Home CCTV cloud storage

[Tony M]

First off, I know nothing about this subject, and that's why I'm asking the questions. Basically. I want to put CCTV at my house.  I need, I think 5 cameras to cover the exterior.

 

I have looked a t a few different brands, and one named Ezviz looks okay.   It does  all the things I want - motion detection, audio, etc.  There don't seem to be many dealers of the camera or the system in Thailand, although there is one in Tukcom, Pattaya that I have spoken with.  He can supply, and fit, the cameras, etc, but is unable to answer what seems, to me, to be a basic question. Ezviz seem to want to tie me into using their own cloud storage system, and the fees are high (relatively, when compared to other storage fees).  They charge per camera, when others have fee "packages" or an annual charge for video storage. I am trying to find out if can upload and store to Google Drive, or similar, but nobody will provide the answer. The guy in Tukcom says that he doesn't know (?), and Ezviz website "chat" were helpful until I asked that simple question.  Does anyone know if it's possible to upload and store to any cloud storage, or is the cameras/camera app software designed to block this ?

[mauroest]

Ezviz uses proprietary software and cluod storage. Hikvision CCTV use it too.
You can use Google drive, but high definition video needs many Gb of memory and speed. Moreover Google changes often privacy rules, may be one day your home video could be free on Internet

[jeffandgop]

You can get a DVR and store your camera feeds on it.  Don’t have to upload to any cloud. I have a Hikvision system with DVR, 5 exterior cameras and 2 interior cameras. 

[Tony M]

10 minutes ago, mauroest said:

Ezviz uses proprietary software and cluod storage. Hikvision CCTV use it too.
You can use Google drive, but high definition video needs many Gb of memory and speed. Moreover Google changes often privacy rules, may be one day your home video could be free on Internet

Thank you for your reply. I understand what you say about Google "privacy".  I guess the question is better if I ask if I can use any of the many cloud storage systems ?

Is it possible/easy to re-program the Ezviz software to be able to upload to a different cloud ?

[Tony M]

Just now, jeffandgop said:

You can get a DVR and store your camera feeds on it.  Don’t have to upload to any cloud. I have a Hikvision system with DVR, 5 exterior cameras and 2 interior cameras. 

Thanks. I do understand that. But the property is empty.  If I was the "thief" I would be looking for the DVR and taking it away with me.  I'm sure the thieves know that this is the best way to get rid of the evidence.  So, if I do get a system with a DVR, can I set the DVR to upload immediately to a cloud, so that I still have a permanent record ?

[jeffandgop]

13 hours ago, Tony M said:

Thanks. I do understand that. But the property is empty.  If I was the "thief" I would be looking for the DVR and taking it away with me.  I'm sure the thieves know that this is the best way to get rid of the evidence.  So, if I do get a system with a DVR, can I set the DVR to upload immediately to a cloud, so that I still have a permanent record ?

Don't know the answer for that.....

[Peterw42]

13 hours ago, Tony M said:

Thanks. I do understand that. But the property is empty.  If I was the "thief" I would be looking for the DVR and taking it away with me.  I'm sure the thieves know that this is the best way to get rid of the evidence.  So, if I do get a system with a DVR, can I set the DVR to upload immediately to a cloud, so that I still have a permanent record ?

OP, I think you need to think about what you want, "Upload immediately" is a broad term. Do you want the system to stream live to cloud storage, and the cloud storage acts as a recording and storage device. Or do you want the system to record an hour of video, then send the finished file to cloud storage. There is a subtle but big difference between streaming to cloud storage and moving files to cloud storage.

[Tony M]

3 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

OP, I think you need to think about what you want, "Upload immediately" is a broad term. Do you want the system to stream live to cloud storage, and the cloud storage acts as a recording and storage device. Or do you want the system to record an hour of video, then send the finished file to cloud storage. There is a subtle but big difference between streaming to cloud storage and moving files to cloud storage.

Thanks for the clarification. Basically, I want motion activated cameras, and for the short (?) video or stills to be uploaded to the cloud. I would prefer that to be immediate upload, so that the record is immediately protected. So that probably means streaming from the camera (SD Card?) or moving files to cloud storage from the DVR ?  I guess I'm trying to find out which method is possible without being tied into expensive proprietary cloud storage,  and which is (for me) simple.  I don't think I want/need continuous streaming to the cloud, but I'm happy to receive advice on the best way to do this.

[recom273]

Have you looked at BlueIris software? It's a system with features like face and numberplate recognition, I'm sure there is motion detection record.

 

It has so many features Im sure you can use your own cloud storage.

