briancl

The web app for this DVR is awful. Notice the position of the scrollbars on the far right of the browser window. This is actually 1 really long page that with config settings up top and camera views on the bottom. No change in zoom level, resolution, or browser window fixes this. Also notice how there are no links for most functions, just plain text, but if you click the text, the link activates. I popped open the config screen here. The biggest issue for me is that this only works on Windows, which I don't really have available to me. I have to fire up an old laptop to get this.

I've seen setups where there is an activity log that is easy to review, e.g., view these 5 events that occurred in the past 24 hours, and the software presents a playlist of clips. This is far more convenient than scrubbing through hours of footage for a possible event. Also, being able to trigger events through home automation (save recording or snapshot at event X). What I'm hearing is that maybe all I need is the right software? My hardware is good enough? Right now I can barely do anything because the supplied web player is basically unusable.

Okay, makes sense.. these are analog cameras. Is it possible to keep my analog cameras and connect them to a smarter DVR/NVR which gives me the features I want (better access to events, intelligent monitoring and alerting, home automation integration)? Or do I need to replace the cameras and go all IP for that? I guess what I'm asking is.. is the brains of the operation the DVR to provide the above features, and the cameras just are sources of content. How they connect (analog or digital) isn't important. Or maybe its the other way around.. the cameras must be IP and themselves equipped to provide the features I'm after.

Hi, My house came with pre-installed cameras and DVR. It's obviously generic junk from China, and although I have the passwords, the setup does not have the features I'd like. Can someone help me identify what I'm working with? As for overall goals here, I'm hoping to keep the cameras in place and just drop in a new DVR to get up and running. The primary question I have is based around the connections on the rear of my DVR. I see ethernet coming out of the wall (presumably going directly to each camera) which are then split: 2 pair each to a power supply, 2 pair each to a "Video Balen" which then connects to the back of the DVR via coax. All of this is pictured below. Are my cameras IP cameras with PoE (hence the ethernet spit into a power supply) but just rigged up to a non-IP DVR? Ideally I'd like to terminate the ethernet coming out of the wall into RJ45 and just plug those into an IP-ready DVR. The concept of PoE is natural to me from my networking background, but I don't know anything about cameras. I've read that Hikvision works with my home automation setup, so would one of their systems work with my cameras? Is it plug and play? As for features, I'd like the whole system to be smarter and more accessible, e.g., alert me of events which can be easily recalled and replayed. Right now I have an isolated system that is only accessed from a really awful web player from Windows only and which is just a dumb recording. No intelligence about what activity is worth reviewing. Also, as a final question, should I decide I wanted better cameras, would new cameras be easily swapped out? Does it seem like my cameras are fairly standard? They are not pictured below, but they look like just about everything else I've seen, e.g., http://www.amazon.com/dp/B014E995K8?psc=1 Here is the gear: