Hi all, I am a few weeks out into moving into our new house (Eastern Canada) and I am a little lost on where to start with home security. We knew at the beginning that would like cameras on the property so we had the electrician hardwire for cameras to three locations on the house. I BELEIVE this means hardwire for power and data as there seems to be internet cable running to the spots. I would also like to get a video front door bell and then some basic alarm system for the doors.

So from what I gather reading this sub a bit I should stay away from the big alarm companies as its a waste of money. I have also heard this echoed in some friends I’ve spoken to. The common recommendations I’ve seen is go with Ring/Blink, Google, or Reolink cameras with the floodlights, that can be paired with that companies front door camera and then have them feed hardwired into a “brain” or storage in the house. Many people have told me to stay away from wireless stuff (especially since we have the hardwired camera spots) and try and find something that has a hard drive so no storage in the cloud.

So I guess what I am really asking is: What complete system (hardwired cameras with floodlights, front door cam, central brain with local storage, and alarm system for doors and windows) would this sub suggest I look into. Also is there another component of home security I am missing or not thinking of? For what its worth, we don’t really have a favorite “smart home” system between Alexa or Google but we are looking at getting a google nest.

Thank you for your help! The sheer number of products in this space is really hard to navigate for a new person.