elevatedthinking

Hello all, I am looking to install a new CCTV system for a home residence. It will be a basic setup with approximately 4 cameras covering the house from different angles. They will be on the side facing the driveway, cvering the front door, the back door and perhaps one more angle. I don't have a specific budget, but maybe in the 500 range for a full setup? Or less if I use an existing computer as an NVR? Years back, at a different residence, I setup Hikvision domes - DS-2CD2122F, using an i5 computer based NVR. It worked great, and I even have a done left over despite hearing not so great things about Dahua as of late. Since then, I am sure technology has changed in the CCTV world as fast, if not faster than everywhere else. For my sort of purpose, what cam options are recommended? Would it be recommended to use a prepackaged NVR system, or create my own using a computer. Is Blue Iris still the software of choice for this? Thanks for your help. I'm a bit rusty with this.

Hello all, I am currently trying to help a friend who has come into ownership of an establishment which is fully networked / wired and is running properly. There are a half dozen Axis CCTV cameras running throughout the building. Upon a first walk through of the building, The cameras all appear to be wired into a switch (I assume PoE) located in the network room. An employee mentioned that at one point he was able to power on a TV monitor in his office and see all 6 cameras as one would expect. I haven't been able to reproduce this yet. Since this is mostly a black box scenario, I don't have in depth knowledge (yet) of how the network is setup and what tools are being used, I am unsure of the best course to map everything out. Some things that came to mind were to plug into that PoE switch and run an Nmap scan in an attempt to detect the IP's of the Axis cameras that were connected. This seems like a logical way to locate the cameras, but it left me thinking about how I would figure out what NVR system is being used? I couldn't think of a way to identify the NVR system on the network outside of trying to identify it via the Nmap results. I see that Axis offers an IP Utility that would most likely show the connected cameras, however it doesn't appear to run under linux. While it's not impossible to use a Windows machine to perform these tasks, I was hoping to stick to Linux when possible. I would be curious to hear what sort of methods that you would use to start to understand the network layout. I understand this post may be lacking a lot of required information, I can add more info as I discover it. I appreciate any advice on techniques to carry out such a task! Cheers!

Hello all, I am trying to put together an affordable PC based NVR system that will be recording four 3MP IP cams. It will record to a local RAID at first, but would like to eventually expand to record to a NAS. Important note: I am not sure which NVR software I will be using. I would like to demo both BlueIris and Milestone Xproject. I haven't been very in touch with computer hardware lately, and was hoping people could chime in with their thoughts. I was considering the AMD FX-6100 3.30 GHz CPU Anyone have any experience with the FX series or this specific chip? From the research I have done so far (minimal) there seems to be really great feedback. I was hoping to try to figure out how it operates both BlueIris and Milestone as this will be a software based NVR. I was looking @ pairing this CPU with a Gigabyte AM3 760G mobo and 4GB of DDR3. So how does AMD perform vs Intel in these sorts of battlegrounds? Are there limitations within the CCTV world of using one vs the other? Thanks.

So after some thought, it seems more practical to invest a little more upfront into a CPU that will draw less energy over time. Ideally I would go for an i7 but I just can't swing that in my budget. I am already over budget, lol. These things add up fast. I am thinking an i5 3750. Using your numbers of being able to support 14MP, that should be sufficient for some time. And in the future, if I need to upgrade, I think this rig will hold it's value a little better. Maybe thinking that just makes me feel better Despite researching pretty much daily, I still don't feel completely up to speed with hardware. This is something I have pieced together, but it's hardly specialized for CCTV. By this I mean is this mother board overkill? If the Intel HD onboard graphics can render the substreams, then I would assume I don't need a gpu? Also, besides an additional NIC, I can't really think of what I would need all the PCIe slots for so maybe this is overkill? Side note, was the 14MP number you posted regarding *playback* or *recording*? If I am understanding things correctly, the recording aspect isn't where the workload is at it's highest? Anyways, I will quit rambling, here is the setup. All input would be much appreciated! ---Side note: I will only have a couple Hik 3MP cams to start with, but will eventually be expanding so I am trying to leave plenty of room for expansion with this build. I already have a 2TB Seagate to start with. *D'oh* Forgot to mention I am planning on using Blue Iris, although I will be testing Milestone...just not sure I like only being able to save 5 days of video. PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks CPU: Intel Core i5-3570 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.99 @ Newegg) CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ Outlet PC) Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($124.98 @ Outlet PC) Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($69.98 @ Outlet PC) Case: Corsair 300R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Microcenter) Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg) Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.25 @ Outlet PC) Total: $532.16 (Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.) (Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-09-18 16:00 EDT-0400)

