Security Cameras.

After wanting security cameras for years and years, I've finally been able to make a start on getting them installed. Yay! 
I've been told to think about where I want to put the box and the monitor. The set up is going be hard wired apparently so I wouldn't be able to move it around to suit.

I'm not entirely sure where would be the best place for it so I thought I'd ask those of you who have cameras already, where you put yours and why? They've said that we'll be able to watch from our devices anyway so I was wondering if I could just tuck it away in a cupboard upstairs?

Can I just ask what brand you went for? We’ve been considering them since our cars got broken into on our own drive around five in the morning. I heard something and turned on lights which spooked them away. But now been feeling a little bit vulnerable

Can I just ask what brand you went for? We’ve been considering them since our cars got broken into on our own drive around five in the morning. I heard something and turned on lights which spooked them away. But now been feeling a little bit vulnerable

That didn't come up yet but I don't actually think I'll need to choose. The company that was recommended to me, does a lot of this so I'm expecting they will just give me what they think works best. I'll let you know though.   

You should look at motion detecting security lights too. They are a big deterrent.

Ah. Motion lights.  I had an elderly friend, who had motion lights attached over her garage door and at her front door. Good bright ones.
Someone stole them one night. 
Really. Whatever you get, make sure to like superglue it to the house with something it would take a laser to cut through.

Ah. Motion lights.  I had an elderly friend, who had motion lights attached over her garage door and at her front door. Good bright ones.
Someone stole them one night. 
Really. Whatever you get, make sure to like superglue it to the house with something it would take a laser to cut through.

That's ballsy! 

They stole them one afternoon while she was out shopping.

@jfkimberly , can you help me out with this one? 

We have 3 Nest security cameras, 2 of them movable, just plug into any socket.

We have one doorbell/camera that covers the length of the driveway plus the garage.  We have one set up in the front Hall looking at the front door, bottom of stairs and doors leading out of the hall. The other we have set up in the back room looking towards and out of the patio windows. When we have washing blowing in the wind we will get alerts that the camera thought it saw someone outside. (We only get alerts while we are out of the house).

We also have motion activated security lights front and back.

That's really cool!

Our system is four HD cameras with infrared "night" mode (now featuring Log Cam^TM!), wirelessly connected to a spare computer with enough space to retain two weeks of recording (I call this computer the "Comm Centre").  The software we use is called Blue Iris, which has a companion mobile app to view live scenes and review alerts from our phones, and it has a lot of features that let us tailor our system to work around things like wind blowing trees and hedges around.  As I said, we can check the live view and alert clips from our mobile devices or other computers on the network, and if we need to see the full recording, we go to the Comm Centre to review the record.  That's also how we configure the settings, such as:
- what parts of the screen should trigger alerts
-what parts of the screen to ignore (hedges blowing in the wind were a constant source of false alerts for us when we first set up)
-how long the alert clip should start from BEFORE the triggering event
-how long the clip should continue after the triggering activity has stopped

Anyway.  I'm not sure how much of this your software will let you do from your mobiles, or how much you want to do for yourself (vs. the company installing your system providing ongoing support).  But if you want to be able to make your own adjustments because you're getting too many alerts (or not enough?), make sure you can do that with your mobile, or make sure you're able to comfortably access your central hub.  If you have a household desktop computer set up somewhere, it may make sense to put the hub near that.

We have 3 Nest security cameras, 2 of them movable, just plug into any socket.

We have one doorbell/camera that covers the length of the driveway plus the garage.  We have one set up in the front Hall looking at the front door, bottom of stairs and doors leading out of the hall. The other we have set up in the back room looking towards and out of the patio windows. When we have washing blowing in the wind we will get alerts that the camera thought it saw someone outside. (We only get alerts while we are out of the house).

We also have motion activated security lights front and back.

Thanks durhamlad.  I did see that some people use indoor cameras pointing outside but a large part of my MO is that they act as a deterrent so I want them to be visible!

Our system is four HD cameras with infrared "night" mode (now featuring Log Cam^TM!), wirelessly connected to a spare computer with enough space to retain two weeks of recording (I call this computer the "Comm Centre").  The software we use is called Blue Iris, which has a companion mobile app to view live scenes and review alerts from our phones, and it has a lot of features that let us tailor our system to work around things like wind blowing trees and hedges around.  As I said, we can check the live view and alert clips from our mobile devices or other computers on the network, and if we need to see the full recording, we go to the Comm Centre to review the record.  That's also how we configure the settings, such as:
- what parts of the screen should trigger alerts
-what parts of the screen to ignore (hedges blowing in the wind were a constant source of false alerts for us when we first set up)
-how long the alert clip should start from BEFORE the triggering event
-how long the clip should continue after the triggering activity has stopped

Anyway.  I'm not sure how much of this your software will let you do from your mobiles, or how much you want to do for yourself (vs. the company installing your system providing ongoing support).  But if you want to be able to make your own adjustments because you're getting too many alerts (or not enough?), make sure you can do that with your mobile, or make sure you're able to comfortably access your central hub.  If you have a household desktop computer set up somewhere, it may make sense to put the hub near that.

Thanks very much jfkimberly.    Now re-thinking the idea of having the  control centre in a cupboard, so glad I asked! Although it may still end up there! 

Thanks very much jfkimberly.    Now re-thinking the idea of having the  control centre in a cupboard, so glad I asked! Although it may still end up there! 

You should talk to the people installing your system to find out what the mobile app's capabilities will be, and what kind of features the software controlling your system will have.  Also ask about ongoing support after the installation.  Being able to hide the box in a (well-ventilated) cupboard would be nice, and maybe it's something you'll be able to do and still make all the adjustments you need.  Definitely ask. 

Thanks durhamlad.  I did see that some people use indoor cameras pointing outside but a large part of my MO is that they act as a deterrent so I want them to be visible!

When we retired about 9 years ago we got into the habit of traveling a lot, months at a time, so relied on friends and relatives to keep an eye on our place and having a camera inside looking at the front door made me able to see if too much mail was building up. Then we set up a 2nd home in England and did the same thing, which is why we have 2 cameras.

We do enjoy having the front door camera.