buellwinkle

The problem with cameras that come from small manufacturers is it will likely not work with popular NVR software, these small manufacturers rely on others for components and firmware and may be hard get warranty support or service. Most of these are not PoE, mostly because high-power midspans can be pricey compared with 12V power supplies. The price is good, if it works, continues to work and meets your needs.

Yes, doesn't make sense, so get NVR software that allows the camera to do the video motion detection and such. Common ones are Milestone, Exacq and Avigilon. These tend to start at $50/camera on up. The best value is the Milestone XProtect Go, free with limitations like 8 cameras and 5 days of recording are the biggest limitations.

You can trigger emails or text on motion detection, but not easy to set like an alarm,where you can work the system from keypads like typical alarm systems. Also, there are a few cloud providers for surveillance where the motion detection and short term storage is done on-site and then pushed to the cloud as quickly as the network bandwidth allows. You just need to attend a trade show where they these companies exhibit. If you are creative and a do it yourselfer, you can setup an EC2 server on the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud that the cameras FTP to (many do), then push the video to AWS S3 Cloud Storage. The best thing for me for security is AVTech's Push Video series like the AVN813. These typically have PIR motion detectors and smartphone apps where they homeowner can easily turn the notifications on/off and get instant alerts with video. I love mine, lets me know if someone is in our home when we are not there, shows me the video that triggered the event, and I can have live video with 2-way audio, call the appropriate people, maybe a neighbor with a shotgun. You can have network cameras with alarm I/O trigger the house alarm to go off, not sure if that's a smart idea, at least I would not want to live next to the home that got that setup. If you want to be unique, consider a security fogger and strobes. Temporarily blind the suspects - http://www.flashfogsecurity.com/ I would play a recording first to leave immediately to avoid poison gas exposure, LOL. The cameras would be more for recording the fun so you can post it on YouTube later.

Many do use Intel processors. Even the NVR PC I use came from a an NVR company that went bust. Maxicon found them and a some of us bought them for like $250, uninstalled the software and used them a Windows PC's to run other NVR software. The really inexpensive ones, say under $500 tend to use ARM processors and some form of Linux to run their software. Most do not come with hard drives. Check this one out, Geovision GV-NVR LITE SYSTEM V2B W 1TB HD. It's tiny, comes with a 1TB hard drive, low power consumption, supports up to 16 channels, runs about $600-650ish. It says it supports 3rd party cameras and their NVR software certainly does.

I would do that here -

With most outdoor cameras, having 2 way audio rarely means the mic and speaker are built in. The only outdoor cameras I know of with this built-in is Mobotix and some Axis like the P33, ironically we disable this per our attorney due to some federal wire tapping laws. Not saying you shouldn't, just saying why it's not a priority for most camera manufacturers. Imagine if we actually put mic's on cameras that didn't have them, then we intentionally violated federal and state laws, worse than if the camera just came with a mic and we didn't know, LOL. Most cameras require amplified speakers and amplified mics. Most amplified devices need power, typically 12V, so take that into consideration when planning. Also, consider where you will place the mic, if this is exposed to weather or not. This Hikvision is a rarity in that it has the option to use an un-amplified mic and it worked for me in my testing. What brand to buy, where to buy it depends on you. Clearly a microphone you buy in China for $3 or eBay/Amazon for $6 is not going to be the best you can get, but everyone's expectations are different. The ones you see there have two or three cables, those are amplified, one of the cables is a jack for a 12V adapter. Search the forum for microphone, there's some brands that people have had good/bad experiences with.

Software implies you have a PC and you install NVR software on it and that's your NVR. An appliance, like a toaster is something you buy that's pre-built, ready to go. There are tradeoffs with which either, but I'm a PC/Software guy, I like that if my PC breaks, I can fix it or get someone to fix or toss it and get a new one very quickly and my software investment is independent of hardware. I also feel I have more control with software updates, getting new cameras supported and more choice. I've even run as many as 3 different NVR software on my PC during transitions or models so new, they only worked with the free NVR software from the manufacturer. I use Milestone XProtect software but they do make an NVR appliance, up to 16 channels, basically a PC with their software pre-installed on it. Milestone works with just about any camera, they are the quickest at supporting new cameras, at least compared to other alternatives I've used before. NUUO is a popular generic NVR, supports a wide range of cameras brands. They were not as quick to get new models supported as I liked. It worked as expected. Luxriot, another popular software NVR also makes an appliance called their Mini NVR. Exacq - popular NVR software, also makes an NVR appliance. I found them to be slow to add new camera models but works well. Geovision NVR software supports a lot of cameras and they had a really cool NVR at the last ASIS show that was very tiny. I'm not sure if it only works with Geovision cameras, I know their software works with many cameras. Also, there are smart NAS devices like QNAP and Synology that have NVR software apps. I used Synology Surveillance Station for a while, supported my cameras without a problem, good cameras support, even newest models. You buy their NAS depending on CPU power and number of drives, 1st camera is free, additional ones are $50/camera, so pay as you grow. Their NAS devices start at $200ish up to a lot. Their smallest NAS will not run more than a small amount of cameras. The brand specific NVR's like from Hikvision, ACTi, Dahua will support a few other brands, but I would not do it unless you stuck with their cameras. Just because they say it supports a brand does not mean it will work correctly. And other brands are clearly not their priority. That being said, they are the best bang for the buck.

