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Chat => Tech Chat => Topic started by: Bowdon on November 19, 2018, 04:07:34 PM

Title: Anyone use a front door security system?
Post by: Bowdon on November 19, 2018, 04:07:34 PM: I'm looking to setup some kind of system because the foot door is a black spot. I have cctv cameras around the outside of the house. But I don't have anyway to communicate to them at the door.

I thought of just plugging in another camera at the door but I wouldnt have audio.

I've looked at the Ring company. Their product looks good until I noticed they require a subscription to save any footage.

Does anyone else have a door system and any recommendations?

I guess for me in this situation means I probably need to focus on the audio side rather than video, as I have the video covered by other cameras.
Title: Re: Anyone use a front door security system?
Post by: Ronski on November 19, 2018, 08:16:47 PM: You can get CCTV camera's with two way audio, would something like that be suitable?
Title: Re: Anyone use a front door security system?
Post by: Deathstar on November 19, 2018, 08:36:57 PM: I have been thinking about something like this. My front door is recessed, do I could use it outside as it would be protected from the rain.

https://uk.humaxdigital.com/product/humaxeye/

How responsive the unit is I don't know.
Title: Re: Anyone use a front door security system?
Post by: chenks on November 19, 2018, 08:41:21 PM: indoor use only by the looks of it.
i assumed you were looking for something external?
Title: Re: Anyone use a front door security system?
Post by: Chunkers on November 20, 2018, 05:26:53 AM: I have been looking at this also, personally I think the Nest Hello (https://nest.com/doorbell/nest-hello/overview/) looks pretty good, we have a Nest thermostat which is excellent and I like the idea of the Nest door lock (https://nest.com/lock/nest-yale-lock-key-free-smart-lock/overview/) also.

C
Title: Re: Anyone use a front door security system?
Post by: Weaver on November 20, 2018, 05:39:34 AM: I have been looking into this too. My wife would like to know when visitors arrive. I would also like Janet to be able to keep an eye on me while I am in bed, in case I get into big trouble, bad pain or can’t call for help. I wanted something with two way communication so I could talk to her.
Title: Re: Anyone use a front door security system?
Post by: Bowdon on November 22, 2018, 02:37:00 PM: I have a swann system at the moment with 3 cameras. Its an NVR so its all done with PoE connections.

The thing is, though the software mentions about audio I dont think there is audio on the camera. If there had been I could have added another camera and had that setup at the door.

So I'll probably need something else.

I don't even need the camera part or a door bell. Just something to let me talk and hear what they say.
Title: Re: Anyone use a front door security system?
Post by: Bowdon on January 08, 2019, 11:05:02 PM: I ended up getting the ZOSI wire free battery security camera for £79.99. I bought mine from Amazon.

This is a video from a guy setting one up;

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOLC7ElpWQ0[/youtube]

ZOSI 100% Wire Free Battery Security Camera

I've had the camera for about 2 weeks. It was easy to setup. Audio is clear. The video quality is 720p does the job. It has both day and night vision.

One of the things I like about the camera is that when you need to recharge the battery the camera holder is a magnatised ball. So you can lift it off the holder and easily take it indoors to charge up via a mini usb charger cable. A previous camera I had a while ago I had to unscrew the panel and slide the battery out while the device was still screwed to the wall.

I'm usually not a big fan of wifi but this is near my router (one wall between them) so the wifi only drops to 96% on a bad day. Usually its bouncing between 98 and 100% strength.

The phone app as so far been pretty simple to setup and use. If you follow the instructions on the video you'll be up and running in less than a couple of minutes.

One thing to note is you have to buy a micro sd card in order for it to save the footage.

Anyways thought I'd just update. :)
Title: Re: Anyone use a front door security system?
Post by: tickmike on January 11, 2019, 01:36:19 PM: Re..."One of the things I like about the camera is that when you need to recharge the battery the camera holder is a magnatised ball. So you can lift it off the holder and easily take it indoors"
What is stopping a undesirable person taking it off and away. ?
Title: Re: Anyone use a front door security system?
Post by: displaced on January 11, 2019, 07:30:38 PM: I’m not sold on the idea of the Ring-style doorbells. It just seems odd to remotely talk to someone via a box on the wall. And I don’t need a doorbell with a subscription service.

