Dahua IP Camera for City Tourism 'Webcam'?

[darethehair 0]

New guy here

 

If hopes of encouraging my little city to add a 'webcam' to their tourism site, I have taken it upon myself to do the volunteer research required to make some 'intelligent' suggestions for how they could do so with a minimum of cost and hassle. So over the past week or so I have tried to 'bring myself up to speed' on current tech. First, I offered three basic options:

 

• 
  - USB-based webcam paired with a computer
  - Internal IP camera pointing out a window
  - External IP camera mounted on a wall
  

 

So far, the interest is in the external IP camera. OK!

 

Next, I started researching brands and reviews. After a *lot* of Googling and reading (including on forums like this one), I know that Axis, Acti, and Dahua are good brands to consider. If it was my *own* money involved, I would go for a Dahau for 'best bang for the buck'. After realizing it was too early for me to know of the proper focal length lens to shoot for, I got some advise to pick a 'varifocal' model rather than a 'fixed' focal length one. This removed my best/cheapest Dahua choice (IPC-HFW2100 720p 6mm fixed). In order of *slightly* increasing price, I am left with:

 

• 
  - IPC0HFW3101C (720p)
  - IPC-HFW3200C (1080p)
  - IPC-HFW3300C (1080p)+
  

 

For the very slight price differences, the last one (HFW3300C) makes the most sense, even though I have read of a few strange problems that people have had with it (software incompatibility, bright sun problems, etc.), which makes me a bit nervous (comments?).

 

Notice that for initial uses:

 

• 
  - no NVR is needed (no desire to record videos)
  - no audio is needed (just images)
  - no video is needed (just static images)
  

 

As you can see, if becomes *very* important to be able to get a 'snapshot' image from the camera, and I believe that it was only recently discovered that it was possible to do this (in this forum) -- this then gives the choice of either *pushing* (FTP) or *grabbing* (URL) an image for the tourism website. However, picking an IP camera with h.264 and RTSP leaves the door open to eventually consider *streaming* a live video to the tourism website instead of just static images The fact that these camera have audio doesn't really matter to me -- though it would be nice to pay less for a model that doesn't have it...

 

A final issue is ability to withstand -25C to -30C temperatures (Canadian winter!). From all my reading, no one seems to report any problems with driving IP cameras to these temperatures (especially those with no focus motors, etc.), so the -10C rating of the external Dahua camera doesn't appear to be an issue (?).

 

A final issue that I wonder about is this: Does these cameras provide an ability to 'crop out' and serve a smaller image than the full 720p or 1080p image actually is? If so, that might provide a "poor man's" pan & tilt, if you know what I mean.

 

Anyways, I am hoping that some of you can validate my conclusions so far, so that I don't end of providing bad advise to my city -- even if I am only acting as a volunteer researcher

 

Maybe, if it wasn't my own money involved, I perhaps might suggest the newer Acti E4x series (roughly $100 more than the Dahua line), or Axis (more than twice as much as the Dahua line).

[buellwinkle 0]

I understand why brands like Dahua are tops on your mind, it's presumed to be cheap. But here's my take on it. You will get a 3MP camera and at best you'll be able to use it to stream VGA (640x480) on your city's website and likely 1/4th that like 320x240. You can go a little higher if you want to just take stills on demand or just FTP a still image every few minutes but 3MP is more than most people will wait for to come up on their laptops on a public web page. I would not even go over 800x600 for stills. Remember, people use the internet in public places or at work where speeds are not that great. Also, does the city want to have images that large taking up that much space on their web pages?

 

I just finished an article on how to embed video on a website if interested, it's on my blog. Stills are easier but boring.

 

So what I would recomend is lower end Axis camera, an M series. They do this sort of thing best with lots of documentation on their website. Sure, you'll pay as much for a VGA or 800x600 camera than what a 3MP Dahua costs, but you don't need the resolution and I'll take a camera made in Sweden by the #1 network cameras manufacturer with top level support than a camera made in mainland China with no U.S. support. That's my first choice. My second choice is ACTi, made in Taiwan but supported by their office in the U.S., good support, good prices on cameras, not that much more than Dahua. You can probably get their 1MP outdoor cameras for under $200 like their D31. They also have good documention and support.

