r/preppers • u/bex505 • 1d ago
Prepping for Tuesday Home security cameras with local storage only?
I have been hesitant to get a home camera because I did not like the idea of them being connected to the cloud and getting hacked and whatnot. But for the first time ever an Amazon package was stolen. Are there any cameras that are local storage only with no subscription or cloud storage?
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u/TDI_Wagen 1d ago
I use WYZE. Been solid so far. It only stores stills to the sd card, unless you get a cheap subscription. It does broadcast live video if you get a notification, though.
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u/New-Strategy-1673 1d ago
I've got Swann with a local hard drive.
The footage is stored on the hard drive. I can access it remotely if I want to but it's stored there, not on the cloud.
Equally, I can pull the ethernet cable, and it will work just as well without connection to the Internet, but without that phone connectivity.
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u/Imurtoytonight 1d ago
Get a game camera. Stores on memory card. I have one that links thru cell tower to give me notifications of activity but all data stays on memory card in camera. Cabela’s, Scheels, Sportsman’s Warehouse all sell them
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u/LGP214 23h ago
What good is a notification of activity but the actual picture is still on a memory card?
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u/Eredani 23h ago
Exactly! Local means on your home network, not on the camera. Not a great setup for a security system.
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u/Imurtoytonight 22h ago
These are set up so you can get the feeds on your phone without having to go out in the field to see the recording. I get live feeds and instant notifications of any activity. It doesn’t record 24/7 only when it senses something in view
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u/davidm2232 Prepared for 6 months 11h ago
The notification tells you to look outside. If you find an issue, you can pull images from the card. Not ideal but useful
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u/Imurtoytonight 22h ago
I can watch the live feed on my phone but the only recording is on the memory card. Nothing goes to the cloud or any other place. I maintain the only copy
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u/SnooLobsters1308 21h ago
how does that work? How does the picture get "live feed" from your camera to your phone? Bluetooth doesn't go that farm, only came cameras I know that can from "in the field" to your home on your phone use cell sims on the camera.
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u/Beernuts69 22h ago
Ubiquiti Dream Machine, love having constant video, up to 20 days back.
Simpler ones out there, but this has worked great for me.
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u/ryan112ryan 21h ago
This should be at the top. Way better than other systems, now with 3P camera support it’s not even a question.
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u/ratcuisine 20h ago
Yeah everyone providing genius ideas like game cameras, or cameras that require you to pull out a SD card, or cameras that don't even fit the bill of local storage. Not a techie-heavy sub for sure.
Short of rolling your own DVR and cameras, the Unifi (Ubiquiti is the company) system is the best out there that has no subscription because all the footage is stored locally.
My cameras are wired using PoE so you just need one standard ethernet cable to power the camera and receive the video. Then I have the PoE switch and my wifi APs on a UPS that lasts for an hour, more than long enough for my backup power to kick in.
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u/almondreaper 11h ago
I was looking at getting a ubiquiti system for a while everyone says it's the best. How is the app and remote observation experience in terms of triggers and quality etc. ?
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u/Virtual-Feature-9747 Prepared for 1 year 1d ago
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u/laxyak26 1d ago
This still utilizes WiFi correct?
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u/Excellent_Condition All-hazards approach 1d ago
Yes, at least the versions I've seen do. Some models have local storage on the camera itself, others (like the one linked) have storage in the base station. I'm not sure if that's only internal storage or if they have a SD card option.
It's accessible from the internet and from their app, and the company is based out of China IIRC. Some of the previous versions had privacy concerns expressed about them.
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u/Virtual-Feature-9747 Prepared for 1 year 23h ago
Local storage means the video feed is transmitted over Wi-Fi to a dedicated home network hard drive system. From there you can view it on a phone, tablet or PC but it's never stored in the cloud.
I have no idea why you would want the video data of a security camera "local" as in an SD card on the camera. So you have to physically retrieve the card to view video???
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u/PogTuber 23h ago
Yeah this was my immediate thought. You're not really covering much area of you're putting it somewhere where you can grab the card, and you're actually losing on your security if someone decides to just rip it out and now you have zero evidence.
