Jimbouk Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 I have been looking at an interim solution for some live cctv coverage of our site, however no BT line / broadband yet... Think I have found a cheap solution that might interest others. Just installed it today and working well, so far! www.manything.com It uses a mobile phone as the camera, I have an old sim free iPhone connected to a Mifi unit (had one on contract already), can now happily view remotely and it sends alerts on movement too. Currently on a free demo, but when the build is 100 miles away, looks worth £3 a month to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToughButterCup Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 I'll try it out...... just as I have given my spare phone to our daughter. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readiescards Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 How much data does it use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbouk Posted March 21, 2017 Author Share Posted March 21, 2017 Not certain on data usage, but I get the impression that it is only streaming data on demand as opposed to constantly. The site phone is running the app the whole time, but you switch from standby to live via a viewer. So hopefully not too data hungry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vijay Posted March 21, 2017 Share Posted March 21, 2017 what about charging? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbouk Posted March 21, 2017 Author Share Posted March 21, 2017 Vijay, yes you will either be reliant on battery life or in my case, plugged into the mains. It is not a solution for everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsB Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 @Jimbouk this looks like something that will be useful to me. I'm getting petty vandalism on my plot and would like to find out what's happening after I leave in the evening without putting myself at risk. So basically you download the app to two devices, secreat a phone on site then watch on your other device at home? Would I need a security light that just came on with movement detection to allow the camera to have enough light without giving the ******** enough light to have a party at my expense? I live close enough that I could collect and charge up the camera every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbouk Posted June 14, 2017 Author Share Posted June 14, 2017 @MrsB. Yes, exactly that. You choose on as the camera and one as a receiver. I suspect you would need some additional lighting, as at night all I get is a black square as the image! Has worked well for me, I've ended up taking a monthly paid for subscription, for a limited archive. Really pleased with it, my site is over a 100 miles away from home, but gives me a way of see what is happening and who is on site! I've got a separate time lapse camera going too, recording the whole build. On Monday, I think we had about 14 people working on site, makes amusing viewing at high speed. Good luck in catching the lowlife... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 I'd second putting cameras up. We started off with just a time lapse camera up on a pole in the corner of the plot, but as soon as the house went up we found we were getting visitors on site. I initially fitted hidden CCTV, using motion detection and a local digital video recorder, and that revealed a number of visitors to the site (including the council tax snooper). Once the drive was laid we found that some local kids started using it as a skate park, and I fitted a prominent CCTV camera looking at the drive. That's been surprisingly effective as a deterrent, probably because anyone coming up the drive can't fail to spot it, especially at night, when the four IR illuminator LEDs give off a slight red glow. One thing I found is that the built in IR illuminator is only good out to about 5 to 6 metres. I fixed this by fitting another IR floodlight half way down the drive, that comes on when it gets dark. It only uses a few watts, but is very effective at extending the night vision range of the drive cameras, lighting up the area that's right at the edge of their built-in illuminators. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpmiller Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 I've just purchased a cheapo wildlife cam to put on the site (once it's finally ours) that'll alert me via an emailed capture within a minute or two. Pretty impressive tech. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
le-cerveau Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 I am at the other end of the spectrum as I have maintained BT and power on the site (demolish down and re-build), so I have a service cupboard at the site entrance. I have 2 high end Hikvision CCTV cameras on a pole connected to a NVR in the BT cupboard. The NVR is connected to the homehub, and kept accessible by a DDNS system. I can log on and stream live or look at the recordings of what has been happening. Essential as I am remote from the site and relying on my contractors/Architect/QS to keep me informed. It is interesting having a scan through each evening to see what has happened. The cameras are ELXIR so have good IR visibility and you can't fail to notice them, though I am sure some people think they are just dummies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsB Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 Thank you for the swift response @Jimbouk, @JSHarris @dpmillerStarting to take some steps towards trying to find out what's going on in our absence. 1.We've ordered a cheap use wildlife camera, should be here today. 2. Downloaded the app 'manything' and been able to see my partner at work through it this morning ? 