Discussion
Impossible to compare without any model numbers.
However, Reolink are typically consumer products and Hikvision are business, and only sell to qualified installers.
I have Hikvision cameras at home, the 8mp colourvu 2387 range is great.
I installed it myself, managed to find a retailer online that would sell to consumer (or didn't check if the business was legit, forget now). They set me back £165 a piece and I setup "frigate" on a refurbished mini pc instead of their NVR.
Looking at said retailer, you can pick up 4 2387's and an NVR for less than £1000 (inc. vat), so both quotes look expensive to me.
However, Reolink are typically consumer products and Hikvision are business, and only sell to qualified installers.
I have Hikvision cameras at home, the 8mp colourvu 2387 range is great.
I installed it myself, managed to find a retailer online that would sell to consumer (or didn't check if the business was legit, forget now). They set me back £165 a piece and I setup "frigate" on a refurbished mini pc instead of their NVR.
Looking at said retailer, you can pick up 4 2387's and an NVR for less than £1000 (inc. vat), so both quotes look expensive to me.
I went the other way and have a Reolink system at my house, self-installed, PoE powered, I have 3 external cameras and the doorbell, all recording to a NAS, setup with the app on my phone to monitor / answer the door.
I think the total cost was in the region of £300 for the cameras and doorbell and about the same for the NAS (though I use that for media storage too, so you could go cheaper if it was just for CCTV) I then had to pay about £100 for licenses for the surveillance station software that runs the whole system.
It's been in a few years now and no complaints from me at all.
I think the total cost was in the region of £300 for the cameras and doorbell and about the same for the NAS (though I use that for media storage too, so you could go cheaper if it was just for CCTV) I then had to pay about £100 for licenses for the surveillance station software that runs the whole system.
It's been in a few years now and no complaints from me at all.
K50 DEL said:
I went the other way and have a Reolink system at my house, self-installed, PoE powered, I have 3 external cameras and the doorbell, all recording to a NAS, setup with the app on my phone to monitor / answer the door.
I think the total cost was in the region of £300 for the cameras and doorbell and about the same for the NAS (though I use that for media storage too, so you could go cheaper if it was just for CCTV) I then had to pay about £100 for licenses for the surveillance station software that runs the whole system.
It's been in a few years now and no complaints from me at all.
A similar set up here, although I already had the NAS. The Reolink stuff seems decent, but I haven't got anything else to compare against.I think the total cost was in the region of £300 for the cameras and doorbell and about the same for the NAS (though I use that for media storage too, so you could go cheaper if it was just for CCTV) I then had to pay about £100 for licenses for the surveillance station software that runs the whole system.
It's been in a few years now and no complaints from me at all.
I've got a number of Reolink POE cameras with a Reolink NVR.
I did start off with just the cameras (they record to MicroSD card when they detect motion) but added an NVR later.
I started off with ah Hikvision NVR but swapped it out after a while for a Reolink one, while the Hikvision recorded fine, it (understandably) didn't integrate properly and so the motion alerts didn't show up. It also felt very dated technologically and was clunky to play via the web needing a service and plugin to integrate.
The Reolink NVR is much less feature rich but using it is much nicer. The web version just works without needing a plugin, it works well both from the phone and Windows app.
We have a number of the spotlight cameras for three reasons, firstly because it looks less like a camera and more just like a light, secondly it gives a way better definition for anything than the IR illuminated view, finally for the same reason as having a security light!
Some (hopefully) useful info from using them.
Spiders love the IR. This causes massive amounts of false positives with the webs billowing and can end up with the view blocked. Don't mount them where you can't at least get a duster on a pole up to them. The only camera we've got where we can reliably use the motion detection is one in the porch!
Picking up fast movement in the dark is all but hopeless.
If you can see them then thieves can see them. My wife had poo-poo'd my suggestions that all approaches to the house should be covered. When they tried to break in to ours they drove past, dropped someone off who went through/over the next door neighbours gate (the opposite side of their house from us), went through their garden, over the fence and hugged the wall to the back door. We did not get any usable footage as at the time all we had was a high camera of the garden.
If you're hoping to get number plates then good luck at night unless stationary. The headlights make the front ones all but invisible and the rears are almost as bad. Add in the inability generally for high enough frame rates and movement may just end up a blur.
If they can reach them and see them then they will move/cover/break them.
I did start off with just the cameras (they record to MicroSD card when they detect motion) but added an NVR later.
I started off with ah Hikvision NVR but swapped it out after a while for a Reolink one, while the Hikvision recorded fine, it (understandably) didn't integrate properly and so the motion alerts didn't show up. It also felt very dated technologically and was clunky to play via the web needing a service and plugin to integrate.
The Reolink NVR is much less feature rich but using it is much nicer. The web version just works without needing a plugin, it works well both from the phone and Windows app.
We have a number of the spotlight cameras for three reasons, firstly because it looks less like a camera and more just like a light, secondly it gives a way better definition for anything than the IR illuminated view, finally for the same reason as having a security light!
