Need Help With New System

[djm1k0 0]

Hello to all i'm new here and really in the need of some help.

 

I have been asked to price out and install a system for a client. I am fairly new to this as i'm and IT person however have configured systems for other clients my partner is a contractor so we are starting to get into the camera install business.... i"m reading online and trying to research systems but there are so many and i'm starting to feel lost... I need some help

 

We are looking at installing a 4 camera system on an 8ch DVR maybe 1 or 2TB HDD, the 4 camera locations, front, back of house, one on the garage and one watching the driveway. They need to have good night vision quality and i guess a good range distance wise for the driveway location. Also they would like to be able to watch/monitor over computer, Iphone/Ipad

 

could anyone please shoot me a few suggestions. I'd like to offer a few price points... $500, $1000, $2000 etc..

 

as far as install from reading online i'm confused a bit, i don't really understand how the cameras are powered, for example i was looking at this Swann System SWHDK-882004-US and from what i understand is that each camera connects to DVR with a BNC cable. Then each camera needs a power source ? So if i understand this correctly the camera would need to plug into an electrical outlet located near the camera location ? Forgive me if im sounding stupid but i'm new to this, how many people have power outlets installed up in lets say their soffits? Or is electric needing to be installed as well.. to me that seems like a big project just to install a security system.

 

as much help or guidance and of you could provide would be a tremendous help!! What brands are good what brands to stay away from.... as far as camera's how do you rate quality etc.. HELP

 

 

While i was waiting to hear back from somebody i've been doing some more reasearch, so correct me if i'm wrong i'm going want to be looking for something like an 8 Channel NVR w/ PoE ? so i stumbled onto this http://www.dvrsystems.net/8_Channel_NVR-8_Channel_PoE_NVR.html just for example....

 

so would it be better to build the system piece by piece or would a complete kit/system be best... again open to all suggestions.. also relaizing that there may not be a PoE system available in the $500 range and that's fine just let me know thanks again !!

[ibmtech 0]

I am no expert but maybe I can help. If you choose that system or any with BNC connectors you will have to power the cameras as well. Do a search on siamese cables. These are coax cable that have an additional 2 wires to power the camaras. You can then have a 12 V power supply near the DVR and power all cameras from one location. There are some other options, many sytems are available with "POE" power over ethernet. Cameras get power from the DVR through Cat5/6 ethernet cables. like this one. Its the same as you were looking at only 3MP cameras and its POE.

http://www.costco.com/Swann-8-Channel-3MP-NVR-Security-System-with-2TB-HDD-and-4-1080p-Cameras.product.100058520.html

 

There is also a lower cost Samsung that is still BNC but has power pig tails to power cameras from the DVR, cables are included.

http://www.costco.com/Samsung-16-Channel-D1-Security-System-with-1TB-Hard-Drive-and-10-600TVL-Cameras.product.100056785.html

 

For the difference I would go with the Swann. Hope that helps. Good luck.

[djm1k0 0]

I am no expert but maybe I can help. If you choose that system or any with BNC connectors you will have to power the cameras as well. Do a search on siamese cables. These are coax cable that have an additional 2 wires to power the camaras. You can then have a 12 V power supply near the DVR and power all cameras from one location. There are some other options, many sytems are available with "POE" power over ethernet. Cameras get power from the DVR through Cat5/6 ethernet cables. like this one. Its the same as you were looking at only 3MP cameras and its POE.

http://www.costco.com/Swann-8-Channel-3MP-NVR-Security-System-with-2TB-HDD-and-4-1080p-Cameras.product.100058520.html

 

There is also a lower cost Samsung that is still BNC but has power pig tails to power cameras from the DVR, cables are included.

http://www.costco.com/Samsung-16-Channel-D1-Security-System-with-1TB-Hard-Drive-and-10-600TVL-Cameras.product.100056785.html

 

For the difference I would go with the Swann. Hope that helps. Good luck.

 

 

that Swann system at Costco seems like a great deal, however i was looking at

http://www.dvrsystems.net/8_Channel_NVR-8_Channel_PoE_NVR.html

for an NVR system and then building it out with camera's from there but by doing that is a considerable price increase. Is that Swann system decent or is it just a low budget system... Few things i read about it that could be viewed as cons, they don't have PTZ and at night you can see red around the camera's from the IR... is this an issue ? i'm not really sure

 

we the NVR system from the link about i can get that NVR then get camera's specific to the location they are needed, however being kinda a newbie at this maybe I'm going about it wrong... I'd really like to get some more feedback and opinions before i make any moves...