Could you use an alternate linux distro and create some NFS shares and use those as the destination of the Hik recording? Thanks for the info about VLC and all of this other information, exciting to start playing with this

OK just wanted to double check, seems like a good solution to use in the mean time while trying to sort out the final NVR PC. To clarify, have you gotten it to work where you can reboot the cam/nas and it will resume using the old shares where video was stored prior to reboot? It looks like you said by removing the quota value you have been able to get around that issue? Also, are there other pieces of software that could be used just for playback of the video recorded to the nas?

I will be looking to use a similar solution for the time being. I ordered a DS-2CD2032 bullet to toy with but haven't decided on a NVR setup yet. I will be using the built in NVR capabilities of the Hik and hopefully setup an older Core 2 Duo box with Ubuntu and something like NAS4FREE. Any thoughts come to mind that would prevent this from working? Do you think using the Hik's built-in NVR would decrease performance or lifespan of the camera itself? I don't know how much of a workload that will place on the camera.

Thanks for the reply, I hadn't even ventured into the capture card department yet. I assumed the majority just go straight to their NIC and then recorded to a drive. What is the advantage of using a card like the Aver? Does it allow for more throughput? Great info regarding the difference in CPUs, thanks for that. I suppose you always get what you pay for, I am just trying to find an affordable way to get this done. I agree, the difference in price will be made up given 6-12 months of use. Really interesting the relationship between power consumption and cpu utilization and that it's not linear as one may assume. I'll keep digging, the 3750 sure seems like a solid choice and will no doubt leave room for some upscale down the road. Based on how fast even *I* have seen the IP Megapixel field change in the last 6 months since I started learning about it, there will no doubt be some huge leaps in the near future. Having a PC that has room to allow for those changes will be of value as well.

Did the IR strips happen to arrive?

So that means that the value used to identify the language of the cam is part of the hardware itself? Seems logical since it took the Chinese firmware and still didn't update the lang

Can you check to see if the firmware version is currently the same as the previous version prior to tftp'ing? I haven't poked around too much with this, I guess I am asking whether you can see a version number or something to see if it took

sounds like a fun project, let us know your findings!

Are they warrantied anywhere from Aliexpress? I mean having to send it back for whatever the shipping fee may be, $75 even, would be better then being completely out of luck trying to recoup anything I am going to research the firmware issues, wonder if it can be worked around?

Yeah that is what I am thinking, but these strips below the cams, with that V-groove pointing out away from house I like the sound of that...but even just the low-midrage quality IR strips are super expensive. This seems like a solid alternative if it works. Really excited to see how it performs.

I gotcha, I live in a really rural area. I don't have cams setup, but I fear the IR will attract swarms of bugs. Any experience with this? I thought I could maybe put these strips somewhere away from the house so if the bugs are going to swarm, they swarm away from the house...

Inside of the V-Groove would you line it with some reflective tape or liner to help propel the waves outward? Really excited to see how this turns out

So I am at work and browsing... any other reports of KD cams lately? someone mentioned that KD used different sensors in their products vs the Dahua equivalent? I don't have the spec sheets in front of me but would love to hear a little more insight. Also, any news on support/firmware requests? They also say there is a 2 year warranty but having to ship a 250$ cam back to China for $80 bux or something kind of kills the value. Either way, these look great and may invest in some to practice up with and potentially move them to a less important location in the future if I decide to upgrade.

