Recommended POE cameras for a self-hosted sectors system?

Home Security Systems Forum
21

SentinelSanctuary said:

TomHenry said:
Ronald said:
SentinelSanctuary said:
[deleted]

This is exactly the group that Ubiquity targeted with their UniFi Camera series.

Decent quality cameras, 100% PoE, managed by a Linux NVR software or using their hardware device.

Their NVR software is pretty bad. Super annoying to run in a docker. I had to spin up a whole VM for it instead, or it kept putting recordings in the wrong place/losing where it was saving recordings.

Also, just realizing today that updating the SSL cert for UniFi-video is a huge pain in the neck. It’s not supported officially by Ubiquiti. Makes accessing the video outside your network a hassle.

[deleted]

It’s way more convenient than setting everything up manually.

22

TomHenry said:

Ronald said:
SentinelSanctuary said:
[deleted]

This is exactly the group that Ubiquity targeted with their UniFi Camera series.

Decent quality cameras, 100% PoE, managed by a Linux NVR software or using their hardware device.

Their NVR software is pretty bad. Super annoying to run in a docker. I had to spin up a whole VM for it instead, or it kept putting recordings in the wrong place/losing where it was saving recordings.

Also, just realizing today that updating the SSL cert for UniFi-video is a huge pain in the neck. It’s not supported officially by Ubiquiti. Makes accessing the video outside your network a hassle.

Completely agree with your SSL complaints. I have a reverse proxy setup for many pieces of software and Unifi has proved impossible to get working right with it.

23

esleystanley said:

TomHenry said:
Ronald said:
SentinelSanctuary said:
[deleted]

This is exactly the group that Ubiquity targeted with their UniFi Camera series.

Decent quality cameras, 100% PoE, managed by a Linux NVR software or using their hardware device.

Their NVR software is pretty bad. Super annoying to run in a docker. I had to spin up a whole VM for it instead, or it kept putting recordings in the wrong place/losing where it was saving recordings.

Also, just realizing today that updating the SSL cert for UniFi-video is a huge pain in the neck. It’s not supported officially by Ubiquiti. Makes accessing the video outside your network a hassle.

Completely agree with your SSL complaints. I have a reverse proxy setup for many pieces of software and Unifi has proved impossible to get working right with it.

It’s possible. Here’s my nginx reverse proxy config:

server {
    listen              443 ssl;
    server_name         unifi.x.com;

    ssl_certificate /etc/letsencrypt/live/x/fullchain.pem;
    ssl_certificate_key /etc/letsencrypt/live/x/privkey.pem;

    ssl_session_cache  builtin:1000  shared:SSL:10m;
    ssl_protocols  TLSv1 TLSv1.1 TLSv1.2;
    ssl_ciphers HIGH:!aNULL:!eNULL:!EXPORT:!CAMELLIA:!DES:!MD5:!PSK:!RC4;
    ssl_prefer_server_ciphers on;    client_max_body_size 0;

    location ~(/|/wss|/manage|/login|/status|/templates|/src|/services|/directives|/api) {
                proxy_pass https://192.168.x.xx:7443;
                proxy_set_header Authorization "";
                proxy_pass_request_headers on;
                proxy_set_header Host $host;
                proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
                proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Host $remote_addr;
                proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $remote_addr;
                proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;
                proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Ssl on;
                proxy_http_version 1.1;
                proxy_buffering off;
                proxy_redirect off;
                proxy_set_header Upgrade $http_upgrade;
                proxy_set_header Connection "Upgrade";
                auth_basic "Restricted";
    }

Then follow this guide: Using LetsEncrypt with Ubiquiti Unifi Video server – john.geek.nz

24

Ronald said:

SentinelSanctuary said:
[deleted]

This is exactly the group that Ubiquity targeted with their UniFi Camera series.

Decent quality cameras, 100% PoE, managed by a Linux NVR software or using their hardware device.

I second this. It is a treat to work with. I have a Debian VM on Proxmox using an NFS share as data storage for Ubiquiti NVR and it simply… works. Never had an issue with it.

25

Ronald said:

SentinelSanctuary said:
[deleted]

This is exactly the group that Ubiquity targeted with their UniFi Camera series.

Decent quality cameras, 100% PoE, managed by a Linux NVR software or using their hardware device.

So much this. Simple AirCam cameras all over the house. Running UniFi Video software 3.1.5 (on Win10) on a little Lenovo m93. So very simple, all PoE, mount and forget.

