Security cams again - specifically Netgear Vuezone

[newbury]

Recently had an alarm go off at our retirement house, police came, no intrusion just a flaky alarm.

But we basically made an unplanned trip from DC to Fulton, Mississippi to get it fixed.

During which SWMBO discussed how she wants security cams to monitor inside the house. Primarily so we could look in briefly to make sure everything is OK.

She has no idea what these systems cost. A quick quote from our security people showed it would be far more than what she wanted to spend.

BUT in researching things I ran across these Amazon.com: NETGEAR VueZone Home Video Monitoring System - 1 Motion Detection Camera (VZSM2200): Camera & Photo which is a battery operated wireless ip camera.

Supposedly EASY to hook up and fairly reliable (based on Amazon reviews).

Does anyone here use them? If so how do you like them?

 

[zzvyb6]

I read the longest and most important review on Amazon and it reveals a lot about this Netgear system.
'
This is a subscription service for remote viewing. It's also NOT really real time video. The late motion detection misses the mark a far as watching someone come through a door. The customer service was not good. There a plenty of other issues. Because its 'wireless' the system is completely battery powered. So, you'll be changing batteries lot, so look forward to a lot of trips 'back home'.

I have a Swann analog system that works pretty cool. Up to 9 cameras from Costco with a real DVR for playback. I have wired cameras. Tried wireless cameras previously: NFG. And, you still need a wire for the power supply to the cameras. One of my cameras is at 700 feet from the house. It watches outward of the driveway entrance. I'm going to put another one out there to see the license plate as necessary.

I use these cameras to watch and keep track of the dogs outside, the UPS and mail and visitors, some even unknown wanderers. I have it hooked up to my UVerse router. That means its able to talk to the internet from anywhere in the world. Swann hosts your DNS client for you (That's the formal name you pick for your 'mailbox' instead of using your street address+ gps coordinates, so to speak [that being your ip address].

I had a Q-See before the Swann and replaced it for more cameras and because 2 of the Q-See channels went on vacation. The Swann viewing software is much better than the Q-See viewing program (easier to use), too.

So, you need 120v power (DVR and camera power supplies (or a hefty 12v supply; perhaps a solar charged truck/marine battery. You need internet access for remote viewing, and you need to mount the cameras and DVR where they are useful but won't be targeted for destruction.

These systems make more sense to me to know what's going on when you are 'there' because if you are 800 miles away when the fire starts, it raises the stress levels hard and fast. Mine work really good at night, too. On a snowy evening, watching a deer roll up under a tree is pretty interesting to observe. I have an HDMI wire from the DVR to my TV. When the Miltronics alarm pings (knock-knock from the street) I can hit a channel on the big screen and see whose there. It's pretty cool to surprise your 'guests' before they even know where the house is.
Good luck identifying thieves with these systems unless you can get a license plate and the perps home country and address. They are well prepared for their activity(s) and around here are headed back to the 52nd state before the Law would ever try to catch them.

 

[brin]

Google X10.com I have bought security equipment , driveway alarms and other toys from them and they all worked...good prices...lots of camera systems.

 

[hawkeye08]

All kinds of solutions available, especially if you have internet at that location. It really depends on how much money you have to spend.

 

[nybirdman]

Busnell has a new camera out that transmits to a phone or computer.Sold as a game camera but no reason it couldn't be used for security.They are tied to AT&T service.Camera is about $600.00 plus a monthly fee.I have regular Bushnell cameras and they last up to a year on batteries.

 

[bucktaker]

DropCam is really coming on as a popular remote camera.

https://www.dropcam.com/?utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=rais&utm_campaign=brand-rais

 

[s219]

If you have internet there, you can get a Panasonic Network camera and view it from anywhere on the internet. Prices range from about $100-300 depending on the options. We got one for our last house, and it worked well. Have not hooked up at our new house yet, but plan to.

I usually set it up to show the live image, and to store images when it detects motion (so you can go back and review the archive and see if anything happened in the past).

 

[lhfarm]

I have 20 years experience of monitoring/running a second home. If I were starting over, I would do as others have said, and get an internet connection, if you don't have one. I'd then run a low-power computer 24/7 and install Blue Iris - Home. You can add cameras - just about any type - as you like and have full access from the Web. Blue Iris has great motion detection and will send you email or even call you with an alarm.

With that basic infrastructure in place (network & PC), you can begin to add other monitoring devices. And you can do all your monitor from the Web and without paying monthly fees.

 

[newbury]

BUT in researching things I ran across these Amazon.com: NETGEAR VueZone Home Video Monitoring System - 1 Motion Detection Camera (VZSM2200): Camera & Photo which is a battery operated wireless ip camera.

Supposedly EASY to hook up and fairly reliable (based on Amazon reviews).

Does anyone here use them? If so how do you like them?

So it's been about a day and it looks like several people have opinions on security cameras but no Vuezone owners to answer my questions.

I have internet. I have Foscam. I have other web cameras. I'm not trying to monitor for security but rather take a quick look AFTER my paid security alarm goes off. The Vuezone seems like a nice system to do a minimum job for under $200. And the cameras are easily moved around so when I want to monitor the garden or oversee a contractor it will be easy to do without rewiring.

 

[GManBart]

I spend a fair amount of time dealing with surveillance systems that are extremely complex. One system I really like is the Milestone XProtect Go free software (up to 8 cameras). They store 5 days worth of video on their cloud system, at no charge, and you can access it afterwards if something happens. You can real-time access it via smart phone/tablet, normal computer, etc. It generally doesn't matter what sort of cameras you're running, so you could probably use wireless, battery powered cameras just as easily as wired.

XProtect Go - Milestonesys.com

My concern with wireless cameras is that most of them are using a typical 802.11 connection, and smart bad guys know how to shut those down.

If you can run an ethernet cable to the camera location, you can now power the cameras through the ethernet cable (google "power over ethernet"). A couple of guys I work with have bought POE setups from this guy, and have been really happy.
Multiport Passive Power over Ethernet injectors with 4, 8 or 12 ports

If you can't keep within the normal distance for Cat 5e or Cat 6 (roughly 300ft), they make ethernet to fiber converters that you could put on both ends, and run something like 1,000ft.