akelley

Anyone have experience with Axis edge recording (on camera recording) as well as Mobotix, and can give a fair comparison between the two? I've had some hands on experience with Mobotix and they are quite good, but the software MxCC can be complicated (though, recent versions have gotten better and for small sites, the MxEasy can be used). I have no hands on experience with Axis edge recording, but from the online demos and initial research, it seems to me not up to the same level of Mobotix. I've always been impressed with Axis image quality and general build of their cameras, andfor smaller installations, edge recording certainly has its advantages. So I'm curious to see how the two compare.

Are you recording to local drives on the servers themselves, or to a NAS or other external source? What percentage of the IP cameras are utilizing on-camera MD (or other event trigger), as opposed to using Exacq software MD?

Voipmodo and Simon, thanks for the update. I like the ability for a more discrete installation. It's always been one drawback, in my opinion, that Mobotix cameras (aside from the q24) are just not aesthetically pleasing in many installations (retail, residential, SMB, etc.) - at least, that's what some of my clients say when they first see them. But feature for feature, they can't be beat (unless you only care about cost). Buellwinkle, whatever info you can get from the road show, would be great. I hope you do a write up/review on your blog when you return!

Voipmodo, as a Certified Mobotix dealer, care to comment? What's the deal with the S14 and why are some online places claiming to sell it, when Mobotix doesn't even have it listed on their site?

Thanks for the links. I thought recalled reading something about new IR models, but didn't see the press releases on the Axis site.

If it's against forum policy to post links to a manufacturer site, I apologize in advance (please remove post or let me know and I'll edit the link out). Here's a PDF from Mobotix outlining new product for 2012. https://www.mobotix.com/other/file/5032572/mx_NW_News_04-2012_en.pdf Also, searching Google for "Mobotix S14" returns some sites that even claim to be selling it already (or at least taking orders). I do find it interesting that on the main Mobotix site there is no mention of the S14 anywhere (or at least easily found). This may mean the S14 is still a ways off from being released. I would like to see the detailed specs however.

Are your clients mainly small businesses, or do you do residential as well? In my experience, these are two completely different markets, with different requirements/specs. That being said, if we look at just businesses, what types? Retail, office, banking, etc? Again, very different requirements. For example, a small coffee shop or sandwich store may want POS integration. Bank surveillance is a whole different ball game. Warehouse monitoring can have unique requirements as well. But really, unless you only deal with a single type of client base, it's going to be hard to pick a single product line that can accommodate more than two or three different business types, and meet them well. To get better responses you may want to provide some more details on what your client base is, and why they've been asking you to "get in the business" - what are they looking to accomplish with a surveillance system (loss prevention, evidence storage, analytics, etc.)?

Nice! BTW, which new Axis models are coming out with built in IR illuminators?

Where are you reading about the 22mm wide angle lens for the S14?

To be clear, Milestone can use motion detection on the camera for most of the mainstream IP cameras. For those cameras that do not support this, and must do the motion detection through Milestone, one way to reduce bandwidth and CPU is to stream only 1 or 2 FPS, and then on motion detect, step up to the 15 FPS for recording during the duration of the event.

When connecting an Axis p3367-VE (5MP) to a DS1511+, running the latest DSM, the Synology would randomly change the capture mode of the p3367 from 5MP to 1080P. Frustrated the heck out of me as I couldn't figure out why it would randomly change. Searching through the camera's server logs showed when the mode was changed, but not who (IP address) did it, so it took some sleauthing and I was able to recreate the glitch. No idea why this happened, but perhaps due to this restriction on recording resolution. While the camera was at 5MP capture mode, Synology Surveillance Station was able to display the full resolution stream live. But capture was limited to 1600x1200 resolution as noted by voip-ninja. I have seen these 4 pack licenses from Chinese sellers on eBay. I'm skeptical because I've never seen the 4 packs sold anywhere else for that low. I suspect either the license keys are fake/generated/hacked or simply will not work. I haven't had the desire to bet $139 to find out. If anyone knows if they are in fact legit, they would represent a good value, as a single license is $50.

