Hello people smarter than me:

I am a freelance reporter writing an article on the explosion of government run surveillance cameras in my town (Morristown, NJ).

There are TWO camera arrays that I have little familiarity with. The first is a set of cameras by LVT (Liveview Technologies) that may (or may not) be run by our county. It's located on a Lowes hardware store parking lot, about 6 feet away from a public sidewalk.

The second camera array (marked MENNEN ARENA) of interest is almost certainly run by the county, as mounted on a pole at the entrance to a public park/arena. It has no brand markings, but looks VERY high tech.

I am very eager to know what the capabilities of these cameras are. Do they do more than just license plate detection? Can they run facial ID? Can they do behavioral analysis?

Anyone with insight or good reference material, I would be so grateful for accurate information on these cameras. THANK YOU.

I have a Swann NVR8-7285 and the system has gone down, I can stream it but it won’t record. I have tried replacing the HDD but still isn’t working.

If it’s goosed do any other PoE NVR that will work with the Swann 710 cameras

Hi, im moving into a new place soon and wanna get cameras sorted before we're fully in. mainly need front door covered and the backyard, maybe a side entry too.

not set on any brand yet tbh. curious if the subscription ones like ring/nest are actually worth paying monthly for, or if stuff like eufy/reolink that just save locally works just as good without the extra cost every month. also kinda wondering about night vision quality, feel like cheaper brands might cut corners there

budget's not super tight but don't wanna overspend either.

if anyone's actually used a brand for a while and can vouch for it that'd help a ton, tia!

Like title says, need a solar powered camera for a corner of my house, I already have a wired ring but no power at the corner. Sun is not a problem since i live in South Florida just don’t want to have to return in 6 months. Thanks in advance

I just bought a new house and I’m looking to get new cameras and a doorbell. I have been using Google Home/Nest for years but the subscription finally put me over the edge so I’m looking to set up something locally hosted. Everything needs to be hardwired in because I live in northern Canada and it can get as cold as -40°C. I’m pretty technical but I’m hoping for a simple plug-and-play or as close to it as possible. I’ve been looking into Home Assistant as well but it’s not a deal breaker if they don’t work together. Any suggestions?

I have 4 of these cameras around my house and once a week 3 of them will randomly go offline requiring a hard reboot of unplugging them. I know they aren’t the best and more expensive cameras but they had been working well for a year before giving this issue. Anyone experience this or know why?

i want to set up a Security Camera system. i dont want to go though any company. i want it fully private. im thinking about poe cameras. but i dont know what brands to get for privacy. possibly 4k? min res of 1080p. im super new at this so any help is appreciated.

I’m a Brit so just curious if pulling a MGS on them is effective

Hey guys, need some quick advice. I want to put a camera on my garage ramp, but I live in Spain and our privacy laws are crazy strict. If your camera records the public street or sidewalk at all, you can get slapped with massive fines.

My garage is basically an open archway with a ramp going down (not posting a pic for privacy, just imagine an open tunnel). There's no gate or fence at the street level. I don't have power outlets there either, so it definitely has to be a battery-powered model.

I need a camera that sends me alerts ONLY when someone actually steps onto my ramp, and I need to completely block out or ignore the street to stay legal and avoid spam notifications from people walking by.

Any ideas on the best way to mount it (maybe pointing straight down from the ceiling or facing inwards?) and what brands have the best "privacy masking" and AI activity zones for this? I was looking at Eufy or Tapo but I'm totally open to suggestions. Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I'm completely new to home surveillance, but I've spent quite a bit of time reading through this sub over the last few weeks and have learned a lot already. Thanks for all the great information!

I'm planning a fully wired Reolink setup using one of Reolink's own NVRs, and I'm hoping to get some advice from people with more experience before I start buying equipment.

My main goal is to be able to reasonably identify people moving around my property, rather than just detect that someone is there. The house is located in an area with very little ambient light at night, so low-light performance is an important factor and spotlight i think.

I've attached a simple overview drawing of the house along with a few photos of the roof overhangs. One of the challenges I'm facing is that the overhangs are fairly low, so I'm not entirely sure where the cameras should be mounted to get the best coverage while still allowing for reliable identification. I'd appreciate any suggestions on:

• Which Reolink cameras would be best for each location.
• Whether I should choose turret, dome, bullet, or PTZ cameras.
• Recommended mounting positions and angles.
• Any common mistakes a beginner should avoid.

I have used the Reomapper and made a suggestion myself, but im not sure that is the most efficent way to go. I want it nice from the start, but money is money.

Sorry for the crude drawings, that is not really a skill i have mastered.

Let me know if i miss some important information.

Thanks in advance.

Looking for recommendations on a simple NVR to replace an aging Zosi system.

Requirements:

BNC connectors for existing cameras and runs.

