Mark Eggett

Yep and not quite sure why/how they are claiming it's their own as I can't see anything in their specification that might suggest they have modified the software in anyway...

An interesting point G-Mac, however each time you convert from analogue to IP or vice versa you are degrading the quality of the image slightly - the same can be said for modern CCD "Traditional" cameras being sent over Coax to DVR's! Also, IP Cameras tend to have a lot of technology on-board which reduces the strain on the DVR/NVR/Server and allowing more devices to be connected to a single recording "Device".

"image "no send" grey-areas for IP cams" I don't understand.

I only wish that was true! I Second that - MACs anyone? Capture cards have their place, but they have the majority of the shortcomings of DVR/NVR's and if you are comparing a solution based on a "...Consumer based PC..." we are talking entirely different leagues.

Thanks Galen

Try looking at Sony cameras with intelligent motion detection. They compare the past 15 frames allowing them to filter out environmental noise such as trees, water etc. Milestone can easilly cope with 250 cameras, I've not come across the brand/model mentioned in the original post though. Like has already been said, more information will be required about available bandwidth - not only at the remote locations which is highly unlikely to be an issue more the incoming pipe at the central repositories. Depending on how critical the system is I'd probably look to use cameras that have on-board storage to buffer data in case of bottlenecks or maybe breaking the system into manageable cells as for the number of cameras you will be looking at 4+ servers for a Milestone based solution. Either way, sounds like a nice project!

While you can build some very cheap systems, ultimately you get what you pay for. If the focus on these forums is price then fair enough, I personally see more value in putting together a technically superior solution. The components that make up a quality IP based system ARE generally more expensive than their analogue counterparts BUT the installation cost and ongoing cost of an IP system are significantly better not to mention the functionality. That said, compare the cost of a 250Gb hard disk from a D/NVR manufacturer and then compare that to a quality PC hard disk from your local PC reseller... Also, the only Milestone based NVR is a JVC product and while a "step in the right direction" it's sadly quite expensive and limited in comparison to a true server based Milestone solution

Thanks - did you just say that so I'd see where yo were?! Nice

Just registered so apologies for the lack of information in my profile for now... Based in the UK and work with various systems on an IP front so might have to pick the brains of some of the analogue people on here from time to time but happy to help where I can on the IP side.

I tend to recommend Milestone as it supports such a broad range of manufacturers cameras allowing you to select the best camera on the market for the purpose. The majority of software is manufacturer specific restricting this choice. With the number of cameras you are looking for, you would need to be looking at the Enterprise or Corporate version of the software where devisec are licenced individually. Compare this to a 50 camera DVR solution and you would need to purchase 64 channels making the last two cameras very costly! Also, having installed Milestone for a number of years, I've seen the development that goes into the software with the new features and functionality released on a regular basis. Milestone are verymuch at the forefront of IP Surveillance management where a lot of other systems I've trialled seem to be playing catch-up. At the end of the day it will come down to the specifics of your requirement and the experience of the installer you work with to best address them.