When you say NVR, do you mean an appliance or software? Also, what's your budget and maximum number of cameras? For example, going from a 4 channel NVR to an 8 channel NVR may represent a 10-20% price difference, going to 16 channel may represent a big jump in price. What resolution cameras do you have in mind, frame rates? That makes a big difference, because low end NVR's tend to have resolution and frame rate limits, so an 8 channel NVR may not support 8 cameras at the resolution and frame rate you expect because they use ARM processors that are weak. Also, do you want a generic NVR that works with many brands, or a brand specific NVR?

Other than the very low end, many have SD card slots now. As for 32GB, for me, at my driveway, I almost got one day's worth of events on a 16GB card. I think with 32GB, I could have easily gotten 36 hours. At a remote location with very little traffic, I've gotten over a week out of a 64gb card. But those are 3MP camera at 15fps, if you got say a VGA camera, lower frame rate, you could potentially get weeks of recordings. So camera choice depends on what's acceptable to you. A xis has a good setup with their ACC program. You set it up on Windows but the cameras does all the recordings to the SD card. Then you use their Windows app to view the recordings. Works for up to 16 cameras. Dahua and Hikvision's higher end cameras with SD card slots can playback from the web interface that's decent. My favorite is Mobotix, most of their cameras have SD card slots, we put 64gb cards in them, works well, access to the recordings from the cameras interface.

You probably did this but make sure the Milestone Device Packs are up to date (7.0 is the latest, you can see what is installed now by going to Control Panel/Programs) as they only recently started supporting these new Hikvision models natively. I added mine manually myself because I can see that each is being added as a Hikvision not as ONVIF. Are the two cameras the same model as the 3 that work properly? Check the Hikvision video settings, make sure the iFrame matches the frame rate (people had issues with this at the default setting), make sure the resolution is set, the bit rate is high enough. Managed switches are more work but worth it in the end, so what I did is created a VLAN with all the camera ports, works for me. Since mine is all PoE ports, I used one gigabit port to connect to my gigabit switch I use for my PC, NVR PC, NAS and such.

The Hikvision DS-2CD2732F-I(S) domes will work with the NVR and give you 2-way audio capability. You'll have to buy a mic to make it work.

Haha, I had the opposite experience, with a security company, good sized company installs stuff on the outside with 1" flex conduit, looked really bad. Imagine 1" gray flex conduit going up the side of your front door to put a camera in. So after they end up having to redo it all, or not get paid I figured they learned their lesson. Then a few months later, same guys do the same sloppy wiring job and has to redo it. When I hire an electrician, the wires are hidden, pull boxes in the appropriate places, uses emt conduit in exposed areas that can be painted. Every install by the security company led to unfocused cameras, cameras pointing more towards the sky, default motion detect zones that didn't work. I have to spend days getting them to fix it, or I can spend hours fixing it myself. At $1,000 to hang a camera, I would have expected a lot more than $100 for an electrician, but not my experience. That's just one "security company", we hired another one, they do the toll road cameras, worst wiring jobs I've ever seen with bare wires close to each other that eventually touched, not screwing down a nema enclosure so all the electronics got flooded the first big rain storm, spent a week, 2 guys trying to troubleshoot why an electric strike didn't work. They left a battery in an enclosure that must be wireless because it's not connected to anything. Maybe it's different for you, but there's no contractor license I know of to install CCTV in CA, but you have to be licensed to be an electrician. Which is really bad, because we have little recourse with a lousy security company other than small claims court, with licensed contractors, we have much better recourse.

LOL, sorry, I'm a DYI guy, so I use the trades to do what I can't do and do the rest myself. Some people want a turnkey job and a security installer is great if you can find the right guy and of course, at the right price. I just had poor experiences with security installers on multiple jobs so I'm more jaded than most. After 3 mediocre security installers, I think we found a guy that really knows what he's doing. Just hope the OP has better luck than us. Just spent this morning chasing a bad connection because the original installer used indoor cable outdoors and it didn't hold up, 2nd time on the same project.