26

Highly recommend Reolink. Image quality and reliability are great. I use them with Zoneminder, but they should work as well with other software as they support ONVIF, RTSP, RTMP, and HTTPS. I noticed some problems with RTSP, but RTMP works great.

27

SentinelSanctuary said:
I’m speccing out a system for a house I’m building and wondering what POE cameras people here recommend?

I’m all-in with Linux so will probably be hooking them up to Shinobi (I see Blue Iris is highly regarded here and I like to support developers but I won’t install Windows) for recording, etc.

I will be installing POE CAT7 drops to various locations for the chosen cameras.

First of all, don’t waste your time with Cat 7. It’s not a recognized standard, and Cat 6A is plenty future-proof.

As far as cameras go, Dahua Starlight cameras have exceptional night vision, and I have them all around my house. I have one 4K camera from some other company over my garage just to capture license plates. There’s really no need for 4K for normal monitoring.

I run an i5 Blue Iris setup ($300) with 6 exterior cameras and don’t even break 50% CPU usage.

28

Slurry said:

SentinelSanctuary said:
I’m speccing out a system for a house I’m building and wondering what POE cameras people here recommend?

I’m all-in with Linux so will probably be hooking them up to Shinobi (I see Blue Iris is highly regarded here and I like to support developers but I won’t install Windows) for recording, etc.

I will be installing POE CAT7 drops to various locations for the chosen cameras.

First of all, don’t waste your time with Cat 7. It’s not a recognized standard, and Cat 6A is plenty future-proof.

As far as cameras go, Dahua Starlight cameras have exceptional night vision, and I have them all around my house. I have one 4K camera from some other company over my garage just to capture license plates. There’s really no need for 4K for normal monitoring.

I run an i5 Blue Iris setup ($300) with 6 exterior cameras and don’t even break 50% CPU usage.

What are your external camera resolutions and frame rates?

I’ve got a couple of 4K Amcrest and a few 1080p Reolink external cameras, and BlueIris takes 20-30 seconds to update the 4K Amcrest streams when previewed (but seems to record to disk just fine). My server has an AMD TR 1920X. I’ve got an extra i3-6100 that I was considering setting up to take advantage of the Intel QuickSync to hopefully improve BI responsiveness.

29

Slurry said:

SentinelSanctuary said:
I’m speccing out a system for a house I’m building and wondering what POE cameras people here recommend?

I’m all-in with Linux so will probably be hooking them up to Shinobi (I see Blue Iris is highly regarded here and I like to support developers but I won’t install Windows) for recording, etc.

I will be installing POE CAT7 drops to various locations for the chosen cameras.

First of all, don’t waste your time with Cat 7. It’s not a recognized standard, and Cat 6A is plenty future-proof.

As far as cameras go, Dahua Starlight cameras have exceptional night vision, and I have them all around my house. I have one 4K camera from some other company over my garage just to capture license plates. There’s really no need for 4K for normal monitoring.

I run an i5 Blue Iris setup ($300) with 6 exterior cameras and don’t even break 50% CPU usage.

Can you tell me more about the specs for your i5 server? I’m setting up a server and could use some info on what to shoot for.

30

Dany said:

Slurry said:
SentinelSanctuary said:
I’m speccing out a system for a house I’m building and wondering what POE cameras people here recommend?

I’m all-in with Linux so will probably be hooking them up to Shinobi (I see Blue Iris is highly regarded here and I like to support developers but I won’t install Windows) for recording, etc.

I will be installing POE CAT7 drops to various locations for the chosen cameras.

First of all, don’t waste your time with Cat 7. It’s not a recognized standard, and Cat 6A is plenty future-proof.

As far as cameras go, Dahua Starlight cameras have exceptional night vision, and I have them all around my house. I have one 4K camera from some other company over my garage just to capture license plates. There’s really no need for 4K for normal monitoring.

I run an i5 Blue Iris setup ($300) with 6 exterior cameras and don’t even break 50% CPU usage.

Can you tell me more about the specs for your i5 server? I’m setting up a server and could use some info on what to shoot for.

I run an i5 8th Gen with 16GB RAM, an SSD for the OS, and a 6TB HDD for video storage. I use Blue Iris with direct-to-disc recording for 6 cameras, and it handles it very well. Just make sure you have enough storage, especially if you’re recording 24/7.

