Surveillance system/camera help please
4TL;DR? I’m looking for a surveillance camera system for my mother’s house that does NOT rely on internet connectivity AND is wireless. If you know of a self-monitored wireless security system, that’s helpful too!
My 72 year old mother lives on a farm about 50 miles from nowhere, and 1800 miles from me. Very, very rural location. Her husband (my step dad) passed away in April, and now she’s alone there, so I’ve been taking measures to make sure she’s comfortable and feels safe and secure. For now, we need to add some video surveillance and a self-monitored alarm system.
Many years ago I sent her a wireless camera system. It’s only got 2 cameras, and they’re really low resolution. That system works on a wireless hub configuration. The cameras connect to the hub via 2.4GHz. The hub has a composite video-out port to connect a TV for monitoring the cameras, and SD card port for recording (only supports up to 8GB cards). This system also does rudimentary motion detection notifications (via an audible alarm from the hub).
The system is basically a self-contained solution. No network connections are necessary (or even supported for that matter). Except for the very, very low resolution and the 2-camera limit, it’s perfect for her situation. She seldom leaves the house, so remote access to the system isn’t useful to her. Not to mention she doesn’t have reliable internet access. She uses HugesNet satellite service and basically gets EVDO speeds less than 1mb. And it’s unreliable. So, not useful for remote monitoring.
So I’ve spent the last several weeks trying to solve this challenge. First I ordered her a Zmodo 8-camera wifi NVR sytem. Seemed like a good option. 720p cameras, wifi in the cameras and NVR, HDMI output from NVR for monitoring, 1TB hard drive for recording… it was perfect for this situation.
My smile turned upside down when the system arrived and we discovered it REQUIRES internet access for setup. There is absolutely NO accommodation for local-only setup. I assume the ongoing operation probably also requires internet connectivity to communite between camera and DVR. We never got that far.
Since then I’ve been shopping for a wireless surveillance system that does NOT require internet connectivity for setup or daily operation. I’ve been unable to find a system that the instruction manual doesn’t begin with “download and install our mobile app”.
I need at least 6 cameras. But my experience tells me: if I think I need 6, I really need at least 8. There are 5 outbuildings, and at least two of those need cameras, plus the area in and around the house. Reliance on wifi is ok, but I can’t use a system that requires internet access. I will install a wifi router and dedicate it to this system if necessary; no problem.
Ideally this system will cost less than $500 (and even that amount will be challenging for my budge). But let’s face it, it’s my mother and there is no price I will not pay for her to feel secure in her home.
If you have first-person experience with such a system, your advice is invaluable to me!
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You’ll spend more, but most any system that supports (or has cameras with built-in) edge recording will do what you want . . . you may have to connect online to set-up (firmware updates) but past that, any edge recording ready or enabled system can spend forever in isolation just sitting there doing its job. An edge system properly configured and utilized also allows for retrieval of data when the main NVR/PVR/DVR has failed, is broken or has been physical removed.
You can always spend a bit of time on Amazon reading reviews to find a solution that may work offline reliably, but you’re going to need to connect to the Internet for initial set-up most likely. You can always do this somewhere away from the installation and tote it back and plug it in - once updated, the firmware will usually allow for operation in an offline mode continuously.
@Pavlov The Zmodo system was a learning experience. I now know I’ll need to ship the system to my home, do the setup, configuration and testing. Then pack it all up and take it to the farm for final installation.
I’ve spent a remarkable number of hours reading documentation, contacting support for various companies, reading reviews and forums… but since it’s unique to NOT have internet access, nobody really addresses this question in reviews/forums.
Thanks for the tip on edge. I’ll look into it.
Hmm.
@ruouttaurmind ??
Are the cameras all outdoor or can some be indoor? I ask because wireless indoor cameras are usually cheaper.
@medz Yup, thanks for asking. Probably four outside, the balance inside.
The Zmodo system I got was 8 outdoor cameras, which would have offered ideal flexibility. Inside, outside, didn’t matter. With NVR, it was $260 after applying an eBay discount offer. Bummer it didn’t work out.
I have a zmodo (wired) system at my old house. Even if the manual does not specify it, you should be able to configure the system via its web interface from a local wifi network with no internet access required. The app probably uses the same interface and just gives you a friendlier UI.
Other than internet based alerts that you know won’t work, and potentially phoning home for licensing (which i don’t believe zmodo does) there is nothing that a typical dvr setup does that should require the internet on an ongoing basis.
It’s a shame that everything assumes you have internet access now.
@djslack
This. Absolutely this.
I had her ship me the NVR and one camera so I could experiment with a solution. It will be here tomorrow, so I’ll know more by the weekend. Worst case, I may be able to configure the system here, and as long as it’ll work without ‘net access, pack the whole shootin’ match into a suitcase and fly back there to install it. That would be ideal.
@ruouttaurmind when you get it, if you have a spare wifi router, plug the nvr into it with no internet connection and see what address it pulls then see if it has a local web interface. Same for the camera. Actually, if you have the app, you should be able to use it to find and configure the camera as well. The usual mechanism for this is that the camera will broadcast its own wifi ssid at first and the app will just connect to it to configure it. But just in case the app wants to check with the internet before setting up a camera, it’s worth it to find its local interface.
It’s possible that they don’t have a local web interface, but it would be unusual. Anyway, with a spare router (as @nfi said) it should be possible to mimic the environment it will be set up in.
@djslack Initial testing started out promising, but fizzled out.
Camera broadcasts an open SSID. Join network and note my IP is .2, so I conclude camera is .1. I try browser to .1, eventual timeout. Hmm.
Download mobile app, select “add camera”. Jump through requisite hoops. Success. I can live view camera. Cam and iPad are connected to “live” network. So I pull the patch cable from modem to router. Theoretically I should maintain my live view. No dice.
Image freezes, app eventually times out.
I suspect an alternative IP cam app MAY be able to access a cam once I’ve used the app to join my live network. If that’s true, I should be able to live view regardless of interwebs connectivity.
Next step is to fuss with the NVR, but Mom forgot to include the power supply. So tomorrow I’ll dig around in my spares and find a suitable substitute.
No luck on the NVR. Apparently no web interface there either. Boo.
Have you tried just putting a wifi router in for the zmodo? And make a local network without internet. Just get an old 2.4Ghz router.
@nfi Yup, but without 'net access, camera connection to the NVR seemed impossible. But have a peek at the reply above for the most recent development.
/giphy thread hijack!
I’ve been looking for a cheap outdoor wired PTZ dome camera to add to my existing system. It needs to have the BNC + power + RS485 wired connections. Built-in IR lights would be preferred, but not required.