However, I like the look of the UniFi camera range. Good specs, design and purely local software. I’ve been thoroughly impressed with their WiFi access points.

I might consider a Nest camera or two inside the house. We’ve got a Nest thermostat and two Nest Protect smoke/CO detectors which are great and work very well together. If we had the cameras, if either smoke alarm goes off, it’ll automatically display the camera feeds alongside the warning. Quite nifty.
Title: Re: Anyone use a front door security system?
Post by: Bowdon on February 24, 2023, 10:27:06 AM: I ended up getting the Zosi brand which has video and audio so I can talk to them.

The one I bought earlier in the thread broke. So I had to get another more up to date version. So far so good.
Title: Re: Anyone use a front door security system?
Post by: Alex Atkin UK on February 25, 2023, 01:10:31 AM: For me the fact everything has moved to "smart" devices is actually a problem. I need an intercom my mum can use WITHOUT her phone, as when she is woken up by someone at the door she can barely see and her hands wont work properly to operate her phone.

My Hikvision camera already has two-way audio but cannot be used as its only with the smartphone app. Also the NVR is junk and refusing to record audio, even though its enabled. Its why I'd never recommend Hikvision as they seem to be grossly under-specced NVRs running on ancient software/hardware, which given it supports 4K and H265 I was not expecting it to be so outdated. They only recently upgraded the OS on mine to support modern browsers and it still only works on Windows using a sketchy third-party plugin.

It also set the cameras passwords automatically and is SUPPOSED to use the NVR password, but it hasn't. So migrating them to a newer unit would be a real PITA as you have to contact Hikvision support to reset the passwords.
Title: Re: Anyone use a front door security system?
Post by: Edinburgh_lad on February 25, 2023, 09:46:01 AM: I'd have concerns about security with all these Chinese makes like Hikvision and others, including EUFY, and especially if a brand name is unknown. You simply don't know where the feed ends up and how it's used later.

Although not perfect (firmware sometimes broken etc), Arlo is a good solution. Their Ultra and Ultra 2 can record locally (to an SD card), as well as some previous models like Pro 3. I believe that their video doorbell has this option now, too, while the audio doorbell that they once offered records to the cloud for free, plus it's very small, unlike many video doorbells out there. A secure VPN connection to your network then allows access to local recordings remotely, if you don't want to pay for cloud storage.

Although Arlo has recently introduced an end to, but then backtracked from it in relation to, their free 7 cloud storage for older models (see the press coverage), Arlo Pro 2, probably available on eBay as many now are getting rid of it because of what Arlo had said they'd do, is still an option to be considered.

I have an experience of using Arlo HD (original Netgear product), Pro 2 and Ultra, and all ultimately are very good in deterring as well as serving as a proof for acts of criminality, not to mention an opportunity to admire nightlife (foxes, cats, bats, deer etc), or catching a neighbour filling your bin with their stuff.

For a monthly fee, there's all sorts of extras like package detection etc., though this is not available for all cameras.

Arlo's doorbells work in the same way.
Title: Re: Anyone use a front door security system?
Post by: Alex Atkin UK on February 26, 2023, 01:35:58 AM: Quote from: Edinburgh_lad on February 25, 2023, 09:46:01 AM
I'd have concerns about security with all these Chinese makes like Hikvision and others, including EUFY, and especially if a brand name is unknown. You simply don't know where the feed ends up and how it's used later.

That's why the Hikvision I have is a plain CCTV system, it needs no Internet connection to work. Cameras can be viewed in VLC directly, settings can be edited without the plugins (they are just to make playback/live feed work). Exporting recordings can be done from the DVR itself to a USB stick. So its cumbersome, but avoids any third-party apps or plugins.

Of course, that would be great, if it worked correctly.

