Monitor Your Assets

+1 on the 3G suggestion. Maybe you'll get lucky and have 4G coverage there. I have had success with Cradle Point product (http://www.cradlepoint.com/).

Hi Ed, Thanks for the pictures - that helps. A few comments, in no particular order: With a Mobotix camera, you do not *need* to record to a PC. You can if you want. Storage can be on camera (SD memory) or can be to a PC or NFS. You can also record all to camera and make simultaneous FTP transfers in the event that the camera is broken/stolen. Is it possible to mount the camera to the ceiling or does it need to go on the brick? The reason why I ask is that it may help determine which Mobotix camera/mount to use. The D24 is more flexible with the wall mount. The M24 would work fine either way. A Mobotix D24 or M24 with a D22 (90 degree) lens would capture the area you're after - 3 megapixel. An L32 (60 degree) might do the trick too if you want to narrow it down a bit. The light you have makes using a Mobotix day lens possible. You need to be aware that if that light goes out, you'll have no image in the dark (assuming that your cameras will be on a UPS of some sort). Do you want speaker/microphone capabilities? MxPEG vs H.264 - there have been many discussions about the two formats, both on this forum and others. Both have advantages. Both have disadvantages. And both work. As Tom and Rory mentioned, there are less expensive options. I can't think of any that are as simple (one camera only) and full featured. It all depends on what your wants/needs are. Your approach of starting with 1 camera is great - dip your toes in the water before you jump in. Attached is a picture from a recent front door install using a N22 (90 degree) lens which is limited to just over 1 megapixel. Hope this helps you with your decision one way or the other. If not, write back and I or one of the other Mobotix enthusiasts on this forum will help you out. Regards,

Very nice! Can you share any manufacturer details?

You may want to review the Mobotix Mx2wire which is rated up to -30c. Decent data rates and PoE to boot!

Not the best example, but here is a sample picture taken in a hotel lobby using a Mobotix VGA camera. As buellwinkle mentioned, you can configure custom exposure zones - this picture does not have any configured.

Not with that particular product, but I just deployed a MU200 with 2 door units. Looks to be quite good.

I have no direct experience with them, but here is an organization that specializes with solar powered surveillance: http://www.sunsurveillance.com/

I recall that it'll be released very soon - within the next month, I believe.

Hi Moody, It's a good idea to align yourself with a manufacturer that is well known, especially if you need to lean on others for support. I'm going to answer your questions with my Mobotix hat on, only because I know the product well. Depending on the model, you could: include audio in all recorded video, all on camera (or externally, if required) play a pre-recorded audio file when video motion is detected [you can upload your own or choose from a few pre-recorded sound files] setup video motion boxes to trigger recordings have a Passive Infrared Sensor (PIR) sensor trigger recordings trigger recordings when loud noises are detected by the camera receive an email with one, many or no pictures of the event that triggered the alarm receive a text message if your provider allows for email to text messages listen to live audio using Internet Explorer or Mobotix's free software If you had a VoIP provider (SIP compliant), an online service that can go as low as $10/month, you could have your camera call any telephone number when an event (video motion, loud noise, PIR movement) occurs. You could also call your camera from any phone and have 2 way audio. All in "intercom" mode which is simplex, not duplex [only one person can talk at the same time]. The beauty is, it can be done with only one camera. A network with decent bandwidth is needed for reliable VoIP, as well as remote viewing.

Ditto on the portable DVD player and multimeter. I've been thinking about getting one of these.

Mobotix microphones can be temporarily disabled *or* permanently disabled. The permanent method is for liability/compliance reasons that eliminate the possibility of operators toggling it when they shouldn't be able to. Probably seldom used, but nice to have the option. I have yet to play with a Q24, but the volume on my M12 is more than enough. In a residential setting, I had to dial it back. Attached are a couple of screen shots of the VoIP configuration pages which show how flexible they are. I use a M12 with a Epygi Quadro and it works quite well. One very useful feature of the audio system is to trigger a sound when motion is detected. People nearly always look in the direction of the camera resulting in a great 'money shot'!