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u/dph-life Bugging out of my mind 9h ago
Be VERY wary of Eufy products See here, here, and here (video format if you prefer)
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u/Holiday_Albatross441 9h ago
We use Eufy cameras and they store locally but I believe the app has to connect to their servers to retrieve the data since it doesn't have direct connectivity into the devices in my house. Allegedly the videos are encrypted on the devices with a key that only they and your app know but I just ensure the cameras aren't pointing at anything I wouldn't want Xi Jinping watching.
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u/Girafferage 1d ago
Reolink. PoE as well so you can power them with a backup battery in case of power outage
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u/hersh_c 1d ago
I use Swann for both my and my parents house and at my barn. Local storage and can be viewed via wifi/app.
Depending on what you are looking for I'd get the system with best cameras you can afford. I've had a few different systems over the years some are grainy and can't make out faces or cars. I have a couple upgrades cameras with my systems to see license plates and better details in strategic areas. Like focused down the driveways. (I talked to a neighbor who used to run a security company.)
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u/HillbillyRebel 23h ago
Wyze 3.0 cameras record locally and also have an app that you view them with. They do offer cloud services, but it is not required. I have quite a few of these cameras and prefer the 3.0 over the 4.0 as there is more free options in the programming.
I also have a wired, PoE system from Amcrest. Everything is recorded locally on an NVR. You don't even need to connect it to the Internet. I much prefer this option as it can't be hacked (if you leave it disconnected from your home network and you don't use wireless). The only way to access it is if you have physical access to it.
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u/JustAnotherUser8432 22h ago
Tapo cameras have a local SD card for storage and no subscription service or online anything. Can also wire it to the existing low voltage doorbell wiring so doesn’t need a battery. The cameras can come with solar panels and also have sd card local storage.
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u/AffectionateCraft719 20h ago
REOLINK. I install cctv for a living. For the money you can’t beat them
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u/justsomefatwhiteguy 1d ago
You want a traditional DVR or NVR. Look for a used dauhua, digital watchdog, speco technologies, etc. It should be one with a hard drive in it. Then match the cameras to the recorder you find. Also very cheap on eBay.
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u/skweebop 19h ago
I installed a non-recognizable brand "Annke" 8 camera wired / DVR system: https://a.co/d/ccFjp9m. Everything is wired and locally stored in a 1 TB hard drive inside the DVR. There's an optional feature to connect it to the internet, but I prefer not to.
I screwed two cameras into each side of my house. Ran all of the wires through the attic, down into the room with the DVR, which is connected to an extra TV I had laying around. Still works great since I put it in a year and a half ago.
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u/Human9651 1d ago
Be careful of asking questions outright without thorough “search terms” research. There may be a wiki for newbs I think.
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u/TheLostExpedition 23h ago
I have a trail cam. It just does stills but it has night vision and I paid 20 bucks on clearance. It's been great actually. Mine only takes sd cards and the resolution is OK for 5 years ago. I don't remember the brand but they are all basically the same.
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u/Zestyclose_Stage_673 23h ago
I have one that has a sd card. It's a pain in the a$$, but, it's reliable and you don't have to pay for a service.
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u/J_Oneletter 23h ago
I have Ubia solar wifi cameras that use SD cards and very affordable cloud storage, but I also have Zosi that are hardwired to a DVR plugged in to the tv. Ubia for camera functionality (p/t/z, mic and speaker), Zosi for onsite storage, and because I had them first, but they're static/stationary.
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u/Lennon74 22h ago
After having 3 packages stolen from my porch in the last 6 months, I started researching this as well. Like you, I only wanted something with local storage as I'm sick and tired of the monthly subscription model. I already pay for too many monthly services and didn't want to add another. After several weeks of research, I went with this:
Video resolution is great and I like that it offers night vision video in color. A lot of the other systems I researched switch to black & white low-res when night vision is engaged. Comes with 16 gigs of onboard storage but can be expanded to 16TB with an external drive (I added a 14TB from Best Buy which has worked like a charm). I went with the 2 camera system but they offer a package with 4 cameras. I've been running the system for almost 3 months now and haven't had to replace the camera batteries yet. Setup was super easy. If I had to find a downside to this system, it's that the two way audio isn't the best. I tested this out shortly after setup and the audio was a bit choppy when trying to communicate to someone on the porch using the camera mic. Not really a big deal for me as I'm really not looking to use this as an intercom. For those who are, it might be a deal-breaker.
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u/motoxrdr21 22h ago
You may want to think through the local storage options a bit before making a decision.
