pdubl

Hello, I am looking for an IP/PoE camera with high bitrate settings. High, as in 25Mb/s, with a minimum resolution of 1080p30. Also, IP66 Weather protection or better. Does something like this exist? Favorite brands/sensors for daylight image quality? While I'm asking, NAS considerations? Any single or dual-drive (I'd install SSD's) favorites that could handle this? I'd be using 4, recording simultaneously (so roughly 100Mb/s total) for 12 hours straight. Thanks for your time!

I'm not sure what you want me to test. I can prove that with high motion 30Mbps looks better than 15Mbps (everything else being equal), but I don't think that is really the debate. Are you implying that IP surveillance cameras are of such poor quality that the difference between 15Mbps and 30Mbps would be unnoticeable? I would find that surprising. They have decent sized lenses, brand name sensors, and realtime h264 encoders are largely the same in terms of performance. I would assume that given equal data rates to a GoPro, a quality IP camera would look very similar. No? What is the limiting factor? I am using it for something other than surveillance, namely broadcast use, though that's not as fancy as it sounds. For example, I already stated that I am looking for something that is "GoPro" quality in terms of video. They would be installed on the exterior of a large boat. Lots of motion in the picture, hence the need for high bitrates. Being installed by the ocean I don't expect them to last forever. The budget is fairly low, about $400 - $500 per camera.

Thanks thewireguys, good links and info. I do need 30fps and about 120° FOV, one of the Axis cameras looks perfect. I would agree that optics and sensor are VERY important to creating a good image. This typically means a large piece of glass and a large sensor. However, under full sunlight, the requirements are fairly minimal. A small, inexpensive fixed focus lens works wonderfully. The sensor is getting gobs of light, so it doesn't need to be that fancy. Hence awesome looking video from tiny lenses and sensors on phones. And for a given camera, there is a point of no discernible improvement with bitrate. I would argue that for the typical h264 encoder that point is reached somewhere near 40Mbps. Assuming you have a decent camera, the data rate and compression scheme are the final word on quality. If your video is full motion, with every pixel changing in every frame, you will need a high bitrate. My experience with h264 is that anything below 10Mbps (VBR, 1080p30) is going to look "muddy". You will lose detail in wind-blown tree leaves, water ripples, hair, etc. Is Sony "wasting space" when they record MP4s cameras at 28Mbps? What about their pro cameras at 50Mbps? The difference is night and day. Is GoPro "wasting space" when you can only choose between 30Mbps and 45Mbps? Why, if I take uncompressed RAW footage and compress it with h264, can I tell the difference between 16Mbps and 24Mbps?

I think we are off on a tangent. I'm not worried about storage. I'll spend ten times as much on storage if it gives me the picture I want. 4K is not necessary, but I'd take it if it's the only solution that pushes a high data rate. h265 is fine, but again I would want to set the bitrate fairly high - the very best h265 encoders will save around 40% vs h264. I work in television. I scrutinize broadcast video. I know a fair bit about compression. I know that with standard h.264 compression you need close to 30Mbs for a quality picture. Even then you can see the compression artifacts. All that really glorious GoPro stuff? Usually shot in "ProTune" at 45Mbs. My NXCam records at 50Mbs. So, basic questions: 1. Which camera brands allow one to set the bitrate to a really high level? Say 30Mbps (h264). 2. Which brands are known for their picture quality, independent of bitrate? Quality lenses, good sensors, etc.

GoPro's definitely record at 30Mbps as there default, there is no lower setting. https://gopro.com/support/articles/hero4-silver-recording-time-in-each-video-setting With ProTune they go up to 45Mbps. My professional sony camera shoots h.264's at 50Mbps. With complex video (tree leaves, water ripples, fast motion), anything below 24mbps starts to show compression.

Thanks for replying! Thats great to hear that most cameras can do high bitrates. It seemed like the few cameras/systems I could get numbers on were doing 10-12Mb/s. I need something that is "GoPro" quality or better, which actually means 30Mb/s. Are any camera brands known for image quality? Decent glass lens, better white balance, better exposure adjustment - that kind of stuff. Nothing too fancy, again just trying to emulate a GoPro under full daylight conditions. Quick direct question. The camera defines the bitrate, correct? Or is it somehow set by the recording software? I need full motion video, 30fps minimum on all channels. From my experience with video nothing would compete against h.264 in terms of storage, but if full motion MJPEG wasn't too data intensive I'd give it a shot. Any fool-proof, super basic, 4 channel NAS recorders? Maybe something with built-in PoE? I took a the Synology NVR216, mainly because I am familiar with their NAS products. Simple software, dual drive sleds, RAID if I want. Alas, it has no PoE. It's not a deal breaker, but it just means another box and more wires. Please forgive me for all my questions!