ssnapier

Hikvision is not bad, but they target the lower end of the market. Axis, Mobotix, Avigilon, Sony, Panasonic, and IndigoVision (along with several others) tend to focus on quality in both the hardware and software but that costs money. This is very much a get what you pay for industry.

Pelco did something like this with the Endura system, but it is not really something that most CCTV systems deal with. Generally if you need the evidence then you need it to be quality evidence, regardless of age. Compression and reduction of frame rate could ruin that. My customers expect quality evidence from every camera for the entire duration of the storage period. Generally if they want an archive, I will spec an additional NAS to do that and then include software/ scripts to automatically archive the video and delete anything on the archive older than the specified archive period.

It sounds like your exposure is set weird. There can sometimes be a momentary adjustment period but it should not last more than a few seconds.

Lighting is always the best option for improving image quality when identification is the primary consideration and it should help to reduce false alarms too. There are a ton of cameras on the market that will do what you are asking for, but if you are happy with the brand you have then keep rolling with it. If you choose proper lenses then I would not worry about upgrading the NVR. I would just add cameras that work with your current gear and make sure you have lenses that give you a nice tight field of view on what you want to see.

Just a bit of a correction, you are looking for 3-4MP cameras not MB, MP is the abbreviation for megapixel (a measure of resolution) and MB is the abbreviation for megabyte (a measure of file size). As for bullet vs. dome it is really just an aesthetic preference. Most folks prefer dome for a cleaner look, but it depends on the application. Sometimes a bullet makes more sense for ease of adjustability, but it is really just a personal preference. Based on your description is sounds like at least 4 cameras, but probably more like 6. I would look at an 8 camera setup and if you want to stay on the low end of things budget wise, the Costco is not nearly as bad as the junk sold on ebay. They will work for your needs and will have the IR capability (night vision) you are looking for too. If you hate them, at least the wiring will be in place for a replacement down the road. I have never looked at any of those Costco options, but they are all re-branded Dahua or Hkvision cameras for the most part and for basic home stuff they will do just fine.

The best brand that I use would have to be Axis. The support is good, the software works when I need it to work, and the cameras are built well. They are also priced decently with a HUGE catalog of equipment to choose from. I am sure some folks will say Avigilon, but I have very little real world experience with them so I cannot make a real judgment. From what I have seen they are quite nice, but I will leave that choice to others.

incorrect, just regular hdmi

Yup, you need to move the power supply closer to each camera and reduce the amount of wire. You are getting a large voltage drop because of distance. Your other option would be to dramatically increase the wire size, but even that will only work for a small distance and costs quite a bit.

True, if you have wifi turned on and connected you are not using any mobile data. If you are viewing in your house and wifi is turned off on your device, or if you are viewing outside your house that will use data.

Ok, let's get one thing cleared up. When you are displaying multiple cameras in a grid, the NVR is generally smart enough to down-sample that image. The point of displaying/ recording a 4MP image is to give the ability to zoom in (using digital zoom) while maintaining a good quality picture, i fyou reduce the resolution if means you are reducing the number of pixels available to maintain a quality image, got it? If there are no plans to zoom in on anything in the field of view, you are 100% correct that 4MP makes no sense. You have to think this all the way thru though. What happens on the one day that something truly awful happens and you need video evidence of that awful thing? There is a STRONG possibility that you will want to zoom in on a particular target. That is the reason for the high resolution. Generally you should trust a published spec, unless there is some mitigating factor to give you cause for doubting it. In this case, they claim 16 channels at 4MP so roll with it! I think you are seriously underestimating the power of a purpose built device whose only job is to manage, decode, and record your video. This is not an off the shelf PC that is made to do 9,000,000,000 things it has one job... CCTV.

Disconnect one side of the RS-485 control wire at the DVR and see if that makes it stop. If it does, it sounds like you might have a stuck control someplace.

Honestly, this is a situation where you get what you pay for. I would NEVER trust a no-name DVR purchased from ebay. These are security devices, and you should probably take a little more care to buy something that is supportable. Sorry to be so harsh, but the facts are the facts. If you can get a refund do it, and then go buy something supportable with an actual warranty.

Can you verify that the cameras actually have power?

Get one of these: http://www.amazon.com/CableWholesale-Manual-VGA-Switch-40H1-03602/dp/B00557H8WQ%3FSubscriptionId%3DAKIAILSHYYTFIVPWUY6Q%26tag%3Dduckduckgo-ffab-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB00557H8WQ

Why is the update needed? Does it work?

Nothing is ever truly wireless unless it runs on a battery. Wireless is also quite notorious for causing issues with reliable recordings because there are far too many things that can potentially interfere with it.

This might sound silly, but have you called Pelco tech support?

DELETED, I made a bad suggestion.

Why not just setup two IP's at your remote viewing station? If you are already running static IP, then this is trivial to accomplish and would solve the issue pretty easily.

You could pretty easily run POE over coax at those distances. (something like this: CLICK ME ) As for cameras, it sounds to me like you might be able to get away with some nice outdoor bullets. Maybe something like this: CLICK ME I would not bother with wireless, it gets to be a pain faster than you think. I would just get some quality direct burial coax and a couple of cheap weatherproof plastic junction boxes to mount the camera and handle/protect the transition from coax to CAT-5. Total cost for 3 cameras is probably $1200-1500 depending on how much effort you put into burying/ protecting the cable.

Ethernet over power lines devices do exist, but I am not aware of one that is designed for outdoor use. You would also have to sort out the power to the camera. My guess is that you would require a much larger enclosure to house the equipment required to pull this off.

My company is a DAQ VAR and the Entrostar platform is GREAT!! We also install Galaxy, Keri, and a few others. Honestly, the DAQ solution would be my preference nearly every time. They (along with Galaxy) are also made and supported in the USA, so that is a bonus in my book.

We always mount ours to a box but if you want to use the mounting ring for aesthetics, there is nothing preventing it.

In general terms it is not possible to overbuy an UPS. Obviously there are budgetary concerns, but a bigger UPS is never a bad thing!