Thats pretty awesome! What recording hardware platform would you recommend? Id be willing to do something like this vs buying a complete NVR camera system.
SightHound System Requirements. Basically its very CPU intensive so dual core or greater.
I also see that Intel makes a NUC for it, which is probably the route Iād go.
https://www.sighthound.com/partners
I have Foscam cameras now, and Iām thinking about getting some Amcrest ones too. Both cameras have pretty similar feature sets, it seems.
I use the excellent (and free, for up to 2 cameras) Surveillance Station running on my Synology NAS. My NAS is more power-efficient than running a full server, and itās easy to access from outside my home network with Synology Quick Connect. There is a great Surveillance Station community integration with Smartthings.
The motion detection in the Foscam cameras is excellent. In fact, it works great as an outdoor motion sensor. Once configured, I get maybe one false-positive motion detection every two weeks. And so far, I havenāt missed any detections. Using the motion detection in the cameras to trigger recording on my NAS really cuts down on the hard drive space I need, and it makes it easy to review events.
That kills it for me.
That would make for a tidy setup!
Why? Is this because the Foscam motion detection is better than what you can do with Surveillance Station?
Iām using the SS motion detection. The HIKVision can do line crossing, but SS doesnāt recognize that kind of event. Too bad. So I just had SS do the motion detection. The interface was superior.
On windy days I get nearly constant recording. Moving shadows and plants keep triggering. I have a PIR motion detector under the side porch. It does much better on windy days.
Oops, I misread the requirements. For a basic low res camera you need:
Windows XP Service Pack 3 and newer, including Vista, 7, 8, and Server releases
2.0GHz Pentium 4 processor or higher
2GB RAM or higher
For over 16 HD cameras you need quad core. 
Go through this link to figure out what you would need.
Id be installing up to 8 cameras (exterior) and those would all be 3-4MP. I kinda stopped right there based on hardware reqās.
My Mac Mini is already taxed pretty hard and my Servers in the basement arent of this decadeā¦but I may revisit what im asking my Mini to do and see what its performance looks like and consider a lower quality camera for the exterior (against my better judgement)
Mac Mini might work:
https://www.sighthound.com/support/system-requirements
Concrete examples
-
A user reported that an off the shelf 2013 mac mini with a dual core Intel Core i5-3210M 2.5GHz CPU and 4gb of memory can comfortably handle 10 1024x768 streams.
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A user reported a Windows machine with a 2.5GHz i7 quad core CPU with hyperthreading and a raided hard disk array was able to record 23 VGA and 2 720p cameras at 98% CPU load
-
A 2013 mac mini with a quad core Intel Core i7-3615QM 2.3GHz CPU and 16gb memory uses about 25% of the CPU when monitoring a mix of 7 cameras with resolutions from VGA to 1080p
The SS motion detection was giving me tons and tons of false-positives (from wind and shadows, as you describe), and worse it was also missing actual motion. I scrapped it for the in-camera motion detection and I havenāt looked back. Much, much more reliable.
It is true that the UI in the cameras is not as good as SS, but having a working system was worth it to me.
I got an email about the beta of SS Version 8. I believe it supports line crossing. Look here:
Awesome. Thank you. Iāll check it out.
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One or two cameras the $25 referral discount is better but for the three or five camera set up this is the better bargain.
When do the coupon codes expire?
It is Halloween sale only. Afterwards it is a ghost!
We already have CCTV cameras at home but my wife is asking for more. Since my job requires me to travel a lot she and kids have to stay alone at home for many days. And with the increase in crime rate she wants more security for the house. So I have been in talks with a home security alarm company in Hamilton to provide better security for my home.
Iāll probably add more CCTV cams and also an interactive security system. News like these make us realize the value of alarm systems and trust these security system provides even more.
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And this should go without saying, but the better lit your house is at night, the better.