Looking for a Hybrid Megapixel Box Cam (IP/Analog)

[SpyGuy10 0]

A homeowner in a high-end home has an older analog CCTV system that was installed by the previous owners. The box camera at the front gate failed when a nest of fire ants decided to make their home inside the camera body. The cam is primarily used to identify people wishing to enter the estate (although it's mounted high on a post looking down, so it's mostly just identifying the top of the car). Recently, a truck backed into the front gate and severly damaged the gate; this happened while the cam was non-op so no one was caught and the homeowner's ate the cost of the repairs.

 

The wife wants high-res to identify perps and catch license plates (although this would probably also require changing the position of the cam or adding a second cam). The husband is more interested in spending as little as possible and was content with the (poor) resolution of the old B/W cam that died.

 

Originally, I was planning on replacing the cam with a CNB BBN-24F: a nice MonaLisa analog box cam. The reason for staying analog was because the husband does not want to replace the existing coax with Cat-5, even though he is finally coming around on the idea of replacing their antiquated DVR system (that is so complex, no one in the home knows how to operate it) with a modern PC software-based DVR. But all the cabling is in conduit, so it really wouldn't be that expensive to upgrade to IP, and she may change his mind in the future.

 

With that in mind, I'm looking for a relatively low-cost hybrid megapixel box camera. That way I can connect it now to their existing analog system, while allowing an upgrade path to true megapixel IP system later on. So I'm looking at the CNB IGP1030 Hybrid IP Megapixel Box Cam. It's only 1.3 megapixel, but then again it's not outrageously expensive either.

 

Any thoughts or recommendations?

[Kingram 0]

I'm also interested , do you have a price for that camera and a link. Would a Hybrid DVR work with that camera?

[SpyGuy10 0]

You can read the specs for the camera at CNB's web site:

 

http://cnbusa.com/en/html/product/product.php?seqx_prod=1078

 

I don't know anything about the "Hybrid DVR; But what's really amazing about this cam is that on CNB's site, they show the cam working with a software app "CNB XNET CMS/NVR". I just spoke with CNB's tech support and that software is included with the cam (actually, it's available as a free download from their web site). The software has 16 channels.

 

As for price, I have not yet contacted any distributors. But a quick web search shows the cam selling in the $270 to $330 range.

[buellwinkle 0]

I don't understand the need for a hybrid camera. If you use it with a DVR as an analog camera it will only give you analog resolution so why not just buy a cheap analog camera. Because if you wait a year or two to convert, the technology will change and you may get a 41 megapixel camera for the same price (Sorry, was just watching a review showing the new Nokia phone with a 41 megapixel camera in the phone, yes, not a typo, 41 megapixels in a cell phone).

 

The other way to marry the two worlds would be to get a decent megapixel IP camera, forget analog, and use a hybrid NVR or NVR software to allow the use of the megapixel camera with the remaining analog cameras. BlueIris Software ($50/server) that runs on Windows will allow you to have analog cameras via a capture board record together with IP cams and is designed for home use, meaning it's easier than most to use.

 

Also, keep in mind that cheap megapixel sensors tend to have poor low light capability as compared to many CCD's used in analog cameras, so what you think is a better solution may turn out to be poo if there isn't adequate lighting. This camera you mention is a day only camera, you can't use IR illuminators with it so make sure you have plenty of white light at the gate.

[SpyGuy10 0]

I don't understand the need for a hybrid camera. If you use it with a DVR as an analog camera it will only give you analog resolution so why not just buy a cheap analog camera. Because if you wait a year or two to convert, the technology will change and you may get a 41 megapixel camera for the same price

 

I doubt the price point for CCTV cameras will change that significantly in a couple of years. Digital cameras, web cams, and cell phones are all high-volume consumer products that have strong market forces to drive the technology up and the prices down. CCTV cameras are still a niche product. True, the technology is improving and the prices are dropping, but no where near the pace of the other products mentioned.

 

If it were me, I'd simply upgrade the entire system to IP with NVR software. But it's not me so I have to be sensitive to the client's wishes and budget. Based on the husband's desire to do this economically, I doubt I'd get much traction trying to convince him to buy a new IP camera in a "year or two" after he just paid for a new analog camera now. The point of the hybrid is that it allows and immediate in-line replacement for their existing analog system, while providing an upgrade path to IP if they ever commit to changing out the cabling.

 

The other way to marry the two worlds would be to get a decent megapixel IP camera, forget analog, and use a hybrid NVR or NVR software to allow the use of the megapixel camera with the remaining analog cameras.

 

Yes, but that would necessitate replacing the cable to the front gate, something the husband has said he doesn't want to do. Of course the wife may override that decision if she were to see the differences between analog and IP, but I don't want to start a fight either. That would also take longer to implement and they want to get the camera back online ASAP.

 

Also, keep in mind that cheap megapixel sensors tend to have poor low light capability as compared to many CCD's used in analog cameras, so what you think is a better solution may turn out to be poo if there isn't adequate lighting.

 

True, although I don't think CNB makes anything that would be considered "poo", and would not lump them in with the cheap junk sold on Ebay or elsewhere.

 

This camera you mention is a day only camera, you can't use IR illuminators with it so make sure you have plenty of white light at the gate.

 

I looked at the specs and, certainly the 1 Lux minimum illumination is not at all competitive with their analog box cameras (the CNB BBN-24F has a listed min illumination rating of 0.000025 Lux). But where did you see that the IGP1030 cannot use IR illuminators?

[Soundy 1]

This camera you mention is a day only camera, you can't use IR illuminators with it so make sure you have plenty of white light at the gate.

I looked at the specs and, certainly the 1 Lux minimum illumination is not at all competitive with their analog box cameras (the CNB BBN-24F has a listed min illumination rating of 0.000025 Lux). But where did you see that the IGP1030 cannot use IR illuminators?

It doesn't state anywhere that it's a day/night camera (TDN or otherwise), nor does it state that it has a monochrome mode... ergo, chances are 99.99999% likely that it has an IR cut filter over the sensor... and therefore will not work with IR illuminators.

[buellwinkle 0]

What he said. It's unlikely a camera company will have a relatively costly feature and not tout it. It's not that the camera brand is cheap, it's that you may be chosing a camera with features that won't do what you expect in trade for a lower entry price.

 

If you don't want to change the cable, there's ethernet to coax converters, so you can leverage the existing wiring, although if it's all in conduit, why not just pull it through.

 

What I did to sell people on megapixel cameras is to take a picture with a digital camera, resize it to the 1.3MP or 2MP resolution and to VGA/D1 resolution and overlay the vga image over the megapixel image to show the value. In today's world where cell phones come with 5-8 MP cameras, TV's are all 1080P, it's hard to imagine that someone would accept less.

[SpyGuy10 0]

I understand about the price/features trade-off. Thanks for pointing out that it probably doesn't have IR capability (I'll confirm the next time I talk with the CNB rep).

 

As it turns out, this camera is not compatible with the Panasonic lens I took off the defective cam, because the lens uses video drive for the auto-iris, whereas the CNB cam uses DC drive for auto-iris control. So I'm not looking for a box camera that will work with the existing lens (Panasonic WV-LZ81/6A with CS mount and video-drive auto-iris). Any recommendations?