Acti TCM 4201 vs. 5111 vs. 1111

[Agentchuckles 0]

Hi guys, I'm new to this forum and have read through many posts and it's a great source of info.

I'm looking for advice on choosing between the Acti TCM models 4201 (cube) 5111 (box) and 1111 (bullet).

 

 

I've been looking around and i like the specs of these three acti cameras (and price). I like the idea of a cube for pointing out my front kitchen window as it's stealth in that position. I wonder if the quality of a 5111 would be better and i like the idea that i can move it outside with a housing at any point. I'd go with the 1111 bullet cam with built in IR leds but with the canadian winters up here (ontario) i'm afraid its -20C / -4F rating wouldn't be enough to avoid freezing up. I'd use external illuminators and motion floods to help all 3 with night vision.

 

The specs are similar with these cameras but i'm wondering if the quality varies greatly or if the image would be the same between all of them considering the specs, just the wrapper being different.

 

Any input would be appreciated in helping me decide or think about things i might've overlooked.

 

Thanks folks!

 

Tony

[buellwinkle 0]

Not all in the same price range. The box camera is double the price of the other two and doesn't include a lens. I have the ACM-4201 cube, it's day only, meaning you need white light but has mic/speaker and PIR motion detect built in, while the TCM-1111 is day/night no audio at all, which means you have a choice of white or IR light.

 

Motion detect lights appear to be the answer, but keep in mind, you won't have any lighting for pre-event frames (I like to record at least 1-2 seconds of pre-event video to capture what happened prior to detection as there's delays during detection), also during the first second or so when the camera starts recording, it has to adjust the exposure, so you may get an overblown image of the person you are trying to capture.

[Korgoth Of Barbaria 0]

Not all in the same price range. The box camera is double the price of the other two and doesn't include a lens. I have the ACM-4201 cube, it's day only, meaning you need white light but has mic/speaker and PIR motion detect built in, while the TCM-1111 is day/night no audio at all, which means you have a choice of white or IR light.

 

Motion detect lights appear to be the answer, but keep in mind, you won't have any lighting for pre-event frames (I like to record at least 1-2 seconds of pre-event video to capture what happened prior to detection as there's delays during detection), also during the first second or so when the camera starts recording, it has to adjust the exposure, so you may get an overblown image of the person you are trying to capture.

 

BOX TCM-5111 is almost same price as TCM-4201, (~280 USD here in Poland) and it comes with 4.2mm evatar lens included

 

@OP

If there is no light choose TCM-1111, it will be better at night, dont worry about winters, ACTi cameras are getin' pretty hot, here in Poland we get like -30 and cameras are fine, I will take that -20 as "starting work temperature".

[buellwinkle 0]

Oops, may have pulled up the prices for the wrong model. Yes, they are all about the same price. The website says the lens is not included, but apparantly when you go to buy it, the lens is. If you get the TCM-1111, don't forget to order a mount for it. The TCM-4201 comes with a mount.

[Agentchuckles 0]

Thanks for the input guys. It looks like i will go with the 1111 bullet. I was just concerned with the temp rating and if it can survive a Polish winter then it'll be fine here. I'm upgrading to a real surveillance system after i got the green light from the wife.

 

We've been having issues with the neighbours since we moved in here (so did the previous owners) so i installed a pocket size camcorder in the kitchen window with usb to my computer using contacam motion detection software. It works alright but isn't great at night even with a floodlight on. Low and behold 6 months after i installed it i caught the neighbours daughters boyfriend removing some parts from underneath my truck. The cop that i turned the footage over to was amazed at the quality of the video. Now it's time to get some acti cameras and get more area coverage. I'm planning on using the acti software with the cameras.

 

Thanks again guys.

 

Tony

[buellwinkle 0]

Just installed their latest NVR software that came out yesterday, 3.0 and it's awesome. Had some minor issues I reported to them, no show stoppers. One weird thing it did is the automatic camera finder changed the video settings on all my cameras to 640x480. I changed it back and all is well. Much easier to install than the old V2.3.

[Agentchuckles 0]

Just installed their latest NVR software that came out yesterday, 3.0 and it's awesome. Had some minor issues I reported to them, no show stoppers. One weird thing it did is the automatic camera finder changed the video settings on all my cameras to 640x480. I changed it back and all is well. Much easier to install than the old V2.3.

 

That's good to hear. I enjoyed your review and footage from the TCM 7811 dome as well. Eventually I'd like to put one of those in the soffit over the garage so it can capture my driveway and main entrance to the property with better night vision abilities.

[Razer_SE 0]

I have four of the 1111's installed and working and I am very pleased with them. Right after install I had issues with the cameras at night generating too much noise resulting in motion being detected no matter how low I set the detection. I finally set the cameras manually for night mode settings and after a few nights of trial and error got them working perfectly. Great picture with low noise and this location is not lit the best so I'm very pleased.

 

My only other dislike on this camera is that it is not sealed at all on the back, it is open from the cord opening all the way inside. You'll want to run the conduit for you cable or otherwise seal the opening somehow once you run your cable into the camera. Still am happy with the camera, working great for about two months now.

