Honest thoughts on ACTi cameras?

[Bungle 0]

We have 2 ACTi cameras on order to trial (their cube cameras) and I was wondering from those who have had experience of these cameras, what they thought of them (their cameras in general, not necessarily specific models).

 

They are of course so much cheaper than Axis, although that doesn't always mean the quality is lower too. I found a very interesting repository of preview clips which have very nice and plentiful demonstrations of all their camera ranges in action, although unfortunately i'm not allowed to post the link as I am a new member!

 

[edit 14/03/08]

Link to camera demos: here.

[/edit]

 

The image quality from them seems fine, so it's just a case of reliability.

Edited March 14, 2009 by Guest

[thewireguys 3]

Have heard from a number of developers that processor they use in there megapixel line is not powerful enough and after about 10min of streaming the cameras lock up.

 

Please let us know.

[jeromephone 6]

We have a weatherproof bullet in our garage day night infrared and I have it on and off for the last few days no problems temps well below freezing when the night mode kicks in it is a little noiser than a regular day night but very acceptable also the color images are very sharp. Am hoping to get it mounted outside this week I like the POE as that makes the install easier.

[Bungle 0]

Thanks for those replies. We will trial 1 megapixel and 1 standard res camera, so maybe we would have better reliability with the standard? Then again, I plan to use a 1280x720 resolution on the megapixel cam, so I suppose it wont need as much in the way of processor power, compared to the full 1280x1024.

 

The cameras will solely operate indoors in "reasonably" heated areas, so if they are able to withstand frost conditions, then I hope this should be fine.

[thewireguys 3]

We have a weatherproof bullet in our garage day night infrared and I have it on and off for the last few days no problems temps well below freezing when the night mode kicks in it is a little noiser than a regular day night but very acceptable also the color images are very sharp. Am hoping to get it mounted outside this week I like the POE as that makes the install easier.

 

Is that a Megapixel camera?

[jeromephone 6]

ACM 1431 you are right it says composite output on the spec sheet. So it would be like the bosch cams we have used an analog device with an ethernet/poe connection.

[VST_Man 1]

warranty sucks as compared to others..........

[robert 0]

Not the best cameras. You get what you pay....

[Bungle 0]

I know they're not "the best" (how could they be with how cheap they are!), however it is extremely unlikely we'll be using it for 24/7 recording (although it will always be monitoring), and I doubt we'll ever need to use the footage for legal matters, so it is just for internal use for us to see what is happening at certain areas at certain times.

 

I was more looking for those who have used them and if they can say whether they work reliably long-term and don't frequently crash/freeze/go bad etc.

[Orion 0]

I was more looking for those who have used them and if they can say whether they work reliably long-term and don't frequently crash/freeze/go bad etc.

 

I have a couple of Acti 4200 on two sites. Works fine, no craches or freeze for 6 months. Be sure to use the latest firmware though. I had big problems with standard firmware and Milestone.

Milestone only support Mpeg4 for 4200, so Axis 207 with Mjpeg gives a lot better image. Colors are very intense on 4200 and it's a pain to adjust things thru the web interface.

Axis 207Mw is a bit more expensive but a lot better camera.

[Bungle 0]

I would go with Axis all the time if they were cheaper, but as it stands, the closest to the ACM-4200 (which as you point out is the 207MW), costs over double the price, which for us is too big a difference! I think ACTi know this, hence why their prices are put alot cheaper.

 

I'm glad that you have seen reliability with the cameras, however milestone is software which we would want to implement on a larger scale once we get our camera network organised (a bit messed up atm), so the fact you say it doesn't support mjpeg with these cameas may be an issue - is that a problem with milestone or the camera itself? Is the picture quality much of a difference on the 4200 between mjpeg and mpeg4?

[Orion 0]

is that a problem with milestone or the camera itself? Is the picture quality much of a difference on the 4200 between mjpeg and mpeg4?

 

With Milestones latest devicepack and latest firmware it works, but thats it.

The image quality doesn't make your hair stand up.

 

It all depends on how you are planning to use the cams.

Desired framerate? (Axis is better on that)

Light? (Axis is better on that too)

Image quality? (Yep, Axis again)

Price? ( This one for Acti)

Support? (Axis!!)

[Tesseract 0]

I would go with Axis all the time if they were cheaper, but as it stands, the closest to the ACM-4200 (which as you point out is the 207MW), costs over double the price, which for us is too big a difference! I think ACTi know this, hence why their prices are put alot cheaper.

 

I, too, am looking closely at the ACTi cameras, especially the ACM-5711. I've requested sample video or images from day and night time from this camera from ACTi... waiting on them to respond. As an aside, is it just me or is it flat out ridiculous that there isn't sample video for every single CCTV camera made out there?

 

Anyway, Axis may have a good reputation among you folks, but I look at the 211 and think, "wtf were they thinking putting this otherwise decent camera in a crappy, weird size box so you have to buy their ridiculously overpriced outdoor enclosure?"

[thewireguys 3]

I, too, am looking closely at the ACTi cameras, especially the ACM-5711. I've requested sample video or images from day and night time from this camera from ACTi... waiting on them to respond. As an aside, is it just me or is it flat out ridiculous that there isn't sample video for every single CCTV camera made out there?

 

Anyway, Axis may have a good reputation among you folks, but I look at the 211 and think, "wtf were they thinking putting this otherwise decent camera in a crappy, weird size box so you have to buy their ridiculously overpriced outdoor enclosure?"

 

Because the 211 gives you more options and better image quality. You don't have to use Axis's housings you can find them much cheaper.

 

Also you are requesting images from ACTi please let us know if you get any from them. As a Axis partner Axis will send free demo cameras to us to test and demo. Ask ACTi if they do that.

