Anyone have a favorite ip camera surveillance system?

Need one to four cameras. Would like a stand alone DVR.
And, would like remote viewing.

How about this Lorex 4 camera analog 1080p system (only $299):

http://www.costco.com/Lorex-4-Channel-HD-Analog-DVR-with-1TB-HDD%2c-4-1080p-Cameras-with-130'-Night-Vision.product.100237625.html

A friend has the 8 camera system in his business and it works great.

Remember that these pre-packaged systems do NOT include a monitor so be sure to pick up a cheap computer monitor or a monitor with HDMI input for the sharpest picture.

On 03/12/2016 10:35 PM, wrote:
How about this Lorex 4 camera analog 1080p system (only $299):

http://www.costco.com/Lorex-4-Channel-HD-Analog-DVR-with-1TB-HDD%2c-4-1080p-Cameras-with-130'-Night-Vision.product.100237625.html

A friend has the 8 camera system in his business and it works great.

Remember that these pre-packaged systems do NOT include a monitor so be sure to pick up a cheap computer monitor or a monitor with HDMI input for the sharpest picture.



Thank you!

On 2016-03-12 10:43 PM, T wrote:
Anyone have a favorite ip camera surveillance system?

Need one to four cameras. Would like a stand alone DVR.
And, would like remote viewing.

Axis Communications IP/POE cameras, Genetec Omnicast Surveillance
Software and 128TB fully redundant RAID array with 128TB failover.

That one is my favorite.

Might be overkill for you.



--
When Stephen Hawking was asked his IQ he said:

"I have no idea. People who boast about their I.Q. are losers."

On 3/12/2016 10:43 PM, T wrote:
Anyone have a favorite ip camera surveillance system?

Need one to four cameras. Would like a stand alone DVR.
And, would like remote viewing.

Do you really want IP cameras? Or, would you settle for RS170 cameras
wired to a "camera card" in a generic PC?

On 03/13/2016 12:31 AM, Don Y wrote:
On 3/12/2016 10:43 PM, T wrote:
Anyone have a favorite ip camera surveillance system?

Need one to four cameras. Would like a stand alone DVR.
And, would like remote viewing.

Do you really want IP cameras? Or, would you settle for RS170 cameras
wired to a "camera card" in a generic PC?

IP cameras are easier to run the cabling, especially since the customer
runs cat6 cable himself

On 03/12/2016 11:32 PM, Idlehands wrote:
On 2016-03-12 10:43 PM, T wrote:
Anyone have a favorite ip camera surveillance system?

Need one to four cameras. Would like a stand alone DVR.
And, would like remote viewing.

Axis Communications IP/POE cameras, Genetec Omnicast Surveillance
Software and 128TB fully redundant RAID array with 128TB failover.

That one is my favorite.

Might be overkill for you.





A bit! :-)

On 3/13/2016 12:43 AM, T wrote:
Anyone have a favorite ip camera surveillance system?

Need one to four cameras. Would like a stand alone DVR.
And, would like remote viewing.

Simple, good quality (IMO) and cheaper are Foscams.

Hikvision are good cameras also
http://overseas.hikvision.com/us/index.html

POE systems generally offer a DVR within but if you use a software such
as Blue Iris, your computer is your DVR. Blue Iris is a complete
security software. It controls the functions and allows remote access.

I have 7 ip cameras in my house and use Blue Iris. All cameras are
triggered and recorded by motion and the recording is on a separate PC
used mainly for the system. Been using them for several years now with
minimal problems.

I suggest a minimum resolution of 1080 for cameras.

Per T:
Anyone have a favorite ip camera surveillance system?

Need one to four cameras. Would like a stand alone DVR.
And, would like remote viewing.

HikVision "Eyeball" cameras and Blue Iris camera server running on my
24-7 PC.