Prior to that I just used an IP camera recording to my server using vlc. I could probably go back to that if necessary, but I'd rather have a dedicated box doing the recording.
Title: Re: Anyone use a front door security system?
Post by: Bowdon on February 28, 2023, 12:19:29 PM: Quote from: Alex Atkin UK on February 26, 2023, 01:35:58 AM
That's why the Hikvision I have is a plain CCTV system, it needs no Internet connection to work. Cameras can be viewed in VLC directly, settings can be edited without the plugins (they are just to make playback/live feed work). Exporting recordings can be done from the DVR itself to a USB stick. So its cumbersome, but avoids any third-party apps or plugins.

I have a Swann CCTV system, which I think is a rebrand off Hikvision. I don't mind the idea of NVR. But yea the PoE can be a pain in the butt. One of my cameras is down because of that.

On the VLC. What settings do you change? I can only get an old version (3.0.2) of VLC to work to view them. I change the Demux from Automatic to either H.265 or H264 and it works. But on newer versions of VLC it doesn't work for me. Do you change any other settings?

From the VLC forums I've noticed when viewing CCTV playback it seems to be hit and miss for many people. Some versions work for some people while others work for other people. I'm sure there is a setting I'm missing to make it work on a newer version of VLC.
Title: Re: Anyone use a front door security system?
Post by: Alex Atkin UK on March 01, 2023, 12:44:04 PM: Quote from: Bowdon on February 28, 2023, 12:19:29 PM
On the VLC. What settings do you change? I can only get an old version (3.0.2) of VLC to work to view them. I change the Demux from Automatic to either H.265 or H264 and it works. But on newer versions of VLC it doesn't work for me. Do you change any other settings?

From the VLC forums I've noticed when viewing CCTV playback it seems to be hit and miss for many people. Some versions work for some people while others work for other people. I'm sure there is a setting I'm missing to make it work on a newer version of VLC.

AFAIK the only setting is I have hardware decoding disabled, as I use VLC to take stills.
I just have a shortcut eg
Code: [Select]
vlc --cr-average=10000 --network-caching=500 rtsp://guest:Password0@cctv.lan:554/Streaming/Channels/101/
Title: Re: Anyone use a front door security system?
Post by: Edinburgh_lad on March 03, 2023, 01:15:19 PM: https://news.sky.com/story/amp/perth-and-kinross-council-stops-buying-chinese-manufactured-surveillance-cameras-after-security-risk-warning-12822810
Title: Re: Anyone use a front door security system?
Post by: Alex Atkin UK on March 04, 2023, 01:48:41 AM: Quote from: Edinburgh_lad on March 03, 2023, 01:15:19 PM
https://news.sky.com/story/amp/perth-and-kinross-council-stops-buying-chinese-manufactured-surveillance-cameras-after-security-risk-warning-12822810

For starters, people being "concerned" does not mean there is necessarily anything to be concerned about. Their devices can barely do their intended job due to crap software, its more likely there is some major security bug from outdated software than a deliberate backdoor IMO.

Secondly, they're welcome to watch Amazon deliveries at the front door and birds in the back garden. I don't think that's going to be much use to the Chinese government.

I very rarely see it pop up on the routers ARP table (I have real-time traffic monitoring) so I'm pretty sure China isn't snooping on me. Maybe its a conspiracy given my router came from Aliexpress. ;)

As for anything government related, I'm more alarmed that there isn't a government entity that has to assess the security of anything that is going to used by councils/government.

I also love how articles like this always make a point to say "Communist Party" rather than "Chinese Government", making their prejudices clear.
Title: Re: Anyone use a front door security system?
Post by: Chrysalis on March 04, 2023, 01:07:35 PM: Smart camera I brought to monitor when I am not home, I now use to look outside the front through window when am home so can see who is at front door.

Great cheap purchase.

I also have a fake outside camera as a deterrent.
Title: Re: Anyone use a front door security system?
Post by: Bowdon on March 04, 2023, 07:12:42 PM: One of the annoyances I find with a lot of cameras on the market is 1. most want a live internet connection, and 2. most only offer cloud storage.

