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I only need a single IP cam. What should I do?

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At my home, I have a DVR with 6 traditional coax-wired CCTV cameras for security. I also have a CAT-5 based home network system and ReadyNAS storage system.

 

I want to add a single, high resolution camera which watches my front yard and records motion or activity. My goal is to identify facial features in case the man who burglarized my truck comes back to do it again. I'm satisfied with leaving the other perimiter cameras as they currently are, so I don't need to upgrade to a NVR or hybrid. But, I want a single high resolution camera to be added along with recording and storage. Remote playback would be nice, but isn't a deal breaker.

 

What is the best route for doing just a single IP camera and having record and playback options?

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Many NAS systems support direct recording from select cameras... you could see if your ReadyNAS does, find out what cameras it supports, and go with one of those.

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I would suggest a Mobotix M24 with a day or night sensor, or possibly an M12 with both. The camera will record directly to your NAS and comes with all of the software you need built in. Remote viewing is as simple as port forwarding on your router.

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Problem w/ Mobotix is it's too expensive and becomes very attractive to thieves. Mount it higher up and then you don't get a nice facial shot, which is the OP original goal.

 

Do what my neighbor does, install a motion sensor flood light in the fron yard along w/ a $500 camera.

 

If you configure the motion sensor flood light just right, anyone stepping anywhere on your front property will set off the flood light even if they are moving very very slowly.

 

What I use to do is just get a flood light that turns on at dusk and off at dawn. Combine that w/ a camera and most thieves will stay away from your home once they see the camera and flood lights.

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I would likely disguise it in a bird house.

 

A visible camera and motion floodlight might not be very compatiable with my neighborhood, not to mention that I have a very large front yard that curves around a large cul-de-sac. So getting good coverage, using a floodlight on a motion sensor, might be difficult.

 

I'm more thinking of a high res day/night cam and putting an IR illuminator in a completely different location.

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Set up an Optex or Dakota outdoor wireless motion detector system and catch them in the act. That's what we use on our street for dirtbag car burglars. Already caught a few too...

 

If you're set on the camera option for car burglars, consider an Arecont AV3130 or AV3135, ir illuminator, and single camera license for NVR SW of your choice. The Arecont 3130/3135 has good low light peformance and small size will fit into a birdhouse... just make sure to weatherproof well.

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Problem w/ Mobotix is it's too expensive and becomes very attractive to thieves. Mount it higher up and then you don't get a nice facial shot, which is the OP original goal.

 

Do what my neighbor does, install a motion sensor flood light in the fron yard along w/ a $500 camera.

 

If you configure the motion sensor flood light just right, anyone stepping anywhere on your front property will set off the flood light even if they are moving very very slowly.

 

What I use to do is just get a flood light that turns on at dusk and off at dawn. Combine that w/ a camera and most thieves will stay away from your home once they see the camera and flood lights.

 

 

What does your neighbor use to record that $500 camera?

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How about getting a camera with a built in SD card then you could retrive it on your PC You would have limited storage time but it does not sound like you need more than a day or so? Sanyo and Pano both have this option

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How about getting a camera with a built in SD card then you could retrive it on your PC You would have limited storage time but it does not sound like you need more than a day or so? Sanyo and Pano both have this option

 

I suggested VideoIQ and someone suggested Mobotix. Response was to expensive and extractive to thieves.

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I suggested VideoIQ and someone suggested Mobotix. Response was to expensive and extractive to thieves.

They have a point though, I rent a single story appt and I wouldnt put an expensive camera on my eave either, even with a good alarm system in place. Something really vandal proof perhaps though. I dont have any kind of home owners insurance as I rent.

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True. Also didnt Axis have a mini camera? They could maybe use that and hide it in their own housing.

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It does look like the camera body of the Arecont would better fit if disguised in a bird house. What is the difference between a Arecont 3130 and a 3135?

 

And, is there any way to compare night performance between the Mobotix and the Arecont? I'm assuming both are excellent during daytime.

 

And, I looked at the VideoIQ site to check out their solution but I didn't really understand their product. When I have more time I will go back and watch their instructional videos.

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And, I looked at the VideoIQ site to check out their solution but I didn't really understand their product. When I have more time I will go back and watch their instructional videos.

 

Our cameras incorporate storage (up to 500GB) in the camera, along with self-calibrating video analytics adapted to detecting people and vehicles (and ignoring pretty much all other motion).

 

For your scenario, you can mount one of our 1080p HD cameras, get continuous recording at 1080p 24/7 if you like, and get real-time notifications of certain activities (like a person coming into a specific area of your property at night). All of this is managed within the camera itself, so there is no requirement to have a back-end PC running any software to make it all work.

 

An example of a camera mounted on my house, tracks me, ignores the dog:

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It does look like the camera body of the Arecont would better fit if disguised in a bird house. What is the difference between a Arecont 3130 and a 3135?

