Arlo - wireless CCTV - any better alternatives?
Discussion
There are some things you can do to make wiring CCTV easier.
Use down pipes and architectural features to hide wires. Gutters running round the roof line are perfect for getting cables where you want if you're locating the DVR in a loft space.
Generally easier to run cameras into a loft where the DVR is and then a single wire to the router. Regarding this it's easier and good practice to fit a wall mounted network point next to the DVR and another one next to the router. The wire connection to the back of the network point is easy - just like a telephone extension point. You don't have to make fiddly RJ45 plug connectors. Once the network points are installed use a short patch cable from the DVR and router to the network point.
If your DVR is fitted within wi-fi range of the router then consider a wireless network extender fitted near the DVR. AAs well as extending the wi-if hey have an RJ45 socket into which you can plug the DVR via a patch cable. You could also consider using power line or power bridge links with one end near the router and the other near your DVR. Final connection to DVR or router is via a patch cable.
Think about camera location in relation to what you are trying to film and which areas are easiest to run cable to. Sometimes using long range cameras makes wiring easier and has the added benefit of people people being in view for longer. They also won't realise they are being filmed so are less likely to be caught off guard. Our best ever prosecution was obtained by a long range camera filming at distance. Just remember when retailers quote "range" they are referring to the largely made up Infra red "range" of the camera. It is actually the lens fitted to a camera which dictates maximum effective range. The wider the angle of view the shorter the effective range regardless of what it says on the box or in the advertising blurb.
Use down pipes and architectural features to hide wires. Gutters running round the roof line are perfect for getting cables where you want if you're locating the DVR in a loft space.
Generally easier to run cameras into a loft where the DVR is and then a single wire to the router. Regarding this it's easier and good practice to fit a wall mounted network point next to the DVR and another one next to the router. The wire connection to the back of the network point is easy - just like a telephone extension point. You don't have to make fiddly RJ45 plug connectors. Once the network points are installed use a short patch cable from the DVR and router to the network point.
If your DVR is fitted within wi-fi range of the router then consider a wireless network extender fitted near the DVR. AAs well as extending the wi-if hey have an RJ45 socket into which you can plug the DVR via a patch cable. You could also consider using power line or power bridge links with one end near the router and the other near your DVR. Final connection to DVR or router is via a patch cable.
Think about camera location in relation to what you are trying to film and which areas are easiest to run cable to. Sometimes using long range cameras makes wiring easier and has the added benefit of people people being in view for longer. They also won't realise they are being filmed so are less likely to be caught off guard. Our best ever prosecution was obtained by a long range camera filming at distance. Just remember when retailers quote "range" they are referring to the largely made up Infra red "range" of the camera. It is actually the lens fitted to a camera which dictates maximum effective range. The wider the angle of view the shorter the effective range regardless of what it says on the box or in the advertising blurb.
Interesting thread with lots of useful information.
A question, how important is recording audio these days? I mean if someone comes to your property with their faces covered could an audio recording help the police track them down and help with a prosecution?
Do modern CCTV systems, both wired and wireless offer this facility?
A question, how important is recording audio these days? I mean if someone comes to your property with their faces covered could an audio recording help the police track them down and help with a prosecution?
Do modern CCTV systems, both wired and wireless offer this facility?
BlackLabel said:
Interesting thread with lots of useful information.
A question, how important is recording audio these days? I mean if someone comes to your property with their faces covered could an audio recording help the police track them down and help with a prosecution?
Do modern CCTV systems, both wired and wireless offer this facility?
the Arlo wireless cameras with audio do record audio when they record video, and the noise can trigger alerts/recordingsA question, how important is recording audio these days? I mean if someone comes to your property with their faces covered could an audio recording help the police track them down and help with a prosecution?
Do modern CCTV systems, both wired and wireless offer this facility?
Russ T Bolt said:
VerySideways said:
I've got Arlo Pro and i'm happy with it - sensitivity seems to work perfectly, picks up everything from birds and foxes and badgers to the postman and myriad delivery drivers.
Unless you constantly monitor or have other damers, how do you know it catches everything ?As an example, about 4 weeks ago I had an obviously hardworking chap in a Transit pickup offer to do my drive. He wouldn't take a simple 'No' so we had a bit of a disagreement before he left, i followed him back to his van.