3. Looking at a solar powered pir security light or lights on amazon at the moment Decided we only need the the light to enable the camera to capture the lowlifes, not give them free light to break in more of the barn (they have to go through the security fence to get inside) any more advise to help will be gratefully received, we only have an old wheelbarrow and a few grass cutting tools in the garage so it's not that there is anything of value to steal. Julie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triple07 Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 @Jimbouk I hope you don't mind me asking but roughly how much data does the mobile system use? I am trying to compare the costs of the app and suitable camera phone with data versus simply installing my bt line early and paying the broadband charge. We already have Electricity. Also does the app give the clarity to identify detail such as car number plates? A camera that I need to collect sd footage and view after the events does not suit our current needs. Failing that, does anybody have recommendations for a cctv system that can be viewed remotely thanks all ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 1 hour ago, Triple07 said: Failing that, does anybody have recommendations for a cctv system that can be viewed remotely thanks all ? I run two, both with Onvif cameras and an app based viewer. Cameras were £80 or so but are 4K/1080p so high quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 54 minutes ago, PeterW said: I run two, both with Onvif cameras and an app based viewer. Cameras were £80 or so but are 4K/1080p so high quality. Out of interest, what sort of frame rate and lag do you get with these? I have a few 720P ONVIF P2P or Wifi client IP cameras, and I find that although the picture quality is good, the frame rate struggles to get over 20 fps with all three running, and the lag is dreadful, several seconds between something happening and it appearing on screen. The main system I have installed, that I was looking at replacing, uses analogue cameras, ones with a notional 960 line resolution, and they operate well over a 5.8GHz wireless link, with no lag and a fast and consistent frame rate. They give an image quality that's slightly better than the 720P ONVIF cameras, too, but remotely viewing them needs a video to USB box on the small home server, so I can log into it and view the rtsp stream, which isn't as user-friendly as the IP cameras. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 They are not too bad - set to 25FPS for viewing unless I want to put them into realtime which gives me 50FPS. One set is on the end of a 3.5mbs broadband link and they are not that bad at all for lag - I think this is due to using a cloud provider for the streaming. The others sit sit on a 3G enabled router and are ok as long as you don't pull all of them up at once ..! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Triple07 Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 @PeterW so it is possible to use a 3G router with the security camera? I was almost swayed with an EE mobile broadband package but then I was told I couldn't hook it up with the Swann camera I was looking at... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterW Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 TBH Swann are overpriced for the spec. I use a Maplin 3G router with a cheap PoE injector and 3 cameras. There is a cheap NVR attached but I tend to just use the alert on it to trigger me logging into them as I can record off the app. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grosey Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 I bought this set - [HD 1080P] ANNKE 4CH 1080P POE NVR Max Up to 5.0MP Security Camera Systems One 1TB HDD Included, with 4 x 1080P 2.1Megapixels HD Day/Night Vision IP67 https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01H2RD9QU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_BTB3bXqxkWep2 Quite impressed so far but haven't really got in to the deeper settings to see what it can really do. After just 24 hours I had caught all sorts - the neighbour having a good snoop and pinching a empty dumpy bag, 2 little scallywags having a wander around, and 2 of my wife's friends flashing the cameras as they didn't think they were live hahaha 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Harris Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 @Grosey I didn't keep count of the number of casual snoopers we had around the site, but it was around ten or twelve I think. Sadly we didn't have any as entertaining at those in your first shot.................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Temp Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 I have one of the cheap wild life cameras and the PIR sensor drains the battery quite quickly. Basic set of AA cells only seems to last 24 hours. Managed to capture these foxes at a relatives house.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readiescards Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 I've one of these: https://www.photospecialist.co.uk/brinno-mac200dn-outdoor-security-camera#group4016 Really pleased with it. While it might not have the 6 month battery life it claims it certainly last 3 or 4 months of just two D cells. I have had to dry it out a couple of times after a few days of heavy rain. I buried in a muck heap at one point. But most of its life it was hidden in a set of randomly placed bricks at entrance to the site. Few people noticed it even though it was right up front. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsB Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 (edited) We had visitors at 4am who came prepared with tools to break in, they stole the security light and took the few tools we'd left secured in a garage, the mindless ***** The reason we know they were 30 minutes, we clocked them on camera coming in the gate, and then leaving with our things, they even took our gazebo from the garage (it was broken anyway, but did give a bit of shade), taking time to put it down and pack it in the bag. 30 seconds later a car was also seen on screen, down a quiet road at 4.30am bit of a coincidence! Police are coming..... tomorrow! Edited July 3, 2017 by MrsB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CC45 Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 Bastards. I never leave any tools on site. Why not get a few geese? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
readiescards Posted July 4, 2017 Share Posted July 4, 2017 oh dear sorry to hear that. Hope you got some useful evidence Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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