LittleScoobyMaster

Admittedly, I overthink way too many things.

Has anyone tried this yet? (Powerline Ethernet mixed with Power Over Ethernet IP cams) I have a pair of these Netgear powerline adapters (AV500's) extending my home network to a room I could never get cable to, and would rather not go wireless. http://www.netgear.com/home/products/powerline-and-coax/ Now, I want to get either a POE hub, or a POE adapter to hook up an IP camera. I can run the Powerline adapater (Av500) with a regular IP cam and it works fine, but I have never tried using a Power Over Ethernet IP cam with these AV500 Powerline ethernet adapaters before. I hope it doesn't send me back in time. Can anyone see any issues this might cause? Anyone here using this type of a setup presently? Also, who makes the most reliable Power Over Ethernet hubs or switches \ adapters? Is there a Number 1 player?

Speaking of safety. I hope I am being safe enough. I have everything hooked up now. The thing is, I should post a photo of the current setup because I am concerned about electrical and fire hazzards. But also, I'm concerned about longevity of the camera. So, to recap, this is how I have it setup presently. In the kitchen, I have a standard 2 port AC outlet that contains a built in GFI protector because it is in the kitchen near a sink (but not that close to the sink - about 2.5 feet away). Connected to 1 of the AC ports is a surge supressor. Connected to the other AC oulet is 1 Netgear AV200 powerline network adapter. Connected to the surge supressor is 1 Microwave oven, and 1 Trend TPE-S44 POE switch, 1 power pack for a Geo GV-CB220 cube 2MP cam. The trend TPE-S44 is connected to the Pano WV-sc385 which is using a POE port, and a regular port is connected to the AV200 powerline adapter network jack. So far, everything seems to be working. The microwave is used on average about twice a day for up to 3 or 4 minutes tops, it's a Panasonic about 2 years old. Does having the microwave on cause any noise on the line or cause any issues anyone can think of? Presently, the Trend switch and the Netgear AV200 are stacked on top of the microwave with a 2 inch plastic container separating the switch from being directly on the stainless steel microwave itself. The SC385 is about 2 feet from the microwave. I have the option of raising it about 5 feet higher so it is 5 to 6 feet away if needed. So, does this scenario present any immediate safety hazzards anyone can think of? Planning on uploading a photo of the mess this weekend. But, for instance, when the microwave is on, and the switch is on top of it (separated by the 2 inch plastic container), and the powerline adapter is on top of the switch, is that cause for concern? I know this setup is not optimal, and I'm hoping to change it once I can find better locations for the gear, but I really wanted to test out this camera so I've kinda just thrown everything together quick. So far, I really like the SC385, I just don't want to wreck it. Any tips on what not to do with it, or what I can do to keep it functioning for many years?

I don't think this one is managed but I haven't confirmed it yet.

That's good to know. Knowing my luck, I always find the weird things when it comes to electricity. Like when I was little and found out you could touch a penny to the glass of a plasma bulb and then touch the penny which could arch electricity to your fingers. Strangest thing. Thanks. I was hoping it wouldn't use more than 12W. I thought maybe it meant average and that panning would send it over. Glad to know that isn't the case. I was wondering about that 3rd camera only getting 6W, and which types of camera's. For instance, it doesn't sound like the 3rd camera could be a nice 5MP IR cam because the extra W it needs for the ir could send it past 6W. Guessing they require between 6 and 12? Yeah, I've run into the same problem with my X10 devices as they work in a similar fasion to the AV500 powerline adapter. The supressors would always clean up the 'noise' that was the x10 trying to communicate on the line. I really wish it wasn't like that though because I like to surge supress all electrical devices I hook up to an AC outlet and the ones that keep me up at night are my x10 devices, and the av200 and av500's. I'm always thinking there will be a close lightning strike outside that will hit right there and those outlets go straight into my networking gear.

thanks. I was looking at that switch today. Some local Microcenter's also have them in stock for only $49. I think I will try this solution. Anyone think of any reason this wouldn't work for the Pano WV-SC385? The WV-SC385 user manual states that the POE watt usage is approx. 12W: Power source: 12 V DC, PoE (IEEE802.3af compliant) Power consumption: 12 V DC*: Approx. 1 A, PoE: Approx. 12 W (Class 0 device) Anyone know if it uses more than 12 watts when panning or zooming? The Trend TPE-S44 states the following: Power over Ethernet: Power budget: 30 watts (max); Up to 15.4 watts per Port That way, I could add an additional POE camera or two in the same general area in the future. Also, this would be my first POE switch. Can you safely plug a POE switch into a surge supressor power strip? I know that the Netgear AV500 Powerline adapters can not be plugged into surge supressors, however, I have no idea about a POE switch. Regular switches I always plug into a surge supressor or a UPS, but I have no idea when it comes to POE switches. I notice that NewEgg has the black version of this switch and Microcenter has the blue version. I wonder which hardware revision is newer or if they just happen to come in multiple colors.

