armoreltech

We have bullet cameras (ACTi E33A) installed inside the gymnasiums on our campus, and they work really well, that is, when they're pointed the right direction. We've had repeated issues with them being hit by balls or other objects and knocked out of alignment. So, we're looking for some sort of protective cage we can mount over them to protect them from flying objects. I've Googled around a bit, and found some possibilities, but wanted to see if anybody here had any recommendations. Thanks in advance.

Working on specs for a new Dell PowerEdge R720xd to run ExacqVision Pro and had a question about hard drives. Dell offers two types of 7,200rpm 3TB drives, a 3Gbps SATA drive and a 6Gbps Near-Line SAS drive. I've always gone with SAS for servers in general, but the vendor I'm purchasing cameras, software, and maybe the server from is recommending the SATA drives as better for video. No specific reason given as to why. Looking at 11 of these drives in a Raid 5 array (with a 12th for hot spare) connected to a PERC H710P raid controller. All drives will be internal to the server, and video is all the server will be doing. Will also have two SSDs in a RAID 1 to house the OS as recommended by Exacq. Will be installing 76 cameras, 45 ACTi E62s (3mp) for indoors and 23 ACTi E33s (5mp) and 8 ACTi E86s (3mp) for outdoors. All will be H.264 compression and plan to record continuously for about 9 hours on weekdays (motion based on nights and weekends). So, thoughts on which drives to go with? Thanks in advance.

I've received a couple of proposals from a local contractor for IP camera system for my school campus. One of them is all Speco equipment, cameras and NVRs. In all the research I've done on the subject, that's not a name I've really seen come up. Not really wild about the proposal as it uses multiple standalone NVRs rather than a central, non-proprietary server, but it comes close to the price the powers that be are looking for. So, thoughts on this equipment. The specific camera models quoted are Speco VIP2P1, Speco O2B2, and Speco 02D4. The NVRs are Speco N4NS, N8NS, and N16NS. Thanks in advance.

I hadn't thought of that. Worth a try though. I tried contacting ACTi's sales department directly, but haven't gotten a response back yet. It really would be nice if, in addition to their dealer "blacklist", they would put out some kind of whitelist.

I'd be happy to work with a local if I knew of any who were ACTi dealers. Problem is I'm located in fairly rural northeast Arkansas, so the local options are...limited. And it's a big enough purchase that I'll actually need three competitive price quotes to meet procurement regs, so that further complicates things.

Forgot to add, feel free to PM me. I know there are rules about posting vendor info on the open forum. Thanks in advance.

I'm the technology director for a small school district and am working on putting together a proposal to replace our current tired analog security camera systems with a new IP based system. I've gotten proposals from the companies we do business with for data network cabling and phones and alarms, but am also putting together a proposal for doing it in-house. Most of the cabling was taken care of in a network overhaul last summer, ditto the PoE switches, so it's mainly just the cameras and server that are needed now. I've been researching, and am leaning towards going with ACTi cameras as a compromise between price and features. The models I've pretty much settled on are the E62A for indoors (corridors, lobby area, cafeteria, etc), the E86 for outdoors covering entryways and sidewalks, and (not totally settled on this one) the E37 for covering parking lots, athletic fields, playground, and possibly the interiors of the gymnasiums. Now, the problem is where to buy them. I first really started looking at ACTi because they were available from B&H Photo/Video who I already do business with. But then I see that they're on ACTi's "blacklist" as an unauthorized reseller. I might never need the manufacturer's warranty, but am looking at deploying around 65 cameras, so I figure I will sooner or later. So, I need to find a vendor who is willing to sell direct to a school district (hopefully with some volume discount pricing) and who ACTi is ok with. Actually, to meet our procurement regs, I need to find three vendors who will give me quotes, unless I can find one that happens to be on one of our pre-bid purchasing agreements (that's partly why I use B&H, they are) in which case I only need one quote. So, any suggestions? I can't really just pick randomwebsite.com and take my chances.

Ok, new question. I'm looking at two virtually identical ACTi indoor dome cameras. The only difference I see on the spec sheets is WDR levels. One has "Basic" WDR listed as 74dB while the other lists "Superior" WDR at 110dB. The superior WDR model might fit my budget, but the basic WDR model would definitely be an easier fit. I've done some reading on WDR, but am not sure how much benefit it will really be in my sitution. Majority of what I'll be recording will be lit by good ol' flourescent lights with a bit of natural light added into the mix from exterior doors and whatever light filters into the corridors from the windows in the classrooms. I do have one decent sized lobby area and a cafeteria both of which have a fair amount of glass in them, so more natural light issue there. I'm assuming any WDR is better than no WDR, but should I stress over trying to do the Superior WDR cams, or just go with the Basic WDR model and give the budget some breathing room. From one of the vendors I'm looking at, there's almost $100 difference retail between these two cameras, so when you go talking about buying 40 of them (for hopefully less than retail) it adds up to a significant difference. Or maybe do a mix of the two? Superior WDR in the lobby and cafeteria and in the corridor locations that will be aimed at exterior doors, Basic WDR everywhere else.

