Anthony A.

i have a covered porch that is approx. 8' wide x 5' deep and 9' high. im trying to decide which camera will suit me the best for my application without spending too much. im looking at either an arecont 3100m or acti 8133v or 8134v. if the acti is good enough for this application, i would get that but im thinking the arecont is much better but also much more expensive once i factor in the lens and outdoor dome housing. the porch has a light that is on a timer during the night and uses 3 x 60w bulbs. the porch is illuminated with this amount of light. so im thinking night performance may not be that crucial. my goal is simply to turn on my ipad, iphone, tv, etc. to see who's at the front door and thats it. any help is appreciated.

if i go with the axis m7001 or vivotek vs3102 video server, will there be any signal degradation if i put the camera feed directly into the 4 port composite splitter and then have 1 of the 4 outputs go into the video server? or would it be wiser to go with an axis 2401 server that has video output built-in and then output that to the 4 port composite splitter?

what would be the better camera for the same price: CNB VCM-24VF or Panasonic PA-WVCF284P? this is for a porch/front door setup?

im looking to get the cnb monalisa vcm-24vf or vfh (heater) but not sure if the heater model is necessary. this will be installed under a porch not really exposed to rain but the occasional windy day will blow water and snow in the porch. my main concern is fogging of the lens in the -20 degree celcius weather or the super humid summers. any advice if the extra money for the heater is necessary? im more concerned with the heater dying out soon and having to replace the camera. also, is this my best bet for analog camera for front door use? i always have a 150watt light on during the night. thanks for the help.

thats great advice. i think im gonna get the vcm-24vf then and possibly put a silica pack in there.

thanks all for the replies. i have decided to go with a cnb analog camera with a composite 1x4 splitter to feed 4 tv's. now all i need is a video server to get the signal to ip. i know many have 4 inputs but i really only need 1. is the axis 250s any good? i know its old but i don't think it does mjpeg which is a must to view on my iphone app. any suggestions?

is the monalisa line still one of the best analog cameras? anyone ever heard of the brand galaxy?

can anyone post an actual brand/model of an analog camera that is actually high resolution such as true 600tvl (if it even exists)? thanks.

are there any decent priced outdoor dome cameras that are mega pixel but also have a standard composite out? an assuming that the signal can be output simultaneously? i believe the panasonic 502 does this but its over $1000.

im wondering if this is simply the best route for me at the moment. i could essentially get a 1x4 catv powered splitter to output the composite/bnc video out from the server to 4 tv's around the house as well as be able to view it on my ipad, pc, etc. but, take for example the axis 225fd camera. its ip, yet the resolution is only 640x480. isn't this essentially the exact same as a 520 or 600 tvl analog camera? and if so, wouldn't i better to just go with a cheaper analog camera as it will give me the same resolution?

Yeah, I was thinking HTML like the pannys have so you simply write in the address in your browser and you get the image. I have a pc at my tv already so I would simply have a shortcut with the web address for the camera. So arecont doesn't do this natively? Only by using software are you able to get the HTML link?

I probably won't be using any software. Just need the camera to display mjpeg and be able to view it realtime over the web. I'm assuming all ip cameras do this, correct? So what's my best option for a camera $400 and under then?

thats very interesting. so in my case then, where i have a porch light on all night either model i get will most likely always stay in color, correct?

+1 Also, with Sanyo cameras you can do pre-focus and angle choose (if no remote zoom) like standard camera with analog service monitor. Otherwise - lots of time to do this job.... hi guys, im a total newb when it comes to ip cameras but im thinking the sanyo 3100 or 3300 fits inside my budget for a front door camera. i have a 120watt light thats on at night on a timer and the porch area is 7' wide x 4' deep. in setting up the sanyo, are you saying that i have to do nothing at all in regards to manually focusing it? once installed and running, the camera focuses each time someone enters the area automatically? and secondly, would the 3100 serve me fine for my purpose since i have the light on or would i still get better night performance with the 3300? thanks for the help!

wireguys, why do you say the sanyo's are no good? is it because of the supply issues now or are there other reasons to be concerned? also, when installing the 3300 do i need to manually focus anything or does the autofocus do everything for me automatically, resulting in a very quick exterior install?

can anyone recommend an axis outdoor dome to be used as a front door camera? thanks.

any update on this wireguys? im interested in how easy or hard it is to setup the sanyo as i've heard many differing opinions.

any news on how you like the 3300? im looking to get one shortly for my house.

this is a great question and wondering if anyone with sanyo cameras can help. im thinking of getting the vcc3500 but not sure now if i won't be able to change day/night automatically. can anyone help? thanks.

im looking for an ip camera that will be mounted under the roof of my porch that will monitor the front door. this is mainly for seeing who is at the door when the doorbell rings. im not looking at a DVR at the moment, but would like to have the option of recording the feed directly to my server when their is motion. but my main concern is image quality on a 52" LCD monitor. i want the image to be very crisp and artifact free. my porch light (120watts) is on a timer that comes on at dusk and turns off at dawn so i don't think i really need a good night camera, and the porch size is 8' wide x 5' deep with a height (which the camera will be mounted is just under 9' high. i have researched mobotix and initially wanted to go for the m12/d12 but don't want to shell out that kind of money just for a front door camera right now. the d24 is reasonably priced and im looking at keeping it under $1000 and dome or mobotix "alien" style! how many megapixels do i really need to get 1080p quality on my 52" lcd and any suggestions?

correct. that has essentially been my main goal from the first post with the only difference being the hdmi splitter. everything else you describe is word for word what i want to do. i think its much easier to do than others think! i think what "thewireguys" was trying to say is that each cameras MP resolution is dependant on filling the screen per pixel and not "stretched". maybe i misunderstood. in any case i think more than 2MP would do the trick. so now the question comes down to: which camera? here is a list of ones in my price range: mobotix m24 or d24 sanyo vdc-hd3100, 3300 panasonic sp-306 (although its only 1.3MP) im liking the sanyo's as i can get them locally, but anyone actually use them?

no vga inputs on any of my tvs. it would have to be hdmi only. looking at the sanyo vdc-hd3500, 3300 and 3100 do you think any of these would provide a good HD picture? also, anyone know the exact difference from 3500 to 3300? specs say quad-stream vs. dual stream (not sure what that is), video analytics, alarm/back-up recording on SD card and bidirectional audio. don't need the audio or sd card thing, but would like to record to my server in the future. will these models do this?

sorry, not following. what exactly do you mean by 720p or 1080p? i thought that as long as the camera is capable of having more than 1080x1920 pixels, you could have it display properly on a 1080p tv. am i interpreting this wrong? what about the m24 or d24... they are more in my price range. do you think they would work well (in color) with the porch light on at night time?

okay 2mp gotcha. there are a few ways i can accomplish this. first, i can setup a small form factor pc (via hdmi) to each tv at full 1080p resolution acting like a monitor for the feed, or i could have just 1 pc and connect it to the rest of my home using a device such as this one. http://www.hdtvsupply.com/hdmi-splitter-over-cat5.html and just out of curisoity, how much max resolution can i get out of a 1.3mp camera?

interesting. so if someone wanted to add an ir lluminator to get exceptional low light images, does the ir need to be close to the camera and project (ie. line of sight) same as the camera, or can you place a camera under a porch roof and have the ir under an eaves to hit the entire front yard.