Security Systems

[FlyerInHi]

The entrance to the condo is from a common hallway.

There is an entry area. Only the front door would be surveiled. Not doing anything yet, just a thought.

The HOA wont allow me to put a camera outside. The logistics of that would not be feasible anyway because walls would have to be torn down for cabling.

[FlyerInHi]

So I got a dropcam pro. it’s pretty good for $199 and has wide angle lens.

It includes 14-day trial cloud storage. Works with Nest Thermostat and Nest smoke detectors. Easy to setup because some people don’t have the knowledge or inclination to setup their own systems. I like.

I use the Nest thermostat and it’s the best. I like the auto-away feature so I don’t have to turn it on and off. I had a Honeywell thermostat but it’s not as good.

Not sure if we want Google to automate/monitor our lives… but they have good products.

[spdrun]

Did you bend over to kiss Larry Page on the “cheeks” as well? 🙂

BTW – a properly designed cloud-free system should work out of the box as well. i.e. a DDVR doesn’t need to be difficult to set up. Most are, but that’s because of an excessively complicated UI and a surfeit of options, not because the technology need be hard to master.

I’m not anti-Google, but I just choose to limit my usage of their tech to CyanogenMod with minimal Google services, and to actual search which is their core market.

[FlyerInHi]

spd, you’re right about the UI and the confusing options.

If you have an apartment, or small house, a DVR uses electricity ($10/month extra electricity?), hums and requires wiring. I’m anti noise. Plus you have to maintain the equipment and worry about updates, failures, DDNS…. It becomes a part-time job almost.

My media server is too noisy for me already and it’s a small form factor desktop.

One complaint about dropcam is that it’s ugly. It should be white (not black) with thin post/base so that it blends unobstructedly with the walls.

I share you privacy concerns… but often times, we take the cheapest most convenient path of least resistance. Maybe the battle for privacy has been lost already. About google, I’m pretty resistant to advertising and don’t buy much. They’re kinda wasting their time on me.

oh, if the NSA is watching, if you leave fewer electronic traces then you could be even more suspicious.

[moneymaker]

My Q-See 524 only uses 24W for the DVR and makes absolutely no noise. The cameras probably use 36W, so the whole system uses maybe 60W. So that would be $15/month in tier 4 or half that in tier 1 rate. For me it’s tier 1 since I have solar now. The average person doesn’t even know how to login to their router so they would need someone to set it up for them.

[spdrun]

My goal isn’t to avoid suspicion. It’s to tell the watchers “go fuck yourselves with a pointy object.”

As far as DVR power consumption, no reason why a DVR can’t run an SSD (low power, no noise) and handle connection mediation via a cloud service. Mediation via a cloud service would not require the service to have access to image data, which would only be sent peer to peer.

[FlyerInHi]

Google/Nest has a new 1080p security camera out.
It’s cheap and easy to setup. I will buy one.
They also rolled out a new app that allows you to control thermostats and cameras all in one.

Big brother is watching.

http://www.wired.com/2015/06/nest-cam/

[spdrun]

Better your privacy than mine. This being said, if a neighbor installed something like that that watched so much as as an square inch of my property, he might see a mysterious guy with a water balloon full of indelible paint followed by darkness…

I may add that $10 per month per camera is bordering on sodomy. I can put up four IP cameras, and buy a computer and hard drive to record their output for the price of 6 months of this disservice.

[FlyerInHi]

It’s easy to setup for the average person. No muss no fuss. No maintenance issues.

[spdrun]

Then keep the cameras watching your own property. Don’t involve your neighbors in a mass corporate surveillance experiment.

[moneymaker]

Check this one out! http://www.frys.com/product/8407718?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
True wireless, only question is do the batteries last as long as they say,4-6 months.

[spdrun]

Lol. Same issue of uploading footage of your private home to some cloudcrap provider. At the very least, one should get a camera system that has a choice of local storage vs cloudcrap spyware.

True IP cameras are cheap.

[La Jolla Renter]

Tip for all.

After a having a house keeper slowly steal from us over a six month period, I came up with a security strategy. I have anyone that works in our house sign a simple release that they are aware that all areas of our house, interior and exterior are recoded on video. Nanny, house cleaner, landscapers, contractors, etc.

I’m in the process of upgrading my entire security system, so really appreciate that this post popped up again. I hate that I want cameras on every inch of my property. But way too much crime happening out there.

[scaredyclassic]

I bought an ADT sign off eBay and stuck it at the entrance.

[DataAgent]

[quote=scaredyclassic]I bought an ADT sign off eBay and stuck it at the entrance.[/quote]

Me too. I also mounted two small fake cameras (complete with tiny red blinking lites) under the roof eaves.

[Author]

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