"Favorite" might be too strong a word for Blue Iris since I have next to
zero experience with any other cam server... but BI does the job for me
both at home and he http://extremesurfcam.dyndns.org. Huge feature
set - many things you would never have thought of, yet are important to
most people setting up something like this.

The HikVision eyeball cams, OTOH, I can say really are better than any
of the other el-cheapo cams I have used. Less than a hundred bucks
each from AliExpress, significantly less prone to spider webs (the IR
attracts spiders for some reason) across the lens, much more durable
form factor: http://tinyurl.com/z5vydtc

FWIW, I find that POE is a big deal. Power Over Ethernet... you pay a
few bucks extra for a router that supplies POE or you buy a sub-$20
add-on and all your power wiring problems go away - just run the
Ethernet to the camera and it's done.


Only negative I can think of is that maybe a turnkey DVR system would
require less care and feeding... but I don't *know* that.... just seems
reasonable given the contract between TIVO and SageTV or Microsoft Media
Center.... OTOH, the flexibility and the geek factor attract me....
--
Pete Cresswell

Per T:
ip camera surveillance system

One more point: read up on cameras lens focal length and field of view
vs resolution. Cams are usually available with different focal length
lenses.

You may want cameras with longer or shorter focal lengths depending on
what you want to monitor. ... For a given camera resolution, of course,
the available detail goes down as the field of view increases... so you
want to optimize the tradeoffs. e.g. http://tinyurl.com/glexdyc

2.8, 6, and 12 are the sizes I see most often. Most of mine are 6,
but I have a couple of 2.8's: one for the inside of a garden shed, and
another for a back door area.
--
Pete Cresswell

Per (PeteCresswell):
reasonable given the contract between TIVO and SageTV or Microsoft Media

Oops... shb "...contrast between..."
--
Pete Cresswell

Per (PeteCresswell):
Most of mine are 6,

Just checked... I lied... most of mine are 4mm.
--
Pete Cresswell

Per Evan Platt:
I'll never buy another foscam. Junk.

+1 - and I have been through 2 of them.
--
Pete Cresswell

On 2016-03-13, T wrote:
On 03/12/2016 10:35 PM, wrote:
How about this Lorex 4 camera analog 1080p system (only $299):

http://www.costco.com/Lorex-4-Channel-HD-Analog-DVR-with-1TB-HDD%2c-4-1080p-Cameras-with-130'-Night-Vision.product.100237625.html

A friend has the 8 camera system in his business and it works great.

Remember that these pre-packaged systems do NOT include a monitor so be sure to pick up a cheap computer monitor or a monitor with HDMI input for the sharpest picture.



Thank you!

Fer what?

If you want a really clear picture, don't even buy the analog system.

http://www.stashspace.com/shoot-good-home-video/understand-digital-video.stm

nb

On Sat, 12 Mar 2016 21:43:43 -0800, T wrote:

Anyone have a favorite ip camera surveillance system?
Need one to four cameras. Would like a stand alone DVR.

And, would like remote viewing.

If you could do remote viewing, why pay for a camera?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_viewing

Per T:
Need one to four cameras. Would like a stand alone DVR.
And, would like remote viewing.

Also: be aware that many (most?) cameras have their own built-in
recording and motion-sensing functionality.

i.e. You can set up just a camera, tell it where to sense motion, where
to store the recordings, tell your router about it and which port to
forward.... and connect to it from anywhere via any browser, or freebie
apps like IpCam Viewer.
--
Pete Cresswell

On 3/13/2016 9:41 AM, Evan Platt wrote:
On Sun, 13 Mar 2016 07:42:04 -0400, Meanie
wrote:

Simple, good quality (IMO) and cheaper are Foscams.

Hikvision are good cameras also
http://overseas.hikvision.com/us/index.html

I'll never buy another foscam. Junk.

Bought two FI9821W V2's. Within a month (literally), the first one
failed. Color would go all mosaic. Had to argue back and forth with
Foscam that it was THEIR responsibility. They kept claiming I need to
take it back to the seller. Took almost a month.

