Cam Recommendation: Changable Lenses, 1280x1024 minimum?

[PeteCress 0]

Wow, that has to be a BI limitation. I'm running a lot of the ACTi cameras in a lot of locations with no issues like that but I'm using Exacq. Location I was at today has 9 IP cameras / 10 analog and two of them are 5211e cameras running at full 4MP resolution and there is minimal delay. Like a second or two max. They are set on variable bit rate high quality. My other 7 IP cameras are set between 1.5 - 3 or to variable also.

 

I don't get horrible lag even when viewing the location over the internet in a web browser!

Which version of Exacq are you using?

 

For sixty bucks, I could rationalize trying "Start" just to see if there is any improvement.

 

BI looked good for me (still doesn't look all that bad considering the price..) bco the support fora. But, unless I'm missing something, the web presentation leaves a lot tb desired.

 

I haven't dug through Exacq's feature sets for the various versions yet, but a browser-based presentation for multiple concurrent users is a "Must"....

[buellwinkle 0]

Your best bet is the free ACTi NVR software. Their latest version, 3.1 is awesome, best NVR software I've every tried and very low CPU on the server. I switch from BI because of CPU use. When you take a 2MP H.264 feed into BI it does use a good amount of CPU. Check that to see if that's the problem. Also, tried the zoom from BI to my KCM-5611 and it works as expected so I would assume the KCM-5311 would work the same as they both probably use the same firmware.

 

It's browser based, so you can connect from anywhere in the world using IE.

[PeteCress 0]

Your best bet is the free ACTi NVR software. Their latest version, 3.1 is awesome, best NVR software I've every tried

Which install did you use? I got a little case of mind-bog looking at the CD's directory.

 

• Server v2.3.01
  .
  
• Workstation v2.3.01
  .
  
• Professional v2.3.01

 

So far, I am favorably impressed with their documentation.... but I must have missed the explaination of what the various installs do.

[buellwinkle 0]

None of those. They are not bad, it's their older version but required IIS and MS SQL Server setup. Their new one is much easier to install and use.

 

First go to the ACTi website at www.acti.com and on the left, click Video Management Systems and then click on ACTi NVR 3.0 and download the software on the next page, it's 50MB. You may have to create an account and log in. Good to do that anyway so you can open help desk tickets if you run into a problem.

 

You setup the motion detect settings on the camera through it's web interface. The NVR software just waits until it gets a motion detect from the camera and then starts recording so there's not much CPU use if you it's running the background and you are not viewing the cameras. Then you can connect from any PC (including the one with the NVR running) via IE for full functionality.

[ak357 0]

You setup the motion detect settings on the camera through it's web interface. The NVR software just waits until it gets a motion detect from the camera and then starts recording so there's not much CPU use if you it's running the background and you are not viewing the cameras. Then you can connect from any PC (including the one with the NVR running) via IE for full functionality.

 

Motion settings only through web GUI ?

that lame

what do u do when u have 40-50 or more cameras

kinda sucks

[buellwinkle 0]

You setup the motion detect settings on the camera through it's web interface. The NVR software just waits until it gets a motion detect from the camera and then starts recording so there's not much CPU use if you it's running the background and you are not viewing the cameras. Then you can connect from any PC (including the one with the NVR running) via IE for full functionality.

 

Motion settings only through web GUI ?

that lame

what do u do when u have 40-50 or more cameras

kinda sucks

 

You can do it through the GUI and it makes the change straight into the camera, I just find it easier to do through the web interface. You can even launch the camera's web configurator straight from the app without logging into each camera as it has the connection info when you setup the camera. If you are going to set up 40-50 cameras, this may not the software for you but then again, neither are his other two choices, BI and Exacq Start.

[PeteCress 0]

Motion settings only through web GUI ?

that lame

what do u do when u have 40-50 or more cameras

kinda sucks

 

I just finished reading an ACTi .pdf on controlling the camera via HTML commands. I can't command enough detail to say for sure, but I'd bet a few bucks that at least some motion settings could be controlled that way.

[PeteCress 0]

First go to the ACTi website at http://www.acti.com and on the left, click Video Management Systems and then click on ACTi NVR 3.0 and download the software

Got it.

 

But there are two installs in that .ZIP file.

 

Do I want to install "Server" or "Workstation"?

[buellwinkle 0]

You install server on the PC you want to run the server component. It just runs as a service in the background, you won't see anything going on. Then it's up to you on the client if you want to install it or not because it looks just like the web interface without the browser look around it. But I installed the client on the same PC as the server and then use the browser when looking at the cameras from another PC.