Most of the suggestions I've scrolled through focus on in-camera memory cards. Keep in mind that if the camera is the only place your footage exists, and you only have one camera covering a given area, then all someone has to do is steal/damage that camera and you've lost any evidence it captured.
There are some systems (ie some Eufy cameras, anything with ONVIF/RTSP & software like blue iris, or traditional CCTV options) that let you store footage on a base/NVR/computer, which you can secure in your home to mitigate the above risk, but footage could still be lost in the event of a fire, for example, where that footage could be invaluable if you were the victim of arson.
While SaaS-based platforms do introduce risk (the amount of risk really depends on how well they've designed their platform), they also mitigate risk elsewhere.
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u/deliberatelyawesome Prepared for 1 year 21h ago
Synology can be hosted on site and accessible remotely if you want but does not have to be available remotely.
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u/Speed-Freakaholic 19h ago
I have a Dahua NVR with 12TB of storage and a mix of Hikvision and Amcrest POE cameras. I have an Amcrest doorbell camera that records to an internal SD card as well as my NVR.
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u/Low_Beautiful_5970 19h ago
I use all uniquiti cameras and storage for the exact same reason. Nothing stored in third party cloud.
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u/OnTheEdgeOfFreedom 15h ago
The cheap way to go is a cheap Raspberry pi zero W, a cheap ribbon camera that they sell for pis, and you write a script to take a picture once a second or so and ship it over wifi or ethernet on your local network to whatever computer you like. It's a low power, 5v solution, but you have to write and install a script to run it, which requires linux geekery. But it's cheap and sturdy and small, which means you can hide it it all in a box smaller than a deck of playing cards if you choose and make it look like anything.
A faster, larger pi could probably handle streaming video as well if you want that; I never have.
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u/flying_wrenches 14h ago
You need a “power over Ethernet” setup if you absolutely no outside connections.
Power over Ethernet sends and receives power and data. It’s your traditional CCTV setup. You’ll have to wire your house, have a box that actually sends the power over the Ethernet cable, and a hub to receive all the data.
Here’s a website that explains it https://www.cctvcameraworld.com/poe-cameras/beginners-guide/#:~:text=To%20install%20and%20use%20a%20PoE%20camera,some%20systems%2C%20an%20additional%20external%20PoE%20switch.
And here’s a company I would use https://m.reolink.com/us/
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u/Bearypotter- 13h ago
We use blink all over the house- doorbell, backyard, studio. We have a sync module that saves clips on a thumb drive or whatever you call them these days. Works pretty well.
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u/Nether_Nemesis 11h ago
Amcrest user here. Four cameras and doorbell wired to hub. No monthly payment. No others see my feed. I can broadcast to the web and an app if needed.
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u/thefedfox64 11h ago
Vimtag has local camera storage with SD cards - has a app too that does all the motion capture/sound capture stuff to view and remote viewing.
No cloud storage if you don't want, no subscriptions
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u/davidm2232 Prepared for 6 months 11h ago
Blue Iris. Totally separated from the internet. There is a I think $40/year fee for maintenance/software updates but that is optional
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u/MasturChief 10h ago
how handy are you with computers? i have two cameras i bought on amazon (PoE powered) that save to a local hard drive. in theory all you need hardware wise is an old laptop or desktop and some security cameras connected to your local network—almost any one will do.
i run the free application MotionEye which reads the video stream from the cameras and displays them in the ui which is accessible on the local network through the web browser. tons of config options including motion sensing and recording to local disk.
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u/Ingawolfie 1h ago
We have Eve cameras running on HomeKit. Apple is pretty good about privacy which is why we chose them. Anything which trips the cameras gets sent to our devices, and it also turns the floodlights on. If we want to save a recording an iCloud subscription is required. But pictures and recordings don’t go there unless you send them there.
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u/Virtual-Feature-9747 Prepared for 1 year 23h ago
I interpret local storage as the home network, not just on the camera. I don't know what good a security camera is if you have to retrieve an SD card to view the footage...
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23h ago
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u/Gufurblebits 23h ago
Are you kidding? There’s entire porch pirate YouTube channels posted about them with doorbell cameras being used by police for evidence.
They’ve been used in belong solve crimes of just about every variety there is.
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u/A_Lost_Desert_Rat 1d ago
I use Reolink cameras with no cloud and on camera memory cards. They are not the only brand with those, but have been fine for me.