About 13 months after purchase, BOTH failed. The one that failed with
the mosaic failed AGAIN with the same issue. Foscam said too bad, out
of warranty.

Never again.


I can't blame you, I'd do the same. Fortunately, I've had great success
with their cameras and as I stated, still using them after several years.

On 3/13/2016 9:10 AM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
Per T:
Anyone have a favorite ip camera surveillance system?

Need one to four cameras. Would like a stand alone DVR.
And, would like remote viewing.

HikVision "Eyeball" cameras and Blue Iris camera server running on my
24-7 PC.

"Favorite" might be too strong a word for Blue Iris since I have next to
zero experience with any other cam server... but BI does the job for me
both at home and he http://extremesurfcam.dyndns.org. Huge feature
set - many things you would never have thought of, yet are important to
most people setting up something like this.

The HikVision eyeball cams, OTOH, I can say really are better than any
of the other el-cheapo cams I have used. Less than a hundred bucks
each from AliExpress, significantly less prone to spider webs (the IR
attracts spiders for some reason) across the lens, much more durable
form factor: http://tinyurl.com/z5vydtc

FWIW, I find that POE is a big deal. Power Over Ethernet... you pay a
few bucks extra for a router that supplies POE or you buy a sub-$20
add-on and all your power wiring problems go away - just run the
Ethernet to the camera and it's done.


Only negative I can think of is that maybe a turnkey DVR system would
require less care and feeding... but I don't *know* that.... just seems
reasonable given the contract between TIVO and SageTV or Microsoft Media
Center.... OTOH, the flexibility and the geek factor attract me....

The problem with POE is that you do have to run cable. It's great if one
is willing to do so and much better in the long run, otherwise,
wireless/IP are the way to go.

depending on your needs of course, who wants to run Wires?
[too much trouble;
similar to house alarm systems]

wireless is my preferince

Foscam[s] are worth looking at 1st; again, depending on your needs

marc

On 03/13/2016 08:10 AM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:

[snip]

FWIW, I find that POE is a big deal. Power Over Ethernet... you pay a
few bucks extra for a router that supplies POE or you buy a sub-$20
add-on and all your power wiring problems go away - just run the
Ethernet to the camera and it's done.

POE uses 1 or 2 of the pairs in an ethernet cable. This means the
ethernet can't be the 1Gb variety (which uses all 4 pairs). Maybe you
don't need 1Gb to the cameras, but you'd need to be careful with
identical-looking cables in use for POE and 1Gb. Don't connect the wrong
one.

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not
understand, but the passages that bother me are those I do understand."
-- Mark Twain

On 2016-03-13 3:48 PM, Meanie wrote:
On 3/13/2016 9:10 AM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
Per T:
Anyone have a favorite ip camera surveillance system?

Need one to four cameras. Would like a stand alone DVR.
And, would like remote viewing.

HikVision "Eyeball" cameras and Blue Iris camera server running on my
24-7 PC.

"Favorite" might be too strong a word for Blue Iris since I have next to
zero experience with any other cam server... but BI does the job for me
both at home and he http://extremesurfcam.dyndns.org. Huge feature
set - many things you would never have thought of, yet are important to
most people setting up something like this.

The HikVision eyeball cams, OTOH, I can say really are better than any
of the other el-cheapo cams I have used. Less than a hundred bucks
each from AliExpress, significantly less prone to spider webs (the IR
attracts spiders for some reason) across the lens, much more durable
form factor: http://tinyurl.com/z5vydtc

FWIW, I find that POE is a big deal. Power Over Ethernet... you pay a
few bucks extra for a router that supplies POE or you buy a sub-$20
add-on and all your power wiring problems go away - just run the
Ethernet to the camera and it's done.


Only negative I can think of is that maybe a turnkey DVR system would
require less care and feeding... but I don't *know* that.... just seems
reasonable given the contract between TIVO and SageTV or Microsoft Media
Center.... OTOH, the flexibility and the geek factor attract me....

