SeattleBrian

I'm building my first system. It's for a job site (home remodel) to prevent tool theft. It'll be installed temporarily, then reconfigured during the job, as walls are built, plumbing, wiring, sheetrock, etc. Later, the system will be broken down and moved to the next job site. The point is, wires are a headache. The fewer, the better. The General Contractor (GC) requested "wireless" cameras. WiFi cameras need a wire for power (a drawback). True wireless cameras record for short period before and after an MD event, and some can push out a video clip via email. Otherwise, the cameras are off, to conserve the battery. Typical Battery Powered cameras don't fit our Job Site needs. Eg: When the GC gets a text due to a MD event, he wants to surf to the job site from his smart phone and look around. A battery powered camera will be asleep. No video! (until the next MD) That's the challenge. My idea: Use a conventional Dahua WiFi camera. Use a motorcycle battery to supply 12V. Dahua specs say power consumption is <7W. (I assume that includes IR illumination, which won't normally be on). Assume average of 5W, for 24hours = 120 watt hours. Here's a lithium ion motorcycle battery that provides 128 Wh https://www.batterystuff.com/batteries/lithium-iron-batteries/ebike-standby-toy-alarm/lfp128100.html (ya, maybe that's cutting it close...) (ya, we'd be changing/charging batteries daily, but it's better than cables!) Questions: - The Dahua camera specs don't include power supply tolerance. Is it 12V + 10%? Maybe 10V to 15V? - Given the length of typical camera power runs, and voltage drop, I gotta believe the cameras are tolerant re: input voltage. - Can I get a camera that is compatible w/ Dahua NVR, and the camera is a) truly wireless, b) truly capable and c) quality (ie: not Arlo) ? - Better suggestions? Thanks! Brian

Sam228, The other purpose of the decoy DVR would to provide decoy camera cables. My cameras will be visible. They are a deterrent. A fearless and/or stupid thief may enter the job site, and look to disable the camera system by cutting camera cables. I can readily get semi-dead analog DVRs and old Siamese cables. Meanwhile, my IP NVR will be elsewhere. And its black Cat6 cabling will look different, and hopefully discreet enough to avoid getting cut. I may use decoy analog cameras. (I can get dead ones easily enough). A lot to consider... But wait, there's more! This is a job site. Re-configuring as the job progresses is necessary. As walls are put up, and plumbing, wiring, insulation and sheetrock are installed, cameras and cables will need to be relocated. Cables on a job site are a headache and safety concern. The GC has understandable objectives. But difficult to meet. Capable wire free cameras (ruling out battery operated cameras), visible (for deterrence), not easily defeated (by cutting job site power or cutting wires), secure (from theft), no false alarms, easy to remote view from phone or home PC, and easy to reconfigure or pack up and move to the next job site. I'm enjoying the challenge..... Brian

Sam228, Yes, it's not straightforward. The tools were locked inside a medium sized truck. A sledgehammer was used to smash open the lock. Hand tools may have been laying around, but not the power tools or big ticket items (like the jackhammer). The NVR, router, UPS, and interconnects will be locked inside a box, that is bolted down or chained down. eg: http://www.toolfetch.com/jobox-651990-heavy-duty-chest-15-1-2-quot-x-31-quot-x-18-quot-4-cubic-feet.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cse&utm_term=651990&gclid=Cj0KEQiA3t-2BRCKivi-suDY24gBEiQAX1wiXCXKL7UjqqJMTPwJ1uiQGt_6ysgmzm6-I5o884hUdi0aAsJz8P8HAQ It does scream "valuable tools inside" unfortunately. I may opt for something more stealthy, which doesn't attract attention, and is still sturdy. As you said, hide the recording device. I'm considering a decoy recording device, sacrificial DVR, so to speak. When the laser trip line detects someone, or the motion sensing camera (with a line, not PIR), lights, sirens and pre-recorded audio will play. The job sites are residential remodel projects. The house is usually vacant, but neighbors are nearby. So deterrence is the objective. They won't stay long to break into trucks and Joboxes... The SMS text to the GC and crew will include some video. The GC and crew can surf into the job site, and with two way audio, tell the thieves the police are on the way. Brian