Is flush mount an option? The Mobotix Q24 might be an option if there is ample light. Another option is the Mobotix dev kit.

http://crystalmark.info/software/CrystalMark/index-e.html CrystalMark is another decent benchmark utility which also includes video tests. And, it's free!

Yep! Ping me if you need any help.

I look forward to your results! The only significant drawback that I can see with this camera is it's low light performance.

Veracity have a couple of models that fit the bill. There are also a few budget brands that offer similar solutions. The retention range will depend on how recording is configured.

Hi Plaga, There is always more than one solution, but I'll respond with a Mobotix solution because I know it best. Pick an appropriate Mobotix IP camera, perhaps something like the D12 dome which can cover up to 180 degrees and up to 3 megapixels. The camera is weatherproof (up to -30c) and you can configure storage on camera - no need for a separate recorder. Just add power. Add wireless/network connectivity to the camera. The D12 mount has extra room in it for stuff like this. A wireless solution could be a local/private WiFi network or could be "online" access using a cellular network - it depends on what's available on site. Network outages are tolerable with Mobotix cameras because storage/logic is on camera. Configure the Mobotix camera to transfer (via FTP) an image at regular intervals to the webserver - could be once a day or every minute. The webserver could show thumbnails of a series of images (daily progress as a timelapsed slideshow?) or show the most recent - whichever your client would like. Your client could also access the camera directly, without the need to transfer images to the webserver. I hope this gives you some ideas.

Yes, it's damn impressive and opens up a whole world of possibilities. If you have a PC lying around that you can repurpose, I recommend you try "Switchvox Free" which will give you a private PBX for you to test with - no SIP trunks required, though you could add some if you want. One Mobotix trick I like to implement is to play a sound when the video motion zones are triggered - it makes people look in the direction of the camera resulting in "the money shot"!

This is a feature of Mobotix cameras - they are able to write to NFS or Windows shares, in addition to FTP. The folder structure is split into events where an event is a directory (integer) which may contain JPGs with or without a MxPEG video clip (with audio) - it's completely configurable. To view it, you can use their free Windows software and connect to share which will interpret and present the events. This allows customers to leverage existing Windows or NFS shares.

Hi Jerry, It would be best to have each camera store footage on a centralized web server and have your users access the web server. With a little bit of web development, you can control access to the footage to suit your needs and have a single URL to access multiple cameras. Do you users need to view video or would frequent (every second, for example) JPG images suffice? Is audio required? How much bandwidth will be available per camera?

Plus most web cams have crappy video unless it is 12" from your face. This will be 8-10' away. I want the far off family to be able to see the baby using IE or firefox. I'd like to stick to <=$300 if I can. I'm soon going to have the need for a baby cam as well and was thinking about the Axis M1031-W. I'm not sure of the cost, but it's got 2 way audio, WiFi and illumination. The WiFi feature would allow for the camera to be moved around as required - that would be handy. I only wonder if the light would be too bright?

Gotta chime in too about the poor performance of the site. It's bad. Real bad. From multiple, international locations too. Will this be addressed anytime soon?

Yep! You'll need PoE to power the repeaters though, either through a switch or an injector. The camera will have the power available but simply won't use it.

That is a good unit that has worked well for us for cameras and phones.

Try not rule out an entire technology (CMOS) because of a few manufacturers that do not implement it well. Should I avoid Canon's entire line of digital SLR cameras because they use CMOS sensors and I might want to take a picture in low light? Mobotix cameras take great pictures in the dark with a CMOS sensor. They'll do it outside in Canada-cold winters too, without a heater. Mobotix provides the shutter speed specifications needed to take a picture in the dark. I wish other manufacturers would do the same. I know it's not multi-megapixel, but here is a picture taken by a M12D-IT-DNIGHT. It's VGA only, but it demonstrates that CMOS can be just fine in the dark with the right shutter speed: