PLEASE! Help my Mom not be physically abused. Please!!!!!

[helpmymom 0]

OK. The subject title may be a little harsh, but I need help bad.

 

My Mom can no longer take care of herself. I've decided to move her into my house and have a home health aide care for her while I am at work.

 

I am extremely worried of physical abuse/neglect.

I need to have cameras in the kitchen, dining room, living room, hallway, bathroom, and bedroom. The rest of the house I will install deadbolts.

 

What do I need to accomplish this task. Keep in mind please, that caring for her will put a financial strain on me, so I would like to be economical (not cheap though).

I don't need high definition or fancy conveniences. I want to send the feeds to a DVD recorder or vcr or hardrive, or multiple. To be able to check up on her online would be nice, if not too expensive.

 

Please, can anyone help me out? I will read through this forum after this post, but a lot of it I might be confused with. I am new to this.

 

I would greatly appreciate some sage advice, and would repay your kindness if possible.

 

Thank you, Jeremy

[rory 0]

Hi Jeremy

 

Are you looking at maybe Hidden Cameras?

 

Looks like you want at least 6 cameras? Which would mean something in the range of an 8+ channel DVR.

 

A Stand Alone DVR would be easier to have in an application like this, just Plug and Play.

 

What country are you located in? This will help better determine what is available for you.

 

Lastly, do you have a min and max budget?

 

Rory

[VST_Man 1]

Rory hit on a few questions and;

- cost of remote viewing depends on your provider. dial-up, DSL, ect. you can budget anywhere from $20 - $50 per month.

- select the DVR based on your skills and time management. if your skills are zip, get a good DVR that is very user friendly. time management....reviewing video from 8 camera's takes time and can be a nightmare if you buy cheap equipment. you may feel the expense when you buy the DVR but it will be worth your time, over time.

- in house care....again, get several references, possible habe the police run a back ground check, or go with a licensed, well established provider that is required to follow federal regulations concerning health care. DO NOT allow a stranger in your home!!!!! Do everything you can to check them out and if they cannot produce the references don't hire them.

- have a installer do the install; again, you'll spend it now but be happier later. You'll want both hidden and obvious camera's.

 

Good luck.

[helpmymom 0]

Thank you so much for the reply.

I live in Michigan USA.

 

As far as budget, I would like to stay under a couple of thousand if possible.

 

Whether it be hidden or not, I don't know. Is it better to warn someone of the cameras so that they are on best behavior, or try to reveal a hidden characteristic by spying on them?

 

 

My main concern here is quality and dependability. I don't want to come home and find out that the equipment isn't reliable.

 

I don't need ultra high definition if it jacks the price up, but I want to be able to see what I need to. Maybe motion detection?

 

Are there a few reputable brands that I should try to buy? I looked on eBay and got totally confused.

 

Being able to watch online isn't a must, but I do have a cable internet connection if that helps.

 

As far as interviewing, I am only contacting state certified services and plan on going through a lengthy interview process. Who knows what monster could be hiding in sheeps clothing though.

 

 

Again, thank you so much for the quick response. Any ideas on brands and system configurations would be great. My brother wired the electrical in my house and his wife installs telephone systems, maybe he would be qualified to install it?

 

Thanks again,

 

Jeremy

[VST_Man 1]

unless you pay a video installer you have a lot to learn before you buy or install anything. read some other posts that are in this forum to get a better handle on the equipment available. You need to be more specific on your needs. You can buy a cheap system for under 2k and install your self but you need to learn the "specs" you are paying for so that you don't get ripped off. If you find a system you can post the WEB site here and many will respond with the pro's and cons. I'd recommend buying a decent 8 channel DVR with 4 camera's, which will cost you 2k, and then add more camera's later. eberything you want will be in the main DVR recorder so make sure you get what you need. ie. internet data rate? 10 or 100?motion recording/playback? fps (frames per second) recording?

 

post some DVR's and camera's you've found and many will reply. [/url]

[helpmymom 0]

I don't need ultra high quality resolution. I just need to be able to make sure nothing immoral happens. Here is a reply from a different forum.

 

Check out a company named strategic vista. they make CCTV systems that has a camera and a monitor with a recording device. Some systems allow you to broadcast over the web from one computer to another computer at work. I have a system now where i can watch 8 floors of a building at work. I can also veiw the floors at home by the internet

I paid $800 CAD for the system which included 4 color cameras and one 14 inch color monitor. they have less pricey systems as well

 

 

If someone could just give me some trustable brand names to start with, I could probably work from there. I've seen too many different companies to list and I have yet to find a good website that looks reliable. Any links??

 

Is there much more to cameras than wiring to a receiver and power. My whole family are carpenters/construction/wiring so it doesn't seem like it could be that difficult.

 

Thank you, jeremy

[rory 0]

Hmmm, First you have to decide, do you want hidden cameras, or cameras they can see?

 

Never heard of "strategic vista", perhaps something like what is found at Sams Club or Costco, all in one monitor and VCR/DVR. You want to stay away from those.

 

For hidden cameras, GE Kalatel has a decent line and they look professional.

For Bullet cameras, Provideo (Speco) has one of the best lines, though there are many others. Provideo also has some decent Vandal Dome Cameras that arent too expensive.

 

For the DVR, if you dont want to spend much, take a look at this unit:

http://powertelecomm.com.hosting.domaindirect.com/product_r16000.htm

 

I have a demo on my web site

http://www.bahamassecurity.com

 

Its a decent low priced budget DVR with 16 channels, Motion Detection, and hasnt locked up or crashed on me yet. You can search by Motion also. Remote software is not great, but works. Also its browser based with DDNS (no static IP required), or you can use the included client software. Need a price PM or email me, ill see what I can do. I like high end DVRs and am use to them, but for the price and what I need here, this one is perfect.

 

Its alot less than other budget DVRs such as Everfocus, HiSharp, Provideo, which some of them also are found under different names all over the internet. All 3 of those cost more and lock up (crash) alot.

 

Other than that I step right up to the GE Katatel DVRs, but they are very costly. Some others have had good experience with the Nuvico and Hunt DVRs which are better than the DVRs I previously mentioned, plus they cost more, but are less than the GE Kalatel DVRs. They have 8 or 10 channel versions available.

 

These are all Stand Alone Embedded RTOS DVRs I have mentioned, linux RTOS or Nucleous RTOS, non Windows based.

 

Otherwise a PC card would be cheaper and can have more features if you buy the right one, though you have the setup and maintenance issues associated with a PC.

 

Hope this helps some.

 

Rory

[qman 0]

Actually, I think that he's better off with a i view 4 channel in a PC, and 6 hidden cameras, I think that I can get him something plug and play under 2K.

 

I'll send you a PM

[wahloon 0]

give me a email at wahloon@bellsouth.net, you can get a pretty good system for about 2k.