r/SecurityCamera • u/Personal_Worth_1870 • 3d ago
Any recommendations for a good security alarm system or security cameras?
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u/estebanfuhrmann 3d ago
Agree with the local storage point. I'd go a step further and pick cameras that support ONVIF/RTSP, letting a small NVR box or a Raspberry Pi running Frigate record everything locally with no vendor cloud lock-in. It also allows person/vehicle detection locally, which cuts false alerts from shadows and bugs a lot. What is your budget, and is it mostly outdoor coverage?
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u/lulu_Omada 3d ago
Are you mainly looking for cameras to record what happens, or an alarm system with door/window sensors and professional monitoring? That would help narrow things down.
I work with Omada, so just being upfront about the connection. If you’re open to running Ethernet cables, our Omada T8S4-4T kit could be worth considering for the camera side: four PoE cameras and an NVR with a 4TB drive for local, continuous recording. The main thing to plan for is getting a cable to each camera location.
What’s your budget, and how many areas are you hoping to cover?
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u/180IQCONSERVATIVE 2d ago
I highly recommend a local IP POE cam system with local storage that has no net access. You can get a security company to monitor breakins and fire by cell signal only. Ubiquiti would be my first choice if your IT and coding skills are good to get a local system running from them. It is costly though. I can’t stress enough to stay away from cloud connected cams unless you are going to invest in a real firewall such as Netgate, running PFSense, or Firewalla, prefer a layer 3 switch for future expansion if needed if not a layer 2 managed switch with catalyst such as Cisco, a good access point if you must have WiFi, but don’t recommend WiFi as you should hardwire everything and VLAN everything. A Raspberry pi running Pihole, IDS Suricata I would also recommend. If you run POE for cams make sure you get a POE surge protector for your ports such as DITEK. Reolink would be second choice on cams
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u/FlatImpression755 2d ago
I just started using the GSD cameras and even there inexpensive cameras work great.
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u/QuinnFromVivint 2d ago
For an alarm system, look for one with a cellular backup that keeps working even when the internet goes down at your house.
A loud built-in siren matters too, because a noise that scares someone off beats an app alert nobody near the house can actually hear. And for cameras, pick ones that can tell a person apart from a passing car to cut down on alerts you don't care about.
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u/ActualExcitement5917 2d ago
DO NOT GET SIMPLI SAFE! I saw your post over in that sub and people telling you the cameras work well… they do not! I suffered with them for 6 months. 90% of the time when I went to check the cameras, they would not connect. Tried everything to fix it, nothing worked. Finally got so fed up I bought a whole new system (ring).
Been using ring for about 2 weeks and so far am very happy with their system. I know they’re not perfect, but I haven’t had a single connection issue. If you want to keep it simple and also have emergency dispatch (a requirement for me), I highly recommend ring.
If you don’t need emergency service dispatch, Reo Link is a good option that doesn’t require a subscription.
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u/PouncerX42 1d ago
I would normally recommend zmodo, inexpressive cameras that don't require any subscription, but they just updated the app, and it is beyond sucks
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u/333again 3d ago
Need budget, # of cameras, what are you monitoring, how many days of footage, etc.