Are wireless systems any good?

How much do i need to spend to get quality?

I need 2 cameras and a recorder, it’s for a semi detached house one for rear one for front.

Going out now but will check back later, ta.

Tell me about CCTV

It’s everywhere.

Bump.

Anyone help?

I set up a small business system using geovision software.
Have a look at http://www.henrys.co.uk
They are london based and are very helpfull. you can get dedicated DVR’s or just put a DVR card into the computer.
The cameras are all interchangable so you can upgrade when you want.
You could get a basic set for around £500 – £1000 (I think the smaller sets start with a minimum of 4 cameras).

reality is most stuff happens during dark-oclock hours … so you’ll either need a good low light system, or have what your recording well lit to get the best out of it.

Its good to be able to get the colour of what people are wearing on footage – PIR lights to light up the area being watched is good.

Have a look at http://www.cpc.co.uk lots of nice gear there.

As far as i know wireless cctv need a clear line of sight, and also the cameras still need to be powered,so that means cables.

Not being daft but before you get to ‘what kit’ could I ask what you need it for?

We fitted a camera years ago it was poor quality and recorded to tape, plus it wasn’t obvious and proved not much of a deterrent. Someone attempted a break-in, we got pictures of them and we could recognised them (as could the local Beat Officer) but the CPS said the images were not good enough for evidential use (ie. they’d claim ‘not me gov’ and the court would let them off).

So we fitted some great big dummy cameras. Worked a treat. They targetted a neighbour instead. In fact the police came around and asked us if we kept any recordings as they thought they might have caught them walking past – they thought the cameras were the real thing too 😉

Remember if you are trying to catch someone at it the camera needs to be low enough and pointing so as to catch their faces and as already said it needs to work just as well at night.

BTW before they found out they were dummies the police told us they shouldn’t be pointing at the road / public places – complete tosh, so long as you are using them to protect a domestic home you don’t need to comply with the Data Protection Act (assuming you are not using them to harass or cause distress (i.e. they are not pointing in your neighbours windows!).

http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_the_public/topic_specific_guides/cctv.aspx