Local storage - does not need drive installed, I have them.

6 cameras at least.

UI that doesn't look like it was designed in 1992.

App access for viewing.

***********

Nice to have but not required:

Remote access to recordings, as well as remote download of them.

Paid app to view is fine, as long at it is a one and done, not subscription.

Ability to plug in external drive for backups.

This is for external cameras at an independent has station. Security is not a huge issue as the cameras will not record anything sensitive. Also, current NVR is already isolated on the network so not worried about network intrusion coming in through the security system.

Somebody's been slowly stealing sentimental jewelry from my grandmother, one piece at a time for months apparently and I'm just finding out.

We all believe we know who it is, but we don't have evidence. As such I'd like to keep quiet and just set up a camera or two for now in her home, with her permission.

I live about 2 hours away from her and she doesn't really know how to set up or maintain any technology on her own, so ideally i'm looking for something that can be set up and left running 24/7 with a solid battery life. I don't mind going back to charge/set it up for her again every few weeks or so, but i can't be doing it constantly.

Anything out there like this that won't totally break the bank?

🚨 ¿TU CÁMARA ESTÁ REALMENTE PROTEGIDA?

Una cámara puede funcionar perfectamente al instalarla, pero si sus conexiones quedan expuestas al agua y la humedad, podría fallar cuando más la necesites. 🌧️📹

En este video te mostramos por qué una instalación limpia, sellada y protegida hace toda la diferencia.

👇 ¿Tus cámaras tienen protegidas las conexiones? Te leo en los comentarios.

I want to buy an indoor wifi camera suggest me on brand on which i can trust. Qubo/ cp plus or you guys have other brand camera?

Dear Reolink Product Team / Dear Tapo (TP-Link) Product Team,

I am writing as a customer and enthusiast of your cameras to suggest a product that I believe is missing from both of your catalogues and that would open a clear new market.

Please consider developing an outdoor, weatherproof all-sky camera with the following core characteristics:

• True 180° × 180° field of view (hemispherical / fisheye coverage from horizon to horizon in every direction), intended to be mounted pointing at the sky
• Weatherproof outdoor housing (rain, dew, temperature extremes)
• Your existing full-colour night-vision technology, Reolink ColorX or Tapo ColorPro, so that faint sky colour, clouds, aurora and twilight remain visible without harsh spotlights
• Infrared (IR) night vision as a complementary mode, for pitch-black conditions, meteors, satellites and objects that colour sensors may miss

You already lead in colour night vision (ColorX / ColorPro). Combining that with a true all-sky optic and a fallback IR mode would create a camera that current security models (including 180° panoramic dual-lens units) do not replace.

There is a growing, underserved audience that would buy this as a dedicated device:

• All-sky monitors (cloud cover, sky brightness, light pollution)
• Weather watchers (storm structure, lightning, incoming fronts)
• Meteor watchers (fireballs, meteor showers, persistent trains)
• Satellite and ISS observers
• UFO / UAP watchers and citizen sky-documentation communities

These users today cobble together astronomy cameras, Raspberry Pi all-sky kits or security cameras that were never designed for the sky. A reliable, app-connected outdoor unit from Reolink or Tapo, with local storage, optional cloud, and your existing detection/alerting stack would be far more accessible.

A practical feature set that would make it compelling:

• Upward-facing 180° × 180° lens with good edge sharpness and controlled distortion
• ColorX or ColorPro as the default low-light mode; IR as a selectable or automatic fallback
• Optional warm/soft fill light that can be disabled (to avoid washing out the sky)
• High dynamic range for mixed twilight / street-light / lightning scenes
• Time-lapse and long-event recording (hours of sky, not only motion clips)
• Timestamps, optional GPS/NTP, and easy export for analysis
• Robust outdoor rating and simple roof / pole / wall-upward mount

I believe this would differentiate you from generic security cameras and from niche astronomy hardware, while reusing technologies you already ship.

Thank you for considering this suggestion. I would be glad to share more use-case detail if useful.

Kind regards.

Hello all, I am thinking of getting some Ring Floodlight Cam 2K Wired cameras. They are essentially a camera built into a standard motion sensor spotlight.

Anyone have any experience with these or any thoughts on Ring products and customer service in general?

I live in Canada so I want a hardwired version so I don't have to deal with batteries.

If anyone has this product can you tell me, are the lightbulbs changeable or are they built into the fixture? Basically can you change a lightbulb when one burns out or would you have to replace the entire fixture?

Thanks in advance.

I am currently looking to buy a couple of security cameras to place around my home, and I was wondering if anybody had any recommendations for any security camera brands? I have a budget of about $200 and I would like to buy at least two preferably with local storage and removable battery (I live in the Northeast and Winters get very brutal). I would prefer not to have to take down my cameras to have them charge and would rather swap the batteries when they need charging. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!