31

SentinelSanctuary said:
I’m speccing out a system for a house I’m building and wondering what POE cameras people here recommend?

I’m all-in with Linux so will probably be hooking them up to Shinobi (I see Blue Iris is highly regarded here and I like to support developers but I won’t install Windows) for recording, etc.

I will be installing POE CAT7 drops to various locations for the chosen cameras.

Had great experiences with Hikvision and Axis. Definitely look out for ONVIF support; that’ll make it easier to integrate your cams into a 3rd-party system.

32

SentinelSanctuary said:
I’m speccing out a system for a house I’m building and wondering what POE cameras people here recommend?

I’m all-in with Linux so will probably be hooking them up to Shinobi (I see Blue Iris is highly regarded here and I like to support developers but I won’t install Windows) for recording, etc.

I will be installing POE CAT7 drops to various locations for the chosen cameras.

I have tried the Wyze cams with RTSP firmware and was not very happy with them on Blue Iris. Seems I am not the only one that suffered a periodic loss of signal.

I have switched over to Dahua HDW4631’s and have been extremely impressed with the price/quality of these things. As others have said, though, firewall them to keep them from dialing home. I put one in a sandbox VLAN and tracked the incoming/outgoing traffic. The camera did indeed dial back to an IP in China.

I put it on my camera VLAN that is firewalled from the WAN and every other VLAN I have and didn’t think any more about it. Great cameras for the money.

33

SecureHomeHub said:

SentinelSanctuary said:
I’m speccing out a system for a house I’m building and wondering what POE cameras people here recommend?

I’m all-in with Linux so will probably be hooking them up to Shinobi (I see Blue Iris is highly regarded here and I like to support developers but I won’t install Windows) for recording, etc.

I will be installing POE CAT7 drops to various locations for the chosen cameras.

I have tried the Wyze cams with RTSP firmware and was not very happy with them on Blue Iris. Seems I am not the only one that suffered a periodic loss of signal.

I have switched over to Dahua HDW4631’s and have been extremely impressed with the price/quality of these things. As others have said, though, firewall them to keep them from dialing home. I put one in a sandbox VLAN and tracked the incoming/outgoing traffic. The camera did indeed dial back to an IP in China.

I put it on my camera VLAN that is firewalled from the WAN and every other VLAN I have and didn’t think any more about it. Great cameras for the money.

> Dahua HDW4631

I’m seeing these currently priced at ~$70. Wondering if they’re good enough for nighttime viewing, or should the Starlight models be considered?

34

Candy said:

SecureHomeHub said:
SentinelSanctuary said:
I’m speccing out a system for a house I’m building and wondering what POE cameras people here recommend?

I’m all-in with Linux so will probably be hooking them up to Shinobi (I see Blue Iris is highly regarded here and I like to support developers but I won’t install Windows) for recording, etc.

I will be installing POE CAT7 drops to various locations for the chosen cameras.

I have tried the Wyze cams with RTSP firmware and was not very happy with them on Blue Iris. Seems I am not the only one that suffered a periodic loss of signal.

I have switched over to Dahua HDW4631’s and have been extremely impressed with the price/quality of these things. As others have said, though, firewall them to keep them from dialing home. I put one in a sandbox VLAN and tracked the incoming/outgoing traffic. The camera did indeed dial back to an IP in China.

I put it on my camera VLAN that is firewalled from the WAN and every other VLAN I have and didn’t think any more about it. Great cameras for the money.

> Dahua HDW4631

I’m seeing these currently priced at ~$70. Wondering if they’re good enough for nighttime viewing, or should the Starlight models be considered?

Here’s a shot of my front yard.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/8jmwrcrsxzpe2eyT7

35

SentinelSanctuary said:
I’m speccing out a system for a house I’m building and wondering what POE cameras people here recommend?

I’m all-in with Linux so will probably be hooking them up to Shinobi (I see Blue Iris is highly regarded here and I like to support developers but I won’t install Windows) for recording, etc.

I will be installing POE CAT7 drops to various locations for the chosen cameras.

Isn’t Cat 7 a bit overkill?

36

Arthur said:

SentinelSanctuary said:
I’m speccing out a system for a house I’m building and wondering what POE cameras people here recommend?

I’m all-in with Linux so will probably be hooking them up to Shinobi (I see Blue Iris is highly regarded here and I like to support developers but I won’t install Windows) for recording, etc.