Some (hopefully) useful info from using them.
Spiders love the IR. This causes massive amounts of false positives with the webs billowing and can end up with the view blocked. Don't mount them where you can't at least get a duster on a pole up to them. The only camera we've got where we can reliably use the motion detection is one in the porch!
Picking up fast movement in the dark is all but hopeless.
If you can see them then thieves can see them. My wife had poo-poo'd my suggestions that all approaches to the house should be covered. When they tried to break in to ours they drove past, dropped someone off who went through/over the next door neighbours gate (the opposite side of their house from us), went through their garden, over the fence and hugged the wall to the back door. We did not get any usable footage as at the time all we had was a high camera of the garden.
If you're hoping to get number plates then good luck at night unless stationary. The headlights make the front ones all but invisible and the rears are almost as bad. Add in the inability generally for high enough frame rates and movement may just end up a blur.
If they can reach them and see them then they will move/cover/break them.
K50 DEL said:
I went the other way and have a Reolink system at my house, self-installed, PoE powered, I have 3 external cameras and the doorbell, all recording to a NAS, setup with the app on my phone to monitor / answer the door.
I think the total cost was in the region of £300 for the cameras and doorbell and about the same for the NAS (though I use that for media storage too, so you could go cheaper if it was just for CCTV) I then had to pay about £100 for licenses for the surveillance station software that runs the whole system.
It's been in a few years now and no complaints from me at all.
Which Synology NÁS did you go for? I find mine so slow with surveillance station it’s almost impossible to use (2 cameras).I think the total cost was in the region of £300 for the cameras and doorbell and about the same for the NAS (though I use that for media storage too, so you could go cheaper if it was just for CCTV) I then had to pay about £100 for licenses for the surveillance station software that runs the whole system.
It's been in a few years now and no complaints from me at all.
Thanks
I was planning on buying these any reviews on this one
https://m.reolink.com/product/cx820/
5 of these and nvr how should budget for electrican to install
https://m.reolink.com/product/cx820/
5 of these and nvr how should budget for electrican to install
ukessex09 said:
how should budget for electrican to install
You don't need an electrician. It's low voltage "ethernet" cable (I use external grade CAT6). You may be better off finding a specialist rather than looking for an electrician. But its a how long is a piece of string question as it depends where you want your cameras, how tricky it is to get from the NVR location to where you've stuck the cameras and how picky you are over exposed cabling.
If you live in a bungalow and can pop the cables out from the roof space and have the NVR up their you could do it yourself with nothing more than some 5 or 10m CAT6 patch cables.
ukessex09 said:
I was planning on buying these any reviews on this one
https://m.reolink.com/product/cx820/
5 of these and nvr how should budget for electrican to install
Look at the quotes you've had and work it out , I'd say they've put in £1000 ish for install. https://m.reolink.com/product/cx820/
5 of these and nvr how should budget for electrican to install
Also those are 'Turret' cams, you don't want dome cams outside as the domes get dirty and mess with the IR. Make sure you get turret cams fitted.
And as others have mentioned, don't install the cams too high or you'll not see anything useful, ok for general surveillance but no good if you want to ID faces etc. If the cables are running through the loft then they can be brought down behind drain pies etc to a lower position.
Edited by megaphone on Friday 3rd October 16:11
Edited by megaphone on Friday 3rd October 16:14
What's the current PH thought on CCTV cameras please? Our neighbours camera picked up someone with a torch in the side of our garden this morning at about 2:30am..
So the time may well have come to install something - ideally something which will be able to tell who it is, even with a bright light and record to the cloud or similar as I'm happy to have them take the camera as long as the recording is stored elsewhere. So ideally low enough to see faces.
So the time may well have come to install something - ideally something which will be able to tell who it is, even with a bright light and record to the cloud or similar as I'm happy to have them take the camera as long as the recording is stored elsewhere. So ideally low enough to see faces.
Depends how much you want to pay.
I have a Hikvision NVR in the loft with 4x 4K Hikvision ColourVu cameras. Think it was about £1500 quid installed about 3-4 years ago and picture quality is excellent. If you set the lighting settings correctly its almost as good as daylight, however I have mine turned down a bit so the LED light for the colour isnt beaming bright like a torch so quality is not quite as good but still excellent.
I have a Hikvision NVR in the loft with 4x 4K Hikvision ColourVu cameras. Think it was about £1500 quid installed about 3-4 years ago and picture quality is excellent. If you set the lighting settings correctly its almost as good as daylight, however I have mine turned down a bit so the LED light for the colour isnt beaming bright like a torch so quality is not quite as good but still excellent.
Maybe slightly controversial but I think CCTV isn't the deterrent it used to be. These scrotes do it in broad daylight these days! And even if you did get the facial of them - we all hear so many stories of the police unable to do anything.
We have a Ring set up which is about £1k all in, not as HD as these outfits the OP mentioned I imagine but I'm personally of the opinion that if they want something these days, there isn't a lot (namely a CCTV set up) thats going to stop them having a go.
