TheF

Is it 5fps even when you view it in your web browser? If 25/30fps in browser, it's some weird settings in the NVR. If stuck with 5FPS in browser also: Hardware reset the camera. If that doesn't help, call your supplier and demand a new camera. Might also check if camera/NVR is set to primary or secondary stream

There is nothing wrong with hybrid systems. There is plenty of reasons for them. I have strong opinions against wireless though. If running a cable is impossible, sure wifi can be an option. But wireless cause more sources for error than is needed and thta is a trade off I'm not willing to make. Access point on both end, other wireless traffic can jam it up, noise from equipment can make your wifi life hard.

If the cameras are IR cameras, I reccommend IR lamps with light sensors since the IR light is invisible to humans and less intrusive for most. If they are not IR cameras, I would go for motion sensor lights and focus on the vital areas captured by the cameras. No point in lighting up every inch all the time. Also, motion based lights tend to scare some would-be burglars away before they actually do the burglary. Placement of lights isn't that important, as long as they don't shine directly into a camera. Feel free to place them near vital areas, but let cameras and light be inaccessible. I've seen footage of burglars shoving cameras out of position so they can do as they please.

USB supplies 5V in general. There are other standards also With the New quick charge thing for Phones, but they are all compatible With the 5V standard. Your Smartphone charger can easily be used to Power Your USB cameras. If you only have 24/12V available, then use a car USB charger. I recently found a step Down module that converts from 9-36VDC to USB Power. http://www.banggood.com/Dual-USB-9V12V24V36V-to-5V-Converter-DC-DC-3A-Step-Down-Power-Module-p-1073671.html?rmmds=search Haven't bought and tried it yet, but it seems powerful for the size.

Analog camera will give you less zommability in the recording than the 2MP camera. Simply because of the amount of pixels each resolution gives you. With analog, you are stuck With 960 x 576 pixels in best case scenarios. The 2MP is probably 1920 x 1080 pixels. CSI is not real world. You can not magically divide the squared pixels into better images. To be able to zoom in on recording, have as high resolution as possible. While 2MegaPixels is good, it's not an all-mighty eye. Increase resolution and you will have Your desired result. But Your DVR might be limiting you. Check the specifications for it and use the highest resolution camera it can fit. Alternatively, buy a DVR that supports higher resolution.

Sorry for the confusion. The problem is still relevant even if this one camera only has the Z, not the PT. Yes, some DVRs can use UTC to control the UTC cameras, but many of my cameras are not UTC. Also, the PTZ controller embedded in the DVR is not good. So I use separat RS485 joystick for simplicity. And thus I am looking for a way to communicate with the UTC camera, using the same joystick as the rest, which are proper PTZ dome camera.

Short answer: yes. It will work. Long answer: for analog signal (which is sounds as you are dealign with), pure coax is highly reccommended all the way, using BNC connectors with every joint. Every time you go outside of coax/connectors, you will expose your signal to noise. The shorter distance, the better. There exists coax to twisted pair converters, allowing you to use a twisted pair (cat5 works. MUST be twisted, to avoid noise), but with this project it sounds as if you don't have the room for it. Try. If signal is acceptable to you, it's a win.

I have some special-case analog cameras that I'm not willing to change for AHD yet because I got some arduino with OSD info, but rest are AHD (Once I solve OSD with AHD, those analog cameras are gone). AHD camera in question is this: http://www.novuscctv.com/en/products/2179/NVAHD-2DN5202H_IR-1

Yes and no. Why no: If it works, it works. If you're happy, it's all good. Why yes: A dedicated NVR does several things. Not sure how the Hikvision cameras are set up, but mos tof the times, IP cameras does not have a way to manage used space, and when there is no space left, you might end up with having to manually clear the NAS or risk loosing new data. Also, NAS disks are not optimal for CCTV. NAS disks are built to be powered on for 24/7 oposed to desktop disks which is good. NAS disks and desktop disks have built-in fail-safes, which is good. If a faulty byte is received the disk will ask for it to be sent again because one byte wrong in an excel sheet might mean ruined file. AV-GP disks are built to run in CCTv applications. They can run 24/7 no problem, but when they receive a faulty byte, they don't care. Worst case scenario of a faulty byte is a minor visual error in an image for a brief moment. No problem. What Is a problem, is using unneccesary time asking to resend the faulty byte like the NAS disk does, which might cause a back log of data from the cameras, cause the camera feed does not pause. It keeps spamming those bits non-stop. I have used an AV-GP disk for data storage for about two years, no problem. I have used a NAS disk for CCTV for almost a year, no problem. Just to test it. Mostl likely, you won't have a problem with your NAS. But you'll have lower chance of failure with an NVR.

You could buy a regular panel, modify it to have whatever plugs you wish. There are plenty of webshops that offer connectors of all sorts. You could also go for option A, but putting all the connections in junction boxes. Something like this should suffice for outdoor use: http://media.rs-online.com/t_large/F7000802-01.jpg

License plate recognition mostly lies in the software, not the cameras. LPR cameras are usually just cameras favourably set up for getting a good image of the plate (with shutter speed vs car movement and such in mind). Unfortunately, I can not reccommend a good software for it, as I have far too little experience with it.

Lol. No offence, but if they are willing to send the .exe to reset the password of any DVR to any random internet person, then the passwords from Cantonk are not secure.

For security, all CCTV end-users are encouraged to set their own default passwords. Problem is when they are forgotten/neglected. You might have luck that the company that installed the DVR set the password and not the previous owner, but I'm afraid you might be out of luck. Best case scenario: The manufactorer can reset the password if they have the DVR in hand (You send it to them, being charged for freight, hours and so on). Worst case scenario: Buy a new one.

ISP changing IP adress is an old problem. Some ISPs never do it. Most ISPs that change your IP adress usually has a charged service where you keep your IP adress static. One workaround is services that offer dynamic DNS. You get a small application running on a computer in your network who reports your WAN IP adress to their site, and then points an URL to your IP, which you can later use for remote control or what you need. I haven't used this kind of service for some years, so I'm unsure which option is best. Dyndnd.org used to be a free option, but it looks like it's now a paid service. https://zonomi.com/ looks like it offers a free version. https://entrydns.net/ seems to have a one-time payment. https://www.easydns.com/dns/standard is a paid-for service. I'm sure there are more out there.

Sorry for explaining badly. In the system, I have several PTZ cameras, controlled by RS485/Pelco-D with joystick. This new cameras requires me to use a secondary controller for UTC, which I find inconvenient.

Camera is AHD with UTC only. Hoping to be able to connect an RS485/Pelco D joystick to it, if possible

Getting a professional to do it is the easiest, but the most expensive. So setting it up yourself is the cheapest option. Depending on which country you live in, there are different laws as to what is legal to film and what is not. Most countries has a "inside your own property is OK" and once you start filming outside of it, you might be across the line of what is legal or not. But you're only getting caught for it if the local autorities knows about it, and posting the images/videos on Facebook/Youtube is a sure way for someone to notice and start snooping. If you're not tech savvy and don't know the difference between an IP-adress, gateway and network mask, stay away from IP cameras. Go for analog, AHD, TVI, CVI or any of the other coax connectable cameras. There are a lot of webshops that sell complete packages, which might be smart, since the cameras and the DVR are ment to be connected, which makes things easier. You might simply go with a USB camera and a software on your computer, which some times can be enough if all you want to do is surveil your property for a short period of time. I can reccommend http://www.yawcam.com/ which is a free, but fairly powerful software for USB cameras.