Beginner needing to understand ongoing survellance system costs: alternatives?

[terminus 0]

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  ZoneMinder and iSpy (is the latter now superceded?)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.   

[tomcctv 187]

8 hours ago, terminus said:

What home surveillance systems (using 4,5 cameras) and an NAS on a home network

Hi. cctv is a mine field and to learn every aspect will take years ….. in your other post you’re using Tapo cameras …. These are smart cameras and not true cctv camerasand this is very important thing to learn first. All smart cameras involve 3rd party involvement and it’s never good here is a statement from Tapo (tp-link)

https://www.tapo.com/uk/app/privacy/?utm_source=tapo&utm_medium=app
 

as far as using nas for storage yes there is a fee with some companies and they have been going for years but NVRs have started to be a better option and for 4 to 5 cameras then it’s best to only use a nvr and it’s a lot cheaper as you don’t need Poe switches as there built in to systems now