If you can, install Axis Camera Companion (ACC link below, it's totally free) and have it record either to a microSD card if you have one to put in the camera or to a NAS. Then look at the video recorded through the ACC windows program to see if the issue is with Axis or Avigilon. If you are not seeing this in the live view, then my guess is something is going on either with a network issue or Avigilon software (Avigilon ACC, not to be confused with Axis ACC) - http://www.axis.com/en/products/cam_companion_software/index.htm

Don't mess with cameras from small companies, not worth the hassle even if it does work. Just find a Dahua or Hikvision dealer in Europe, there should be plenty and get it from someone that will support you, maybe a few euros more than getting it shipped from China but you'll be glad you did when it's all working. As for that dome, it's a day only dome, so not sure if that's what you are looking for. For a dome, for a rookie, get the Hikvision ds-2cd2732-F-IS because it has all the features you'll even want and works well. Can't go cheap on domes. The Hikvision lower end bullets work great, the ds-2cd2032-i or ds-2cd2012-i.

What works for me is to hire a licensed electrician to run the Ethernet cables and hang the cameras. It's less expensive than using a security guy and electricians are sometimes better that hiding wire than security companies. This assumes you know what cameras you want, where you want them and your willing to take the time to configure them. If you don't, then it may be worth paying a pro to do it for you.

The best buy in a decent PTZ is the Dahua 2MP with 3X optical zoom, costs about $599. It does not have IR LEDs. If you are looking for that, it ups the price ante. Amovision claims compatibility with various products including BlueIris, Milestone, Dahua, Hikvision and other software. When you deal with open source like Zoneminder or iSpyConnect, you almost have to be a software engineer to figure them out. On top of that, the lower the cost of the software, the higher the CPU uses, sort of a formula there somewhere. So what you save on software you make up by having to buy a more powerful processor. If you are looking for free software, here's what's out there that I know of; Zoneminder - runs on Linux, free open source, requires an RTSP URL string to work. iSpyConnect - you already tried that, open source Milestone XProtect Go - very low CPU use, BUT, limited to 8 cameras and 5 days of recording but has very good web interface and smartphone apps, free. Lists your amp cameras a supportted Axxonsoft - powerful software with analytics, free for 16 cameras, very few were able to get it to work to their satisfaction. Lists your amo cameras as supported. For low cost, the best bang for the buck that will work for you cameras is BlueIris, $37 if you buy on eBay. Moderate to high CPU use but 3 cameras is not an issue. Use direct to disc recording to lower CPU cost. Has 15 day trial For higher cost, Exacq Start, Milestone XProtect Essential, Avigilon Core will use very little CPU, but may or may not work with your camera (Milestone is listed as supporting your cameras). If you want to go a NAS route, both Synology and Qnap are on Amo's list of supported products. Typically you buy the NAS, then the licenses for each camera.

Focusing at night really only applies to cameras with auto iris feature, the lower feature cameras like the ds02cd2032 are fixed iris so really no difference in focusing during the day or night.

PoE means Power over Ethernet, just one cable connects the camera to your network and powers it. You'll need to inject power into the cable, normal routers and switches do not do this, so you either need a PoE switch or a PoE injector. If you plan on having more than one camera, a PoE switch makes sense.

I have the 12mm in front of my home looking down the street on my review of the camera, and the stop sign at the end of the street, about 400' away and the nearest object is about 20' away and it's all razor sharp. The 4mm is probably focused more closer, probably objects 5-40' as objects about 50-60' seem out of focus but still decent. Also, I have the 12mm at my lake house (again, pictures in my review), where you can see the homes across the lake which may be 1,000' - 1,500' away.

Where you are, you should be able to get Dahua or Hikvision cameras for pretty cheap. The Dahua ipc-hf2100 or Hikvision ds-2cd2012-i should be comparable resolution and have IOS and Android apps from the manufacturers, but really, just about any network camera app like IP Cam Viewer will work with these phones. Just need to stay away from unbranded cameras where it's made a small unknown manufacturer because then it's hard finding software or apps to work with them.

Pretty sure you can't focus that camera. First, it's a PITA to remove the rubber plugs put there to prevent you from opening the camera, then getting a tool in there to remove the tiny screws that easily strip, had to drill mine out. Then there's layers of circuit boards with delicate ribbon cables and board to board connectors and more tiny, tiny screws to remove. Now you have this big mess of parts and you have to focus it whiles it's running and hope you don't knock the focus out of whack and hope the camera still works after putting it all back together. Then the lens is glued in place, so you'll have to break the glue bond. Other than thats, it's a piece of cake. If you want to change focal length, focus the camera, get the next model up, the 2CD2632F-I about $259 shipped and has a varifocal lens with wand to focus and change focal length. To help focus, get the largest monitor you can and put an object like a test chart where you want the center of your focus and focus the best you can. It's tedious, so take your time and don't except close enough just because you are in a rush.

Once full it should delete old recordings to make room for new recordings.

Hikvision will only support you if you camera says Hikvision on it. This is very common with manufacturers that make cameras for others.

Streams are there so you can have two sets of resolutions, frame rates. For example, you may use stream 1 to record at 3MP, but then connect using stream 2 at VGA resolution from your mobile phone to reduce bandwidth demands on your phone. Some phone apps know the phone has a second stream and gets that automagically. You do not have to use the second stream.