The problem with POE is that you do have to run cable. It's great if one
is willing to do so and much better in the long run, otherwise,
wireless/IP are the way to go.

My research indicates you still need power to the wireless cameras,
either way you are dealing with pulling wire. Unless you have a
convenient outlet to plug the camera power supply into.

--
When Stephen Hawking was asked his IQ he said:

"I have no idea. People who boast about their I.Q. are losers."

On 2016-03-13 4:40 PM, Mark Lloyd wrote:
On 03/13/2016 08:10 AM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:

[snip]

FWIW, I find that POE is a big deal. Power Over Ethernet... you pay a
few bucks extra for a router that supplies POE or you buy a sub-$20
add-on and all your power wiring problems go away - just run the
Ethernet to the camera and it's done.

POE uses 1 or 2 of the pairs in an ethernet cable. This means the
ethernet can't be the 1Gb variety (which uses all 4 pairs). Maybe you
don't need 1Gb to the cameras, but you'd need to be careful with
identical-looking cables in use for POE and 1Gb. Don't connect the wrong
one.


They have overcome that limitation with the introduction of "Phantom Power"

"Standards-based Power over Ethernet is implemented following the
specifications in IEEE 802.3af-2003 (which was later incorporated as
clause 33 into IEEE 802.3-2005) or the 2009 update, IEEE 802.3at. A
phantom power technique is used to allow the powered pairs to also carry
data. This permits its use not only with 10BASE-T and 100BASE-TX, which
use only two of the four pairs in the cable, but also with 1000BASE-T
(gigabit Ethernet), which uses all four pairs for data transmission."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_over_Ethernet

Most recent install I worked on implemented 1Gig data to the cameras and
the higher end switches are smart enough to not deliver POE to non-POE
devices.



--
When Stephen Hawking was asked his IQ he said:

"I have no idea. People who boast about their I.Q. are losers."

Per Idlehands:

My research indicates you still need power to the wireless cameras,
either way you are dealing with pulling wire. Unless you have a
convenient outlet to plug the camera power supply into.

Maybe others have had better luck, but the couple of WiFi cams I tried
were pretty much hopeless. IIRC at 640x480 they were barely functional
and anything higher was totally useless.

OTOH it might say more about the quality of my WiFi than any device...
but I am heavily biased in favor of hard-wired Ethernet whenever
possible.
--
Pete Cresswell

On 2016-03-13 7:55 PM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
Per Idlehands:

My research indicates you still need power to the wireless cameras,
either way you are dealing with pulling wire. Unless you have a
convenient outlet to plug the camera power supply into.

Maybe others have had better luck, but the couple of WiFi cams I tried
were pretty much hopeless. IIRC at 640x480 they were barely functional
and anything higher was totally useless.

OTOH it might say more about the quality of my WiFi than any device...
but I am heavily biased in favor of hard-wired Ethernet whenever
possible.


I tend to agree, I have done some installations where wireless bridges
were used to bridge from poles to building. They have a greater failure
rate due to snow and rain than any hard-wire camera.


--
When Stephen Hawking was asked his IQ he said:

"I have no idea. People who boast about their I.Q. are losers."

On 03/13/2016 07:39 PM, Idlehands wrote:

[snip]

My research indicates you still need power to the wireless cameras,
either way you are dealing with pulling wire. Unless you have a
convenient outlet to plug the camera power supply into.


Put the camera in a windmill with a generator?

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"Most people are bothered by those passages of Scripture they do not
understand, but the passages that bother me are those I do understand."
-- Mark Twain

On 3/13/2016 8:39 PM, Idlehands wrote:
On 2016-03-13 3:48 PM, Meanie wrote:
On 3/13/2016 9:10 AM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
Per T:
Anyone have a favorite ip camera surveillance system?