[Agentchuckles 0]

I have four of the 1111's installed and working and I am very pleased with them. Right after install I had issues with the cameras at night generating too much noise resulting in motion being detected no matter how low I set the detection. I finally set the cameras manually for night mode settings and after a few nights of trial and error got them working perfectly. Great picture with low noise and this location is not lit the best so I'm very pleased.

 

When you mention you use manual night mode settings are you referring to settings such as brightness/contrast/gain/exposure type settings?

 

How far do the IR led's project distance wise would you say? 20-30 feet? Do you find minimal lighting helps out with night vision?

 

Thanks

Tony

[buellwinkle 0]

The camera should have two profiles for motion detection, one is "runtime MD profile" the other is "event MD profile". It's in a pull down where you set the motion detection paramters. The runtime one is typically used for daytime, the event one is used for night settings.

 

You then have to create an event that switches the motion detect profile triggered by when the camera switches to night mode. This way you can have a more sensitive daytime motion detection and less sensitive to keep noise from triggering the motion detect at night. This is done under "event list", create one that is triggered by "switch to night mode" and check Motion Detect Profile MD1, MD2, MD3 and check "Change to Night Profile".

 

One quirk of ACTi is you have to click Save & Reboot to make the changes permanent so don't forget that.

[Razer_SE 0]

I have four of the 1111's installed and working and I am very pleased with them. Right after install I had issues with the cameras at night generating too much noise resulting in motion being detected no matter how low I set the detection. I finally set the cameras manually for night mode settings and after a few nights of trial and error got them working perfectly. Great picture with low noise and this location is not lit the best so I'm very pleased.

 

When you mention you use manual night mode settings are you referring to settings such as brightness/contrast/gain/exposure type settings?

 

How far do the IR led's project distance wise would you say? 20-30 feet? Do you find minimal lighting helps out with night vision?

 

Thanks

Tony

 

You are correct, in the camera under video there is a tab for exposure/white balance. In there are two separate settings, one for day mode and one for night mode. Day mode needed no tweaking, to get night mode to work I had to manually set it to manual, then choose white balance setting, then exposure gain. Exposure gain was what I had to tweak a few times to find the right setting. Shutter speed is set to 1/30, that is as low as it will go. It switches from day to night mode automatically, there is no setting for sensitivity for the switch.

 

I have very little lighting there, but the cameras are not totally in the dark either. IR is of limited use I'd say, not a ton of IR leds there. Still a good overall picture.

 

There are very few options in the firmware compared to the other ACTi cameras I've used, but then again it is doing everything I need it too. There has never been a firmware update for this camera yet, so maybe there will be more options later on, I don't know. There is not even an option to disable the IR LEDs for example. Pretty sparse features compared to the Vivotek ip8332 camera at least.

[bike_rider 0]

Pretty sparse features compared to the Vivotek ip8332 camera at least.

 

At that price, I'm not surprised that the feature set is limited.

 

What's your overall impression of the 1111 vs 8332? How would you compare the image quality? Both are on my short list for "good enough" cameras for my next upgrade.

[Razer_SE 0]

I think I prefer the 1111 in the image department really, though they are pretty close. You are getting a larger image with the 1111 as it is not a widescreen image like the 8332 is.

 

I think the 1111 handles differences in brightness better too, it's not WDR by any means but it is worlds better than my 8332 cameras. Morning sun can towards camera almost totally ruins my shots, or hard building shadows in half a shot makes the image look bad on the 8332. Big improvement on the 1111, but I only have those at one site so I want to try them more before I decide to totally switch to them. The only way Vivotek is better that easy to see is the colors are more vibrant by a lot, though I'd think I can tweak that on the 1111 I've not messed with it yet.

 

If they add just a very few features in the firmware I'll likely totally switch to the 1111 cameras personally. I've just had my 4th Vivotek 8332 go bad within 4 months of install so I'm not feeling too good about them right now. Colors go off, I have another thread about the problem here somewhere, but it's not fixable once it goes out of whack.

[Agentchuckles 0]

I love these forums. I was actually thinking about the vivotek 8332 a while back until i discovered these forums and read about the issues people were having with them. I noticed that the maple tree in my yard casts shadows on the street and slowly creeps toward the house during the day with the position of the sun. I'm glad to hear the 1111 acts more like a WDR featured camera than the 8332.

 

In night mode Razer, did you have to manually set your exposure settings just once for the night profile so that it uses those settings whenever it switches to night vision mode or do you have to do that and adjust the settings every night manually?

[Razer_SE 0]

Just once, it keeps the settings you give it.

 

It's still not WDR by any means, but it sure does better than the 8332. I have about 70 of the 8332 cameras up now, so they are doing a pretty good job. I still think the 1111 will be what I move to in this price range though. Going to get a few more and test them at another site now, I was waiting on them to be added to my NVR compatibility and they are now so I will have an easier time with them. I made them work before but motion was wonky without a hassle in my software so I waited after getting the first 4 up.

[MaxIcon 0]

I set the contrast down to -3 on the 8332 to lighten up the too-dark shadows when the sun is bright, and it works pretty well. I think they set it that way to give those bright, saturated colors that look so good at first glance.