Breaking and Entering

[jhtalisman]

WiFi communication via router and then video stored where or on what?

You can store locally with a flash drive or it will stay on the cloud (free) until you delete or it's overwritten (oldest to newest).

I forget how much cloud storage is the default.

 

[Dannydet]

All videos are stored in the cloud, which is free, and will show in the Blink app on each device you install it on. I have the app installed on 3 devices, my phone, my wife's and my 10"tablet. Each will get a notification and saves the video, which you can watch as soon as it's triggered. You can then keep the videos or delete them as needed

 

[olbriar]

I haven't any trouble with cloud storage until I have to pay for it. Are the cameras always recording or only when motion triggered?

 

[Dannydet]

Only when motion is triggered. If they were always on the batteries would die very quickly

 

[Dannydet]

You can set your recording time from seconds to up to 1 minute. Then it will record again if movement is triggered, saving all snippets to watch

 

[Dannydet]

And if you try it and don't like, you can return it to Amazon up to 30 days

 

[olbriar]

You are proving to be a great source @Dannydet . Thank you for the info and your desire to assist.

 

[Dannydet]

I don't know any other free alternative out there

 

[olbriar]

I'm seeing a month free cloud and then a charge of unknown amount on Amazon packages. Investing in a USB flash drive to record the sync 2 feed seems to be the other option.

 

[The_Chief]

Cloud is only good if you can get to it, however. In many cases, the internet goes down and critical data isn't transmitted or saved. At least our system has seven 4K power over ethernet cameras, with sound, feeding into our NVR (network video recorder), which has two 10 TB drives in it (the NVR has a 16-camera capacity... but we're not some retail store with external and internal cameras). It's a higher cost up front, yes... but we OWN it. We can look back at the video from any camera, at any time, on any date, until the drives are full and the oldest unsaved data is overwritten.

I'm tech-paranoid and don't trust the "free" model: because if we're using a product or service for which we do not pay, WE are the product; our data is mined, categorized and sold to whoever can afford it. In our case, we both own and control our security data... same goes with our personal data, which we keep here on a NAS and back up to external drives.

 

[Dannydet]

How Much Does Blink Cost?

Get expert advice on improvements to your home, including design tips, how much you'd expect to pay for a pro and what to ask when hiring experts.

www.forbes.com

Wow. I got Blink as soon as it was out, so I guess I'm grandfathered in as being free.
Sorry I didn't know this until now...

 

[jhtalisman]

How Much Does Blink Cost?

Get expert advice on improvements to your home, including design tips, how much you'd expect to pay for a pro and what to ask when hiring experts.

www.forbes.com

Wow. I got Blink as soon as it was out, so I guess I'm grandfathered in as being free.
Sorry I didn't know this until now...

Same here.

Can probably just use a 256gb flash drive and call it a day. Should still be accessible through the app and with the same retention/deletion protocol but it's stored locally, with maybe more storage capacity that way.

Definitely still an easy, low cost and effort, camera setup.

If you go the Blink route, Olbriar, Lithium AA batteries are a must. Regular alkaline will not last more than a few days. I get at least 3-4 months on lithium out of mine on my rear door camera - it's the higher traffic area between my 2 cameras.

 

[olbriar]

I'm meeting some friends new year's eve. One of them is a security nut and has had his digs protected for years. I'm anxious to see what sort of system he's running. It will not be a package of any sort. It will be wireless cameras and some sort of local storage device.

 

[ozonetrooper]

OB, if you have wooden/plastic eaves and attic access you could run the wires overhead. Find a place to run them down to the recorder and cut the wall open to access the 3 1/2" space twixt the sheet-rock inside and the brick board outside, (usually a black 1/2" fiber sheeting), and get them inside that way. If your access hole is behind the tv or something like that just flat piece of painted plywood/paneling will cover the hole fine.

