shockwave199

Oh but wait- I have an actual ptz, so pinch/squeeze moves the camera. And to clarify, I'm talking about my analog dahua dvr setup. With the IP system I have in the app too, pinch/squeeze does not digitally zoom.

Yep, pinch and squeeze work great. So does the alarm out triggers. My siren screams very nicely! LOL! And it's very responsive too.

So, wdmss lite for windows phone 8/dahua is totally sweet if anyone needs that- http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/wdmss-lite/6fa6ce4f-e9bf-41ee-bb00-f6dea7b715c4 Free version has everything you mostly need, except for device config and playback. I don't use the phone app for that. But for 4 bucks you can get the full app. Now if hikvision/lorex/swann would remember there are WP users out here too- a lot of us- that would be good to support. Although I suppose there might be generic apps that can handle the task too.

^^ that check first. Make sure that if you named your ports for the qsee something, you name the two ports for the dahua something entirely different. If your router makes you choose different application names, then choose another application name if it has a bunch of default app names in there. My router has tons of default game apps. If yours is being picky because you used one for the qsee, pick another to use for the dahua. Can't hurt trying at this point. But if your IPS service tech couldn't get 80 to talk- a port THEY control to open- something isn't right in the dahua. If you were on your own trying to open 80 I'd say it was blocked and you have to use something else. It would be super helpful to take pictures of your dahua network screen and your router screen to see what you're seeing. I wouldn't give up on the dahua just yet. this is all spelling user error at the moment.

Which ports do you have problem with? In the nvr, change 80 to 88. Open ports 88 and 37777 in the router. You should have no problem with ports 81 and 9000 being open as well, but if you must, try keeping them but just disable them.

I think I have seen decent IR shots over at the other forum. I think it had to do with a firmware update. More and more though, it looks like hikvision would be a first consideration for me when the time comes. I like dahua too- between the two.

That IR shot looks great though. Looks like it might be smart IR- nothing is blasted out.

Cool. So are these rebranded dahuas as well? Nice pics. Thanks!

It looks an awful lot like the foam can be tweaked. Foam is foam, for the most part. I might have a stab at it if I really liked the camera enough to keep it.

For a home install, unless you're a totally hands off type, this is actually a great and rewarding project to take on yourself. It's not easy, but boxed IP systems are making it easier and easier to get good quality results. Even well done analog is still perfectly fine. Study here, purchase wisely, and install it yourself wisely. Nobody will care about your end results more than you, so it's good to know your system inside and out. That comes from hands on install. I would sooner commit to installing a cctv system in my home myself than commit to hanging freakin drapes for the wife. Would you believe that cctv install is easier! LOL! Installing your own system teaches you so much that by proxy, you become a very knowledgeable shopper, should you need to hire someone else. I can't remember when I hired out a job for anything home improvement wise that I was actually satisfied with. Really good technicians are very, very hard to come by.

Dahua

Hi. You can try any of these for your type of phone and see which one works. They are rather generic, but give them a spin and see. http://www.meyetech.com/product/product14.html

If my house windows can get filthy, I figure my camera lenses are in the same boat. They've already been through some heavy rain. Any recommendations on how? Not a deep question, but I figure I would just use micro fiber cloth and wipe gently, being careful not to cause scatches. But is a cleaner in order, or just dampen the cloth? What say you? Thanks. Btw- I'm talking bullet cams, not dome housings. Dan

What ports get forwarded on a hik system?

Oh wait, it's a test app the devolper is using for WP support. Nice to know at least it's being tried.

You know when I looked this up on my windows phone just now, a version iVMS-5060 came up. A newer rev?

The deep mounting box makes the hik more attractive to me, from an install point of view. Unless that's an extra add on.

There will come a point when you stop checking every little motion event. That gets old and tired after a while. Fact is, you're now documenting what happens 99.999% of the time outside your residence- nature in motion. You have to pick your battles, and trying to win the the war over outdoor motion events is futile. You can use PIR's. But it's more work and expense and even they will fail from the extremes of outdoor weather in time. The deal is, set up the dvr for motion recording because it will help to cut down on some recording, and it will make it easier to find files in times of crisis. Don't bother with email notification for exterior cameras unless they are aimed in such a way that they are low on motion regardless, or you have an indoor camera. Turn off the little beeper in the dvr for motion. Set your masking as best you can for each camera and make sure all your critical spots are open for motion regardless of ANYTHING. Turn your sensitivity back up to reasonable levels to catch motion. Dial down sensitivity at your peril- you might miss a critical event. So bring it back up. And then....walk away and let your dvr work for you. Just let it record. It will fill up the hard drive and double back and record over old footage. It's the nature of the game- don't stress the obvious. Even if you get a 25 to 40 days of archiving, that's almost always plenty. Just keep the thing recording. I used to turn off recording during rain, wind, snow, whatever- all in the name of saving hard drive space for some inexplicable reason. You know what that got me? A missed event in a rain storm. Yes, bad stuff happens even in rain storms. So, set it and forget it. If you're not recording, you're missing opportunities. Review some files every so often to make sure all is well, and that's it. Don't pick at it. Let it work for you, false motion events and all. And hope that's ALL you'll ever get. If you're getting whacked fast playback on the local dvr monitor, perhaps it's an issue. Playing back files remotely, it's not- so long as the files are playing back at normal speed correctly. Fast playback remotely can get finicky in all kinds of ways.

I'm actually surprised that QC could look at the one on the right with many IR covered and say yeah, that passes! The other thing to look for a ease of positioning. You get the perfect fov, put the dome back on, foam pushes against dome and it moves the camera- a vicious cycle ending up with a compramise. Not a huge deal, but a pia.

Be a stand out- make sure Swann offers WP support- something that for now will a huge bonus compared to the others who only claim it but, it's hit and miss.

Is that just for hikvision, or can it pick up any IP feeds?

There are some good things about that package. 16 port poe, 2 varifocal cameras, 3tb hard drive. I wonder if the front slot can take a cd/dvr rom drive. It would be better if these packages came with 100' cables, but they're cheap enough to score separately for longer runs. The varifocals look interesting- haven't heard a thing about them as far as performance. No one has posted much of anything in the way of backup footage from these swann systems. 1080p is great, but how does it look crunched down to H.264. Also it would be nice to see a demo of the smart phone app and how it works. I have a windows phone, so it's never a given any phone app would work. DMSS works on windows phone, but not nearly the same as it does on androids and I's. I've never seen a demo on the remote software or even the web client for these things. It would be nice to see that, as that is every day life when viewing these things. And can an alarm out be manually triggered for say, a siren? Also it's not clear to me how a ptz is implemented in nvr's. Can any IP ptz be hooked up via the on board poe for picture, powered separately of course, and then typical 485 com line run from the nvr to the camera? For me personally, there are still too many unknowns about the swanns/lorex/hikvision nvr's as stated above to commit such large bucks.I'm always hopeful that someone will actually dig and and demo these nvr's. Everyone talks cameras but the heart of these things, the nvr's, are largely still a mystery in almost all respects.

Exactly- don't fix what ain't broke.

You see that foam ring on those domes too? they have also updated the picture here http://www.hikvision.com/en/Products_show.asp?id=7330 Yep, I see the foam ring. Now I want to see what the camera sees.

These are the cheapest I've ever seen from a reputable dealer. http://www.securitycameraking.com/700tvl-12x-indoor-outdoor-pan-59195-prd1.html http://www.securitycameraking.com/700tvl-12x-indoor-outdoor-pan-59056-prd1.html