 

And, is there any way to compare night performance between the Mobotix and the Arecont? I'm assuming both are excellent during daytime.

 

And, I looked at the VideoIQ site to check out their solution but I didn't really understand their product. When I have more time I will go back and watch their instructional videos.

 

AV3130 is mjpeg only. AV3135 supports mjpeg and h.264.

 

Check out youtube, Arecont site, and search this forum for mobotix and 313x samples. Best way to truly compare though, is buy them and test yourself. Maybe find a source that has reasonable restock fees...

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NotoriousBRK, in your YouTube videos, what resolution are the cameras being recorded in, and what is the actual frame rate? One of the things I noticed when I tested a Mobotix Q24 was that I couldn't get anywhere near the advertised (or specified) frame rates/resolution. I'm finding that a lot of these MP cameras claim up to 30 fps at stated resolution is really under "ideal" or "theoretical" conditions. So looking at the other videos you posted of your videoiq cameras, in the example of the car coming down the driveway in the snow, the video appears to be running at about 10 - 12 fps (can't tell resolution), and in one spot, actually freezes for about 2 seconds and then resumes (about 2 seconds later in the timeline). Was wondering if this is typical for your cameras or if this was something to do with the way YouTube displays the video or maybe the software you used to capture your desktop?

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NotoriousBRK, in your YouTube videos, what resolution are the cameras being recorded in, and what is the actual frame rate? One of the things I noticed when I tested a Mobotix Q24 was that I couldn't get anywhere near the advertised (or specified) frame rates/resolution. I'm finding that a lot of these MP cameras claim up to 30 fps at stated resolution is really under "ideal" or "theoretical" conditions. So looking at the other videos you posted of your videoiq cameras, in the example of the car coming down the driveway in the snow, the video appears to be running at about 10 - 12 fps (can't tell resolution), and in one spot, actually freezes for about 2 seconds and then resumes (about 2 seconds later in the timeline). Was wondering if this is typical for your cameras or if this was something to do with the way YouTube displays the video or maybe the software you used to capture your desktop?

 

The car stopping and then jumping is an artifact of the screen capture program I used and the YouTube uploader. That video was a link I shared with a friend of my new "snowplow", it wasn't meant to be a VideoIQ sample video

 

Our D1 cameras record at D1 continuously, and scale the frame rate and compression based on whether or not their is alarm activity (eg: some kind of person or vehicle event). So, non-alarm video is D1/5fps at a 100Kbps bitrate (h.264). Alarm clips are generally D1/15fps at a 750Kbps bitrate.

 

Our HD cameras typically record continuous at 960x540/5fps resolution and do 1080p/15 for alarm events. This is just to manage the drive space more efficiently. You can record 1080p/30 24/7 in the cameras regardless of activity if you want, but that will use about 45GB/day.

 

All of the VideoIQ cameras and encoders can do full-res, 30fps continuous recording if you like.

 

The alarm event clips (so, most of what you see in demos and on YouTube) are of what we call the LowQ (lower quality) image stream. This is to preserve bandwidth and get the events out quicker. Using my driveway as an example, I don't need 1080p/30 in event clips because I can tell even from a lower-res clip if a vehicle in the driveway appears out of place or not. If/when I want to get the full-res clip there is a 1-button export function in the software that let's me get the full-res clip (which also has a configurable pre-alarm buffer as well).

 

Our HD camera will also maintain 1080p resolution at night down to about .7-1.5 Lux on target (depending on target distance and reflectivity.

 

Here's a sample of a 1080p/15 export from my home camera this morning:

 

http://support.videoiq.com/docs/001f92000076_2011_03_14-11_32_21_726__12000.mp4

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NBRK,

 

Thanks for posting the HD clip - it looks good. Glad to know your cameras can do the full 15 @ resolution, and the bandwidth is good as well.

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Beautiful day image, love the forest also

Any chance of some night shots? Thanks.

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Beautiful day image, love the forest also

Any chance of some night shots? Thanks.

 

I'll have to try to get some tonight. Not a lot happens after dark, I also have a RayTec IR Illuminator on by default, so any of the currently recorded video I have wouldn't be a representative test.

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I'll have to try to get some tonight. Not a lot happens after dark, I also have a RayTec IR Illuminator on by default, so any of the currently recorded video I have wouldn't be a representative test.

Thanks. Which camera is that?

Id still like to see it with the IR though

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BK thanks for the info..... So far with my tests with the 1080P VideoIQ cameras I am very impressed. Keep in mind this is designed to detect and alert using rules based on people cars and boats. If you are looking to read plates and identify peoples faces I would use this as a part of a total solution.

 

aKelly...... check the exposure settings in your Mobotix camera it will limit the FPS.

Edited by Guest

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