 

There are solutions for you, but it's often how much time you want to invest.

 

You should look towards cameras that use RTSP, that way you aren't tied to proprietary systems and integrate it into your home automation / security / server setup. I think most cameras do, but worthwhile checking.

 

Over there years, I have been playing around with different systems - my hardware expands, my needs change, cameras or open source projects develop. I think I wouldn't want to stream to a cloud, what happens if your internet goes down? I would prefer local storage with regular backup to the cloud, I don't know how or if cameras record to sd and then to cloud.

 

For me, I would put in 5x IP cameras (my current ones are reolink RLC-810A & 820A) onto a network and use something like motioneye (a free software DVR) on your computer and just play. decide what is good for you. If you buy any decent reviewed IP camera with RTSP you aren't going to go wrong, you can always use the stream to achieve your goal somehow or go back to the proprietary software, for me I like to support open source projects using existing hardware, and keep my data away from the security companies - it doesn't really cost anything more.

[Tony M]

3 hours ago, recom273 said:

Have you looked at BlueIris software? It's a system with features like face and numberplate recognition, I'm sure there is motion detection record.

 

It has so many features Im sure you can use your own cloud storage.

 

There are solutions for you, but it's often how much time you want to invest.

 

You should look towards cameras that use RTSP, that way you aren't tied to proprietary systems and integrate it into your home automation / security / server setup. I think most cameras do, but worthwhile checking.

 

Over there years, I have been playing around with different systems - my hardware expands, my needs change, cameras or open source projects develop. I think I wouldn't want to stream to a cloud, what happens if your internet goes down? I would prefer local storage with regular backup to the cloud, I don't know how or if cameras record to sd and then to cloud.

 

For me, I would put in 5x IP cameras (my current ones are reolink RLC-810A & 820A) onto a network and use something like motioneye (a free software DVR) on your computer and just play. decide what is good for you. If you buy any decent reviewed IP camera with RTSP you aren't going to go wrong, you can always use the stream to achieve your goal somehow or go back to the proprietary software, for me I like to support open source projects using existing hardware, and keep my data away from the security companies - it doesn't really cost anything more.

That's a great post. Many thanks.  I've never heard of RTSP (not surprising really !), and the post is very informative.  I will look into into it now that I have a better understanding. I'm sure that your post will be helpful to a few others too.  Thanks again.

 

 

[recom273]

Here is a bit of viewing for you .. Im not trying to guide you to a reolink camera, I just like these guys presentations. Hikvision and many other brands are a very similar Chinese product.

 

 

 

 

You don't have to think about a NVR as a DVD looking thing, connected to a TV - Here is some details about an open source project - motioneye - you can set it up on a computer that's always on or a dedicated unit the with an SSD the size of a packet of cigarettes. Its not as comprehensive as blueiris - but you can always setup some kind of sync like resilio that will keep your local storage sync with the cloud. There is a web app that you can run on your phone and check in, but you don't get the playback features like you would on proprietary software. Setting up your own system is a lot more secure than using the companies app and cloud servers, although a little bit more complicated to set up, but there are plenty of videos, forums and people that are happy to help, however, like I say, its a bit of a rabbit hole, you can lose a lot of time when you start messing about.

 

 

 

[mauroest]

21 hours ago, Tony M said:

Thank you for your reply. I understand what you say about Google "privacy".  I guess the question is better if I ask if I can use any of the many cloud storage systems ?
Is it possible/easy to re-program the Ezviz software to be able to upload to a different cloud ?

A)No one is 100% safe, but Google often push info to public
B)mmm...not sure. Never tried

[Tony M]

1 hour ago, recom273 said:

Here is a bit of viewing for you .. Im not trying to guide you to a reolink camera, I just like these guys presentations. Hikvision and many other brands are a very similar Chinese product.

 

 

 

 

You don't have to think about a NVR as a DVD looking thing, connected to a TV - Here is some details about an open source project - motioneye - you can set it up on a computer that's always on or a dedicated unit the with an SSD the size of a packet of cigarettes. Its not as comprehensive as blueiris - but you can always setup some kind of sync like resilio that will keep your local storage sync with the cloud. There is a web app that you can run on your phone and check in, but you don't get the playback features like you would on proprietary software. Setting up your own system is a lot more secure than using the companies app and cloud servers, although a little bit more complicated to set up, but there are plenty of videos, forums and people that are happy to help, however, like I say, its a bit of a rabbit hole, you can lose a lot of time when you start messing about.

 

 

 

Wow, that's  a lot of information (and most of it beyond me!).  Many thanks for your time and help..