this post was submitted on 09 Sep 2023
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What are the alternatives?
A local NVR, like Frigate or Blue Iris.
I like to check cameras while not being home.
Setup a VPN server on your local network so you can connect in remotely.
This is far beyond the capabilities of the average user.
Many routers nowadays have VPNs built in.
I would say it's about as difficult as golfing. Try doing it a few times & maybe you'll hit the ball. Keep at it & you can play the game on a course. Is there a learning curve? Yes, of course. Is it worth it? Yes, of course. Only you get the upside of the effort so nobody is going to do it for you. I mean, unless you pay handsomely for it. In the end...do whatever you feel is appropriate, but getting things that only benefit you w/o effort isn't the world we live in.
If this is beyond the capabilities of a user, maybe that user shouldn’t set up remotely accessible cameras either
Lorex has a companion app you can use to view your camera feeds, but all of the data stays on the NVR
I use NightOwl which is a dvr connected to the network. While accessing I'm really just accessing my own dvr... Right?
Go with Unifi then. They're pretty much the only network equipment company with good software. The NVR (the computer that records/stores the camera feeds) can be used with or without internet access. If you know how to setup a VPN, you can connect to it without giving it internet access. If you don't know/want to do that, you can use their free web portal to access it remotely.
Cloud key G2 (NVR) is ~$200 and includes a 1tb HDD, G3 Flex cameras are ~$80 each. If you want to save some money, you can skip the cloudkey and install the software on an existing computer on your network.
All you need for wiring is to pass a single ethernet cable to wherever you want to place the cameras since they use PoE (power over ethernet). You'll also need a PoE adapter for each camera if you don't have a router that supports PoE. They also sell really awesome routers and switches with PoE, but if you're new to PoE be careful and do your research because it can permanently damage incompatible equipment. The older EdgeRouters are an incredible value, but the PoE variants use a non-standard and more dangerous PoE implementation than the newer ones. The EdgeRouter X SFP w/ included power adapter does work fine with G3 Flex cameras though, since that's exactly the setup I have (I don't think it'll work with the Cloudkey G2 tho).
...also yes, I'm a bit of a fanboy.
A camera not connected to the public internet.