duztee

Does the fitting of CCTV cameras deter crime, or indicate that you might have something worth 'nicking' ?

I live a simple life and don't have anything of great value or irreplaceable, (so don't really need the security).

What I do have is an irritating busy body net curtain twitching neighbour who is constantly letting it be know that 'people' are jumping over my fence at a rate which makes me think Hungary will win the high hurdles at the next Olympics, if these same miscreants can be convinced to join the team.

So really I am considering said cameras as a contradiction to my 'helpful' neighbour.

Any views welcome!

Rural Hungary

So long as you let it be known that you have one (no doubt the curtain twitcher will help with this ) I believe it will deter them and if they know a British person lives there then the assumption will already be that you have a house full of valuables so I don't think the camera will make much difference.

Tonymol

Buy a bloody big dog!

duztee

Tony
A camera would still work for weeks if I am away, the dog would starve! :-)

wolfi

We have a CCTV camera which watches our gate - but that is mainly for us to see who's pressing the bell so we don't have to get up when someone from a sect comes to try to convert us ...

A friend of mine has an alarm system where after a guaranteed time someone arrives or the police is called - but that costs some money every month ...
When the alarm rings at the central location they first call him back and only become active when there's no response from him. For him that's a "good" solution because he has quite a few valuables and is away often ...

On the other hand it would have been better to pay for some "házméster" who checks the house regularly - he would have found out that the central heating didn't work . Since nobody was at home in that cold winter when the heating broke and this was of course during a very cold spell, the water installation was damaged - it became so cold after a few days that even the water in some toilets froze and destroyed the WCs ...

FenTiger

Have you asked the curtain twitcher what time this happens? Maybe with this info you could be around to catch the culprit in the act? Also does the curtain twitcher know who they are?

FenTiger

If you do get a cctv camera don't opt for wireless camera because the wifi signal is so sensitive it would start recording every time the camera sends the latest image to your pc/laptop.

John Gilbert

I was thinking about investigating the different types / brands of wifi cctv cameras - any recommendations or warnings greatly appreciated ?

FenTiger

In UK I have two wifi cameras, one with infra-red. They are currently not being used. Originally were bought because of suspicious things going on in my garden. Didn't capture anything except a fox but it certainly wasn't this fox moving my garden furniture around! Sorry no brand name on them.

One thing you need to realise about infra-red is that if you position the camera indoors to capture what's happening outside through a window the infra-red lights will light up the window on the inside and you won't see anything except maybe 12 small lights in a circle! The infra-red camera must be positioned outside so you need a weatherproof/outdoor one.

Software - it's really difficult to find the right one. One program I used enabled you to merge snapshots together so you could watch them like a video. But what you really need is something which will activate when it detects motion. Trees, shrubs and any non-human moving object, i.e. animal, etc. will activate the motion and start filming. On some software you can "mask" trees, shrubs, etc. so when they move they don't activate saving you endless time viewing all the recorded videos .... of a tree or shrub flapping about! The alternative is to record everything and if you suspect something has happened on your property whilst you've been away you can go straight to the time slot and view the video with fast-forward until you notice something.

Some cams have a fish-eye lens which I think is much better as you can capture a wider field of vision so you might only need two in different parts of your property.

I.P. Cameras - unfortunately I don't know enough about these.

Electricity or battery - some cameras have a battery option but I would forget that .... they don't last long! The plug, in UK, is quite bulky. No idea what it would look like in Hungary.

Hope this was helpful.

Tonymol

Solar powered outdoor lighting would be a good option

FenTiger

I have a couple of solar powered security lights. One of them had been brilliant for two years but seems needs new rechargeable batteries now. Other one bit temperamental depending on good sun hours to keep it going long enough. Both bought from Maplins in UK. The question is are there enough sun light hours in winter in Hungary to recharge?

An alternative is a fake camera ..... just don't tell your neighbours.

Peter_in_Hungary

I have just been speaking to a friend who installed CCTV after having some petty theft whilst he was away. CCTV works, it filmed 2 of our ethnic friends walking out with a bicycle. The case comes up in Kesthely shortly and they have pleaded guilty!!

I suspect as the news of the arrest and court appearance travels around the incidence of unauthorised entry on to the property will cease.