He turned to me and said 'write the reg down then' I told him i didnt need as there were cameras recording him. Only problem was they weren't, i put another camera out the front at right angles to the 2 existing.
The rest of your post I agree with, I dont have a problem charging the cameras and the convenience is really useful, i actually rotate the cameras so I just swap a charged one with one where the battery has tun out.
Fully wired systems are going to be better, but Arlos work very well too.
Russ T Bolt said:
Unless you constantly monitor or have other damers, how do you know it catches everything ?
I have video and audio sensitivity set too high, so the cameras catch far more than i want them to (but still less than 24/7 obviously).I don't know for certain that they've captured everything, but having had CCTV before and trawled through hours of footage trying to find an incident (a neighbour's van tyre got slashed in the night) i find they do enough for what i want. I've also got some redundancy built in, through other means
Targarama said:
Arlos can be set to trigger other cameras to record when one sense movement, so if you set them up right they will all trigger on each other's sensor. Covers all entries on our property. Also, I use rechargeable batteries, get 6 ish weeks from them in the cold winter, more in summer. Lots of triggers though and they're 'on' 24/7 (can program your own schedule, and if I remember I turn ours off when we're outside at the weekend). There is a location based arm feature but I don't use it.
Fully wired systems are going to be better, but Arlos work very well too.
My point was neither of the 2 cameras at the front of the house captured a tarmac guy with a Transit. I put a third camera up. Fully wired systems are going to be better, but Arlos work very well too.
I know for a fact that all 3 cameras covering the front of the house miss stuff.
So one triggering others will not help.
As I have said ( a number of times), it works well for us, but i don't really use it as a scurity system, it isnt reliable enough.
We have the arlos pros installed and couldn't be happier about it at first. We liked the 2way communication and the night vision. Recently though, we noticed that the motion sensor's been acting up. I keep receiving false notifications. I found these "arlo alternatives" . I wasn't able to hear any of them until now. It's sad how I get to find out about the cheap alternatives now that the arlo pro has been purchased already.
Edited by KramerX on Friday 20th April 19:41
Power over ethernet is indeed the best way to do it.
Same route for power is for data too (and wired connections are way better than wifi, and if you need to change wifi password its easier).
however if you have a big house and you don't want to run a long cable all the way, you can use powerline to use the existing wires in your house (usually fast enough for CCTV) and a POE injector. This can cut the cost, depending on how long the wires are
Same route for power is for data too (and wired connections are way better than wifi, and if you need to change wifi password its easier).
however if you have a big house and you don't want to run a long cable all the way, you can use powerline to use the existing wires in your house (usually fast enough for CCTV) and a POE injector. This can cut the cost, depending on how long the wires are
Hi folks
Sorry for the thread hijack but I’m certain it’ll help someone other than just me! I’m an IT geek by day but have never touched a cctv system before!
I’m in the fortunate position of being able to build my own house. As part of this process I get to pull all new cables through the house to my spec. I intend to network all the various rooms etc with cat6.
When it comes to cctv, I’ve got 8 main places for cameras to go that should cover every entrance and the garage. All cables will pull back to a central location where my firewall, router and server are located (in the garage). Here there will be a PoE switch. I can pull a cable for the storage device to anywhere I can get power, realistically.
So, killer question is, what’s the setup to look at for PoE cameras? Why sort of storage does one need for 8 cameras to keep a decent amount of footage? Should I go dedicated system or is there something that I can just point at a network share on my existing server? And is the latter really actually reliable?
Answers on a postcard if you please. That’d Be great!
Sorry for the thread hijack but I’m certain it’ll help someone other than just me! I’m an IT geek by day but have never touched a cctv system before!
I’m in the fortunate position of being able to build my own house. As part of this process I get to pull all new cables through the house to my spec. I intend to network all the various rooms etc with cat6.
When it comes to cctv, I’ve got 8 main places for cameras to go that should cover every entrance and the garage. All cables will pull back to a central location where my firewall, router and server are located (in the garage). Here there will be a PoE switch. I can pull a cable for the storage device to anywhere I can get power, realistically.