We have a Ring set up which is about £1k all in, not as HD as these outfits the OP mentioned I imagine but I'm personally of the opinion that if they want something these days, there isn't a lot (namely a CCTV set up) thats going to stop them having a go.
Abc321 said:
Maybe slightly controversial but I think CCTV isn't the deterrent it used to be. These scrotes do it in broad daylight these days! And even if you did get the facial of them - we all hear so many stories of the police unable to do anything.
We have a Ring set up which is about £1k all in, not as HD as these outfits the OP mentioned I imagine but I'm personally of the opinion that if they want something these days, there isn't a lot (namely a CCTV set up) thats going to stop them having a go.
This! I'd also rather not know if there was someone snooping around and I was 3,000 miles away. Ultimately they chose not to do whatever they might have been planning on doing, so I'd leave it at that.We have a Ring set up which is about £1k all in, not as HD as these outfits the OP mentioned I imagine but I'm personally of the opinion that if they want something these days, there isn't a lot (namely a CCTV set up) thats going to stop them having a go.
eps said:
What's the current PH thought on CCTV cameras please? Our neighbours camera picked up someone with a torch in the side of our garden this morning at about 2:30am..
So the time may well have come to install something - ideally something which will be able to tell who it is, even with a bright light and record to the cloud or similar as I'm happy to have them take the camera as long as the recording is stored elsewhere. So ideally low enough to see faces.
I bought 3 Blink cameras and they record locally on a little USB drive (no subscription needed). My phone pings whenever there is movement - which is useful as it's more about knowing someone is knocking on the door when I'm in the garden. The recordings are quite high quality and the batteries (2 AA cells in each) last 2 years or so - maybe a bit longer actually. I can access the recordings and live cameras from anywhere - and as mentioned, there's no subscription needed.So the time may well have come to install something - ideally something which will be able to tell who it is, even with a bright light and record to the cloud or similar as I'm happy to have them take the camera as long as the recording is stored elsewhere. So ideally low enough to see faces.
Not an uber professional system, far from it, but they do exactly what I want them to.
Abc321 said:
Maybe slightly controversial but I think CCTV isn't the deterrent it used to be. These scrotes do it in broad daylight these days! And even if you did get the facial of them - we all hear so many stories of the police unable to do anything.
We have a Ring set up which is about £1k all in, not as HD as these outfits the OP mentioned I imagine but I'm personally of the opinion that if they want something these days, there isn't a lot (namely a CCTV set up) thats going to stop them having a go.
That's kinda my view. All scrotes are fully CCTV aware these days so if you do get a visit the are normally completely facially disguised with a mask/balaclava/hoodie combo. We have a Ring set up which is about £1k all in, not as HD as these outfits the OP mentioned I imagine but I'm personally of the opinion that if they want something these days, there isn't a lot (namely a CCTV set up) thats going to stop them having a go.
It's good for getting distinctive clothing which Police might be able to use if they catch them thieving in the same outfit, or possibly some 'I know who that local scrote is' type Facebook recognition, but that's as far as it goes.
We have some Reolink cameras up and a burglar alarm. I just hope they work as a minor deterrent by means of displacement, said scrotes moving to easier pickings which don't have any security.
eps said:
What's the current PH thought on CCTV cameras please? Our neighbours camera picked up someone with a torch in the side of our garden this morning at about 2:30am..
So the time may well have come to install something - ideally something which will be able to tell who it is, even with a bright light and record to the cloud or similar as I'm happy to have them take the camera as long as the recording is stored elsewhere. So ideally low enough to see faces.
I quite like the cameras we have which have a motion activated light. They do however still struggle with frame rates and particularly in low light fast movement just isn't seen! So the time may well have come to install something - ideally something which will be able to tell who it is, even with a bright light and record to the cloud or similar as I'm happy to have them take the camera as long as the recording is stored elsewhere. So ideally low enough to see faces.
We've had a few instances of teleporting badgers where they've wandered up the garden close to the house, the dog has detected them and barked his head off... badger exits stage left at speed but all the camera catches is a blur!
Capturing number plates on the road at night is just hopeless even with a 4k resolution. The light reflecting off the plate or the headlights just overwhelms the camera and you get nothing, particularly when combined with the low frame rate (25fps). Day or night can pick up static plates no problem but anything at speed (where speed isn't that fast, probably 20mph) or at night and you've got no chance.
Also spiders are utter arses. They like the IR and the web (or the spiders themselves) set off the motion detection all night long *AND* block the camera[1]. If starting again from scratch I'd probably go with separate IR illumination and turn off the IR on the cameras!
[1] Fine in the day, you can't see them but at night the light reflects back off the web. I'm forever cleaning the bloody things.
Thank you for all the replies. The cctv isn't so much for me but more mrs eps. If our neighbours hadn't had a camera we wouldn't have even known.
May well get something but as people have said most of the time it's useless, but that would be the point, if I can't get something worth installing I won't be bothering.
May well get something but as people have said most of the time it's useless, but that would be the point, if I can't get something worth installing I won't be bothering.
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