Looking for Advice on Pre-Wiring and Choosing a PoE Camera System

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joak928

New Member
Apr 4, 2024
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Hey everyone,

I’m in the process of setting up a PoE surveillance system and could really use some advice from those who’ve been through it. Here’s where I’m at:

  1. Pre-Wiring for Outdoor Cameras:
    Some of the cameras will be wired through the attic (I’ll run a fiber cable from a Brocade ICX 7250 in the basement to a secondary switch), but I also need to pre-wire in the basement before I close it up with drywall. I’m not ready to install the cameras just yet, so I’m wondering—what’s the best way to "rough in" Ethernet for outdoor spaces? Are there any tricks, recommended junction boxes (or ways to just temporarily weatherproof the wire since I know some cameras work best with a direct wire), or conduits to use for protection and future-proofing? Going through brick in some places and vinyl siding in others.

  2. Figuring Out Camera Coverage:
    I don’t want to go overboard with too many cameras, but I also don’t want to miss anything important. What’s the best way to plan for full coverage before I start wiring and closing up spaces? Any tools or tips for this?

  3. Camera Ecosystem Recommendations:
    Right now, we’re using Arlo and Nest, and we’re paying for both premium subscriptions—which I’d really like to stop doing. I’m looking for a system that includes outdoor PoE cameras and a doorbell camera, all recording to a single NVR. Does anyone have a brand they’d recommend that can handle this? The current doorbell camera has hardwired power, but is Wi-Fi, which would be optimal - I want to avoid running wire in finished spaces and keep drywall repair to a minimum.

    Thanks in advance!
 

Schut

New Member
Apr 13, 2020
11
2
3
Unifi is definitely worth looking at for the camera ecosystem. The only thing I don't like about it is that to do the AI image recognition you'll have to let their cloud stuff happen. Otherwise, the app and web interface is decent enough, the image quality is very good, and the image recognition is usually right, but rarely amusingly wrong (raccoon == "person", for example). I only just refreshed my entire system, so I can't speak to longevity.

No specific advice for you on wiring. I've done a ton of it, but I'm still an amateur, and am still not sure I know anything very well.
 

JSchuricht

Active Member
Apr 4, 2011
201
75
28
Blue Iris for software, it will support most IP cameras and runs on a Windows box. Add Code Project AI or possibly experiment with Blue Onyx for AI.

For cameras, I have had good luck with Reolink for the doorbell. I run the POE version but there is WIFI too. The other cameras are a mixture of Hikvision and Dahua many of which are white box versions. Except the doorbell, all cameras have their own VLAN with no internet access which avoids anything phoning home. The cameras I have purchased lately are white box Dahua cameras from Empire Tech Andy who is on Amazon and has his own site. He does have some mounting boxes that may help with roughing in.

For planning, I started with a satellite image of my house and drew lines with the field of view I wanted to guess the number of cameras needed. You can experiment with an old phone, gopro, etc and clamp it to the eves of your house to experiment with placement. I have also rigged up temporary mounting with a camera on a 2x4 that I could lean against the house for experimentation.

Figuring out what you need can be tricky, mounting the cameras up high is good for an overview shot but not great for getting a face especially if someone wares a hat. Some cameras closer to eye level possibly with a higher power lens will help get faces for identification but don't get a large area showing what is going on.

The site owner can be a bit harsh but IPcamtalk has some great info.
 
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piranha32

Well-Known Member
Mar 4, 2023
336
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A couple of days ago Ubiquity released local vdeo processing device which does detection without sending data anywhere. In the review looks very interesting: