SB_Jim

Really?? 60 people view this post and nobody knows the answer? I know there are very talented and smart folks on this forum. Would one of you please render a comment on my question please? Jim

I'll have to say that your picture doesn't appear to be what I might expect from 12 MP camera. My own are 2MP, and on a decent day at that distance, I could probably read about the same quality - maybe better. But, there's more to reading plates - as Jerome points out. Good luck.

I've been told that I could swap a 4TB drive for the existing 2TB drive - since my NVR has a capacity of 4 or 6 TB. With regard to the connection, is this one standard for drives? WD4NPURX 4TB SATA 6Gb s IntelliPower 64MB Is it likely that I'll find a SADA connection inside my box that's being used for my existing 2TB factory drive? Thank you. PS - The Mfr indicates that an SSD is NOT an appropriate drive for a surveillance system.

Thanks again Gadget - for your comments. I hadn't even thought about an SSD. I was presuming that I'd buy an equivalent to what's been humming along for the past 4-5 yrs. I might be tempted to add the second 2 TB drive - if I could configure to write to the first drive, and then the second drive - to have the net affect of a 4 TB drive. Is there a 3TB drive that I could "upgrade" to as a single drive, or must I stick to the existing original configuration? However, I do believe the cooling fan in my Swann is a variable speed fan (driven by temp). If I had an SSD, it may run much cooler and perhaps the fan would auto-spin at an even lesser RPM - yielding me a far more desirable sound than what I've grown accustomed to. Much like my newer Dell laptop that is SSD and whose fan almost never makes a peep! I'd actually be willing to spend a bit more on the SSD just for the lack of fan noise that most all of us had objected to when we first bought our NVRs.

Thanks Gadget for your reply. I realize I can't do anything w/out making access to the "insides". I'm just more thinking it's the HDD due to the pitch, and what I perceive to be the rpm related characteristics of the sound. Because I still can hear the ever-present sound of the cooling fan (which doesn't appear to have changed), I'm guessing HDD. If my NVR were in some other location, it'd probably not give it any thought. But, it's something that can now be heard in my dining room / living room due to the proximity of my cabinet where all of my "hub" stuff in located. I'll have to commit to a couple of hours of removal / exploration some weekend. I think there were suggestions in this forum about which HDD would be appropriate for the replacement. Something like a WD 2 TB "purple" or some designatioin for video use.

Really? Out of all you very smart folks, nobody has any experience w/ this? I find that kind of surprising.

Hi, Like many other users, I had used the DDNS from Swann / HIK - but that's been changed and just seems pathetically slow to load on my iPhone (plus it doesn't work reliably). So what are a couple of "best practice" alternatives? Are there other free phone apps that could serve as a replacement and which would likely provide better performance (and actually load all 8 cams when I ask it to)? Thanks in advance for your good tips. Jim

I'm in the process of replacing my very old laptop with either a new laptop or new high-performing larger tablet style PC. There are some which I might consider - except that they have no RJ-45 port. I still occasionally update my Hiks (a.k.a. Swann) by connecting to one of the ports on my NVR directly from my laptop. If I didn't have this direct connection ability(via the RJ-45), would that totally prevent me from even "talking" directly to my cams? I'd hate to buy something new - only to find that I just shot myself in the foot! I like that my WiFi for my laptop is on a different "network address series" than my NVR so that I can use WiFi or connect to my NVR w/o making changes to the sub-net each time. Your ideas would be highly valued, and thanks in advance.

Cool - Thx AK357. I never knew that these existed. Now I'm a bit further on my search for a replacement laptop / 2-in-1. And, I'm still wondering whether or not it's essentially impossible to connect to my NVR by any other means than hardwired.... SB_Jim

Hello, Are you infering that an adaptor from USB to RJ-45 exists, and that this would be an acceptable means of connecting to my NVR? Is it even possible to connect to my NVR w/o a hardwire connection? Thx!

Hello, While logged into my Hik bullet (3MP) -(as sold via Costco branded as Swann) - I notice two items in the Advanced Image menu that I am not familiar with. 1) Dynamic Analysis for Motion (a check-box below the Enable Motion check-box). How is this used, and what is to be expected by selecting the box? 2) Day/Night Switch Schedule. My options are Day, Night, Auto (which I'm using), and Schedule. When I select "Schedule", it displays an editable box for both Start and Finish. How does this work? Is this schedule used to tell the cam when I want it to switch from Day to Night (I.R. mode)? 3) Smart IR. What should I expect to have happen by selecting that box? Thank you for your replies. Jim

You'll need to access the web interface built into the camera in order to set a specific / desired schedule to control when the IR is active. There are quite a few threads on this site on how to log into your camera to do this. I'm probably not the best one to offer advice on this, but there are several knowledgable persons on this site who are. Good luck - I think you'll find a solution. Jim

Are the "spots" always in the exact same place each night? I presume you've wiped the lens w/a soft cloth already. IMO, they look as if they're either a reflection of water droplets (like fog or mist) or something very small on the lens. Good Luck, J.

