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There's no software to do that type of calculation. It all comes down to experience. Like any trade you can pay a contractor very little to do a very bad job in a very short time period. Or you can pay a lot of money to have a contractor hide every little wire and create a beautiful system that never has any problems but it will take a lot more time and $. What are your standards? Each sub contractor is going to give you a different hourly rate. Ask to see a couple of their jobs so you can see their workmanship and then decide from there who you think is worth their wage. Ask them how much they would charge you to do those jobs, divide their price by the number of cameras in the installation and you should be able to develop a rough estimate for your labor costs. Hope this helps and welcome to the industry! Colin B http://zeecure.com

Hey guys, I've compiled this list for everyone to use. It has every camera's default IP, username, and password that I could find. Let me know if I missed one or if you see any errors. Hope this will save everyone a little time in the future. http://zeecure.com/free-cctv-and-security-tools/complete-list-of-every-ip-camera-default-username-password-and-ip-address/

Hire or at least consult a professional with training, experience and good references. You're lucky it wasn't worse.

Don't use baluns if you want to record to an NVR which is what I assume you mean when you say record to an IP network device. Baluns will not transmit through a network switch or any other IP device. Axis has a bunch of very good encoders http://www.axis.com Personally I've been using P7214's and M7014's and I've been very happy with them.

Nice work ronp. To stream the video back wirelessly I would recommend using any solution from http://www.kbcnetworks.com Their products are solid, especially for low bandwidth applications. They're also probably the most cost effective I can recommend that aren't going to fail every couple of days. Two other good brands for wireless are http://www.fluidmesh.com/ and http://firetide.com/ but those two brands will cost you a few thousand bucks while you can probably do it using one of KBC's WES II products for less than $2000 plus labor. Don't forget line of site is very important if you want to have a reliable wireless signal over long distances, so hopefully that's something you can get. As you will see there are mesh units that don't require a clear line of site but they can be unreliable and I wouldn't want to spend a thousand bucks on something that 'might' work. Lastly, you will need to encode the video signals to send them back to your home wirelessly via the KBC products. Obviously if you put a DVR in the field it will encode those signals for you. However, if you want to save on power you could use a four channel encoder in the field and install a NVR at your home to record the digital video signals. If you send KBC a satellite shot of your property it's quite likely one of their engineers will be willing to spec out a solution for you. Fluidmesh has always spec'd out systems for me in the past so I can't see why KBC wouldn't do the same.

That's a retarded reply... " title="Applause" /> I second that. As for your question. You should seriously try to run a wire or two because though solar powered wireless camera kits are available they are seriously expensive and hardly a DIY Project. I would suggest trying to find a wire route, even if you have to dangle them through the trees. It sucks and looks like crap but if it's your property and you're willing to do the work yourself you'll save thousands of dollars. If you really can't get wires out there, call a professional CCTV company that can quote a custom solution for you... Oh and the license plate thing will require a significant amount of work to achieve reliably. Again something you'll need a pro to come on-site and calculate.

Doesn't that apply to pretty much every consumer product? Not fair to target the CCTV industry specifically. You get what you pay for (especially when it comes to technology) and what you get in the bottom 90% isn't much. Colin B Http://zeecure.com

Hey all, is anyone using or selling a hosted video solution? When I add up the cost of a 640x480 hosted camera solution over 5 years and compare it to a stand-alone camera with on-board storage(and better resolution) it seems to be a no brainer that the stand-alone solution will give you more bang for your buck (even after comparing the pros and cons of each). Maybe that's just because of the market I'm in and the cost of bandwidth here. I don't actually know anyone who's successfully marketing hosted CCTV cameras and making any profit from them. Any thoughts? are hosted video solutions a solution to a problem no one has? Colin B http://zeecure.com

" title="Applause" /> Completely agree. The Axis camera will last you 5 times longer than the Vivotek or D-Link plus its significantly better built with much nicer software and great tech support. I would just say it all depends on how much you're going to be using it, will it be doing a tour all day for several years? if so I would 100% go with the Axis because it won't break down. On the other hand if it's just going to me looking at your front door and once a month you're going to use it to pan around then you could get away with the Vivotek or D-Link but don't expect them to have the same lifespan or overall quality (image, hardware, and software) as the Axis camera. Colin B http://zeecure.com

I like the idea of using online storage centers instead of going through a company like Axis that appears to just be re-selling storage at a premium price (no offence Axis). Could you tell me roughly how much video you're backing up for 10-15$/month? basically how many cameras for how many days? I assume they're backing up at a low resolution and 1 or 2 fps on motion. Thanks for your feedback! Colin B http://zeecure.com

You can do it using the serial port but it is very complicated. That's the only way I know that you could do custom overlays and as far as I know it only works in live view.

