I know dropcam is pretty good from what I can tell but I'm not excited about paying a recurring monthly payment for a monitoring/hosting service. Does anyone have or know of a good system that may have a DVR or is hosted on a computer that I can pull up from the office or smartphone while out of town? Something with motion detection would be nice.

Bueller.....

I've been using a Geovision system for the past few years. Works pretty well, but I'm looking into upgrading to HD cameras and possibly an all-IP solution centered around ZoneMinder.

I just bought a d-link wireless HD camera, simply to monitor the house while out of town this weekend & pet sitter is coming by. It is set to record 1min clips when motion is detected. Downside is it records to an SD card that is stored in the camera. However, it can be viewed wirelessly from your phone or computer.

Neat thing is it has turn/tilt capabilities thT you can control from your phone.

here's an article on one in its indiegogo crowdfunding stage. not for you if you need something immediately, but as of last time I looked (before lunch) you could still get in on the (projected) Feb delivery batch...

http://www.cnet.com/products/link-union-link-u-hybrid-smartcam/

I've had my eye on this one for quite a while. It is probably more than most would want to spend but I'm intrigued by the 1080P cameras.



Tiger Direct






Swann 8 Channel DVR Surveillance System - 1080p Full HD, 4x Bullet Cameras, Weatherproof, HDMI, 3TB HDD, Network Ready, Mobile View Available - SWHDK-882004-US

It normally runs between 1599.99 - 1299.99 depending on the sale but is listed for 999.99 right now.

I had a Q-See 4 camera HD NVR setup. the quality of the video was outstanding day and night... but after about 12 months 2 cameras were dead, and a third dropped within the next 2 months.

Their customer service SUCKED so bad, I barely got replacements for the first 2, which also have died since then. I bought through CostCo since they have a pretty good warranty deal on their TV's. That warranty does not extend to DVR/Cameras.


tl;dr -
Q-See sucks.
CostCo sucks if you're buying on anything but price.

Thank you so much for the information Terk.

Did you replace it with another brand that was of higher reliability?

Good info here. I also considered Qsee and Swann. I was looking to stay under $500.
I'll look into that crowdsource system. It looks to be exactly what I need.
Akaggie: Are those wireless? I'm looking at the geovision but they appear to need a network cable.

I have a couple of Foscam cameras, set up port forwarding, and installed Blue Iris on my media server. It records on the hard drives when motion is detected. I can use my phone or PC to see live, and 2 weeks worth of recordings (or more if I set it that way, I can archive unlimited). Cost about $150 (not including server, which is nothing more than a mini-itx PC with 2 1.5 TB hard drives that I use for file and photo backups.

No recurring monthly fees, but you need to have some basic technical know-how, such as setting up port forwarding.

Wired or wireless? I need to learn how to port forward. Any concern about constantly recording video on a hard drive that's supposed to be a photo / file backup?
Does blue iris have an app?

I own a video surveillance company in Central Texas. Done business with many TexAgs posters. PM or email for questions about wireless, HD cameras, remote view, or other issues. I'll be glad to help.

jspencer four five three at hotmail

+1 for Helgs suggestion for Foscam. Iv'e got four currently running, and am adding two more. They run about $65/ea, and do not require a hub. Have been using them for a year or so, and have been very satisfied.

You will need to do some port forwarding to view them outside your home - but it isn't tough to figure out.

Also, fwiw, I have had much better luck with the standard def cam, than the high def cams. Plus, viweing them on the mobile, you can't tell a diff in quality, and the sd image is a bit bigger.

Are the Foscam camera's you guys have wired or wireless? If wireless, how long do the batteries last?

I haven't tried this, but it looks like a free cloud dvr with no fees...

http://www.lorextechnology.com/support/self-serve/Lorex-Stratus-Connectivity/5600032

The foscam cameras are "wireless"
They don't require a wired network connection, but DO require power.

Just ordered a verde3 system (home automation) that ive been looking at for while. I'll try to integrate the camera to it once I get the light switches, motion sensors, etc lined out.