Need recommendation

[Furious.George 0]

I'm helping someone upgrade their existing CCTV systems. There are three of them with around 6 cameras each.

 

I'm looking for software that will seamlessly interface all three locations, so that one instance of client side software can be used to view all 18 cameras at the same time.

 

(UPDATE: I will settle for just any good software with a client side that can be configured to switch between servers with no more complication than a dropdown menu.)

 

Also, I'm looking some "Spycams". The guy who I'm helping out said he wanted them to look like a motion sensor (like for a burglar alarm, I guess), but I've never heard of such a thing. Maybe you guys have. Any recommendations as to that would be appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance.

Edited May 8, 2009 by Guest

[Furious.George 0]

Bump for updated criteria?

[Soundy 1]

Vigil and Video Insight both have remote client software that will show multiple clients in one window. I can't say much about VI's because the last time I worked with it, it was intended strictly for LAN/intranet use and really didn't work well over an internet connection, but they may have improved on that by now.

 

Vigil's remote client works great for multiple sites, though, and even lets you create "group" views of cameras from different sites. Here's an example, three sites for one client:

 

[Furious.George 0]

Thanks for the response. There are actually a few companies dealing with surveillance named Vigil, but I'm pretty sure the software you're talking about is the one by Camacc dotcom, right? (Sorry, but I'm not allowed to post links yet.)

 

Video Insight was easier to find.

 

I'm a little nervous that neither of them say how much they cost, but I guess I'll find out come Monday.

 

Thanks again.

[Soundy 1]

Ah, sorry... yes, that's Camacc's Vigil software (also at www.3xlogic.com). Catch is, I don't think they sell the software separately; AFAIK they only sell the complete systems. And they are a bit pricier than the DIY systems most people here deal with, but IMHO you really get what you pay for.

[Rio_Grande 0]

I am looking for this info as well,,,,

 

George the camera you are looking for can be had from several suppliers, supercircuits is one. But you are not gonna get much fov or distance out of any of them I have seen. I usually build my own. I haven't used it to trigger the dvr yet because I use software for that but I have read you can continue to use the sensor.

Jeff

[Soundy 1]

BTW, with the Video Insight, even if the network client doesn't do the trick for you, they do have a pretty good web client - just put a link to each site on the shortcut toolbar and you're good to go.

 

As far as the spycams, I've used a number of different styles - built into a PIR (some with the PIR actually working, some just a dummy), or into a smoke detector. Can't recall the brand of the last ones I used, might have even been Honeywell.

 

If all else fails, you can get cheap PIRs and mount board cameras inside of them yourself.

[Furious.George 0]

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

Looks like Vigil will be out of the question. We're looking for a more modular solution.

 

Do any of you know how much this Video Insight Software costs? I like the sound of having a web client too, but I've always heard that if you ask you cant afford it. Especially since I'll probably need per location licensing.

[Soundy 1]

How do you define "modular solution"? It doesn't get much more modular than a ready-to-go PC-based DVR/NVR, unless you want to build your own PC. The server license includes no limitations on clients (at least not that I'm aware of).

 

I have no solid idea on VI cost or licensing, although I know there's not a separate per-client cost - you pay for the card and software, or a turnkey PC, and that's it for however many analog cameras the server is designed for (usually 16). IP cameras are handled by different software that can run on the same server, and those are licensed on a per-camera basis.

[Furious.George 0]

By modular I mean that the software is sold separately. We have three working systems, we just want better software, and a unified client.

 

We don't need DVR cards or PC's or cameras because all of that is installed and functional (the exception being a spycam).

[Soundy 1]

Ah, the problem is, almost all "good" software is tied to its own hardware. Video Insight and Vigil, for example, use essentially the same cards, but each has their firmware tweaked, and the software is written to check for that and only operate with the branded cards. (That said, I have got the Vigil server software to work with a Video Insight card before, although it's not supposed to).

[Sup3rFly 0]

You can buy Vigil server licenses with no hardware. We are buying them for around $300 a server. We have over 50 Dell PowerEdge 2950's running Windows XP Pro with Vigil 5.0 on them, with a mix of analog and IP cameras. We have 16 analog cameras per a server running at 5fps and 8 analogs per a server running at 22fps. This is a limitation of the PCI capture cards we use (we buy these for $700 from Camac). No limitation on IP cameras other than hard disk and CPU, which sucks if you have high fps!

[Soundy 1]

Ah yes, but you're not using the Vigil software with other people's capture cards, are you? That's the problem - the OP has existing computers with capture cards, they just want improved software.

[Sup3rFly 0]

Ah yes, but you're not using the Vigil software with other people's capture cards, are you? That's the problem - the OP has existing computers with capture cards, they just want improved software.

 

I see. I guess I never thought of that since we always buy the cards from Cammac.

 

The OP could download and try Vigil, since they have a 30 day trial.

 

When you install Vigil, you have the choice of these capture cards:

XECAP200

XECAP100

XECAP50

XED120

XED240

XED480

HICAP200

HICAP100

HICAP50

HICAP25

MIS16

MIS8

MID16

MID8

ZEUS16

ACTi

HIKVision

NVR (No Capture Card)