I'm currently working with Axis regarding the sensor in the p3367 as I think they've got an issue. I've had two p3367s with vertical lines that are evident in BW mode. The engineers in Sweeden are "baffled" as to this problem, as they indicate this is the first they've seen it (or at least the first anyone has reported it). The US rep I'm working with just informed me they're sending him a third camera which they want him to test (I guess they want to rule out any errors on my part). We'll see what happens. It could be a flaw in the entire p3367 line. That being said, I will say that it's a very nice camera and the low light capability is very good for a 5MP sensor. It's just those dang vertical lines...

Yes, you will need to set up motion detection in the camera settings, since you have the Synology set up to record on the camera's motion detect event.

I use IP Cam Viewer Pro on my Android phone and connect to BL-C131A and BL-C230A cameras and the audio is crystal clear. It is true that these home use cameras only offer VGA, but in a child's room, I found that going to MP really doesn't give you that much greater detail or coverage. Unless of course, your kid as a 500 sq foot room The only deal breaker for the OP is that the Panasonic cameras do not have any night capability, so as a baby/kid monitor, it's not that useful in this scenario.

I think he preferred not to have to use a model with white LED for night time viewing, which the M1054 uses (and it's "scorching" bright). There are many decent models for around $500 and under that have been mentioned on the board, but I have to say, in my experience I have yet to find a camera that has decent built in audio (mic) at that price point. Even a $500 Axis M5014 has crappy audio. As buellwinkle mentioned in the quote, to get decent audio, you'll probably need to use a separate mic. Panasonic BL-CXXX series has excellent audio, and a decent day time picture, but no models with BW mode and/or IR LEDs. On the cheap end, the Loftek 3200 offer an average day image, good night image, but not so nice audio (one-way). Just about any of the hundreds of iOS/Android Apps out there can access the Loftek cameras.

I'm all in favor of your continued reviews, buellwinkle. I've enjoyed reading your camera reviews, and would encourage you to expand to NVR (both software and hardware) reviews as well. One feature that I would like to see is NVR software that can access local recordings on camera. I realize that most people's first reaction is, "why are you using NVR software in the first place if you're recording on the camera?" Well, simple, for installations that have a mix of cameras that do and do not support on camera or edge recording, a single interface to access all is desirable. Also, you're not using network bandwidth to record to the NVR. And in rare cases, such as Mobotix, allowing the camera to record using its native format (in Mobotix's case, MxPEG) you leverage the native file format's reduced file size. So I would like to see reviews that take this into consideration. Can the NVR access on camera recordings? Can the NVR access recordings on a NAS (I know many of the higher end systems can)?

Being from Jersey I take offense at the Jersey plates. Are you implying that there are more criminals in Jersey that need surveillance? And that guy could easily be mistaken for my cousin "Vinny", if you know what I mean.

I don't know as we never considered this an option during design. Wanted as clean an install as possible, so no external wires/conduit. There definitely is an opening on the side for conduit, I just don't know what size. For a 5 MP camera, it is pricey, but with an order of 100, I would think you could get a per unit cost around $900. I'm not an Axis reseller or dealer so that's purely my personal guess/opinion.

