I get questions about my setup anytime I post videos online--often enough that I keep the write-up below handy for replies.


My cameras run on PoE (power over Ethernet), so I had to get a switch and run CAT6 through my house (worth it for more than the cameras).  I get 30 days of constant video at 1080p plus audio (AAC) with the 4TB drive I bought for the NVR.  Dahua has iPhone and iPad apps that are pretty good.

Ipcamtalk:

This is the message board where I found the best discussions in general about all things security camera related.  The guy who started this thread, “nayr,” knows his cameras.  The specific thread where he started talking about the cameras I bought is linked here:
r/https://ipcamtalk.com/threads/dahua-starlight-varifocal-turret-ipc-hdw5231r-z.14683/

Cameras:

Dahua Starlight Verifocal Turrets (x2 of these)
Model: IPC-HDW5231R-Z

r/https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Dahua-2MP-H265-WDR-IR-Eyeball-2-7mm-12mm-motorized-lens-Starlight-Network-Camera-IPC-HDW5231R/32746293334.html

NVR (Network Video Record):

Dahua 8/16/32CH 1U 4K Network Video Recorder
Model: NVR4208-4K/NVR4216-4K/NVR4232-4K

NVR hard drive:

Western Digital Purple (4TB)
r/https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00IMPO5OW/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Switch:

Linksys 24-Port Business Gigabit PoE+ Switch (LGS124P)

​

I just put in a small system with a Reolink RLC-410 camera and I really like the camera. This one is wired, but since you rent, you might want to go wireless--the ones with little wifi antennas that just link up wirelessly to your wifi.

Reolink comes with a phone app that handles up to 16 cameras on your smartphone--I check my property from anywhere over the app whenever I want. I really like it, and the picture quality is awesome, as the Amazon reviews attest. Night vision is awesome, too. The infrared leds illuminate at least 65 feet out. Price isn't bad, either. Wireless will be more. Reolink has them; sorry to sound like a shill.

For recording the footage, I got a Synology NVR 216. A little pricey, but it did what I wanted--record about 2 months worth of 24/7 video feed for liability purposes.

This NVR is "diskless", which means that it comes without hard drives, which have to be purchased separately. I got one 4 TB Western Digital Purple, which is "optimized" for surveillance applications, whatever that means. The system has been recording a single camera's feed basically 24/7 since May 14, and has so far used 586 GB of the 3,000 GB available on this single hard drive, or about 17% of available capacity. Obviously, if you have two cameras, the storage requirement doubles; with four, quadruples. And, yes, I've already purchased another camera. I'll probably have four total, like you, in the future, when my requirements shift from liability to security. This particular NVR holds up to two hard drives, and an expansion kit allows up to 8 more. I really should get at least one more hard drive.

My particular system is currently set up as wired, meaning the camera and NVR are both connected to my wifi access point/router with network patch cables--those ubiquitous ethernet, Cat 5, RG-45 terminated "computer cables" that connect work computers to the jack in the wall, etc.

If you go wireless, especially with four cameras, you'll have to upgrade your local network to gigabit speeds. I should do that, too, and when I do, I'll probably go with a Linksys WRT AC3200. I'm currently running a Linksys WRT-54GL and, frankly, my local LAN bogs down a bit when I stream a movie while the video gear is running (which is all the time).

Guess I'm a bit of a geek. There are actually a lot of people here who are knowledgeable with DIY security CCTVs. I started from zero back in April or May, asked advice here, and actually went with Synology after it was recommended by a regular, here. I'll find that link, later; need to run right now. Update: You'll probably find this link interesting; it's a /r_neworleans thread from six months ago--lot's of perspectives different from my own that may work better for you.

One more thing: I had originally used DHCP to assign IP addresses to the camera and NVR, but the camera kept renewing its lease to a different address, and the NVR stopped recording when it lost the feed. I finally got around to puzzling out how to assign static addresses. Turns out that the WRT software assigns DHCP addresses at 100 and above. So, I just set the camera to 192.168.1.50 and the NVR to 192.168.1.51. Also, the Synology requires port-forwarding to be set up in your router--this was also dead simple. I read documentation for about an hour, then just forwarded some port, I think it was port 5000, in what looked like the right place in the router's set-up software, and it just worked. This way I can access the archive video from my smartphone, as well as the live feed.

I know all this sounds complicated, but it's really not, and there are people here who know this stuff and are more than willing to help out. Also, I know I spent around $1000, which is a lot of money for me. It was hard for me to pull the trigger on all this. But it covers a liability exposure that exceeds my net worth--in other words, an exposure that could force me into bankruptcy. In that light, it was a reasonable price to mitigate a serious risk. I'm satisfied with both the gear and the price.

Here's the drive you should use:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IMPO5OW?tag=price234-20&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER

At a high level, three or four HD IP bullet cams and a security NVR will run around $600 or so.

Simplest thing is if you can run wired Ethernet which will supply power an data connection for cameras. Bullet cams provide better night vision while dome cams are more vandal-proof and difficult to knock out of position.

• 2.8mm cams give 89 degree field of view, 4MM around 75 degrees. These are 3MP cams that do good quality HD video.
  
  
• Hikvision DS-2CD2032 (4MM)
  https://www.amazon.com/Hikvision-DS-2CD2032F-I-weather-Security-Network/dp/B015TDBBIM/ref=pd_lpo_421_tr_t_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=VTTJ13BMYXQE7B5HZVH0
  
  
• Video Review:
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEqDgamxgnM
  
  
  
• WIDE angle 2.8mm Hikvision Dome
  https://www.amazon.com/Hikvision-DS-2CD2132F-I-Fixed-Focal-Camera/dp/B00ESK3LKY
  
  
• Video Review
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWva8x7RXlw
  
  
• Hikvision NVR
  
  https://www.amazon.com/HIKVISION-DS-7608NI-E2-8P-Network-Recorder/dp/B00VMNRZS4/ref=pd_sim_421_14?ie=UTF8&dpID=41iLtgvqsqL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&psc=1&refRID=7DAA5Z2A454CNNZ8CVR6
  
  
• WD Purple 4TB surveillance HDD
  https://www.amazon.com/Purple-Surveillance-Hard-Disk-Drive/dp/B00IMPO5OW/ref=pd_bxgy_421_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=7JENNP8WR9E326DXG706
  
  

I'm looking at procuring 2 of these for my surveillance storage https://www.amazon.com/Purple-Surveillance-Hard-Disk-Drive/dp/B00IMPO5OW