras called XVision, the company I purchased it from offer a 14 day money back guarantee, so I decided I would get one camera, hook it up to the NAS and see what it was made of.

I've decided they're good quality, seem to be in pin sharp during the day, and pretty good at night too. I did eventually get it to work with the Synology using ONVIF (only using the one at the moment, so no license issues as yet, have another one arriving today). The cameras are their 4MP range, and seem nicely made, and even the waterproofing cable gland for connecting the ethernet seemed really well made, so it did make me think it was worth the £150 a camera.

I've also decided I am going to go for their dedicated 16 way NVR, whilst I have a Synology DS1815+ NAS upgraded to 16GB of RAM and with 48TB of storage and a Netgear ProSAFE GS752TPS 48 Port PoE switch, I wanted them dedicated to their own duties. Additionally the cameras are H264 and H265 capable, and the NAS isn't H265 capable, so thought that was the best option, and with 9 cams to be deployed I thought that was a lot of traffic flying around my network, so the NVR is the way to go.

So it was good to read Daryl733's post, and ratify the conclusion I'd pretty much come to. Thank you for that.

I'd appreciate any setup tips, have run the cables through the loft space, and patched them in to a dedicated patch panel just for the CCTV, I've also run a couple of spares too, just in case I want to add extra cameras. I've left 30 feet coiled in the loft for each camera just in case I want to move it, so trying to cover all bases.

Am thinking about installing black waterproof junction boxes in the sofits so that if I ever need to change/upgrade cameras all I need to do is take the front off the box unplug it and replace. Installation tips and your methods would be greatly received.

Kind regards

Jo