I completed the install of the SNV-7080R and currently testing, and while it wasn't a difficult installation by any means, the experience wasn't as easy (dare I say enjoyable) as the last Axis domes I installed. Axis really does a nice job laying everything out and including everything you need for an easy install. As ncdoc mentioned, there are several wires/cables that come out of this camera (alarm, power, audio in/out, ethernet, etc.) and because of the IP66 rating they are molded in and would be difficult to remove. The camera has a fan which does run continuously. When I had the camera on my bench, facing up, the fan made a loud sound. When I inverted the camera as it would be installed on a ceiling, the noise all but went away. The fan was still going, but it was quiet and most likely would not be heard from a ceiling above (this current installation is outside two stories up - so no worry about anyone hearing the quiet fan). One thing to note is that the camera can be powered via POE or 24 volt, but the heater will only work if powered by 24 volts. The camera does come with a 24 volt power supply, but it was for a 230v Euro style socket. The image is actually quite good after a good amount of tweaking. There are several settings ranging from SSDR (Samsung Super Dynamic Range) to Backlight and Highlight compensation. WDR is available, but only in 2MP mode, and when active, you cannot change the shutter mode. And yes, this model has remote zoom and focus, which was very useful considering where this dome was mounted. You can also apply Samsung's Super Noise Reduction v3 to the image, with varying levels. The IR LEDs can be dimmed automatically (e.g., if someone were to walk towards the camera) or can be set manually. On full blast they do light up quite nicely, but fairly narrow beam. Overall the image is nice, but you have to spend a good amount of time going through all the settings. The last Axis I installed (p3367-VE) the image was near perfect after focusing (other than the vertical line on the sensor in BW mode, I mentioned in another thread). The main issue I'm having now is getting access to the camera from outside of the network. I don't know what's wrong as there are several IP cameras on the network using port forwarding for external access, but for whatever reason, I cannot access this camera from outside the network. I have forwarded all ports as required (Web server, VPN, Silverlight Policy Port, RTSP) to the camera and it still doesn't work. Scratching my head on this one, so if anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them!

Anyone actually have any experience with Duhua? The specs on the camera that Soundy linked to look impressive, especially for the $199 price. I would be curious to see how well the camera is made and how the installation is. I'm always amazed at the difference in the experience of installing an Axis camera to just about any other camera - it's like night and day. I just installed a Samsung SNV-7080R and I have to tell you, compared to an Axis, there's no comparison! So, for a $199 camera, I can't even begin to imagine what that would be like.

If the camera can be accessed from outside of his network, then port forwarding is working. The camera not refreshing sounds more like a client issue or bandwidth issue (we need more info on what type of client he is using and what video stream is being used - MJPEG or h264). Some cameras, like Axis, use a separate port for remote access, in which case you have to specifically set that up in the camera (in other words, the normal port 80 for the webserver in the camera is separate than the port used to access the web server through the router in your port forwarding setting). I have set up several Loftek cameras and this is NOT the case (it uses the same port for both internal and external access). However, he may be using a Loftek model I'm not familiar with or a new firmware that has changed the way to access the camera remotely. I would not recommend setting any computer or device on your network in the DMZ, unless you really understand what you're doing in terms of understanding which ports that can be used to hack into the rest of your network, and taking the necessary precautions. DMZ opens every port on that computer/device, so use with caution!

I'll buy name brand refurbished products from reputable sellers who treat returns just as new product returns. Amazon is a good place as long as you buy from an Amazon affiliated reseller (or better yet, buy from Amazon's own warehouse that sells used and refurbished products). I've never had Amazon not allow a complete refund or return of a product (even at their cost to ship it back), new, refurbished, or otherwise.

Will NETGEAR WNCE2001-100NAR Universal Wireless Internet Adapter For TV & BLU-RAY http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833122432 work? I can get it for only $12.00 right now As far as my having had tried to use a powerline network adapter, i tried to use tp-link tl-pa211kit I plugged one adapter into the router in the office and the other one in the room the camera was in The tp-link software on the computer the router is connected to recognized the camera as a "device" but i did not know how to put the camera online At any rate, will the NETGEAR WNCE2001-100NAR Universal Wireless Internet Adapter For TV & BLU-RAY provide me a way to put an ip camera in one room online through the use of a router in another room Thanks in advance [if ya can't pick it in under two minutes, drill it!] Yes, that should work. For $12 it's worth the try!

What is WAN connection? Obviously if you're using a celluar 3G or low end DSL, it could simply be a bandwidth/latency issue. What client are you using to view? Internet Explorer with the ActiveX control or Java? Java App or Push? Chrome/Firefox browser?

Dead pixel on B/W, but looks good on color image How ? That was what was confusing me too. Unless the IR cut filter somehow is masking it, I don't have any idea how you wouldn't see the dead pixels in the day image. And since I'm seeing more of the lines in the replacement camera, my guess is that there is a problem with the DSP processing of the signal. Now that I think about that, I'm wondering if it affected by which codec is being used. I never thought to try that - I'll check tonight to see if the lines are visible using both h.264 and MJPEG.