Sam228, Thanks for the comment. I agree. The box will contain NVR, 8 port POE switch, UPS (thieves could spot the AC cord, this is a job site), and 12V power supply for for alarms, laser trip lines, etc). I haven't started to shop for that yet.... The WiFi AP will be situated somewhere else, location tbd, determined by WiFi coverage. Thanks for the input! Brian

Thanks guys for the replies! Good stuff to think about.

Mattaggie, I agree completely! Prevention & Deterrence is the goal. Having video after "the horse is out of the barn" is of very limited value. In the recent $15K theft, very strong padlock on the truck's back doors was removed with a sledge hammer. Lock boxes were bludgeoned open. The General Contractor (GC) later spotted his tools for sale on Craigslist. The police weren't very interested. The GC set up a sting with the "Seller" (the thief most likely). The police arrived late, to see the seller with his gun drawn. He was arrested for the firearms violations. The GC asked the police to help get the tools returned. They refused. The firearm violations will put the seller in jail for much longer than "possession of stolen property". The GC won't get the tools back. Yes, "self monitored" may have many headaches (bugs, leaves hence false alarms). "Professionally monitored alarm system" companies can cope, but the police don't come out. Too many false alarms. We'll try the self monitoring, and call the police about a "burglary in process" and we'll describe the thieves, etc. Maybe a "professionally monitored video system" will be used later - but they are expensive. Deterrence: High decibel sirens, multiple strobe light (red & blue), two way audio to tell the thieves to leave, laser light trip wire (better than PIR MD) to minimize false alarms. So Mattaggie, you didn't sound overly negative. But realistic. We face some challenges... Thanks, Brian

Thanks guys for your replies! Mattagie: A) 3 weeks ago, $15,000 of tools were stolen. The thieves returned for a second round, but the neighbor heard them, turned on the outside lights. The thieves left. Our loss could have been higher. B) We'll connect to the internet using the customer's broadband, eg: comcast cable modem. We assume our remodel customers have broadband... No cellular modem is included in our system. Tomcctv: Are you saying that the battery operated cameras would support me doing remote viewing? I agree, the camera doesn't turn off, per se. But I think the only time it sends video is with an MD event. When there's an MD event, I'll get a text msg and then I'll surf into to the job site to look around. And use 2 way audio. And call 911 for an active burglary, with descriptions of the thieves. I don't think battery powered wireless cameras are always streaming video. (but I could be wrong). ie: I don't think I can remote access a battery operated camera whenever I want to..... BTW, I will use a laser trip line on the job site. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002WV19DM?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01

tomcctv & oh6hfx, I found the root of the problem. The camera indeed has it's own clock. The NVR and camera were 3 time zones apart. The 3 hour difference apparently causes problems in the time stamp of recorded video. And the conflicting clocks caused the displayed time (on the NVR monitor) to jump forward and backward. All clocks are now set to Pacific Time, and problem with playback is resolved. Thanks for your help! " title="Applause" /> Brian

