Biofarmer

Fog, even a teensy bit will do it. Heavy fog is a real trip.

Looks to me like they are clearing out old technology. Not much new in IP except the(questionable 640x480) Samsung SmartCam at 2 for $200. I do not understand SDI except it is not the latest technology? Lots of SDI stuff Looking forward to your comments.

Looks like Costco has stopped offering much in the Lorex brand as far as IP cameras go. They still have analog stuff but I do not see IP cameras or IP NVR packages with the Lorex brand. That is today anyway.........................

Excellent tutorials John. Thank you for posting the link. Rick

Yes, a POE switch, around $50, and a good WIN7 PC with Blue Iris($50). Blue Iris made my 3 year old hobby of IP cameras a real treat and I use only a teenie bit of her capabilities. Attached are two shots just a minute ago from my two Costco Swanns on BI. Actually a screenshot of them on BI. Put the noisy NVR back in the box and play a little. You also can use a zillion different cameras with BI. Pretty easy to figure out if this old space cadet can do it.

I think "they" is Swann. Costco either takes it all back or nada. Glad to hear that as these are sweeet little cameras.

You guys that got a right side fuzzy/soft Swann, what did Swann do about it? One of the two I got has the soft right edge. Just curious how it has been resolved or if it has been resolved. Thanks Rick

Looks like you got into the camera just fine. That is the same firmware mine have. I have not made up my mind about putting the latest Hik firmware in them. I want to play with them as is for awhile and peruse more info on the latest Hik firmware before I change anything. Tech savy........not so much. If I could do it, anybody can.

@gencom Please read Qs post above re:changing your ip4 config to access the camera. Thank you Q, once again. Got right into her by following your instructions. How did you get that info, from Swann? They had no clue today when I called. Much easier and different than your first tutorial with the iVMS4000 software(which I will now uninstall). I also have her up in BI too. Lots of stuff to play with on the web interface. Thanks again for the help Q. Rick

I love that...."not everyone has a soft edge" Ain't that the truth. I do feel like a dummy here. I got the 2 pack Swann. Here is what I have tried to "get into her" so far. I have followed this and similar threads closely. But no go yet. Based on past experience: Hooked her up through my POE switch which is hooked to my router. My HFW 2100 has been humming on it without a miss for weeks. No IP address for the Swann on my router as has happened with all other ip cams I have tried. After all else shown below I called Swann. They said this cam does not have a default ip address and is set default to DHCP so my router should give it the ip address. I also tried a command prompt.....ipconfigure with nothing. Based on forum help: Next downloaded the iVMS4000 from HIK as Q described. When I fire up that program and go through the steps Q so thoroughly presented for finding the cam, it will not find the camera. Then I also tried the camera finder app. It also comes up blank for finding the camera. Camera is plugged in and working, (at least the irs come on when I cover the lens) POE switch is trying to blink. I have also tried straight ethernet and 12 volts DC through the additional pigtail. I have also tried the default ip address found here and elsewhere.............192.0.0.64....? Cant wait to see her in action but I need to find her first. What am I doing wrong? Swann CS came back with the "default DHCP(on) on this camera" answer and I said " OH....OK, I will try again" My router has always been set with DHCP on and has always found and id'd whatever I hook up. I have only tried one of the two cameras so far....................... Thanks for any help. Rick Wow, what a difference between the Swann and the Lorex!!!!!! same firmware even!

Based on external appearance, they are NOT. IMO anyway. The QSEE, Swann, Lorex branded MP outdoor bullet cameras(Dahua/Hikvision) at Costco are little dinky things. Very nice.

The industry/market is changing very rapidly. You professional installers like commercial jobs and need them to make a decent living but the "home" market is exploding. New technology(ip cams) has allowed us "DIYers" to play and watch seriously, then the neighbor asks about it and then and then................. I am new here and a DIYer but find plenty of professional help when needed. Just the way the world is going now. Change happens. What is, is.