I wish I jumped on these cams when they were at the lower price

This is my first post on these boards, and I am excited to do so for many reasons. One that I will return to shortly is that I hope to find an outlet for my interest in IT and specifically hardware/software relationships involved in these sort of projects. I am a developer on the side but work 60 hours a week at two jobs that don't quite spark my interest in the same way. I only stumbled onto this site a half hour ago and instantly realized this is what I have been scouring the internet for this evening. The boards allow for interaction with people who put my knowledge on home security systems to shame. But I hope to learn. That being said, the events that drove me to seek out this board were less than ideal. Needless to say I hold myself fully accountable for putting off the fact that I need some sort of home security implementation on my land. I am doing my best to adjust by tightening up a bit, well much more then a bit. One of the main components will be a powerful video surveillance system. My house is located in a rural area, set back from the road. My driveway is a quarter mile long, with a 90 degree elbow to the left half way up it. So from the main road you turn left onto my driveway, drive an eighth of a mile up hill to the 90deg left elblow. At the top of the hill, right at the elbow, is a shop. You turn left at the elbow and drive another ~250ft to reach my house. The 2 buildings are within direct eye contact of one another. I have attached a paint jpg so you can visualize this. I tried to document the dimensions, these are just rough estimates and I will have to get more concrete numbers. The red "X"s mean these are locations I would like to have covered at first, ideally the shop would be covered too, what frustrates me is that would be a perfect location to get a sightline DOWN the driveway potentially all the way to the road front which would be perfect. This leads me to trying to pin down exactly what I want this video system to do. I would like it to help warn me ahead of time when intruders are on the property, dangerously close to my home. This could also include animals but this will help offer protection from home intruders primarily That being said its a fine balance between protecting the house, and getting a sightline on areas of the property not easily watched over from the house, the shop. Eventually both areas will be covered, but any thoughts on that topic would be much apprecited. I don't have a large sum of money to invest into this at this exact time. But I hope to get a recording system setup with 2-3 quality cameras so I can start to feel a little better about things. I like many others I am sure, nearly clicked the "Buy" button in my haste off of an online vendor site this evening. I was looking @ the DEFENDER 21031 SENTINEL 8-Channel/4-Cam. system. (ranging between 450-600$ ish) It felt hasty so I wanted to do research. This gets me to hardware, which I know very little about. I know not all video will be crystal clear, and to be honest I don't even have an accurate estimation as to how far a mid-shelf camera will reach while still being able to make out what you are seeing relatively well. I would like to be able to see movement at the shop from the house cams that are facing that direction. I don't know if that is realistic or possible. Night vision is important as well, I also understand this is difficult at distance, but I am going to employ motion detection floor lights on the barn and shop walls as well. Would this help the night vision? To a lesser extend I would like to stream to my android, this would be very nice the more that I think about it...I would like a quality, or at least a dvr that is better then the one included in the package on amazon for the name I listed above. Seemed like there was a lot of negative attention towards the dvr unit included. Not sure if I can post direct link? I would like to be able to watch the cams in realtime in full resolution, without downscaling as well as record in a high resolution. I live in new england and the winters are cold and long here, are there outdoor cameras made for this sort of climate? I feel like I am rambling, and this is at least a start of my thoughts. I don't mean to come busting in here demanding information but the more I think about it, the more peace of mind it will bring me having this setup. Like I said, it's my own fault for postponing it too long. I hope to get the system up and running soon, but I want to take my time and make sure to invest in a quality system. I really appreciate anyone who took the time to read this and would love to hear feedback. Like I said, I am very IT driven and these topics interest me very much. Hopefully in the future I can continue to learn about things I haven't invested as much time as I would like to ( linux, networking, etc ). Many thanks.

