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Beginner needing to understand ongoing survellance system costs: alternatives?
terminus posted a topic in Installation Help and Accessories
I am new to CCTV/surveillance. I want to build a home system for myself, here in the UK. I already have two IP cameras on my home network and an obsolescent NAS. I had pretty much settled on Synology Surveillance - from reviews, Youtubes, etc. - and was on the very point of ordering an up-to-date Synology NAS when, almost accidentally, I discovered that there is an on-going cost, per camera, of around 50 pounds annually to be able to use the system, which I find astonishing. I assume this applies worldwide? I have heard about licences in the US, but thought this is a national/legal constraint, which doesn't apply in the UK. But I understand now that most manufacturers have ongoing proprietary licences/subscriptions in order to use their hardware and camera monitoring software. I have been told (I had to ask ChatGPT! as I cannot find an alternative source of info. for a newbie like me) that Synology, QNAP. Asustor, WD, Thecus and Buffalo all follow a subscription scheme. ZoneMinder and iSpy (is the latter now superceded?) were suggested as open source alternatives. What home surveillance systems (using 4,5 cameras) and an NAS on a home network (the NAS would be used for general network storage, too) have UK readers set up which are free for ongoing use? (I am not concerned about cloud storage or other centralised services - I want a self-contained home system.) Please, can someone out there offer me some help and clarity? Furthermore, I'm not at all confident about reyling on a chatbot as being authoritative: can someone suggest better sources for a beginner, like me? E.g. websites, forums(and good old-fashiioned printed books), etc. that can educate me on the topic of home surveillance? I am really floundering in this subject, as a beginner. Many thanks.