I'm very sorry your your great loss! At first I thought this was an April fool's joke - just by the title. I pray that God will give your family His perfect peace as you go through this most difficult time. I'm like the many others here on this forum who were blessed by Carl's generous time and efforts and personal attention. Jim

Where I have my connections clearly under the eaves and not subject to direct contact by rainfall or snow, I don't tape them at all. I've had no issues or concerns for 2 1/2 years.

+1 for satisfied NVR-8 with all eight bullets. Works very well for my needs. I've had excellent help from Swann Level 2 tech support both by phone and by email.

I'm sure youll be just fine.

Thx 51Cent. I don't have a PTZ, but even the Swann Mob App handles that. The one link I went to for more details seemed to indicate that the "record" feature was only for Android products. Since I'm already recording from my NVR, and can access those from my iPhone using the SwannView+ - I'm still at a loss for what improvements I may actually realize from buying the Pro version. Are there users here (who own the Swann NVR) who have actual experience w/ the app I'm questioning? Jim

I'm using the SwannView+ mobile app - and it seems to work okay. I can view single cams, or two separate pages of 4 cams each. Just swipe from one screen to the next. I can also choose cams from a list to display - so some flexibility on the go. I've also tried IP CamViewer (the free one) but am disappointed that it only allows 6 cams max. Other than the pinch-to-zoom feature, what makes it even as good as the SwannView+? Specifically, what are the great features of IP CamViewer Pro that some of you like? Why might I consider the Pro version? Thank you!

Its a narrow walk way. I have the cameras high enough so they cant be easily reached and one in each direction. If I were to turn them outward away from the wall it would just film the neighbors side yard and not my own. I think the easiest solution is to rotate the camera 90 degrees - as suggested earlier. I had this same issue along my 8 ft wide driveway. When you view the camera image, you'll simply get used to it being in a different orientation. The advantage may be that you'll not only get rid of the hot IR spot on the wall, but you'll see more of the length of the walkway than you are presently. Also as mentioned, if you can figure out how to connect your laptop to your camera (via the nvr using an ethernet cable), you can then rotate the view of that camera to display the same as the others. Good luck - I think you're on your way. Post an example after you rotate the camera. It's a 5 minute task on the rotation.

I logged in to one of the cams and this is what I believe it's asking for (implying) re: schedule. There is one Start, and one Stop. This apparently applies to scheduling DAY mode. By default, the remaining hours will be NIGHT mode. I'm making use of this feature in three of my cams, and one (shown) is the least intuitive. See below: The other two cams were more simple as I scheduled them for DAY from a given time in the morning until a given time in the evening. However, in the example above, I'm asking for color beginning at 5 a.m., and lasting until 1:30 a.m. the following morning. In other words, I want IR only from 1:30 a.m. thru 5:00 a.m. If nothing else, it'll be a good test!

Thank you. I'll have to log in to a cam again and check, but when I selected "schedule", it only then displayed one Start field and one Stop field. Thus, my confusion about what it is that I am starting and stopping. It would be easier for me if I did see one field related to DAY and another for NIGHT. Our commrade "stroonzo" provided the following text from the manual: "Day/Night Switch Select the day/night switch mode, and configure the smart IR settings from this option. Day, night, auto, schedule, and triggered by alarm input are selectable for day/night switch. Day: the camera stays at day mode. Night: the camera stays at night mode. Auto: the camera switches between the day mode and the night mode according to the illumination automatically. The sensitivity ranges from 0~7, the higher the value is, the easier the mode switches. The filtering time refers to the interval time between the day/night switch. You can set it from 5s to 120s. Schedule: Set the start time and the end time to define the duration for day/night mode. Triggered by alarm input: The switch is triggered by alarm input, and you can set the triggered mode to day or night" It just wasn't clear enough for me to know definitively. Jim

Maxicon, I like what I saw in my new cam re: smart IR. A camera at my front door always stays in Day mode because at night, the door light is sufficient for color. But, the color image isn't as good as the IR is under those circumstances. I don't really want the IR showing to passers-by, and with smart IR ON, the camera displays in night mode, but w/o any percieved ir glow. So I'm guessing that the smart is "smart enough" to know not to add any more of its own! Conceptually I undertand the concept of "schedule" w/ regard to Day / Night. However, I still don't understand how to know exactly what I'm scheduling. If it's daytime while I'm creating the schedule, is the schedule used to define Start / End of IR? Or, conversely, if it's nighttime while I'm programming (and I'm already in night mode), am I creating a schedule to switch from IR to day mode? I'm desiring to have the IR ON from 20:30 PM thru 05:45 a.m. Thx for any clarification. Jim

Hey Buell, Yeah, I 'd already done that. In my original post to this thread I mentioned that I already chopped off one end for that very purpose and ultimately I put a smaller connector on where I needed it.

Yes, the two halves indeed screw together. The problem I found was that the male connector on the supplied 100 foot cable had extra dimension in length due to the strain relief. I had to chop it off and put a more simple shorter shell of a connector for the RJ-45. This allowed the RJ-45 to recess completely within the two halves. I'm sure this is what was intended, but I had hoped that the supplied cables that came with the cameras would have allowed use of the weatherproof connection that is integral with the camera's pigtail. So now I know. This is the only camera I have where the connector would actually be subject to rain although still partially covered.