I will be installing POE CAT7 drops to various locations for the chosen cameras.

Isn’t Cat 7 a bit overkill?

It’s not even TIA compliant. OP should be using Cat 6A if he’s concerned about future proofing.

37

Arthur said:

SentinelSanctuary said:
I’m speccing out a system for a house I’m building and wondering what POE cameras people here recommend?

I’m all-in with Linux so will probably be hooking them up to Shinobi (I see Blue Iris is highly regarded here and I like to support developers but I won’t install Windows) for recording, etc.

I will be installing POE CAT7 drops to various locations for the chosen cameras.

Isn’t Cat 7 a bit overkill?

Undoubtedly at present, but I’m running it everywhere else and who knows what I may want to add in the future?

38

SentinelSanctuary said:

Arthur said:
SentinelSanctuary said:
I’m speccing out a system for a house I’m building and wondering what POE cameras people here recommend?

I’m all-in with Linux so will probably be hooking them up to Shinobi (I see Blue Iris is highly regarded here and I like to support developers but I won’t install Windows) for recording, etc.

I will be installing POE CAT7 drops to various locations for the chosen cameras.

Isn’t Cat 7 a bit overkill?

Undoubtedly at present, but I’m running it everywhere else and who knows what I may want to add in the future?

Cat 7 is not a real standard. Use Cat 6A. Also, don’t forget that your patch panels and keystone jacks will need to be rated for 6A as well.

Cat 6A is indeed overkill for cameras from a bandwidth perspective. Cat 5e could support 8K cameras. Also, unlike a room drop, you are likely never going to use a camera drop for anything other than a camera due to the locations. That means Cat 5e is all your home cameras will need for probably decades.

That said, it can be worth running Cat 6A anyway because it is more efficient in power delivery due to larger gauge wires.

39

Magdlina said:

SentinelSanctuary said:
Arthur said:
SentinelSanctuary said:
I’m speccing out a system for a house I’m building and wondering what POE cameras people here recommend?

I’m all-in with Linux so will probably be hooking them up to Shinobi (I see Blue Iris is highly regarded here and I like to support developers but I won’t install Windows) for recording, etc.

I will be installing POE CAT7 drops to various locations for the chosen cameras.

Isn’t Cat 7 a bit overkill?

Undoubtedly at present, but I’m running it everywhere else and who knows what I may want to add in the future?

Cat 7 is not a real standard. Use Cat 6A. Also, don’t forget that your patch panels and keystone jacks will need to be rated for 6A as well.

Cat 6A is indeed overkill for cameras from a bandwidth perspective. Cat 5e could support 8K cameras. Also, unlike a room drop, you are likely never going to use a camera drop for anything other than a camera due to the locations. That means Cat 5e is all your home cameras will need for probably decades.

That said, it can be worth running Cat 6A anyway because it is more efficient in power delivery due to larger gauge wires.

One thing to consider: while Cat 6A offers better efficiency for power delivery, it is much thicker. It can be (just can - depends where) a major pain to run Cat 6A due to larger minimum bending radius/less lines to fit in conduit.

40

richardblack said:

Magdlina said:
SentinelSanctuary said:
Arthur said:
SentinelSanctuary said:
I’m speccing out a system for a house I’m building and wondering what POE cameras people here recommend?

I’m all-in with Linux so will probably be hooking them up to Shinobi (I see Blue Iris is highly regarded here and I like to support developers but I won’t install Windows) for recording, etc.

I will be installing POE CAT7 drops to various locations for the chosen cameras.

Isn’t Cat 7 a bit overkill?

Undoubtedly at present, but I’m running it everywhere else and who knows what I may want to add in the future?

Cat 7 is not a real standard. Use Cat 6A. Also, don’t forget that your patch panels and keystone jacks will need to be rated for 6A as well.

Cat 6A is indeed overkill for cameras from a bandwidth perspective. Cat 5e could support 8K cameras. Also, unlike a room drop, you are likely never going to use a camera drop for anything other than a camera due to the locations. That means Cat 5e is all your home cameras will need for probably decades.

That said, it can be worth running Cat 6A anyway because it is more efficient in power delivery due to larger gauge wires.

One thing to consider: while Cat 6A offers better efficiency for power delivery, it is much thicker. It can be (just can - depends where) a major pain to run Cat 6A due to larger minimum bending radius/less lines to fit in conduit.

Yeah, it’s also a pain to terminate.