Is there a solution for wired, outdoor cameras that record 24/7?

[foodini]

I have a restraining order against a neighbor (he threatened to kill one of my kids). He keeps overstepping the order, but I never have a way to prove it, so the police can't do anything. Often, the violation is audio, so he's not in the frame and wouldn't trigger a motion sensor, or something he's doing with his car.

I want a solution that is recording 24/7, without fail. When he does something illegal (for example, he has guns in his car, despite being a paroled violent felon, or he does a drug deal in the street, or he litters my driveway with point-up screws to puncture my tires) I want to just go back and fast-scrub through the last few minutes or hours of video, download it, and take it straight to the cops.

I want a wired outdoor solution so I can put the cameras in the best places. I won't have easy access to them to change batteries, and if they're transmitting all the time, they'd blow through battery too quickly anyway. I would strongly prefer PoE (power over ethernet), since that will only require the one cable and there won't be an accessible power socket where I plan to mount the cameras.

  Thanks....

[Kristina1119]

I'm sorry for the circumstances! In your case a good CCTV kit that syncs with Google would work best. They are easy to install, often offer cloud-based or/and recording on a hard drive and are reliable. I myself have two sets of those:

https://store.google.com/us/product/nest_cam_floodlight?hl=en-US

And I'm extremely happy with them. 

A non-Nest alternative is the Reolink range cameras.

[EmptyNester]

Yes, for any of the outdoor cameras you can pay a $12/month subscription for NEST AWARE.  This records 24/7.  However with the newer generation nest cameras there is a limitation that will be a problem.  You can only save a clip of an event if the camera actually records it as an "event".     I know this sounds like a step backwards but the previous gen cameras (Nest Outdoor and Nest Outdoor IQ and even the Nest HELLO Doorbell) would be a better solution for you.  They are discontinued but you can buy them used on ebay.   The benefit is two fold.  #1 you can view all the 24/7 footage on your computer using a browser.  And then you can go to any time of day and set a start and an end point and save a video and audio clip of that moment.   #2 the interface then lets you send someone a "LINK" that lets them view the video.   You don't have to save file to your compute and then try and email it.  BOTH of these features are missing on the newer Nest cameras.

Hope this helps.

[aatienza]

Hey foodini,

Appreciate the help, Kristina1119 and EmptyNester. I'm dropping by to ensure if everything is covered here. Hope that sheds some light on the issue.

Thanks,

Archie

[foodini · Accepted solution]

It sounds like what support for my use case there was, it's being phased out. I'd rather not pick up a bunch of hardware only to find that my only reason for purchasing it is being pulled from service.

[aatienza]

Hey foodini,

We hear you. Our team is working hard to deliver the best experience for our users — we'll take this as feedback. Keep your eye on the Google Nest Community page https://bit.ly/3h9zod5 for any updates.

Check out this link on how to file feedback.

Thanks,

Archie

[foodini]

Seriously, I'd be happy with a home device - or even one of my own desktop machines - doing the 24/7 recording while certain detected events would be automatically sent to the cloud.

My problem is that I need to be able to poke a button every now and then that would save the last several minutes of activity for my lawyers to look at. I can't be the only person who thinks that autodetected events are NOT going to get everything they need.

Just by way of example, the event that caused me to post this was missed by a neighbor's (across the street) Nest camera. The perpetrator's activity wasn't something Nest recognized as being criminal, but after we heard it, we looked. Just a few weeks ago, the guy was waving a gun around on his property. Due to his felony record and the 4 different restraining orders against him (me, ex-girlfriends, other neighbors, etc.) he is not allowed to own or handle firearms. Had I had 24/7 recording, I could have just grabbed the footage and sent it to the police. Bet there isn't exactly a "trigger recording when Nest sees a gun" setting, is there? It's frustrating when manufacturers try so hard to make devices so "smart" - just for the sake of drawing a monthly subscription - that they're so utterly useless.

[aatienza]

Hey foodini,

Thanks for your feedback. We'll make sure to pass this along to the right team.

Cheers,

Archie

[aatienza]

Hey foodini,

Since this thread hasn't had activity in a while, we're going to close it to keep content fresh. Feel free to submit another post, and provide as many details as possible so that others can lend a hand.

Thanks,

Archie