[Tesseract 0]

Because the 211 gives you more options and better image quality. You don't have to use Axis's housings you can find them much cheaper.

 

Consider what it says to potential customers, though: if Axis charges 3x more for their outdoor housing then why not the same for their cameras? Whether true or not, this implies that everything else they sell is overpriced.

 

 

Also you are requesting images from ACTi please let us know if you get any from them. As a Axis partner Axis will send free demo cameras to us to test and demo. Ask ACTi if they do that.

 

 

If/when ACTi sends me a video I will post it to the sticky thread here. they do have some clips up on their site, just not from the particular model I am interested in. That said, I just strolled over to Axis' website and they don't seem to have any demos of their cameras up, either...

[InNorthernWeTrust 0]

Head to Head, nearly every single one of my customers who tried ACTi as an Axis alternate switched products - and it usually wasn't just about price. Though I have never recommended one of those cube cameras.

 

The 8FPS has been a limitation but the new H.264 line is being released that is capable of 18FPS @ 1280x1024.

 

The Warranty was terrible but they just updated it to a 2YR warranty w/ up to 5 additional years at truly reasonable price.

http://www.acti.com/support/warranty/index.asp

[thewireguys 3]

Because the 211 gives you more options and better image quality. You don't have to use Axis's housings you can find them much cheaper.

 

Consider what it says to potential customers, though: if Axis charges 3x more for their outdoor housing then why not the same for their cameras? Whether true or not, this implies that everything else they sell is overpriced.

 

 

Also you are requesting images from ACTi please let us know if you get any from them. As a Axis partner Axis will send free demo cameras to us to test and demo. Ask ACTi if they do that.

 

 

If/when ACTi sends me a video I will post it to the sticky thread here. they do have some clips up on their site, just not from the particular model I am interested in. That said, I just strolled over to Axis' website and they don't seem to have any demos of their cameras up, either...

 

Axis doesn't make there housings they rebrand them. They use Videoalarm houses which can be had for around 100$ less.

 

Axis does have demos for almost all of there camera but they are only available to there partners. Buy Axis cameras from me and I will demo any camera you want

[jharrell 0]

I have been waiting to hear what ACTi's h.264 offering will be, do you have any more info on them?

 

Also one feature that I cannot seem to confirm is whether ACTi ip cams have a static jpg url to access a current still image, Axis does this. I know it will do mjpeg over raw tcp but I really want a ip cam that does a static jpg over http as a fallback for access from just about any browser(mac,iphone etc).

 

 

Head to Head, nearly every single one of my customers who tried ACTi as an Axis alternate switched products - and it usually wasn't just about price. Though I have never recommended one of those cube cameras.

 

The 8FPS has been a limitation but the new H.264 line is being released that is capable of 18FPS @ 1280x1024.

 

The Warranty was terrible but they just updated it to a 2YR warranty w/ up to 5 additional years at truly reasonable price.

http://www.acti.com/support/warranty/index.asp

[InNorthernWeTrust 0]

I've been getting specs emailed to be from one of the ACTi guys. PM me your email and I'll shoot you what I have.

 

I believe they already released the cube camera and the 1.3MP H.264 CCD Box camera should be out soon.

 

I don't know the answer to your other question but I'll see if I can get it.

[VST_Man 1]

I just installed a few ACM-7411's. They provide a very clean pic and handle motion, both day & night, with very little blurr. I am using Video Insight 4.0 IP Server..................the combination is "sweet".

 

only issue I've found so far is the password scheme/save. We changed the passwords on admin and then reinstalled them.............and the passwords went back to default? Some dsid and did not. The firmware update was a snap. IP camera tool worked great. I am just waiting for the actual storage & bandwidth results...............

 

acti's web site for support is also good. I even called and got some decent support via the phone.

 

Pricing as compared to Axis? Axis pricing is very controlled and high. This made me go elsewhere..........I am glad I did. Only plus Axis has over Acti is the 3 year warranty. If Acti changed to match............they would sell more cams.

[InNorthernWeTrust 0]

Only plus Axis has over Acti is the 3 year warranty. If Acti changed to match............they would sell more cams.

 

As I mentioned, they now have an extended warranty at a really nice price point. http://www.acti.com/support/warranty/index.asp

You could have up to a 7YR warranty if you were willing to pay for it.

 

Just a heads up. The warranty was my biggest challenge too.

[Bungle 0]

Well we have had our cube cameras in use for a little over 10days now, and are working fine, although I think we will only opt for the megapixel counterparts for any future ACTi cameras we purchase (cheap enough) - we got one of each, 4100 and 4200. The cube cameras are a little ugly and not suited where you'll want protection, however in a high enough position they are fine; we put one in the corner of a room with ~80% coverage.

 

There was a slight issue with settings going back to factory default when upgrading the firmware, but other than that they are fine.

Picture quality is impressive for the price (4200) and given we only use 4FPS, the limitation of 8 doesn't affect us.

 

Had a few issues getting them working with some NVR software though (particularly exacq), whereas our existing Axis cameras work fine with this.

[bchance 0]

The company i work for uses the ACTi 7411's incorporated with milestone and it looks very clean. Just like VST_Man said there are a few issues with the configuration, a save and reboot is required on each change and even though you can change some of the options in the ACTi ip utility the program itself is still a little buggy. Even with those issues it's a fantastic setup.

[Sergey 0]

hello.

who worked with the camera 5711? How is she?

[InNorthernWeTrust 0]

Not bad. Picture is very nice for a lower res chipset. Pretty low light sensitive.

 

Analog output makes camera focus easy.

 

Price point makes it extremely attractive.

 

Not my "go to" with ACTi but it's a good one.