Can't really do physically separate network. The required additional switching infrastructure isn't in the budget. But plan to do the next best thing and set up a VLAN specifically for the cameras and server (except for 1 NIC on the general network for viewing purposes).

Oh, the budget is definitely the limiting factor, and really the main reason I'm considering doing it myself. I'd love to outsource the whole shebang, but if it comes down to contracting out and getting stuck with a sub-par, low-end system because that's all that fit the budget, or using better hardware and doing it myself, then I reckon I'll be getting out my ladder. The company that does my network cable plant work put together a proposal with Axis cameras and a BCD server running Milestone, and my superintendent looked at it and about passed out from sticker shock as it was about double what she had in mind to spend. They're supposed to be coming back with a lower-cost proposal, but I haven't seen it yet. Thus looking for alternatives. I've got Dell putting together a quote for server, and have been looking at software (leaning toward ExacqVision Pro), so do have those items in mind. The other contractor (local guys who did the current systems) who is giving me a proposal wanted to do cameras only, so I'd have to do the server and software either way on that one. I plan to use H.264 streaming, and either motion recording or a mix of motion and continuous. I'm thinking would get best result from continuous during school hours and motion during nights and weekends. Our building interiors are fairly dark in the evening/overnight hours, so there's no point in continuous recording then, even with IR. There's just not really anything to see. But, during the school day, I'm thinking continuous would be the way to go. Our current cameras are motion only and there have been way too many times we've missed something because the person walked out of the motion detection area. Newer/better cameras might do better in that respect, but for now I'm working with continuous in mind. I may go ahead and pick a megapixel camera and get pricing, then pitch both options with some explanation of the differences. The powers that be are looking to see vast improvement over the current systems, and megapixel might do it, but 3mp would likely do it better (clarity and enlarging ability). Like I say, most of what I'm covering is corridors. They're broken into sections of 140-160 feet in length and I'm looking at using four cameras to a section. Two in roughly the center of the section with one pointed at each end, and then one at each end pointed toward the center. Currently, in most sections, we've got one at each end pointed toward the center, so anything that happens toward the center basically gets lost. Even with four cameras to a section, there won't be much overlapping though, so wider will likely the way to go.

A little background to start: I'm the technology director for a small school district which means if it computes, prints, projects, or generally has one or more cords/cables coming out of it, odds are I'm liable to be responsible for it some way or another. About 9 years ago, we had security cameras installed on our campus (mix of GE and Honeywell cameras connected to GE storesafe dvrs with siamese coax). As you can imagine, those systems are pretty tired at this point, so we're looking to do a major (forklift) upgrade. Last summer we completely rebuilt our campus data network to be able to support, among other things, an IP camera system. I do have a couple of contractors preparing proposals for this, but am also supposed to look into doing it in house as way to get more bang for our buck. The cabling, except for a few exterior cameras, is already in place, as are the PoE+ switches (all HP ProCurve gear). Any additional cabling will be contracted out to the company that did the network overhaul last summer. The recording server seems pretty straightforward (decent processor, ram, and nics, and all the raid array I can squeeze into it). The cameras are where I'm running into the most question. I do have some background in audio/video production, so the terminology and "bits and pieces" aren't completely foreign, but I've not done CCTV before. After discussions with the contractors and looking at our current systems and their deficiencies and the layout of our buildings, I've identified about 60 camera positions I would like to cover. The majority are indoors covering corridors (width generally 10'-12' and drop ceilings varying from 8' to 10' in height), so I'm looking primarily at vandal resistant domes. Megapixel might be good enough, but I find myself looking more at 3mp cameras for zoom/enlargement capability (blame too many years of squinting at blurry analog images trying to identify what that kid is taking out of a locker 60 feet down the corridor). The thing I find myself debating most at the moment is fixed lens or vari-focal. I'm thinking if I go with vari-focals, I'll probably end up installing most of them at their widest setting anyway to get the most coverage, so why not just go fixed. But then I'm leery to go fixed and leave myself no possibility of a minor adjustment improving matters. Obviously fixed tend to be cheaper, which wouldn't hurt the bosses' feelings any at all. So, advice any welcome. The primary cameras I find myself looking at for this role are the ACTi B53 (fixed) and the E65A (vari-focal). Thanks in advance.