CrownSeven

Not a dumb question at all. And you are right just checked the specs on the cameras and they don't have microphones built in. So I guess that explains why the audio does not work. Wondering what the secondary jack on the camera is for then, speaker maybe?

Before I give Swann a call, does anyone here know if something special needs to be done to get the audio working on this NVR? I see the settings in the software to turn on audio, but am not receiving any audio feed from any of the cameras.

Thank you sir, that gets me pointed into the right direction. If I figure it out I'll post back.

I have the swann package sold by costco (NVR8-7200). The cameras are all being powered by the NVR - which means they are also getting their own separate IP's assigned by the NVR. Therefore to log into the cameras I need to disconnect them from the NVR, connect them to my PC and log into them using the previously described methods as explained on this site a few times. Is there a way of keeping the cameras connected to the NVR AND be able to log into them? I've tried playing with the static route settings on my router but no luck so far. Any suggestions?

Thanks for the link. Downloaded the firmware and tried installing it - wouldn't accept it. Tried doing a remote upgrade as well as using a thumb drive - both didn't work. Is there anything special I need to do before hand?

I just purchased that same system. When logging into the NVR and heading over to the Camera configuration screen, there is an option to add a camera using the ONVIF protocol. So theoretically it should be possible to add ONVIF compatible cameras. Theoretically. I have a single ACTI E84 which is ONVIF compatible. I tried adding it to the Swann NVR - I could connect , but was not able to view the live stream of the camera. I'm thinking about trying out the HIKVISION firmware on the Swann DVR to see if that makes a difference. Anyone know where I can get the HIKVISION firmware thats compatible with the NVR8-7200 Swann dvr?

I've been going back and forth with their support which has been very responsive - not very helpful though unfortunately. What kills me with this camera is, the day picture is fantastic, and just before full dark hits, the picture is still very good. Its once there's no ambient light around that the camera really suffers, even with the build in led's. Maybe I was expecting too much. I'm sure getting some external led's would take care of the issue, but I was trying to avoid doing so.

Contacted Acti. I think they may have misunderstood my issues with the camera. They logged into the camera and played around with some of the night settings to increase the brightness - which of course won't solve the issue. I'll try them again tomorrow.

They could be. I think at this point I'm going to ping Acti and see if they have any advice. Thanks for the help folks! I'll let you know what they say.

An update. I pulled off the dome, cleaned it out well, and rotated the camera 180 degrees so that the majority of the ir leds we're on the bottom, instead of the top. This seems to have helped quite a bit. The picture is much improved now at night although it looks like for my use, the IR's beam pattern is not spread out enough. I took snapshots at different times as the night came. This next shot was after setting the shutter to 1/15 from 1/30 and is the best I could get it.

Thanks buell. I went out took a few pics of how I have it setup in case it helps.

You both are correct. I may have messed something up in the install. I removed the dome and the picture is much better. I've noticed that when I put the dome on, the rubber cushion around the edge of the lens is butting up against the dome. Is this normal? I'll take some pics tomorrow during the day of how I have it set up, I may have definitely done something wrong. Thanks again for the help!

I purchase an ACTI e84 to test out its capabilities. During the day fantastic picture, at night though I'm not very impressed. I have this mounted in an area with very low light - and as you can see its hard to make out anything in the picture (pointing at my wood deck, and a table with a flower pot sitting on table): I had an old monoprice camera there previously that did a much better job at night. Is there something I can adjust on the camera to improve the night time setting? Or am I expecting too much from this camera. I have WDR set to 'highest' and noise reduction 'on'. The IR Leds are also on that shot. At this point I'm starting to think I should just go pick up a pair of those Swann's from Costco.

Thanks for the great response. I think the mobotix cameras are very nice but a bit out of my price range. Quick question about the ACTI NVR software - can it easily connect to ACTI cameras and read off the SD storage? Or is it expected that whatever is running the NVR software, that is the unit that would handle the recording. Sounds like SD card storage may not be worth it in the end. Thanks again!

Hello everyone, first timer here. You folks are the experts in my book which is why I'm asking for help here. I'm putting together a system for my vacation home so I can monitor it while I'm not there. I'm trying to come up with something that will be reliable and was wondering if I could get away with not using a dedicated NVR and instead write out to the on board SD cards on the cams themselves. My reasoning - the fewer the components the more reliable it should be. The gear I'm looking at: 3 - ACTI E84 Cams or 3 Axis m3024 LVE (not released yet so haven't made a decision) 1 - AXIS M5014 for indoors 1 - ZyXEL ES2108PWR I've read that with the ACTI cams, viewing the video stored off of the SD cards can be a pain. Is that still the case? Is Axis any better in this regard? Or should I just throw out that idea and include a dedicated NVR?