That night vision shot is straight from the Lorex product page at Costco.com. As of this morning, Costco shows no Lorex 2 pack of these cameras in stock. They Have the Swanns back up so I snagged a 2 pak. The Lorex NVR plus four cams($850)is still up for now but no stand alone Lorex IP camera(Hikvision). Inventory sure changes fast on these products.

Annoyed with 15fps at 2 MP?????? Dude, 15fps is pretty damn good, at least it is for this old guy watching animals. I would be very happy with 15 fps on everything. You should try watching something at the two different frame rates and see if you can tell the difference. Maybe one of the experts can tell us more about the human eye and how good it is regarding frame rates.

They have them all now. QSEE, SWANN and LOREX 2 packs. http://www.costco.com/security-cameras-accessories.html

Heres how it looks to another kinda newbie(3 yrs ip cams) but tech not smart person. buellwinkle makes much sense and has lots of experience in the field, as do many others here. Hikvision makes a 3 MP cam by the zillions to go all over the world. Rebrand it, do what you want, whatever. Why pop it out at full potential if you are a rebrander when even a 1.3 MP is great resolution compared to the old stuff? 2MP is a good balance, probable pretty easy to do, whatever has to be done with the firmware, and is still a big jump in quality. Q has another excellent point even without a stream to analyze. The higher resolution setting makes a higher resolution snapshot. I am a bit confused on the difference in the FOV between the two shots. Was the camera moved at all? Only the resolution changed on settings? Looks to me they have squeezed the FOV on the higher MP resolution setting? Why would the FOV change between the two settings? I wonder what a 2 MP shot from the SWANN firmware cam would look like compared to the 2 MP with the Hikvision software? This is getting interesting..................

Damn Q! I thought you had a budget to watch! Ha! how quick money plans change in this wonderful hobby! I'll be looking for the reviews of the Lorex version as a stand alone with other "NVR" options like BI.

Here we go. Same camera as the Swann? Same price, 2 fer $350 Lorex brand.....http://www.costco.com/Lorex-HD-1080p-IndoorOutdoor-Night-Vision-2-Pack-IP-Bullet-Cameras.product.100043751.html Product page includes this statement. Yes! "Note: These NVR IP cameras will only work with NVR (Network Video Recorder) systems that are ONVIF compliant. If using a different brand ONVIF compliant camera with a different brand ONVIF compliant recorder they may not be “Plug-n-Play” and some configuration may be needed at setup."

I saw these(Lorex) in the Costco Flyer sent out this week. They sure look like the same camera as the Swann now offered. Lorex offer starts May 1.

AHAH!! I did not have a clue you could plug a non-PoE device in a PoE awitch port. I understand how it works with the extra pairs available in Cat 5, Cat6 available for power. Never thought to think that the "power wires" in a PoE port hit a nothing connection when a non- poe device is plugged in. Thanks for that. And guys......wheres the meat? Lets see some fresh video..................

"all the ports are PoE" Am I missing something? You do need at least one LAN port to hook to your router, right?

I'm not worried about them a bit. I cannot imagine them making vendors eat 100% of the Costco return policy though. Whatever the case, as a customer, I am happy. I can also feel a different(in a good way) employee vibe when I am in the store. Different than other big box stores.

What is amazing is how Costco can still make a profit, keep stockholders, employees and customers happy with a return policy quoted above. I know they have tightened up on their return policy on electronics in the last couple years. They were getting complaints from stockholders, employees and some customers that they were actually renting products for free. I guess they still do it with other products.

My bad. The review(5 star) is still there. For some reason it did not show on the product page earlier. I have a different take than spadjen on this one. I think Costco may be bending to the non-Swann NVR market by that statement. And doesn't the non-Swann NVR market include everything else, including a PC with 3rd party software? I don't know about anybody else but I feel better having Costco behind these cameras.

Costco has just added this wording to the product page. They have also taken off the one review(by a forum member) that indicated the camera can be used without the Swann NVR. " Note: These NVR IP cameras will only work with NVR (Network Video Recorder) DVR systems that are ONIF compliant. If using a different brand ONIF compliant camera with a different brand ONIF compliant recorder they may not be “Plug-n-Play” and some configuration may be needed at setup. "