 

[olbriar]

Being in home construction most all of my life, I know anything is possible. The back door, the entry that is hidden from public view, is the most likely area needing security. It is also the easiest of the two entries to mount exterior cameras, wired or wireless. It is really the only entry I care to monitor. To hardwire, I would use both the attic and the crawl space. It would be zero fun to run but not impossible. WiFi is the far better option.

 

[The_Chief]

Good luck kicking in our doors without a battering ram. All entrances (front door, garage door, deck French doors) have Door Sentinel plates installed. Mortised into the door and the jamb, it's a good 1/4" of steel held in by really long wood screws. If someone tries to kick in our door, they may end up with a broken leg. They could shatter a window, but then our alarm system will trigger. So will my pew-pew trigger LOL

 

[olbriar]

If a thief is determined to break into a residence, there is no stopping them. Catching them or making it impractical is one's only defense. I had made it difficult to the point they gave up. I added to that security following. I'm now interested in catching them or having evidence to present to the authorities. I don't really anticipate another attempted theft but I didn't anticipate the last. I'll be better prepared if it should happen again.

 

[Dannydet]

Hey olbrair, I just read up on Blink about their subscription plans, you can still use all devices sold by Blink without any monthly fees, it's on their website faqs page and I called them to verify this.
Cloud storage is limited but really? I never save any video snippets unless something happens. Or plug in a USB flash drive to the module, done...
So the only cost to you would be the price of the cameras....

 

[nickdalzell]

Be mindful cameras aren't a solution. We had two golf cars stolen from our business, in the dead of night. The thief knew we had a ton of security cameras, and managed to evade them by walking in unlit areas, and had his face fully covered and wore a hat. We still haven't had any help locating him, and cops can't make identity with our footage so we're SOL. The only video footage is of a large man wearing camo with a black covering over his face, and a large hat over that. You can see his eyes but that's it.

A few years before that, another thief literally shot the cameras, and held a lighter flame to the one by the front door (low enough that a 6ft or taller person could get to it) and cut the DSL line so the security system (ADT) couldn't phone home.

I always try to NOT become someone popular enough or well-known enough to become a target. If your home is being targeted you got bigger issues than simply preventing the burglary attempt. Nobody but your immediate family should know what valuables are in your home. I don't exactly make it a public event what I got in mine, although the age of my stuff probably helps, time pretty much stops in 2012 in this home, and folks these days want new.

I got neither cameras nor a security system (unless SmartThings counts) and just use ye olde key. I don't exactly live in the boonies either, but in a suburbia style neighborhood. Essentially a 1950's Nuclear lifestyle. I also watch a lot of true crime and old episodes of Matlock and Perry Mason and learned from that to ALWAYS check your car's back seat before getting in, among other tips.

 

[olbriar]

I live in an old home in an old neighborhood that clearly reflects my lack of valuables worth stealing.
I can only theorize that I was targeted by local desperate losers who knew we were gone and had an opportunity to see if there was something worth stealing. I have a suspect on my short list. A video capture would see him in jail. As is, I have nothing.

 

[nickdalzell]

Your video capture might have been as unfortunate as ours, sadly...

 

[olbriar]

That is quite possible nick. A video could have been of some random dude that the video, with my help, would not identify. We will never know for there is no video.

 

[ozonetrooper]

It not not necessarily where you live or the age of your home or hood.

There are undesirables who walk up and down streets making note of who is home and which are the easier place to enter.

I call them inventory takers.

 

[nickdalzell]

It's a big issue if it keeps happening, though. Once is one thing, but if it keeps happening, you got bigger issues than your valuables. If that is what's happening later on, GET OUT.

 

[Bearsyzf]

With my Google Nest Cameras I pay $80 a year and get a recording when their is activity picked up and it's held for 30 days. If I wanted 24/7 recording and have it held for 60 days it's $150 a year. I'm happy with the $80 a year plan.

Those Blink cameras look like a really good deal and I know a person who has them and he's really happy with Blink

For comparison here are two pics from my Google Nest Cameras

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That looks like i could do some GOOD fishing from that back yard.