Thanks. I almost wish I had a cheaper POE ip cam to test out on. I've never used the POE feature of POE capable cams before. This would be my first. Which would you choose to hook up a single Panasonic WV-SC385? It would need to be 802.3af compliant. Would you trust that somewhat expensive camera (over $1k) to one of the cheaper DealExtreme injectors, or would you fork over a little more $ for a higher quality brand injector?

I have some older cheap analog camera's I'd like to be able to convert to IP so I could use Geovision NVR 8.5. The problem is, all the IP encoders I've seen are hundreds of dollars. The analog camera's I have are all very cheap and in the $100 price range when I bought them new. (cheap bullet cams). Maybe one of them was $150 at the most. Even if I could find a cheap IP encoder for them, I would then have to pay $100 per license for each camera to use with GV-NVR. Is this a common scenario people are in, or is it just me? I'm finding I'm stuck running 2 sets of Geovision software because my GV DVR card only goes up to 6040, which is way before they added IP cams to the Geovision software suite. I know most people probably pay alot more for their cams, but I'm sometimes known as a cheapskate. I'm trying to change that however.

Yeah, this seems to be the case. This is mostly because I think it's unfair to have to re-purchase the same card I already own. I own a GV600 8 channel that can run 6040 and (7.x if the dongle worked as it should -there was a huge debacle on that don't get me started). I don't want to have to re-purchase the card just to run 8.x. I'd rather use that money on a new camera, or a new license for GV-NVR for a 3rd party cam. After seeing what the new megapixel IP cams can do, I feel as though the analog cams are now obsolete, so I'm thinking I might just try to sell the old ones. They are fairly cheap anyway so I'll just run both systems for a while.

I know the user manual for the WV-SC385 states not to place it in a location that contains radiation, or strong magnetic fields, however, the only convenient place I have to put this camera would be in very close proximity to a microwave oven. What kind of damage would this cause to the camera? (it would be placed between 1 and 2 feet from the microwave). Would it be immediate damage, or damage over a long period of time? If it matters, the microwave is only a year old.

That's probably the root of my problem. I've been using Geo for 10 years and I can't break the habit. Also though, I've seen the IP encoders from Axis and they seemed expensive. I mean, there should be a cheap solution to convert an analog signal to IP, I'm talking like $50 per channel or something. But I know that probably will never happen.

I finally got around to installing GV-NVR to use with my new Geo IP cam. I am shocked that the web remote viewer (DM Multi-View), still does not open up in a standard window and can not be moved from the primary display of a multi-monitor machine. Is this for real? Any hack workaround to be able to move it to a secondary monitor?

Thanks. I wonder why they don't just allow it to be put in a standard window that you can just drag anywhere you want like most all applications? I thought for sure they would have done that by now. Many times I just like to move applications from monitor to monitor on the fly but Geo has always had this weird limitation.

How long has it been near the microwave since you got it back?

Just curious how most people avoid causing permanent damage to new homes when running cabling for outdoor PTZ cameras. (or any outdoor camera's, IR, etc.) I know some cameras can use POE with only 1 hole required on the outside facia of a home for the cable, but then there is the mounting hardware that usually reauires 3 to 4 screws or more, etc. And what if you mess up and have to drill more holes? I'm trying to figure out the placement for an outdoor PTZ camera on my home but I am the type of person that hates drilling holes in nice siding, or roofing, etc. I don't even like making new holes to hang photographs in the house. I many times just use the existing nail holes from the previous homeowner, if the arrangement looks good. (I know, probably an OCD personality disorder of some kind.) I sometimes think the only way I'm going to get a nice PTZ outside would be to use the same hole that the cable providers made in the house, because I am that paranoid of drilling new holes in the house. Is that just crazy? Or are others out there that hate drilling holes in homes for running surveillance gear? Do they make some sort of brackets that do not require screws but can hang on houses using some other sort of weight distribution? With CCTV camera's, many times if you upgrade, etc., you might be forced to make new holes cause the old hardware brackets woudn't line up just right.

GV is bundling this camera as a freebie with the GV-1480 card for about the same price as the card without the cam. Many people buy the bundle, then resell the camera to cut costs or because they don't need it. Sounds like you got a de-bundled cam. How's the camera performance aside from the frame rate? Yeah, that is what I was thinking too, debundled cam, cept, that isn't what I paid for. So, I think the company that sold it to me shouldn't be doing it that way. It's extra hassle for the consumer, and it isn't the way the cams are supposed to be sold. Must be breaking some law I would imagine, but perhaps not. Does Geovision warranty these camera's the same way they do with one that doesn't have the warning on the back? How about the GV-NVR free license, is that affected? So far I d/led GV and was able to connect to the camera without issues. I know that Nuvico, and other companies, may not warranty camera's sold by un-authorized dealers, however, I'm not sure what the warranty policy is for camera's sold at authorized dealers who de-bundle cameras for individual sale. Any idea? In the meantime, I'm trying to determine if the company that sold me the cam is even a Geovision authorized company or not. As for performance, well, the picture seems clear enough, and whenever I make an update from the web interface or the IP Cam utility, it responds quickly enough. The color is nice too. I'm still blown away at the resolution. I'm so used to old 640x480 pixel cams that when I see 1920x1080 full screen on the monitor, it's actually pretty amazing. But, I still haven't checked out recording performance yet. But for live viewing, so far it meets expectations.

