I have verified this kit, Costco Item 1772583, includes the following...
Includes:
(1) Outdoor Camera (Gen 4)
(1) Sync Module (Gen 2)
(1) Wired Floodlight Camera
(1) Indoor Camera
(1) Yard Sign
Mounting Hardware
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Item 1 of 2
Item 1 of 2
expiredbxgirl posted Dec 26, 2023 5:54 PM
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I'm at the store. No idea how to attach the pictures in SD app.
In a best case scenario, there's a lot to be said for using multiple camera brands and the automatic redundancy this provides.
If one service goes down or a bad update causes the camera to malfunction, at least you have a different brand to pick up the slack.
On that same note, it also helps to have them powered from different sources. The kits with batteries and a solar panel are a good option if you get enough sun year round. Alternatively, there's backup batteries that you can place between the mains and the camera.
As for the recordings themselves, it might benefit you to know that on reputable services, they're end to end encrypted. You're not submitting raw footage for anyone to view. In fact, in most of the data breaches and malfunctions some of these companies have had, the only footage available was the live stream. Obviously not ideal, but also not a case of people being able to watch your home movies like it's Netflix.
But, if you prefer to keep recordings local, the best user friendly systems for that are still IP cameras. They have a central surveillance box where all the recordings are stored and the preferred method of connecting cameras is still by wire, making them far more reliable. Moreover, most wireless cameras top out at 2K resolution, while 4K+ wired cameras are easy to come by. 2K is pretty inconsequential if you were hoping to make a positive ID on your vandal.
Of course, none of this accounts for budget.
If you're trying to do this on the cheap, it's hard to beat a bunch of Wyze cameras with 128GB SD cards installed in each. If you don't pay for their cloud services, all the recordings are local at the camera. They're also extremely easy to set up with backup batteries and solar, as they run off USB. The 3 pack often goes on sale for $60. Throw in a few SD cards and you're looking at around $120 for everything.
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The issue with all of these cloud based systems is that your app has to talk to a host server to both authenticate and be directed on how to connect to your camera (at a layman level, pulling up the IP address your home internet is currently using).
Then, on the other side, the camera is constantly talking to the same server to authenticate itself and tell the server where it's located.
For many of these systems, that host server acts as a proxy instead of just saying "okay, you're both authenticated, talk directly", which adds further delays over self-hosted setups. It's more secure in a lot of ways, but it does add more routes your connection has to take in order to receive data. And in most cases, this central server is geographically out of the way from where you and your camera are located, which also impacts performance. This is one of the reasons people avoid cloud based cameras where the only authentication server is hosted in Asia.
As for disk speed or internet bandwidth affecting performance in the way that comment describes, that's highly unlikely.
Nobody in surveillance uses SSD for storage. They simply aren't robust enough to handle being written to 24/7. In fact, they make hard drives which are specifically rated for surveillance systems and their performance is good enough that SSD speeds look like overkill.
Some cameras, like Wyze, use SD cards for local storage, but even buying the "high endurance" ones typically meant for dash cams aren't meant to be for around the clock use for years on end. They generally come with an expectation to swap in a new one at least every 3 years (conservatively) to avoid degradation.
As far as bandwidth goes, the data used to initiate the connection is minimal. The most a slow upload rate will do is cause an inconsistent stream, which most of these cameras compensate for by simply lowering the stream quality.
If you really want to minimize how long it takes to connect to your cameras, changing the DNS server your router uses is usually a good first step. If you want to go a step further, mapping the host names for these central servers to their respective IP addresses eliminates the DNS lookup all together.
I'm at the store. No idea how to attach the pictures in SD app.
Even if the camera isn't enough of a deterrent for criminals (and let's face it, Next Door is proof that they aren't), it's good to have for insurance purposes.
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I can access the first generation cameras with free account for life from anywhere. It's very useful for when I'm out of town.
someone already confirmed this in-store
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