All, My good friend, a General Contractor (GC), had $15,000 of tools stolen from his job site. Since I recently lost my job, I offered to set up an NVR at his remodel project (ie: in his customer's house). My first DVR (Dahua NVR4216) and cameras are in transit to me now. This will be a temporary installation. When the remodel is complete, I'll move the system to his next customer's home. I have some computer expertise, so the camera side of the NVR isn't daunting. My Gawd - on the internet side, this stuff can be intimidating! I sometimes think "What have I gotten myself into? Will I be over my head with this network stuff?" The GC assures me his customers have broadband that we can tap into. When the NVR has an alarm (eg: motion detect), SMS messages and remote real-time video monitoring is essential. The various GC customers will have a range of internet access, ISP's, cable modems, even DSL or dishTV. Moving systems and re-configuring is daunting, at this stage. I'm looking for general advice. What should I study while waiting for my equipment? I've been reading up on; - Port forwarding (which seems to differ for every ISP), -- I plan to plug a cable into the customer's home network. My system will be an independent subnet w/ my own NVR, POE switch, WiFi 80211ac Access Point for some wireless cams) - DDNS (use Dahua DDNS or no-ip.com, DNSdynamic, etc) - Android Apps (is gDMSS pro the best?) - Remote access: the difference between reaching the NVR, vs reaching the camera itself. - etc How best to peal the onion? Sorry, I don't have a specific question. I'm looking for guidance from this sage, wise, and experienced group of experts. (I hope flattery helps my cause! " title="Applause" /> ) Brian

Hi guys, I now think the problem isn't due to p2p versus IP w/ port forwarding. Or due to gDMSS versus EvoPlus. Neither had Playback functional. I now think my problem viewing playback is due to a time of day mismatch. My hunch: 1) when I unpacked and turned on the NVR, I changed the NVR clock by 3 hours, to GMT-8. 2) Later, I saw time mismatches. "Maybe the camera clock disagrees with the NVR", I thought. But I couldn't find a camera clock setting. I figured I'd fix it later. 3) I saw 3 hour time stamp differences come and go. 4) In my android app, "Live" worked, but "Playback" didn't. 5) When the clock jumped forward by 3 hours, it must create a 3 hour gap in recorded video. When I used Playback, I may have requested non-existent video from the gap. 6) In the Dahua NVR4116 setting screen, for General\Date&Time, the NTP box was checked. But trying "Manual Update" button resulted in an error. It couldn't reach the time.window.com site. I had planned to "fix it later" 7) Today, I figured I needed to fix NTP problem now. NTP default port is 123. That's already in use, says my router. I set the NVR to use port 124. Error message went away. 9) Playback works, most of the time. In EvoPlus, I get playback images instead of a blank screen with "connection time out" errors. (some progress!) This isn't fixed yet. The 3 hour error crept back. And now, "Manual Update" of NTP at time.windows.com reports an "Update Failed" error again. Any guidance? Thanks so much! Brian

Hi guys, I'm making some progress. I think it may be a clock setting mismatch. I configured the NVR, switched it by 3 time zones. Sometimes the timestamp on recorded video jumps by 3 hours. Maybe this causes a problem when getting video recorded at xx:xx More later. Thanks again!

Johannes, That's the 2nd time you asked if I was I'm connecting to the NVR4116 or to the camera. Maybe I should look more closely. I think I'm connecting to the NVR for both Live and Playback (not the camera). But I'm not given a choice in gDMSS. (unlike Smart PSS) I connect using the only way presented to me. If there is another way, I can't find it. Secondly, I connect using the steps in your video. (your video shows how to view Live, and I use the same method to view Playback) I made a video. It shows how I view Live and Playback. Live viewing works. Playback doesn't, whether I use "Main" or "Extra" as the playback stream. I'm puzzled.... Thanks in advance for your help! Brian

kokich, Many battery powered cameras have plenty of drawbacks. They aren't highly regarded by the professionals here, eg: the consumer level Arlo camera. For a DIY, maybe they're okay.... Videofied is an exception, but I think you'll need a monthly monitoring contract. eeproject1 could tell you more. Here's some links within this forum: http://www.cctvforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=45509&p=269427&hilit=arlo+camera#p269427 http://www.cctvforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=47574&hilit=arlo+camera Brian

videocheez, You can use p2p (peer to peer). Your client would view directly from the NVR, remotely. No port forwarding needed. To establish the initial connection, a p2p server is used to connect the client's pc (or cell phone, tablet, etc) to the NVR. Once the connection is established, the p2p server drops out of the loop. The initial connection takes longer with p2p vs a port forward solution. But once the connection is established, it's just as fast. Only set up p2p to the NVR, not the cameras. It's more secure. I'm a newbie. I've shared my shallow understanding - so be advised. Check this thread for details: ID or Serial No. based remote access: http://www.cctvforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=43507&start=0 Brian Another possibility, though hokey. Some wireless routers have a "guest" wifi channel. The router only allows guests to reach the internet. No access to the local net, printers, other PCs, etc. Drawback: local viewing for your client is troublesome. Last possibility: VPN.

