Clarifications for a complete newbie

[vika09 0]

Hey all,

 

Before I begin, I just wanted to provide you with a bit of information that is rather key. I live in India, and here, there are very few 'unlimited' bandwidth options for access to the internet. Even those 'unlimited' packages are pitifully slow (you're talking 128-256kbps). This poses problems, I think, for someone trying to set up a wireless camera system at home.

 

I personally have a 54mbps connection that is capped at 18GB. I am not too keen on my wireless system using this bandwidth.

 

So these are the clarifications I am seeking regarding the IP cameras.

 

To access the feed on these cameras (and monitor them), will I be connecting via the internet (i.e. using the bandwidth on my internet) or will I just be accessing an IP (like I do to modify settings on a router)?

 

I am extremely sorry if this is the stupidest question asked, but I've seen things like Dropcam being labelled as 'IP' cameras and that obviously requires me to be logged onto a website that will eat away at my bandwidth limit.

 

Basically, I am looking for wireless cameras whose video feeds are accessible like a router is accessed.

 

Thanks for all the guidance!

 

Vish

[ssmith10pn 0]

If the cameras are in your home and your viewing the cameras in your home there would be no reason for the traffic to use your internet connection.

The only time you would use internet bandwidth is if your outside your home and trying to view your cameras from another internet connection.

[buellwinkle 0]

Also, to add to that, most cameras have two streams so you can set a high resolution stream for viewing and recording at home and a separate lower resolution, lower frame rate stream, higher compression for remote viewing to reduce bandwidth use at home and on your remote connection like from a smartphone.

[vika09 0]

Thanks a lot for the clarification guys!

 

Just a final question. If I have a router that has access to the internet, the cameras (if accessed from a laptop inside the house connected to the same router) will only rely on the internal network (so no bandwith usage).

 

However, if I use an external network (let's say from the USA, while my home is in India) the cameras will use the internet connection.

 

This naturally happens automatically right? I don't need to change between 'LAN' mode and 'internet' mode each time?

 

Thanks for help!

[buellwinkle 0]

Vishnu,

 

The only difference is you will use an internal IP address when home, like 192.168... and your external IP or DDNS name from outside your network. It will only use your internet bandwidth when you access the cameras remotely. When you connect to the cameras, most have a main stream and sub stream buttons so you can chose what resolution you want to view the cameras at the click of a button.

[mkkoskin 0]

You should check how your router actually acts though, i've come across some cases where 2 computer in same router actually connected from Computer -> Router -> Outside router -> Back inside router -> Another computer.

So make sure your LAN is actually configured properly. Probably the best choice is to buy a 1Gbps switch for the cameras, since normal cheap routers (ones that usually ship with the connection from isp) are bad at handling lots of LAN connections at high speeds.