Home and business
Camera design, storage sizing, and the network they sit on
We design the camera system and build the network it runs on: where the cameras go, what each one has to identify, how much storage the footage needs, and how the recorder is kept off your main network. Four 4K cameras recording continuously fill roughly 2 terabytes in two weeks, so retention is decided before anything is ordered. Mounting is by a Florida alarm system contractor we bring in.
Cameras are two jobs that get sold as one. There is the design question, meaning what you need to see, from where, and for how long you need to keep it. Then there is the physical installation.
We do the first. The second is alarm system contracting in Florida and belongs to somebody work for somebody who holds that trade, the same way a job needing new cable runs goes to a low voltage contractor. Telling you which half is which before you spend anything is the point.
What is included
- A written plan naming camera positions, what each one is there to identify, and the field of view it needs
- The retention arithmetic in writing before anything is ordered
- Storage and recorder sizing, chosen for the retention you actually want
- A network segment for the cameras, separated from everything else in the building
- Remote viewing set up behind a tunnel or the manufacturer relay, never a port forward
- Handover training and written documentation of what was built
What moves the price
- Camera count, resolution, and whether recording is continuous or event based
- Retention period, which is really a storage sizing question
- Whether you want local storage only or local plus remote access
- How much of the network work is new and how much uses what the building has
The number comes from the survey, once somebody has measured the building. We do not publish one here because it would be wrong for most houses.
Questions people actually ask
Do you install the cameras?
We design the system, size the storage, and build and secure the network it runs on. The mounting is done by a Florida alarm system contractor. We say which part is ours at the start rather than after you have paid a deposit, we bring the contractor in, and we are there on the day so the design and the installation match.
Can I watch the cameras from my phone?
Florida regulates alarm system contracting, and the definition turns on what a device is for rather than on whether anybody ran cable for it. A camera watching for a break in is covered whether it is wired or battery powered on your wifi. The network design, the storage arithmetic, and the segmentation are not alarm system contracting, and that is the part we are good at.
How many days of footage will I keep?
It depends on resolution, frame rate, camera count, and whether recording is continuous or triggered. As a rough figure, one 4K camera recording continuously uses about 250 gigabytes per week. Eight of them for thirty days is a serious storage conversation. We do this arithmetic with you before you buy anything.
Can I see the cameras when I am away?
Yes, and it should be done without opening your recorder to the public internet. Remote access belongs behind a properly configured tunnel or the manufacturer relay, never a port forward.
Can you fix a camera system somebody else put in?
The network side of it, yes, and that is usually where the fault is. A recorder sitting on the main network, remote access done with a port forward, or cameras saturating the wifi are network problems and they are ours. If the fix needs a camera moved or replaced, we bring in the alarm system contractor for that part.
Start with the free consult
Up to thirty minutes, by phone or video, and it costs nothing. We go through what equipment you have now, what the house is doing, and which of the services here actually fits. Often the answer is that you do not need me yet.