Need one to four cameras. Would like a stand alone DVR.
And, would like remote viewing.

HikVision "Eyeball" cameras and Blue Iris camera server running on my
24-7 PC.

"Favorite" might be too strong a word for Blue Iris since I have next to
zero experience with any other cam server... but BI does the job for me
both at home and he http://extremesurfcam.dyndns.org. Huge feature
set - many things you would never have thought of, yet are important to
most people setting up something like this.

The HikVision eyeball cams, OTOH, I can say really are better than any
of the other el-cheapo cams I have used. Less than a hundred bucks
each from AliExpress, significantly less prone to spider webs (the IR
attracts spiders for some reason) across the lens, much more durable
form factor: http://tinyurl.com/z5vydtc

FWIW, I find that POE is a big deal. Power Over Ethernet... you pay a
few bucks extra for a router that supplies POE or you buy a sub-$20
add-on and all your power wiring problems go away - just run the
Ethernet to the camera and it's done.


Only negative I can think of is that maybe a turnkey DVR system would
require less care and feeding... but I don't *know* that.... just seems
reasonable given the contract between TIVO and SageTV or Microsoft Media
Center.... OTOH, the flexibility and the geek factor attract me....

The problem with POE is that you do have to run cable. It's great if one
is willing to do so and much better in the long run, otherwise,
wireless/IP are the way to go.

My research indicates you still need power to the wireless cameras,
either way you are dealing with pulling wire. Unless you have a
convenient outlet to plug the camera power supply into.


Of course, but it's easier to find an outlet and place a camera near it
than it is to run cable through walls from the main point of connectivity.

On 2016-03-14 3:43 AM, Meanie wrote:
On 3/13/2016 8:39 PM, Idlehands wrote:
On 2016-03-13 3:48 PM, Meanie wrote:
On 3/13/2016 9:10 AM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
Per T:
Anyone have a favorite ip camera surveillance system?

Need one to four cameras. Would like a stand alone DVR.
And, would like remote viewing.

HikVision "Eyeball" cameras and Blue Iris camera server running on my
24-7 PC.

"Favorite" might be too strong a word for Blue Iris since I have
next to
zero experience with any other cam server... but BI does the job for me
both at home and he http://extremesurfcam.dyndns.org. Huge
feature
set - many things you would never have thought of, yet are important to
most people setting up something like this.

The HikVision eyeball cams, OTOH, I can say really are better than any
of the other el-cheapo cams I have used. Less than a hundred bucks
each from AliExpress, significantly less prone to spider webs (the IR
attracts spiders for some reason) across the lens, much more durable
form factor: http://tinyurl.com/z5vydtc

FWIW, I find that POE is a big deal. Power Over Ethernet... you pay a
few bucks extra for a router that supplies POE or you buy a sub-$20
add-on and all your power wiring problems go away - just run the
Ethernet to the camera and it's done.


Only negative I can think of is that maybe a turnkey DVR system would
require less care and feeding... but I don't *know* that.... just seems
reasonable given the contract between TIVO and SageTV or Microsoft
Media
Center.... OTOH, the flexibility and the geek factor attract me....

The problem with POE is that you do have to run cable. It's great if one
is willing to do so and much better in the long run, otherwise,
wireless/IP are the way to go.

My research indicates you still need power to the wireless cameras,
either way you are dealing with pulling wire. Unless you have a
convenient outlet to plug the camera power supply into.


Of course, but it's easier to find an outlet and place a camera near it
than it is to run cable through walls from the main point of connectivity.

However there are no outlets on the exterior of my house that would make
for a suitable location for a camera. Another building that wanted
wireless meant running power to the eaves of the building. Cat6 was
much simpler to run.



--
When Stephen Hawking was asked his IQ he said:

"I have no idea. People who boast about their I.Q. are losers."

Per Mark Lloyd:

Put the camera in a windmill with a generator?

Freestanding IP cams with solar panels and radio links are doable.