ZX-12r I presume? This isn't ideal for sure, but as far as functionality is concerned, is this a problem that would disrupt the cameras from doing their job? What variables seem to cause a stronger imbalance of white? These answers will help me place my cameras correctly to try to minimize it. These seem like they will have more of an impact on the ability for the camera to function. Regarding the IR shutoff failure, what would protocol be on something like that? If I purchased from what I can gather is a small group of reputable DAHUA vendors, and 6 months down the road the IR won't turn off? Is that where one of the downfalls of going this route is? This is lack of feature. What about the 3200 bullet? They seem like solid cams, I need to pull both spec sheets up side by side and familiarize myself more with what distinctions there are between these two different models. ONVIF is interesting and I can see some strong arguments for both sides. The compliance is nice to see even without any experience as far as quality / function is concerned. And that's just it, there are so many different cams/nvr/cms setups. Maybe someone can offer up some key differences between the two. I would be more then happy to spend a little more over the DAHUA 2100 if something like this is deemed to be superior. I think what I am hearing overall is that the 2100s are the entry level IP cam, for a limited budget, and with any entry level device there are going to be plenty bugs. I don't mind dealing with bugs, what I am trying to avoid is dumping a good chunk of change and having bricks 8 months from now. How long have thee 2100 series been out, has anyone been running these for > 1yr? I still am having a hard time choosing between -NVR setup like DAHUA 2308 , but again that is just because I have read about it the most here. Are there comparable NVRs for the same $$ or are we back to the above point? -And a dedicated cpu recording setup. This is desirable because I want to have better control over the software that is recording/displaying as well as make sure it can scale well to different components down the line as I learn and expand. Would a happy medium be some sort of NAS? This way when I get the computer setup I can just interface directly with the NAS from the computer and use it for storage? In the mean time could hopefully get a setup going and start placing cams/etc. What would your thoughts be on putting together an order for either a NVR/NAS/{Decent entry level cpu controller which I basically would need to dig hard for blueprints since I am so out of touch with what's required} , PoE switch, two entry level cams (2100 series unless there is another within +/- 50$ ), outdoor shielded cat5, baluns ( still investigating )? I sure I am missing a bunch of things, could use a hand filling in the gaps. As always, the help is much appreciated. I enjoy learning about these things and enjoy hearing your input as well.

Thanks guys, really appreciate the feedback. Shockwave: I hope you didn't misinterpret any of my blubbering, your systems look great, I have spent a lot of time watching your videos and reading posts of yours since it was recommended last night. I appreciate all your input it's much appreciated. I have followed the blog link and am seeing dahua being thrown around a lot, with fairly good reviews. I will be doing heavy research on them this evening. I understand they are made in china and their customer support may be poor, but I am trying to think of what Kawboy mentioned as far as bugs/lacking features...I just don't know enough (yet ) to know about this. Any thoughts? Like I said, under different circumstances I would be researching this project or months before I invested in the physical products. Unfortunately time is fairly limited, so I am trying to cram as much as I can in a short amount of time to make an educated decision that I won't regret ( too much ) a month from now. Lebowski your suggestions are spot on , although still it's a fine balance between securing my home and taking the time to get educated fully on the subjects. The entire recording side of things is fairly unknown to me still, so I have that written down as things to research tonight. I will get back to you with more questions in a couple hours most likely. Again much appreciated, and feel free to chime in with any suggestions, names, points, anything constructive. Hoping by the end of the week to be able to have a somewhat solid idea of a base system to start with, even if its just 3 cameras to start like has been mentioned.

Such great feedback, thanks again to the both of you. I really appreciate it. I don't blame you at all shockwave, if I had an established setup that I was comfortable with I wouldn't be looking to upgrade anytime soon. That is something I am taking into account, just like all technology, as soon as you become comfortable with it new leaps are made. The appeal of some of the MP cameras are that they seem to have crisper details at distances outside of 10 feet. I still am going to install some close up cameras covering the entrances to the house/shop, but I am thinking that the MP cams that I mount on the shop front and house front will be able to give me a little more range to the yard area in the 50ft region. I am not looking for a perfect face recognition shot, but being able to make out variables at that distance seems valuable to me. Maybe there are analogs that can offer that, so feel free to correct me please. Also, the shop front camera will have a visual on the driveway/roadfront so movement capture will be essential there. As far as the Q-See package you were mentioning, it seems pretty solid. I assume you mean this ( http://www.costco.com/Q-See-4-Channel-HD-Digital-NVR-with-1TB-Hard-Drive-and-4-HD-720p-IP-Cameras.product.100003211.html )? A few horror stories in the reviews but they always come up it seems like, lots of times I think it's related to them not understanding the product or what is involved. How do those cameras stack up? {{EDIT: Oh are these the 2100 series cam?" }} I am not going to be able to start with 8 cameras of any quality, but I think in the future 8 cameras will be the full setup if not more. I was having a hard time finding any sources to lookup prices for the 3200/3300C models, sounds like may I need one or two of those and fill in the gaps with some lesser ones for the time being. I have a semi older computer ( 5 years, core 2 duo etc ) that isn't being used, I don't know how much horse power is required to setup the computer as a dedicated NVR ( am I using the term correctly? ). What factors play into figuring out whether a certain camera will work with my setup? Still so many grey areas. Nearly all the camera locations will be somewhat close to power outlets, would PoE still be required in those cases? What are the benefits of PoE, less wiring is required if you are already running cat5? On that note, what would be the best way to run cat5 from the shop to the house, does it have to be subterranean ? In regards to Dahua, I have heard the name thrown around a ton on these boards, is there any sort of financial affiliation connected to the message boards here? They seem like a decent middle shelf camera but I also don't want to short myself, from the videos I have seen online they aren't perfect but they seem like they would allow for what I am trying to do. What sort of limitations do the 2100 series ( and potentially the 3200/3300 series ) have..bugs? Support is big, I also don't want to invest a large amount of money just to have it brick or something in 6 months and not be able to use it. Is it really that bad? Please be honest with your opinions, I will take them as such from someone much more educated on the subject. I will always look up other reviews too to get a feel for their things. Anyways, my break is done at work. Again, anyone who has any sort of insight into this sort of project and maybe some hardware thoughts I would be really happy to hear from. Thanks again. Will check in again tonight.

