After a spate of neighbourhood break-ins and vandalism to cars, I want to install some video cameras and sensor lights as a deterrence and to help the police if there is an incident. There seems to be a number of ozbargainers with experience building their own DIY systems.
I'm thinking I need at least 3 cameras, one near the front door, one at the back and one on the garage/driveway. It should be possible to get wiring installed through the roof cavity for the two on the house (double brick). For the garage, I'm thinking EOP as I'm already using EOP to run from my ADSL modem to a router in my study.
For an NVR, there seems to be a strong following for Synology and QNAP NASs and their Surveillance Station software. I like to be able to play around a bit and want to integrate the surveillance with my home assistant setup (currently on a Pi3).
I'd also use the NAS as a private cloud and the idea of running Plex from the NAS is also appealing. Plex would mainly be handling music and dvds, so no current need for powerful transcoding. Where is the current sweet spot in terms of features, reliability and value? New, or take a risk with second hand off ebay/gumtree? Are there specific models to choose or avoid?
I have, or are planning on having, sensor lights covering the same areas as the cameras. Is this wise? From elsewhere on Ozbargain, it seems that hikvision cameras are the way to go. If so, which models are best, or are there models to avoid?
Keep surveillance system & NAS separate. In my case i found that I was messing with my synology a lot more than I originally thought, NAS was handling downloads, streaming, music & video management, vpn server, file server etc, I often messed up some settings trying to make certain things work certain way. You need Surveillance system recording without interruptions. With NAS, on the top of cameras, there are camera licences to buy separately ($70-80 each), cameras have to be compatible with the NAS of your choice, NAS has to be mid range that can take more hard drives and recode streaming videos etc (basic version NAS may struggle). better NAS means more $$$.
Instead buy a good security system that has face detection and number plates detection built in. There are systems that alert you with someone crosses certain areas for example, (between the hours one sets) security system will only track face/body if someone comes on your front lawn, but as soon as he comes close to your front door it will send beeps or sms to your phone). Best (and probably cheaper) to have separate surveillance system.