eeproject1, Thanks for the suggestions. Very intriguing. Especially the VideoFied "Video monitoring service" as versus the traditional "Alarm Monitoring Service". In Seattle, due to numerous false alarms, the police don't respond , unless the homeowners are present. For a construction site (uninhabited at night), that's a non-starter. Hence, I was planning to self-monitor. Push SMS, MMS or emails with video clips out to the Gen'l Contractor and his crew. They'd remote-view the site. Two way audio for things like "You're being filmed, the police are on their way". Videofied takes it to the next level.... Thanks again, Brian

oh6hfx, Thank you for the informative video. That's what I was doing. So I haven't uncovered my problem. Today, I intend to configure the NVR record the "extra" stream. Yes, it will use more HD space. But it might help me debug the problem. Q1: My camera doesn't have an SD card. The gDMSS Lite application's "Playback" feature uses the HD in the NVR4116, correct? Thanks, Brian

"The only other playback method is the "realtime playtime" button" There's the crux! I know of only one method (being new to gDMSS, the NVR, etc. You mention "the other" method. That's where this blockhead runs into problems. Thanks again, in advance!

Those screenshots were useful. Yes, I tried "Playback" set to both main and extra. No difference. In gDMSS, there are two ways to view playback (based on comments early in this thread). Or is that incorrect?

AgentJ0sh, Thanks for the quick reply! At the end of my posting, I said "I know the NVR is recording, I can see the footage using SmartPSS on my laptop." Doesn't that confirm that the NVR is recording? (at least one stream) You had said "the "real-time playback" button uses the extra stream no way to change that [to 'main' in] the menus. " So I was hoping to see "Playback" in gDMSS lite by the 2nd method. ie: Instead of the "real time playback" button, I'd use the other method mentioned by oh6hfx. ie: "However "real-time playback" button gives still "failed to connect". No big problem as playback can be accessed through main menu." I think my problem is identical to oh6hfx. Unfortunately, I don't know the 2nd method for viewing playback using the "main" stream. This is my first NVR, I'm a newbie. I could try to configure the NVR to record the "Extra" stream, if useful for troubleshooting. Brian Re: P2P Yes, P2P will take longer to open the ports. But once connected, the speed of video to the remote viewing location will be identical. I can live with the initial delay of opening the p2p port....

AgentJ0sh and oh6hfx, I have the same problem. I can see "Live Preview" just fine. But "Playback" doesn't work - I get "Failed to connect" error. I set the gDMSS Lite app to playback using "main", instead of "Extra". This didn't fix it. However, you were talking about two methods to enter "Playback" mode: "real-time playback" button gives still "failed to connect". No big problem as playback can be accessed through main menu." I don't know how to use the other method. I only know about the top left button (w/ 3 lines) that brings me to black screen showing Home, Live Preview, Playback, Device Manager, Local Files, Favorites and More. What am I missing? PS: the brand new NVR4116 was just powered up yesterday. I haven't done much to it at all. I know the NVR is recording, I can see the footage using SmartPSS on my laptop. PPS: I'm using P2P, not DDNS and ports. Thanks! Brian

Hello everyone! I worked for a video surveillance company, but I'm a newbie to intermediate user. I'm putting together a system for construction site security, starting from a clean drawing board. It will be a small system, Dahua NVR, 6 POE cameras, 6 WiFi cameras. Two way audio, motion detect to turn on flashing lights, siren, and pre-recorded audio. This forum has been very helpful so far! Brian