So, killer question is, what’s the setup to look at for PoE cameras? Why sort of storage does one need for 8 cameras to keep a decent amount of footage? Should I go dedicated system or is there something that I can just point at a network share on my existing server? And is the latter really actually reliable?
Answers on a postcard if you please. That’d Be great!
KramerX said:
We have the arlos pros installed and couldn't be happier about it at first. We liked the 2way communication and the night vision. Recently though, we noticed that the motion sensor's been acting up. I keep receiving false notifications. I found these "arlo alternatives" . I wasn't able to hear any of them until now. It's sad how I get to find out about the cheap alternatives now that the arlo pro has been purchased already.
none of those are really competitors if you value battery operated and battery life...which is the key selling point of Arlo as they have patents on the wi-fi they use that gets the battery life out of them.As soon as you go for a dedicate wired and/or PoE system, a whole world of alternatives are available .....Netgear themselves do a NAS based camera solution with Arlo like hardware in the cameras but recording to local NAS...they call it "flex power" in the USA
Anybody still running these? Considering my options for home CCTV, either the plug and play Arlo Pro 2, the Nest Floodlight camera (x2) or something a bit more substantial like the fella on here is advising.
Way I see it is there's little or no chance off getting anything from the footage in reality if it does capture somebody on the rob - hoods/caps etc will cover them anyway most likely. I am wanting it more for a warning system to alert me to activity or ideally automatically turn on the kitchen lights or play the radio via Alexa / IFTTT. I thought that sort of thing might be the best option and just make any possible intruder think twice and move along.
Way I see it is there's little or no chance off getting anything from the footage in reality if it does capture somebody on the rob - hoods/caps etc will cover them anyway most likely. I am wanting it more for a warning system to alert me to activity or ideally automatically turn on the kitchen lights or play the radio via Alexa / IFTTT. I thought that sort of thing might be the best option and just make any possible intruder think twice and move along.
Tony Angelino said:
Anybody still running these? Considering my options for home CCTV, either the plug and play Arlo Pro 2, the Nest Floodlight camera (x2) or something a bit more substantial like the fella on here is advising.
Way I see it is there's little or no chance off getting anything from the footage in reality if it does capture somebody on the rob - hoods/caps etc will cover them anyway most likely. I am wanting it more for a warning system to alert me to activity or ideally automatically turn on the kitchen lights or play the radio via Alexa / IFTTT. I thought that sort of thing might be the best option and just make any possible intruder think twice and move along.
Yep still got mine up, have had them for 6 months now and i've only just charged them back up. I have the alro pro 2 and they are pretty good. There is a small delay with the 2 about 1-2 seconds of recordings which the new pro has been improved to change this. I have to admit i've not looked at the Alexa integration yet but i think I need to get some smart light bulbs to do that. But my concern is if someone / an animal does go past do you want a radio coming on and waking you up and then does the guy coming to rob you walk away because a radio has just come on. Way I see it is there's little or no chance off getting anything from the footage in reality if it does capture somebody on the rob - hoods/caps etc will cover them anyway most likely. I am wanting it more for a warning system to alert me to activity or ideally automatically turn on the kitchen lights or play the radio via Alexa / IFTTT. I thought that sort of thing might be the best option and just make any possible intruder think twice and move along.
Yep still got my original ones, all working great. Arlo now have many millions of customers and the biggest market share in the USA, if you want a "wire free" solution they are still the market leader.
On the Pro/Pro2/ultra (in fact all the cameras other than the originals I still have) you can run them on mains power with an optional power supply. You still have the limitation of wi-fi range from the base station. You can use additional base stations if you have Ethernet feed for the additional base station elsewhere.
Alternatively you can integrate the Arlo 4G camera if you have no wi-fi, but good mobile coverage. I have one of those at the bottom of my garden, works great, runs on solar panel so self charging too. Haven't touched it since I installed it 18 months ago.
On the Pro/Pro2/ultra (in fact all the cameras other than the originals I still have) you can run them on mains power with an optional power supply. You still have the limitation of wi-fi range from the base station. You can use additional base stations if you have Ethernet feed for the additional base station elsewhere.
Alternatively you can integrate the Arlo 4G camera if you have no wi-fi, but good mobile coverage. I have one of those at the bottom of my garden, works great, runs on solar panel so self charging too. Haven't touched it since I installed it 18 months ago.
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