wireless CCTV

[Luddite]

Hi - Looking to buy wireless CCTV - so, if anyones got any tips, advice or recommendations i'd be glad to hear them.
Cheers - Nick

[Mark H]

I recently bought a Motorola Homesight system half price from PC World - this communicates using it's own proprietary system which uses a frequency similar to the WIFI networking that most of us probably use - and it interferes. Lots of other wireless CCTV is similar, however you can get wireless network cameras which I suspect would be less of a problem as they are working with the wireless network rather than competing with it - this is what I would go for next time.

[party_pete]

This is what i'm just about to purchase for my shop;

Wireless Camera

It's obviously not a recommendation based on experience, but i've been looking into this for sometime and it really fits the bill. Not the cheapest but for functionality, it looks good.

[jont]

We looked at wireless but evetnually went with wired as the range needed and the interference from the structural steelwork was causing too much of a problem. The wired option was OK as we have suspended ceilings to hide the cabling.

we used D-Link DCS-900 10/100Mbps as it has it's own on-board server so no need for a PC and can be viewed remotely over the internet

[Luddite]

Thanks for the advice chaps - gives me something to go on.

[Stereo Steve]

You might want one with infra-red as well. We have a gadspot which is OK but a bit unreliable to be honest so we're looking for a more robust one. It's wired but you can see perfectly in pitch black which is useful for a warehouse or offices. Alos, get one with a motion sensor that will start uploading the feed to a remote server as this means that even if an intrudor pinches the camera and any computers on site, the images are already away and stored elsewhere.

[Luddite]

This is what i'm just about to purchase for my shop;

Wireless Camera

It's obviously not a recommendation based on experience, but i've been looking into this for sometime and it really fits the bill. Not the cheapest but for functionality, it looks good.

Have you bought it yet Pete? Whats it like?

[completerookie]

we've were advised NOT to go wireless - if you were a "serious" burgler, then you just JAM the normal known frequencies, and your camera does NOT record whats going on. - thats why your burglar alarm has battery backups, they can't just cut the power.

InfraRed is considered essential, but also look seriously at "auto-iris" options and especially those cameras that can "map" white-out-spots and ignore them, some wise people shine a torch at the lamp, and again the camera goes blind. - clever cameras just ignore those areas of the pictures that go white and carry on recording the other "normal" spots on the picture.

one last thing, look very very carefully at the clarity of the pics being generated, its no use recording if you can't see anything afterwards.

We went through a very serious chat with some security bods after itinerant travellers smashed a padlock off a 40,000 gal diesel tank so they could fill up their 40gal drum - the remain 39,000 odd gallons just went everywhere.
When the pictures were shown, the police could NOT prosecute, there wasn't enough "clarity" to determine who it was.

we did do some serious cameras including ability to remote control and view, and then we put camera/and boxes up and then simply wired up a single flashing LED with a 9v-pp9 to "pretend that ALL the cameras a re working"

there is also some bits on the "data protection act" that says you must tell would -be burglars that we record cctv pictures, but if you give us a ring on 01???? etc then we can chat about it with you. - (being PC now)

[Mark H]

The issue of jamming might also affect a wireless network used to upload images to the internet so that they are not removed with the PC - might be best to use a LAN cable for that PC.....

[Luddite]

Nothings straightforward is it.

[Duncan Rounding]

...
there is also some bits on the "data protection act" that says you must tell would -be burglars that we record cctv pictures...

Else the burglar could prosecute you?!! What an amazing world we live in!

[party_pete]

Nick - After a couple of months deciding on wich make and model to go for, it is now discontinued for supply to Europe. Didn't want to risk £300 on an unsupported camera.

Back to the drawing board...........

[Mike Hughes]

Quote:
Originally Posted by completerookie
...
there is also some bits on the "data protection act" that says you must tell would -be burglars that we record cctv pictures...

Else the burglar could prosecute you?!! What an amazing world we live in!

Not that the burglar would prosecute you, but you'd probably get a telling off and any footage you recorded wouln't be admissable in court.

Mike