 

Just my 2 cents.

[darethehair 0]

Thanks for your reply and opinions!

 

I understand why brands like Dahua are tops on your mind, it's presumed to be cheap. But here's my take on it. You will get a 3MP camera and at best you'll be able to use it to stream VGA (640x480) on your city's website and likely 1/4th that like 320x240. You can go a little higher if you want to just take stills on demand or just FTP a still image every few minutes but 3MP is more than most people will wait for to come up on their laptops on a public web page. I would not even go over 800x600 for stills. Remember, people use the internet in public places or at work where speeds are not that great. Also, does the city want to have images that large taking up that much space on their web pages?

 

I see where you are going with this. For example, when I look at the streaming webcam on the City of Vancouver website, I notice that the resolution they use is only 640x320. In this case, an IP camera that can do 1920x1080 (1080p) is overkill -- though I am not sure if that also means that it won't be 'taxed' to deliver a lower size/rate, where a lesser camera would struggle (?). I also see your point that a static image over 800x600 might be undesirable as well. Hmmm...

 

I just finished an article on how to embed video on a website if interested, it's on my blog. Stills are easier but boring.

 

True enough!

 

So what I would recomend is lower end Axis camera, an M series. They do this sort of thing best with lots of documentation on their website. Sure, you'll pay as much for a VGA or 800x600 camera than what a 3MP Dahua costs, but you don't need the resolution and I'll take a camera made in Sweden by the #1 network cameras manufacturer with top level support than a camera made in mainland China with no U.S. support. That's my first choice. My second choice is ACTi, made in Taiwan but supported by their office in the U.S., good support, good prices on cameras, not that much more than Dahua. You can probably get their 1MP outdoor cameras for under $200 like their D31. They also have good documention and support.

 

Doing a bit more model/pricing research, I see this:

 

• 
  - 720p outdoor varifocal Dahua (IPC-HFW3101C) = $300 approx
  - 720p outdoor varifocal Acti (E41, not D31) = $400 approx
  - 720p outdoor varifocal Axis (M1114-E) = $650 approx
  

 

Granted that the Dahua might not have local (or any) support, but if it were my own funds involved, it would be painful to go for the Axis -- though perhaps I could be convinced for the Acti. In any case, I will take back this info if/when I am asked for recommendations. I was a bit surprised (disappointed?) that restricting myself to '720p outdoor varifocal' greatly reduced the options available to me.

[buellwinkle 0]

Granted that the Dahua might not have local (or any) support, but if it were my own funds involved, it would be painful to go for the Axis -- though perhaps I could be convinced for the Acti. In any case, I will take back this info if/when I am asked for recommendations. I was a bit surprised (disappointed?) that restricting myself to '720p outdoor varifocal' greatly reduced the options available to me.

 

What will be your pain when the camera say goes bad after a year or two, who will service the camera? Have a friend who's $3,000 Axis camera was taken out by lightening and a month later, Sandy took out a $4,000 Axis camera, both replaced within a week by Axis. When I have problem with my ACTi camera, I drive over to the offices, drop it off, sometimes they fix it same day. Dahua is pot luck. They publicly said they won't support or warranty cameras sold in the U.S. under the Dahua name, so you are likely buying from someone getting them gray market in another country and the only support you get is what the reseller knows.

[tomcctv 190]

I will take back this info if/when I am asked for recommendations. I was a bit surprised (disappointed?) that restricting myself to '720p outdoor varifocal' greatly reduced the options available to me.

 

 

 

Hi. if your asking for Tourism funding. why limit yourself to just 720p 3mp is fine

[Peter_ 2]

You're in Canada? Maybe Avigilon (based in Canada) can give you some sort of deal, in exchange for some sort of "powered by..." link on the website, especially since it's for tourism?

 

And I agree with buellwinkle on this, if the camera does fail for some reason getting it serviced and fixed quickly/at a low cost will not make them question your suggestion.