It can take a while to find one that has local storage, and can operate without connecting to the Internet.
Title: Re: Anyone use a front door security system?
Post by: Chrysalis on March 05, 2023, 07:55:22 AM: Quote from: Bowdon on March 04, 2023, 07:12:42 PM
One of the annoyances I find with a lot of cameras on the market is 1. most want a live internet connection, and 2. most only offer cloud storage.

It can take a while to find one that has local storage, and can operate without connecting to the Internet.

Is a problem with smart devices in general, they advertised as WIFI which is misleading as they are usually internet devices, with WIFI just the means of connecting to the internet.

For localised ones its best to look for bluetooth or ones that come with a hub, they both usually more expensive than the WIFI/internet one's.

My camera is a cloud (WIFI) camera, but I am able to use an SD card in it. Although the app tries to push the cloud storage on to me.
Title: Re: Anyone use a front door security system?
Post by: Edinburgh_lad on June 27, 2023, 07:56:38 AM: Fresh from the newsroom about Hikvision

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-65975446.amp
Title: Re: Anyone use a front door security system?
Post by: Alex Atkin UK on June 27, 2023, 12:44:59 PM: Quote from: Edinburgh_lad on June 27, 2023, 07:56:38 AM
Fresh from the newsroom about Hikvision

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-65975446.amp

You can't attack a device that is not accessible from the web. If they're already on my LAN I have bigger problems.
Title: Re: Anyone use a front door security system?
Post by: j0hn on June 27, 2023, 01:03:23 PM: Quote
Panorama could not run the camera on a BBC network for security reasons - so it was put on a test network where there is no firewall and little protection.

The camera Panorama tested contains a vulnerability discovered in 2017. IPVM's director Conor Healy describes this as "a back door that Hikvision built into its own products."

Hikvision says its devices were not deliberately programmed with this flaw and it points out that it released a firmware update to address it almost immediately after it was made aware of the issue

So they are talking about a 6 year old bug that was fixed via firmware almost immediately, that was done on a network with no firewall at all.

All my surveillance cameras are Chinese, including a Hikvision. Fantastic piece of kit and great value for money.
Title: Re: Anyone use a front door security system?
Post by: Alex Atkin UK on June 28, 2023, 03:51:37 AM: Quote from: j0hn on June 27, 2023, 01:03:23 PM
So they are talking about a 6 year old bug that was fixed via firmware almost immediately, that was done on a network with no firewall at all.

All my surveillance cameras are Chinese, including a Hikvision. Fantastic piece of kit and great value for money.

Yeah it got me that they were testing in literally the worst scenario. Surely a properly configured CCTV system would be its own VLAN isolated from the rest of the network? In my own system the cameras are on the DVR and only the DVR is visible from the LAN, I have to login to the DVR and activate port forwarding to get into the cameras directly.

Its really basic security to only have sensitive devices on a network that the people allowed to access them have access to. You can't really blame the vendor for the customers bad security practices of not updating firmware and putting them on an insecure network.
Title: Re: Anyone use a front door security system?
Post by: craigski on June 29, 2023, 02:18:57 PM: Quote
We now know that the camera was in fact supplied by, and compromised with the collaboration of IPVM, an organisation with a vendetta against Hikvision.

https://www.hikvision.com/content/dam/hikvision/uk/marketing-portal/catalogues/Letter-to-partners-BBC-Broadcast-26.06.23.pdf
Title: Re: Anyone use a front door security system?
Post by: meritez on June 29, 2023, 04:24:51 PM: Yes a door bell and a tannoy system
Title: Re: Anyone use a front door security system?
Post by: Bowdon on July 05, 2023, 07:59:55 PM: Quote from: craigski on June 29, 2023, 02:18:57 PM
https://www.hikvision.com/content/dam/hikvision/uk/marketing-portal/catalogues/Letter-to-partners-BBC-Broadcast-26.06.23.pdf

Thanks for the link. I have my system closed off from direct access to the Internet. It's a dumb device on the network. I've seen too many cameras hacked and had the owners privacy breached.