marcuso

The last system that I setup was a NUUO Appliance with a combination of Zavio and Panasonic cameras. There was too much frustration, and I still have problems accessing multiple cameras consistently. It seems like my poor box is overloaded. But more importantly, I have moved on to using primary Macs, and the NUUO continues to disappoint me with Mac incompatibility. So, as the typical Mac owner will attest, I am willing to pay more for ease of use. I would like to buy an appliance (or fully configured NVR) along with cameras that are plug and play. Meaning, I want to plug the things into a POE switch that is connected to my router offers DHCP. I want to have everything plugged in, turn it on, point my Macbook at the appliance (via browser or software), and start pointing the cameras. No, I don't want to have to log into the cameras and do any configuration ever. Hell, I want the thing to even be preconfigured to auto-record at high quality on motion (now I know I am asking for too much). And in just in case Santa is listening very closely, I would like this thing to work with my Android phone. So to recap: 8-16 channel IP NVR appliance (or nicely configured box or super easy one step Linux OS and all software installation) Compatible with Mac for remote viewing (Chrome browser) Includes (or works with) POE IP Cameras Plug n Play - No configuration Additional wishes: Works with Android Phone for Viewing Pre-configured recording Large-install base; consistent improvements in software User installable or upgradable harddrives Any suggestions for cameras, NVRs, POE? Any suggestions on vendors who offer complete packages?

Too late. Already ordered the greens. Is there a RAID card that you recommend? I am sorry but I don't quiet understand why you are gonna spend 5000 plus for a good cctv system and try and save 100 on green drives. I had purchased the drives before you insisted that they weren't useable; if I could make the decision over again, I would select the other drive. I wonder why you are so adement that they won't work. Have you tried the same 2TB drives that I selected? Speed is related to drive density, so the newest generation and largest sizes of harddrives will yield the best performance. In a video recording environment, I would assume that data usage rates are pretty static (do not have many dips and peaks), and as long the drives are 'fast enough', I would assume they would work. If not, can you give me an explanation of why they won't work? One of the reasons that I would pick this lower performance drive is that high-performance drives (like cars) are pushed closer to their limit and in my opinion are more likely to fail. I wonder if you had a bad experience in the past and have been writing them off since. I agree that it is false economy to save $200 if they aren't going to work, but if they do work, I will be very pleased. Here is the link to the drives that I purchased (indicating that it is designed for DVR type usage patterns): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136783&cm_re=2tb_av-gp-_-22-136-783-_-Product

His parts list includes an additional 4GB of RAM. Best, Christopher ahh missed that thanks. but still vista, yuck! I wouldn't want to use Vista as my desktop OS, but is there any reason not to use on an ExacQ system?

Too late. Already ordered the greens. Is there a RAID card that you recommend?

Thanks, I missed that post. Best, Christopher I should have mentioned it earlier. The Dell T3400 can do software RAID 5 on 4 drives. Theoretically, RAID 5 can be faster than single drives, but I know it would be better with hardware RAID. I bought the 2TB AV-GP drives with 64MB buffer. I know they aren't as fast at the 7200RPM drives, but I am going to give it a shot. The Dell box with 4GB of RAM and drives cost < $800 so far - pretty pleased with that. If it doesn't work, I will probably install hardware RAID. The question now is what Cameras to get. I really like the idea of the Arecont 180 and 360 degree quad cam deals. In another thread, someone said that ExacQ licenses by MAC address as opposed to per feed. I would assume the Arecont cameras are only using one MAC address? So does it save me a bunch on ExacQ licensing fees if I go in that direction? I am leaning towards the Arecont panoramic cams (H.264) as well as lower end ACTi cams (also H.264). Probably TCM-4301. What do you guys think? Sorry to come in with all these questions. I really should use a pro, but I am having fun trying to source all the equipment. I should probably be concerned with some a thief walking off with the NVR box (and all the evidence). It would be nice if I could get a CPU security cage that I could drill and bolt into the concrete floor. I did some searching, and it seems like most of the cages could be defeated with a screw-driver. Any recommendations on a cage that would foil the casual thief.

Is this system for a Casino or a your home? I always ask one very simple question. What is it you are trying to accomplish? Do you want to archive months of video of cars passing by your house? Or, do you want to document the exact time of day someone broke into your car that was parked in your driveway? Or, are you trying to catch a burglar if someone breaks into your car? Once you answer this very basic question about what you are trying to accomplish, designing the system becomes much easier. Best, Christopher This is a business/warehouse. We want to store video as far back as possible in order to investigate issues after the fact.

Is drive performance really that important? I would assume that as long as the drives can keep up with the stream, we would be ok.

Why? What is your motivation for RAID 5? Best, Christopher Would you recommend no RAID at all? I would want redundancy on at least the boot volume, so RAID 5 gives me that plus redundancy on all other volumes as well. I would assume that disk speed is not too much of an issue so there would be no need for RAID 10.

I have done an about-face. I determined that I wasn't going to get what I want in a package, so I am planning to built myself. I have purchased the following: Used Dell T3400 Dual-Core Computer w/ Vista Business - 2GB Ram - NVidia 290 Video card 4 - 2TB WD Green Harddrives (Plan to configure in a RAID 5 array for 6TB total) Additional 4GB RAM Dell 24 Port POE Switch 3 - ACTi megapixel PT cameras (got good deal) 1- ACTi megapixel fixed camera (cheap - for experimentation) Total price for above was about $2100. I think in addition to the ACTi cameras, I may be interested in getting some Arecont 180 degree cameras (2 of them). A couple of the Areconts, a few more basic megapixel cameras, and the licenses for ExacQ should run another $4000-$5000. It will be a bit of a pain to install, but I think it will be a good fit with my Mac. What do you guys think? Will the computer system be able to handle the camera setup (how many more cameras could I add if I get ambitious)? Does ExacQ utilize much RAM (the reason I ask is because I wonder if I should try to track down 64 bit Vista so that I can use more than 4GB). Is the video card good enough to run as the client for ExacQ?

Is there any way to make ExacQ work with Zavio cameras? I would consider replacing our NUUO Mini box with an ExacQ, but I don't want to have to replace all our cameras.

Thanks for the input. I dug a little deeper after submitting my original post. I was quickly coming to the conclusion that I wouldn't find what I want and would be better off with an ExacQ. My impression is that the hardware that you buy from ExacQ is relatively overpriced and we would be best off buying an off the shelf box with Windows already installed and throwing in some harddrives. (Or a server, but I would then need to install an OS.) I have a preference for Dell machines; are there any Dells that are reasonably priced and have a bunch of storage bays (and include any necessary HD brackets). The HP Home-Server implementations with 4 storage bays look like a great option, but they only offer Home-Server versions and no regular windows. Does ExacQ work with HomeServer? It sure would be nice if ExacQ offered a distribution of Linux that includes ExacQ during installation and auto-updates. We purchased a Trixbox Pro for our phone system. Since I am the only one in our company that knows Linux, I try to avoid using it, but given the hands-off nature of the Trixbox, Linux works well in this scenario. Now getting to cameras. It looks like Axis and ACTi are the front-runners in price/performance on low-end 1-megapixel cameras. Maybe we should consider IQeye? I want fast responsiveness while remote viewing over DSL, so I wonder; should I be looking at H.264 cameras exclusively? Which manufacturer is most plug-n-play with ExacQ. Will I have to log into the cameras? If so, which manufacturer offers the most pain-free experience?

End user with a great deal of technical aptitude. I will have a 3rd party install the wiring, but I will do the setup.