Poor low light performance isn't really related to digital vs analog it's more like low resolution vs high resolution. Plus something like the Axis P3364 will outperform any analog camera and maintain a colour picture. If you're really concerned about lighting then just ad some low voltage lighting. Colin B http://Http://zeecure.com

If you're an IT guy you could always use your own server or custom build one. There are lots of companies out there making software that you can purchase or download for free and then buy licenses for. Exacq has nice software that's easy to use for beginners. Not sure if they'll deal with you direct though but it's worth a try. Then you can use any of the IP cameras listed on there compatibility list (I'd go with Axis but they can be a bit pricey). Again if you're an IT guy I doubt you'll have problems doing the actual install but it would be best pay a consultant to do the design and spec the requirements of the system. Just like with lawyers you may need one to look over a contract for you but it doesn't mean you need them to close the deal! Colin B http://zeecure.com

Not sure what you're asking. Are you trying to edit recorded and exported video by overlaying text? or are you trying to get the exacqVision software to overlay the text on live/recorder video automatically?

Just heard the Axis 241Q has been discontinued (and replaced by the P7214). That too bad, I've used dozens of these over the years and I know I've seen many of them used by other industry professionals. I guess it couldn't be upgraded to support H.264 and so it got the boot. Oh well, so long 241Q and welcome P7214, we're going to have some good times together. Colin B http://zeecure.com

Why are you replacing the hard drive? Is the old one dead? It could become a big headache, check out this thread... http://www.cctvforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=29231

Sounds like you've done your research. The Exacq software is great and I think it is well suited to the type of system you're designing. Axis cameras are all really reliable so anything you spec from them will work and be easy to install. The only thing I would recommend is that you use day/night cameras outside regardless of the lighting, or at least buy one M1103 and test it at night to see how it performs under artificial lighting. My experience has been anytime I've installed day only cameras outside to save money, the customers ended up unhappy and had to upgrade the cameras later. Colin B http://zeecure.com

" title="Applause" /> Good call, j-hooks would be nice in an attic especially if you're planning on running more wires in the future.

Staple gun it to the trusses if you can, just to keep it out of the way. I wouln't put conduit in, there's just no need, even the AC wires in most attics aren't in conduits.

I haven't used VideoIQ before but I've installed dozens of IOImage analytics encoders(now owned by DVTel). My experience has been that they take a lot of fine tuning to distinguish between animals and humans, though it is very possible. You will need to have a very good understanding of how to configure the analytics. From what I know of VideoIQ they are supposed to be very easy to install with no configuration necessarily. Not sure if that's true or if it's just good marketing. @thewireguys have you installed any VideoIQ cameras? and do they work as well as they claim? I've been looking at switching to them for a while now but I can't justify the expense if they're not going to work as advertised. Would love to hear from someone with some hands on VideoIQ experience. Colin B http://www.zeecure.com

Yup, signage is strictly a deterrent when it comes to public property. As a rule of thumb if its public property you can record whatever you want. If it's property you own you can record whatever you want as long as people do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy (like in a bedroom or washroom). Colin B http://www.zeecure.com

Sounds to me like you've really exhausted every resource, at least beyond what I can think of. The only people I know local to me that might be willing to take a look at it is http://www.nortownphoto.com Don't be thrown by the simple website they really know their stuff when it comes to imaging technology. It's a long shot but they are privately owned so they may be a bit more helpful or at least be able to refer you to someone who can help. The other guy I know has told me this is too complicated for him, and he's probably right. Sorry I can't be of more help. Colin B http://www.zeecure.com

Nice to know about the analytics on thermal, I wouldn't have thought about that but it makes sense. Where about are you located? I know a couple places near me (Toronto area) that might be able to help but you would need to take it in to them because I don't have any personal relationship with these camera repair shops. Colin B http://www.zeecure.com

Have you considered using a thermal camera? At least the image would be consistent day and night making it a lot easier to calibrate for people counting. I've never tried this but it's just a thought. Colin B http://www.zeecure.com

Where are u in Canada ? I am in Alberta I'm in Burlington, Ontario. Colin B http://www.zeecure.com