CYANiDE

Change the IP of the DVR to be different from the IP of your access point. I have no experience with that cheap AP/repeater but if you could find the manual and post it up we may be able to help.

Thanks for reporting back with the solution you found. Hopefully it'll help others in the future.

Panasonic announced their 4K PTZ this summer. It doesn't appear to be for sale yet but it may be available shortly.

Stay away, he will be happy to see it work a few times but will not work when he needs it most, especially for such a limited use case.

I would recommend IP in this day and age. It will really vary and that's why all integrators and installers want to visit each location. How far are the runs, network access at each restaurant, time they can install, etc. I have no idea what the typical installation cost is on the east coast, but it will probably be anywhere from $2,500-$8,000 per location depending on the equipment and quality of installation (conduit for exterior cams, proper mounts, etc).

For general home use, most of the Costco systems are great. Your budget is also right on target for a decent system. It really boils down to the type of cameras you'd like to use. Stay away from any analog stuff (your budget should easily allow for an 8 camera NVR system).

You first really need to sit down with management and define what you would like covered and an approximate budget. Don't start designing the system based on just outdoor cameras and hope that one extra NVR will cover the interior. Also, are they budgeting for new wiring throughout the building?

What are your requirements? What kind of location is it being installed in?

Have you reset the camera yet? Generally Hikvision warranty is pretty straight forward for a replacement camera if indeed the IR is starting to go out.

This thread is great. Sunny - Costco and Walmart and other major retailers will literally take back anything you have purchased from them. I've seen people return microwaves with food stuck on it that looks 3-4 years old, blenders, etc. That's in just a few minutes of standing near the customer service line. Boogieman is correct on that one, Costco will accept a return if any of the cameras go bad after a few years. I don't know why you don't believe him but it really is true. It is NOT a warranty from the camera manufacturer but a return to Costco. I'm not sure if they will give you cash or store credit for the item but either way you get money back.

I completely missing the Canadian part of it. I have to side with Boogieman - if you need a 4 camera system you need to look at CVI or TVI cameras from a large retailer (BJs, Costco, etc). You should be able to find something pretty close to your price range. Stay away from old analog junk. Also, I would use CAT5e/CAT6 cabling with BNC adapters at each end. This allows you to upgrade to IP later, when your budget allows.

Alaskan, Regarding authorized vendors - most distributors won't sell direct and require you to be a business to sell the cameras. I have helped a few people on here purchase Hikvision USA equipment provided they cover taxes and shipping. Don't be surprised to see that the equipment is 50% MORE than the Amazon/Aliexpress/eBay stuff. The Hikvision 7604/7608 have 4 inputs/1 output (at least the genuine US versions). I can't speak for any of the "gray market" equipment but maybe you can ask the sellers.

Had no idea he was a spammer. anyways, like this one? http://www.amazon.ca/Hikvision-DS-2CD2332-I-Original-Waterproof-Surveillance/dp/B00XVAI9O0/ref=sr_1_6?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1437572103&sr=1-6&keywords=hikvision+3mp Although, it seems like there isn't a "kit" where I can have more than just one camera. I guess I need to buy like 4 of these? And a separate hard drive? At your price point, piecing together a system is your best bet. 4 of those cameras, and a Hikvision PoE NVR with a 2TB or 4TB HDD should suffice.

What are the specs on that Power PC? Blue Iris is processor intensive and will only work well with a good CPU. Otherwise, I would recommend a standalone Samsung NVR but you'll be tied down to that brand.

#3 is free and would be my first choice. I honestly think it will be up to you. I would not even consider a dropcam on the screen due to cost.

What is the coverage angle for the illuminator? It seems to be narrow for your application. You have one hot spot in the center of the video but the area behind your fence is pitch black. You need something that can go wider at a shorter distance. You can also play with the camera settings to achieve a picture that's much more evenly balanced across the scene.

Your best bet is to use the calculator for whatever camera manufacturer you are using. Then nail down exactly what recording settings you will use and plug in the values. Always give yourself some room and bump up that amount by 25% for smaller installs and 10-15% for large installations.

Is that per building? If so, that sounds pretty fair. However, I wouldn't be going with individual NVRs for each building. Something of this size should be handled by a seasoned integrator.

Go with Hikvision or Dahua. It will be the best bang for your buck and they are truly plug and play. As far as the cameras being low and easy to access, unfortunately sometimes that is the case. For those areas I recommend a dome as they can't just be smacked and turned away. Painting the housing the same color as your brick or siding will make it harder to spot. Feel free to PM for any more questions. I've helped out several people with camera recommendations and other advice.

Thanks for the reply. I'm here in the US. My main concern was knockoffs. Was reading comments where people said they got generic boxes with unbranded cameras that they thought were knockoffs (one said it came with a plastic base/housing when it should have been metal.. I figured it might just be a newer model). I know that large manufacturers make their product for re-sale/re-branding by other sellers. Discounters often pick up batches of those so that was probably the case with those grey market units. Amazon sounds like the place for me. My concern for return is physically DOA/defective out of the box. Complicated is not a problem. I develop networking firmware for a living. I might have to spend a little time but I figure I have a fair chance of working through the configuration and operating it. Yes, I did read that the latest firmware could be downloaded from the site. I also read that some of the newer revisions had issues and some people were downgrading for their particular needs. I also read that newer versions of the firmware do not allow (or make it more difficult) to downgrade to an older version. So my question was not if I was able to upgrade. My question was IF I want the latest firmware. Implicit in that was if it is still fairly easy to downgrade then it wouldn't be an issue. Like if it's relatively easy to upgrade/downgrade by tftp'ing the image to the device instead of using the normal UI. The question about getting an English version had to do with how easily the region code could be changed. From my research it seems that the region code is separate from the upgrade-able image. Maybe it's in a different part of the memory/flash/whatever. It also seems that some of the discount vendors are liable to ship units set to Chinese or International even though they might say or imply it's the English/US version. Again, if changing the region code is doable then it wouldn't be a consideration. I figured there were one or a couple of popular vendors that people buy Hikvision from. Most if not all the Hikvision cameras on Amazon are sold by their marketplace partners/vendors and not directly by Amazon. Your best bet is to find a security company in your area willing to resell you some cameras. Hikvision USA is carried by ADI and Tri-Ed/Anixter now so any half-reputable dealer can get a hold of them, although don't be shocked at the price (easily double Amazon/eBay pricing).

Well, those are much better demonstrations of the pictures in the thread I linked. That's I came here, to get told about such cameras. For 80$ USD, it is pretty darn good. Do they make cheaper bullet style cameras? You must be mistaken. The 3MP Hikvision cameras are on par with those that cost 4x as much (at least for daytime image quality). Take a look at Hikvision 2032 on YouTube and you'll see what we mean. You can't beat $86 shipped - http://www.amazon.com/Hikvision-DS-2CD2032-I-Outdoor-Bullet-Security/dp/B00G7GMEOG.

Where are you located? I would definitely go with a Hikvision or Dahua 3MP bullet cam for under $100. You will get excellent video. Do you need to record?

Any reason you can't just use motion recording on the NVR?

You can ping the camera and get into it's menus but get no video? Is this tested on the same computer for your network and your friend's?

BUMP.