user1

The DVR is probably network accessible, so yes you can easily network it across the street. If only 100 yards and line of sight is ok, you can do it with off the shelf equipment....maybe 2 wireless access points both with a directional antenna. Probably worth having a local network tech hook it up, but as a whole shouldn't be more than $3-500 total.

Yes, the Axis 207. I agree it's a poor solution, but since it was already there I didn't want to request something new. Also the fact that it worked well (good enough) in the office. I'm going to have him pull it down and test again....maybe he screwed up power. Thanks

Product is Matrix IR-Tile.

A client has an Axis 207 IP camera in a guard tower. The owner uses it to check in the guard and would now like night viewing. I purchased a square illuminator and tested it in a dark office (10x30). I placed it directly behind the camera and it did the job well. However, I had an installer put it in the tower and it isn't helping. He had to splice the cable to extend power, but this is done often. He could not verify as it doesn't come on until dark, and he couldn't find a way to test. The office is about 15x15 and is entirely surrounded with glass. It is very dark. Could that be the issue somehow? I'm not real familiar with trying to illuminate a small office, or if windows could have any effect. I am trying to find product name.

The spec is 328 feet....but again it's just a spec that in a perfect world is followed. I can testify 400 feet running PoE with 8 months without interruption, but many will say follow the rules.

Look for leading edge industries that will have people in them that will make decisions internally and then outsource work. Any that call the yellow pages will generally end up with a lot of DVR solutions. All industries are taking them, but there are many more people offering them cctv so it will be a while before they all make the jump.

Agreed, but don't market it as Internet-based or remote-accessible if you can't actually show it. Kinda silly to say, 'Yea, it's Internet accessible' while walking in with a monitor to demo. I actually have some analog cameras running from a Greyfox system. They look like crap, but the customer is replacing others first (not that they look like crap because they're analog, just that's what the guy from the yellow pages sold them). For costs, one problem is comparing apples to apples with analog to IP. What feature can an analog camera do that an IP camera cannot do? Are the cameras accessible if the dvr is down? Can the camera perform motion detection? PoE? Cabling flexibility? How's the wireless?....they shouldn't cost the same. There are certain differences, which also force different price structures. That's how the market works. There's a reason many good IP cameras are still more expensive.....people are buying them at that cost. City of Chicago bought almost 1000 Axis 233d's (ok, maybe bad example since it's government). But you can bet they looked at options, technology and future.

You clearly have two sides, those that have always done cctv and don't really want to change....and those that are in IT and wonder why in the world they would invest in an analog camera system. Neither is right nor wrong....just depends on the consumer. I myself tell the customer to get as many quotes as possible, and have that person come to your office. Then tell them to sit at your PC and show you a demo of the system they are offering, maybe from another client. If they can't or won't, then they're not likely to be overimpressed with the system they're selling so you, the customer, should be as wary. That way, whether IP cameras or analog with a DVR the customer can actually see what he's getting.

Agree on the wireless. Just make sure the router's antenna(s) can unscrew and put a slightly better antenna and extension cable in. Then on the far side just use something like a little Netgear AP and put a directional antenna pointing back to router's antenna. You get a 4 port PoE switch to run the cameras power. Router, switch, cables, access point and antennas should be less than $400. The Axis 221 is awesome, will blow any analog camera away in my opinion.

I would consider some wireless, fairly inexpensive and can easily build an infrastructure. As long as you can get power around remote locations, you're good to go. Would also stay IP, although I prefer Axis. IP PTZ's (good ones) are high-priced, but will beat any analog version out there. I wouldn't spend money on analog that you'll end up replacing in a few years.

I wouldn't necessarily consider $600 much for 4 cameras with professional software. You have two tiers of surveillance, one being cameras of the Axis nature and other being the $100 Linksys or Trendnet cameras. Software works the exact same way, so you'll get what you pay for. Often the cheap cameras and software do enough, sometimes they do not.

You can get reasonable cameras in that range, not good IP cameras but others. However, if you're wiring for IP....I wouldn't spend thousands on an analog system. Regarding the Linux, unless you're partial you'll likely have more support with more widely regarded platforms. The stability of today's PC's...yes, even Microsoft....is much better than years back!

Agree on spending cheaply, however some people do have actual financial issue...the rest are just sold what's offered in the yellow pages! Another option is host it out, 2 IP cameras on site using the DSL and have video elsewhere. It allows spreading the cost of a server over time.

Probably looking at $10k for cameras...switch shouldn't run more than $200 as outdoor cams will want power for heater/blower if extremely cold weather. Could be lower for one of the lesser PTZ's from Axis. I'd do 210's with enclosures indoors....or if not dirty eliminate the enclosures and save some bucks. Those cameras will stand up pretty good and come with 3-year warranty's. Would do 221's outdoors with ach13 with heater/blower (if will have consistent temps below 15 degrees).

Everyone will have personal preferences based on experiences in the past. My preference is Axis cameras. I like the variety and the fact that they are a little more professional than others. There is no $100 Axis IP camera so if it's only cost then you may want to look elsewhere. However, just like every other product in the world there is a price difference for a reason. Maybe it product quality, support, warranty..whatever but there is a difference. From a server side, for 16 cameras I use about a $500 PC. Server software is not needed so no sense spending on it. It'll depend on the app and what kind of hardware it needs but generally the bandwidth is the pusher, so hardware does not have to be top-notch....it won't guarantee any different performance.