Just wondering if anyone else has this camera and can't get it to do more than 15 frames per second? I've tried every setting I can think of, even at 320x256 black and white resolution, all bit rates, etc., and it never goes above 15 frames per second. Resolutions seem to have no affect on this weird cap. Another strange thing about it is that it didn't come with GV-NVR like it is supposed to according to the user manual. And on the back of the camera, it states "Bundled with GV-Card - Not for Sale separately." Does this mean the vendor may have swapped it out with one of those GV-DVR cards that come with sets of GV-CB220's?

As MP counts go up, you lessen the need for auto-tracking - rather than having the camera need to decide which ONE of potentially multiple objects to follow, you simply record the entire scene in high detail, and zoom on various points of interest after the fact. That's not good enough though. A PTZ gets angles of a scene that a high MP cam cannot, and the zoom function of an HD 720P or greater would be more robust than a fixed high MP cam that can't rotate up to 300+ degrees in the other direction. A PTZ with high optical zoom lense still seems like it would have quite a few advantages over non-moving high MP cams.

Good review. Are you planning on testing out the auto-tracking to add to your review? I would be curious if the autotracking is better than the WV-NS202A (the predecessor of the SC385) which seems rather jerky from this video and from some reviews I've read.: Did you ever figure out why that full zoom on the lamp post was so blurry? I would expect it to look better than that at full zoom. Also, this camera is over a year old. Do you know when the replacement for this camera will be out, and what the specs are? Or will it be another year or so before it has a successor from Panasonic? I didn't see how much time passed between the NS202 and the SC385 yet.

I'm wondering the same thing as well. You'd think with today's megapixel high resolution cams, that this type of feature would be perfected by now.

Are the firmware problems still an issue with this camera? Almost every review of the camera states that the camera itself is great but that it is plagued with firmware issues. Anyone actively monitoring \ waiting for the next firmware release for this camera? If so, what are your expectations? Also, if you left this camera on a window sill inside the house, if sun shined on it all day, would it get destroyed from the excessive heat? I know if you use this camera in an outdoor assembly, but if you used it in desktop mode, with not additional fans to keep it cool, I would think the sun would melt it, or wreck it, or is that not the case?

I guess so. It's advertised as a 1920x1080 @ 30fps though. But overall, I am pretty satisfied with it. If I tweak a few variables including shutter and the bitrates, I can get 30 fps out of it in certain resolutions and certain non-complex scenes \ lower-action scenes. I haven't turned on recording yet though. I'm sure that will cause it to take a hit. I'm just viewing the realtime stream at the moment. Sure is nice coming from analog 640x480, that's for sure! And the price for this cam is reasonable.

Thanks. Shutter speed helped the most. Once I removed it from auto and selected 1/30 shutter speed, the framerates doubled to 30 fps on a blank wall scene, but on a complex scene, it is still low, so like you mention, the processor of the camera is just underpowered? Since it doesn't achieve 30 fps on a regular complex scene, is it false advertising? (or does it just fall under the disclaimer that states you can achieve 30fps @ 1920x1080 under certain bit rates?) Still don't know why it didn't come with GV-NVR and why it has the text about not being sold separely. That is a little disconcerning. . That ftp link, do you know where that goes to? The version of GVR there is Russian it seems. Is there a US version around, or is there really no difference between the languages? I haven't learned to speak Russian yet.

Use extreme caution when buying from Spytown and several other vendors that aren't factory authorized resellers. Always check the manufacturer's website for authorized resellers. I made the mistake of buying two CB-SD21N-Ls from Surveillent Security on eBay and these cams didn't have warranties. I had to file a PayPal complaint and threaten to call my credit card company to get a refund for two defective cams. http://www.nuvico.com/unauthorized-resellers.htm Thanks for the warning about Surveillent. I almost ordered from them today, but after hearing about your horrible experience with them, I will not be placing the order through them. Kinda sucks that they list Amazon.com though. I would have expected Amazon.com to not be a problem, but I guess not. Bummer. That is a pretty big list of companies to avoid. Does the same warning apply with other products, for instance, Geo hardware, or Panasonic cameras? I recently purchased a Geo camera from Amazon.com and now you have me wondering if that was a mistake or not, because it is on this list. Warning! The following on-line companies are unauthorized resellers of NUVICO products. Any NUVICO products purchased from these companies will not be supported, and warranty will be voided. allsecurityelectronics.net eyespypro.com securitystoreusa.com a1securitycameras.com jmacsupply.com spytown.com amazon.com pillarsecurity.com surveillent.net bhphotovideo.com securitycamerasandmore.com videocctv.com ebay.com securityjunction.com worldeyecam.com

Thanks for the confirmation. Funny. My CPU is the i-2600K. I love that processor. One of the better desktop CPU's to come out in while that was very well priced.