PoE or Wifi?

[PA-Woodchuck_802982477914301]

I can install both systems, naturally Wi-Fi would be easier. What is real operating range/distance for Wi-Fi cameras? I ask this because I tried a well-known Wi-Fi system last year that couldn't hold link when camera was outside home about 40ft away.

thanks

[KimchiGUN]

@pa-woodchuck_802982477914301

You will need outdoor access points to support Wi-Fi cameras at a longer distance. Also, you need decent outdoor access points to handle the load. Something with some good horsepower, a good chipset.

I prefer wired cameras for long term use and future proofing your setup.

[Crimp On_62210811129]

Agree. A wired connection is better in a number of ways, provided that it is convenient to install the Ethernet cable. "outside home about 40ft away" raises some flags.

[joseph_1979]

@pa-woodchuck_802982477914301 It depends on your specific needs and several other factors. The factors like ease of installation, scalability, cost, connectivity, power source and network security play a vital role while a user selects a camera system for the surveillance of home, office and outdoor spaces. So let us discuss some of these factors and see which security camera system would be best for you.
First thing would be the installation of system. If you are willing for DIY installation then consider using a private WiFi camera system as it has less complex installation procedure compared to PoE system. But if you are worried about the network security and connection stability then I suggest you to go with a POE camera system as it offer better security as compared to private WiFi camera system. Here you can devise VLANs for cameras and fw rules. Note that for the Reolink client to communicate with the cameras, it has to be on the same subnet. If not then you need to use source NAT. This is a design which I did asked support to remove this restriction. But it is their decision. Just a personal note. Don't use Reolink client for 24x7 monitoring. When used from an external network, the client makes use of P2P Relay server to reach the camera. These P2P relay servers are provided by third parties (AWS/Azure) and don't have infinite bandwidth and is not free. What is free in this world? Nothing. So when you use the multiview, the resolution of the cameras are mostly fluent/Balanced. To have high resolution you need to switch to single camera which defaults to Fluent and you need to change it to CLEAR. Maybe you can skip the P2P Relay servers and use DDNS. I never checked the resolution under DDNS.

Connectivity can also be a major factor here. A wireless camera system unlike PoE camera system can have a poor or unstable connectivity. Moreover the WIFI frequency can easily be jammed by a thief. So here choosing a PoE camera system would a wise decision. A private Wi-Fi camera system would require stable and high speed internet connection. Reolink started to replace the WIFI 5 chipset with WIFI 6 chipset which offers better speed and range. In addition, there are a number of high powered WIFI extenders such as the RE650 from TP Link which may help in areas of no power or difficult to run a cable. I have an RE650 and have no issue with two cameras (DUO2 and Trackmix) installed at the back garden. The cameras are 80 feet away from the AP and no obstacles in between.

If you don’t have a reliable or fixed power source then you can use a battery or solar powered wireless camera system. Such cameras are event triggered and cannot be used for 24x7. In addition, this mostly rely on PIR detection and so they are limited in range (say max 10m). And if the object passes fast enough it might trigger the camera but the object is not recorded. This is because when PIR is triggered, it it starts the application which starts the recording (so no pre-recording unlike the POE/DC powered cameras which are constantly recording) .While choosing any type of security camera system it is very important to consider brand reputation, popularity, affordability, user-reviews and features offered.

In case of a POE system, it is recommended to connect the POE cameras through a POE switch and then connect it to the main router. The NVR can be connected to either the switch or the router. In this setup you can access the cameras directly from the client or through the NVR. You may for instance direct a stream from one of the cameras to youtube using RTSP/RTMP (you need an encoder as Reolink cams won't allow the inclusion of the stream key). As for storage, you can have various options.

Option 1: You can store the recorded videos on the internal micro SD. Max is 256GB
Option 2: You can ftp the recorded file to a remote FTP server using FTP or FTPS (no SFTP from Reolink)
Option 3: You save the recorded videos onto the NVR which most customers do.
Option 4: You can also stream to HA/Frigate/BlueIris using RTSP and store them.

You may opt to integrate the cameras with Frigate, Blue Iris, HA, etc and use the applications features. There are a lot of options. You need to spend time in planning (how many cams, which type, no of ports on POE switch, NVR ports, HDD capacity, pou backup, etc) and have patience and at the same time having fun.

[PA-Woodchuck_802982477914301]

To clarify cameras would be counted on outside of home... so distance to NVR is 40ft max.
Plan is to go wired
That said need suggestion which system to purchase especially offering good video resolution to ID person...
If I need to extend PoE network cable, what the cable spec and can I make my own. I made cables in the past
PoE
NVR
best camera choices
please list product numbers

thanks

[md]

@pa-woodchuck_802982477914301 Battery cams are better than no cams at all, but wired low voltage wifi cams are better. They both need a good wifi signal outside to be reliable. The distance they can operate depends on your wifi system. Reolink cams can record to SD card inside without an NVR but having an NVR is better. POE wired cams are the best if you can install the cables. If you buy cameras and NVR in a bundle together they are cheaper. But you only get one model cam. It's better to buy an NVR and the cams separately so you can buy different model cams to fit specific field of view you are looking for, maybe a PTZ cam or Reolink's new low light cam CX410 or wide angle view like the Duo series with 180 degrees view, do you want cams with spotlights for color night vision or just IR black/white at night, etc. 8MP and 12MP have the best resolution. Home consumer security cams can ID faces depending on the distance, the cam model, if it's day or night. At night cams cannot ID faces nearly as well due to lack of light.

Reolink makes several NVR models, you can read their specs, how many cams they support, how much HDD storage they have. Reolink has an 8 channel NVR if you don't plan on using more than 8 cams. Reolink's newest model is the 36, supports 36 cams, lots of HDD storage, but it does not have built in POE or HDD, you have to buy your own POE switch and HDD drives.

You could read the first post on Reolink Reddit, lots of info about Reolink cams including cam specs charts, see below link. You could also watch YouTube channel LifeHackster who reviews Reolink cams, you'll get an idea how they perform, how to install and use the app. Take your time, do some research before you buy so you know better what you are getting.
https://www.reddit.com/r/reolinkcam/comments/133vod7/welcome_to_the_official_reolink_subreddit_please/?rdt=43409

[PA-Woodchuck_802982477914301]

I purchased the wired RLK8-1200B4-A and e1-zoom wireless for inside home. Question about PoE switch, I have a linksys 5 port powered switch but not listed as PoE. Will this work for 2 outside cameras which would save having to run cat cables from nvr to each?

thanks again

[email_525317533946102]

I have an omni-directional outdoor access point and a camera at the end of my driveway about 400 ft. away. The camera is connected to a flat panel directional antenna and the signal is strong.