How to Set up a Home Security Camera System Without Using the Cloud
There are many good reasons to equip your home with some of the best security cameras on the market: these devices are (usually) affordable, loaded with features, and easy to set up and use. Once they’re installed, you’ll be able to see what’s happening in your property 24/7 and receive alerts of suspicious activity straight to your phone.
Just a few years ago, installing a camera system like this would have cost a lot more money and required professional help, so we’re definitely moving in the right direction. However, these CCTV cameras may come with additional terms and conditions.
Many cameras on the market, including cameras from Arlo, Amazon’s Ring and Blink brands, and Google Nest, require a monthly subscription. These subscriptions usually include cloud storage for your videos, so you can access them for days or weeks afterward.
Having an archive of footage in the cloud is convenient, but not everyone will want to sign up for another digital subscription to keep their security cameras working properly. Moreover, hosting your videos in the cloud leaves you vulnerable to data leaks and requests from law enforcement and government agencies.
Luckily, there’s another way: pay up front for a security camera kit and store your footage locally.
Subscription options
Before we get to cameras that don’t offer any subscription at all, you might be wondering whether it’s worth buying cameras from more established names but without signing up for a monthly (or yearly) subscription plan. The details of these plans vary depending on the company and camera, but many of them are very similar.
In most cases, being able to check your camera’s live feed and get motion alerts when something happens in front of it won’t cost you anything extra. Sometimes additional features such as motion zones (getting alerts only for activity in certain parts of the frame) will also be free. You usually have to pay for video archives and cloud storage.
Let’s take Google’s Nest Aware subscription as an example: yours costs $8 per month or $80 per year. This means clips are stored in the cloud for 30 days (compared to three hours if you don’t pay), and you also get smart facial recognition so your cameras can tell the difference between a family member and a complete stranger. Smart alerts for sounds such as glass breaking and smoke alarms are also available with a subscription.
Other security cameras offer similar plans, so check before you buy—just make sure you consider the cost of each camera in your home. Some companies require you to pay a separate monthly fee for each camera, although Google Nest Aware is one plan that covers all the cameras you have installed in your home.
Camera selection
Almost every home security camera on the market now comes with some kind of subscription plan, mainly to provide cloud backup. If you don’t need cloud storage or a monthly fee, then it’s not about finding a camera without a subscription option, it’s about finding a camera where the subscription option is optional and where local storage for your videos is offered as an option.
One of the most popular brands in this regard is Reolink . It offers a variety of different cameras with support for saving footage to the camera’s own memory card or to a central storage location on your network. Advanced features like high-definition 4K video recording, motion zones, and person and vehicle detection are available, and the company even offers tips on when police might request your recordings .
Another manufacturer worth mentioning is TP-Link . Its cameras come with the all-important local storage option, so you can simply insert a memory card into the back of the camera and save your footage directly to it. As with Reolink, there are plenty of subscription-free features built in: the ability to differentiate between people and vehicles, support for traffic zones, night vision, two-way audio, and more.
Cameras from Lorex are also worth considering. There is support for local storage and there is no need for any subscription – and these are the key advantages of the company. In addition to cameras with memory card slots, Lorex will also sell you LAN-connected recorders so you can store footage from multiple cameras together in one place.
Access to footage
While cloud video storage has its challenges, as we’ve already discussed, it certainly has its benefits as well. You can easily access the footage from anywhere in the world, meaning that if thieves steal everything in your home, including your security cameras and their memory cards, you’ll still have a backup.
Any security camera you buy that stores footage locally can still be monitored over the Internet in real time, but accessing the video archive when you’re away from home can be more difficult, depending on the camera model. That’s why Reolink and Lorex offer network hubs for your recordings so you can log into them from anywhere (some router reconfiguration may be required).
If you’re really dedicated, you can set up your own system using a NAS (Network Attached Storage) drive to collect footage from your cameras and put it in a place where you can always find it (even if you’re connected to the network). remotely via the Internet). Some (but not all) Reolink, TP-Link and Lorex models support this form of recording – just check the listings.
There are many other options, but some technical know-how may be required: some cameras are easier to set up this way than others. This list of compatible cameras from NAS manufacturer Synology is a good starting point. It allows you to filter models by the features you need.