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Permalink Reply by Augsburg on May 2, 2014 at 6:17pm

For an inexpensive system, Q-see is one system available at Costco in various package deals.  They are sold at Amazon too.  You should be able to get set up with up to four cameras for about $1,000.  See example at this link: 

http://www.costco.com/Q-See-8-Channel-HD-NVR-Security-System-with-2...

Other companies have similar products.  I found that Costco has special tech assistance available for Q-see products, and they tried pretty hard to help me get things set up.  

I recommend one of the Q-see NVR systems that use "IP" cameras that connect to the NVR (basically a network DVR) with ethernet cable.  Wired, systems connected with ethernet are more reliable and can carry much higher resolution images than wireless camera systems.  Q-see has free apps for checking your cams remotely via your iPhone, iPad, etc.  You will have to connect the NVR to the internet to view remotely.  

The NVR recorders can handle 4, 8 or 16 cameras, and I recommend the 8 camera unit because it does not cost that much more than the 4, and once you install a couple cameras you will quickly find out how useful they are and may want to add more.  The Q-see NVR can be easily upgraded by adding a second hard drive - which lets you save more days of recordings. I have one system with four 1080p cameras and two hard drives installed in the NVR (total of 3 TB of hard drive space).  That systems saves about two weeks of video.  (The systems erase old video as they fill up the hard drive.)

The cameras come in 720p or 1080p, and bullet style and dome style.  720p cameras are HD and pretty good, and cheaper - but the 1080p cameras have really good resolution and in my book are worth the extra cost.  The cameras can be used indoors or outdoors.

The cameras come in "dome" version, which are usually wide angle and are best for close up shooting (say 5 to 20 feet).  Often the domes do not have infrared LED's for night time illumination and don't work in complete darkness - but they do work at night if there is some ambient lighting.  The "bullet" cameras typically have a ring of infrared LED's around the camera lens and can take black and white video in complete darkness.  In daylight, the cameras are all color.  The bullets are not as wide an angle lens and are good for shooting 10 to 50 feet away.  After 50 feet, you can still see, but the resolution may not give you a ton of detail.  

An inexpensive system like described above does not have sound, or remote pan, tilt or zoom for the camera.  If you need this, you are talking considerably more dollars.

As far as security, the NVR contains all the recordings. so if you hide it, or lock it up, you are pretty secure.  To view what is on the recordings, you can either access via an iPad, Mac or PC, or you can hook a computer monitor up to the NVR directly - which helps in set up.  Obviously, if a thief can get their hands on the camera and damage it or steal it, you will have no more recording on that camera afterward.  So try to mount the cameras out of reach and run the wiring where it can't be reached either.

Hope this helps - good luck!

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