[PeteCress 0]

You install server on the PC you want to run the server component. It just runs as a service in the background, you won't see anything going on. Then it's up to you on the client if you want to install it or not because it looks just like the web interface without the browser look around it. But I installed the client on the same PC as the server and then use the browser when looking at the cameras from another PC.

 

I'm beginning the installs now.

 

"Workstation", then is the client... right?

[buellwinkle 0]

Yes, workstation is what lets you access the server, setup the cameras, view them, etc. Should be a quick install. The setup portion will find your cameras and you'll be on your way.

[PeteCress 0]

Should be a quick install.

I have not been able to find an ACTi-specific forum yet, so I'll just blurt this out here in hopes....

 

Has anybody had the Workstation app throw "Line: 54 Error:"XMLHttpRequest" is undefined"?

 

FWIW, the service seems tb running. IE 6.0 is the only IE version installed on this box.... and that would be my first suspicion...

[buellwinkle 0]

I'm running it on Win XP Pro with IE 8, zero problems, very stable, has been up since installed. Try accessing it from another PC with a newer version of IE.

[bike_rider 0]

Should be a quick install.

I have not been able to find an ACTi-specific forum yet, so I'll just blurt this out here in hopes....

 

Has anybody had the Workstation app throw "Line: 54 Error:"XMLHttpRequest" is undefined"?

 

FWIW, the service seems tb running. IE 6.0 is the only IE version installed on this box.... and that would be my first suspicion...

 

IE6 does not support he XMLHttpRequest function.

[buellwinkle 0]

Important info on IE6 here - http://www.ie6countdown.com/

[PeteCress 0]

Important info on IE6 here - http://www.ie6countdown.com/

I didn't even go there. Just installed IE-8 and the Acti client came up no problem.

 

My own stubborness bit me again.... everybody everywhere says that IE-6 is totally obsolete and snb used.... but I just dug my heels in....

 

One more question: am I trying to fool Mother Nature by trying to get the Acti server to recognize a FosCam? I note that the "Brand" dropdown has a line for 'Non-Brand'... but when that is selected, the "Model" dropdown remains enabled and the choices there are obviously nothing to do with non-ACTi cams.

 

Edit 2012 08-08 1639:

Oops... I see the answer already in another thread: (viewtopic.php?f=19&t=30319) "...but you can use any camera as long as it's made by ACTi."

 

I call that a deal breaker. As much as I am impressed by the ACTi cam I have, and as much as I would like to have all ACTi cams... I also have to deal with a few other brands at the moment.

 

Shortsighted, IMHO, for ACTi.

 

I think if they allowed foreign cams - even without motion sensing - they'd expand the pool of people using the NVR product. And, if I'm using the NVR product; even though I might have a few foreign cams online, when it came time to buy another cam, I would be reminded that NVR would work better with if that cam were an ACTi cam....

 

As it is, I'd be using BlueIris, and when new cam time rolls around, I'm not thinking so much "ACTi" as "Lets Google around and see what's out there..."

 

But that's just me...

[buellwinkle 0]

I know, it's a tough choice. I was only thinking you had this one camera. Exacq Start is the closest that I know of that works the way ACTi works where the camera does the motion detection and is reasonably priced albeit much more than BI. I understand Milestone can do this, but wasn't able to get it to work that way for me. Most of the other NVR products are CPU hogs because they analyze frame by frame on the PC, so you add a few MP cameras and it comes to grinding halt unless you have a decent CPU behind it. So for me it was buy a more powerful PC to run BI or swap some Axis cams I had for ACTi and put the Axis at my lake house.

[PeteCress 0]

...where the camera does the motion detection ...

 

That certainly seems like the best approach: "Divide and Conquer"... using all those cam's CPUs instead of the server's processor.

 

It sounds like most cams that have motion detection send a notification out along with the stream. Have I got that part right?

 

If so, maybe I'll pony up the sixty bucks and give Exacq Start a shot if it has a remote web presentation.

[thewireguys 3]

Keep in mind if your using HD cameras with Exacq and you want to search video you might want to grab a book. It takes forever to search video.

[Razer_SE 0]

I've not had bad luck with Exacq so far, and searching locally works fine, I do not have a problem with the newer versions. Now, searching remote sites can be a pain, but then again it is a remote locations so the upload on the other end is the real issue.

 

Exacq should have a trial that you can get from them to try, if it does not have enough cameras available in the default trial contact them and see if they will give you a temporary 4 camera license or something. We use web view with multiple users all the time and it works very well. Web view was a huge need along with iOS and Android app support and Exacq won out in all of our testing when we went with them.

 

I use start in one location and it would really do everything we need, but you can only connect to one start site at a time in the client software and I need to connect to 70+ simultaneously, so we use the standard version for all of our other locations.