Can't recall the needed watts, but it's doable without too-huge of a
panel. Do a search for "Solar" at http://www.cam-it.org/index.php?
--
Pete Cresswell

On 03/14/2016 07:47 AM, Idlehands wrote:

[snip]

However there are no outlets on the exterior of my house that would make
for a suitable location for a camera. Another building that wanted
wireless meant running power to the eaves of the building. Cat6 was
much simpler to run.

Yes, although some people insist on wireless, no matter how inferior it is.

--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"The government ought to stay out of the prayer business." -- Jimmy
Carter

On 03/13/2016 07:50 PM, Idlehands wrote:

[snip]

They have overcome that limitation with the introduction of "Phantom Power"

"Standards-based Power over Ethernet is implemented following the
specifications in IEEE 802.3af-2003 (which was later incorporated as
clause 33 into IEEE 802.3-2005) or the 2009 update, IEEE 802.3at. A
phantom power technique is used to allow the powered pairs to also carry
data. This permits its use not only with 10BASE-T and 100BASE-TX, which
use only two of the four pairs in the cable, but also with 1000BASE-T
(gigabit Ethernet), which uses all four pairs for data transmission."


Thanks. I liked learning something. While I don't need this right now, I
may someday.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_over_Ethernet

Most recent install I worked on implemented 1Gig data to the cameras and
the higher end switches are smart enough to not deliver POE to non-POE
devices.





--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.us/

"The government ought to stay out of the prayer business." -- Jimmy
Carter

On 03/13/2016 08:26 AM, notbob wrote:
On 2016-03-13, T wrote:
On 03/12/2016 10:35 PM, wrote:
How about this Lorex 4 camera analog 1080p system (only $299):

http://www.costco.com/Lorex-4-Channel-HD-Analog-DVR-with-1TB-HDD%2c-4-1080p-Cameras-with-130'-Night-Vision.product.100237625.html

A friend has the 8 camera system in his business and it works great.

Remember that these pre-packaged systems do NOT include a monitor so be sure to pick up a cheap computer monitor or a monitor with HDMI input for the sharpest picture.



Thank you!

Fer what?

If you want a really clear picture, don't even buy the analog system.

http://www.stashspace.com/shoot-good-home-video/understand-digital-video.stm

nb


Employer wants to watch employees goof off when he is out of the office

And wants to record burglars.

On 03/13/2016 02:48 PM, Meanie wrote:
On 3/13/2016 9:10 AM, (PeteCresswell) wrote:
Per T:
Anyone have a favorite ip camera surveillance system?

Need one to four cameras. Would like a stand alone DVR.
And, would like remote viewing.

HikVision "Eyeball" cameras and Blue Iris camera server running on my
24-7 PC.

"Favorite" might be too strong a word for Blue Iris since I have next to
zero experience with any other cam server... but BI does the job for me
both at home and he http://extremesurfcam.dyndns.org. Huge feature
set - many things you would never have thought of, yet are important to
most people setting up something like this.

The HikVision eyeball cams, OTOH, I can say really are better than any
of the other el-cheapo cams I have used. Less than a hundred bucks
each from AliExpress, significantly less prone to spider webs (the IR
attracts spiders for some reason) across the lens, much more durable
form factor: http://tinyurl.com/z5vydtc

FWIW, I find that POE is a big deal. Power Over Ethernet... you pay a
few bucks extra for a router that supplies POE or you buy a sub-$20
add-on and all your power wiring problems go away - just run the
Ethernet to the camera and it's done.


Only negative I can think of is that maybe a turnkey DVR system would
require less care and feeding... but I don't *know* that.... just seems
reasonable given the contract between TIVO and SageTV or Microsoft Media
Center.... OTOH, the flexibility and the geek factor attract me....

The problem with POE is that you do have to run cable. It's great if one
is willing to do so and much better in the long run, otherwise,
wireless/IP are the way to go.

Then you have to run power