Hey thanks for your reply, I probably came off as every other desperate first time poster that just got robbed but I really appreciate the help. After only a few hours of sleep I woke up with a ton of questions, so I apologize at the barrage of them. Thanks for pointing me towards shockwave's posts, actually when I first found this site his post was one of the first I read that ultimately led me to register and post myself. Hopefully he will stumble upon this and offer some feedback as well. A core question would be IP vs Analog? If I am even using the terms correctly. Can IP cams transmit a much higher quality video due to the connection type ( cat5 )? That, and their network capabilities are the two major differences? I am sure there are many more but those two seem to be the primary differences I have picked up on so far. Keeping it under $1k for all 8 cams seems like it's going to be tough, so maybe I start with 4 quality cams like you mentioned. I like the idea of the domes at all entrances to the house, but I also am looking to capture some of the background seeing as I have so much open space around my home. A problem that I am encountering is that with such a wide array of products, it's hard to find product reviews from people that line up. I looked at a bunch of shockwave's videos on youtube and the gadspot cams he posted in mid 2011 seems pretty good actually. I am looking for a slightly clearer view at distances further away from the cam just because I have a lot of ground to cover. An example of this would be http://www.cctvforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=32322&start=0 The picture on the IP cams look great to me, the backyard picture makes me excited. I would be open to discussing analog too since I know very little about either. shockwave didn't seem as impressed with those cams as I am, probably because he has much more information/experience to compare it against. IPC-HFW2100 - seems like a solid camera, I grabbed it from the link I posted above. How does this stack up as far as IP cameras are concerned? And what about against it's analog 'equivalent' ? http://www.ubnt.com/airvision - I grabbed this off of a topic in the IP cam section as well, any experience with this brand? I really don't have much experience with this so I am probably coming across as a complete newbins, which I am. My apologies again. A couple random questions as well: Can you mix IP and analog cams on the same system? Thoughts on getting a couple nicer cams to start with, a shop cam that can see down the driveway, and maybe another on the front of the house pointing towards the space in between shop / barn...pointing towards the driveway about halfway in between the elbow and the barn. This would give me accurate, high quality picture from the shop and house, and then I could fill in the gaps with some other cams? Ideally I would have been planning this for the last six months, unfortunately that's not an option for me. This is starting to piece together and I really appreciate your feedback, I encourage others too as well as I am trying to absorb a large amount of information in a very short time frame. Hoping to have made final decisions by end of week/install next week and even that seems like a long way off!

I really need to go to sleep! Work in a few hours, but like I mentioned would like to get this taken care of just so I can sleep a little easier now... Realized that my post is all too familiar to many of you, so did a little more research, these cameras were recommended in a similar thread further down I noticed: CNB VCM-24VF These are a little pricey, but I am looking for quality. Are there any cameras that you would recommend that would be comparable to this? So that leaves a dvr/wiring and what else should I make room in the budget for? Many thanks, don't mean to sound desperate but my lack of knowledge is causing me some anxiety. The more I think about it I really would like to have some visibility to the shop, how far is too far to run cables connecting cameras -> dvrs?