[ibmtech 0]

I went with the Costco Swann system I referenced and it should arrive this week so I will know more soon. Here are few reasons for my decision. Costco has a liberal return policy, although they state 90 days I just returned the Samsung that was giving me troubles and poor IQ that I bought in May with no problems. Swann is a local company for me which may make issues easier to deal with. I have called and tested their support, after a short wait all questions were answered to my satisfaction. I feel confident if I have a problem they will help me through it. I have seen the 3MP video samples and it blows away my previous systems and the Samsung that I returned. The DVR you referenced seems to have the same specs except for 5mp recording and the composite video output. I am guessing you would be around $1400-$1500 with 4 1080P cameras. Regarding PTZ on the Swann, it has the controls and software for PTZ. Although at the moment they do not make one for the NVR it is planned for release by the end of the year. They are many other IP PTZ cameras that will work. My previous 2 systems all had red IR lights at night, they are not bright like red LED's just a red glow but noticeable if you look at them. The only one that I know of that noticed them was a police officer, shined his flashlight and blinded the camera. Its not an issue for me. I hope the perp sees them and goes elsewhere. I suppose the downside is they could try and disable the cameras but with in wall cables and a hidden/locked DVR I don't think they will succeed.

[djm1k0 0]

I went with the Costco Swann system I referenced and it should arrive this week so I will know more soon. Here are few reasons for my decision. Costco has a liberal return policy, although they state 90 days I just returned the Samsung that was giving me troubles and poor IQ that I bought in May with no problems. Swann is a local company for me which may make issues easier to deal with. I have called and tested their support, after a short wait all questions were answered to my satisfaction. I feel confident if I have a problem they will help me through it. I have seen the 3MP video samples and it blows away my previous systems and the Samsung that I returned. The DVR you referenced seems to have the same specs except for 5mp recording and the composite video output. I am guessing you would be around $1400-$1500 with 4 1080P cameras. Regarding PTZ on the Swann, it has the controls and software for PTZ. Although at the moment they do not make one for the NVR it is planned for release by the end of the year. They are many other IP PTZ cameras that will work. My previous 2 systems all had red IR lights at night, they are not bright like red LED's just a red glow but noticeable if you look at them. The only one that I know of that noticed them was a police officer, shined his flashlight and blinded the camera. Its not an issue for me. I hope the perp sees them and goes elsewhere. I suppose the downside is they could try and disable the cameras but with in wall cables and a hidden/locked DVR I don't think they will succeed.

 

do you know if other brand/model camera's can be used on the Swann system ? in other words can i get a PTZ camera of another brand and hook it up ?

 

i appreciate all the info and would really love to hear back from you once you get this system up and running to see how it is...

 

on another note that other NVR i was looking at plus the cameras i was up over $2K and it seemed although i was able to pick and choose the camera's with the $2K pricing i didn't have 3MP camera selected and only a 500gb HDD

 

i would like to see the possibility of adding other cameras to this Swann system maybe Dome style camera or PTZ style

[fenderman 0]

I went with the Costco Swann system I referenced and it should arrive this week so I will know more soon. Here are few reasons for my decision. Costco has a liberal return policy, although they state 90 days I just returned the Samsung that was giving me troubles and poor IQ that I bought in May with no problems. Swann is a local company for me which may make issues easier to deal with. I have called and tested their support, after a short wait all questions were answered to my satisfaction. I feel confident if I have a problem they will help me through it. I have seen the 3MP video samples and it blows away my previous systems and the Samsung that I returned. The DVR you referenced seems to have the same specs except for 5mp recording and the composite video output. I am guessing you would be around $1400-$1500 with 4 1080P cameras. Regarding PTZ on the Swann, it has the controls and software for PTZ. Although at the moment they do not make one for the NVR it is planned for release by the end of the year. They are many other IP PTZ cameras that will work. My previous 2 systems all had red IR lights at night, they are not bright like red LED's just a red glow but noticeable if you look at them. The only one that I know of that noticed them was a police officer, shined his flashlight and blinded the camera. Its not an issue for me. I hope the perp sees them and goes elsewhere. I suppose the downside is they could try and disable the cameras but with in wall cables and a hidden/locked DVR I don't think they will succeed.

 

do you know if other brand/model camera's can be used on the Swann system ? in other words can i get a PTZ camera of another brand and hook it up ?

 

i appreciate all the info and would really love to hear back from you once you get this system up and running to see how it is...

 

on another note that other NVR i was looking at plus the cameras i was up over $2K and it seemed although i was able to pick and choose the camera's with the $2K pricing i didn't have 3MP camera selected and only a 500gb HDD

 

i would like to see the possibility of adding other cameras to this Swann system maybe Dome style camera or PTZ style

you will be very limited as to what ptz cameras you can connect to that system. keep in mind that ptz ip cameras cost anywhere from 600 to 1500. (excluding crap foscam that is not worth your time and will not work with this system anyway). Ptz is not a good solution for a home system anyways because you don't have someone there monitoring for movement 24/7, you are better of with two wide angle cameras (2.8mm) lens and you will have 180 degree coverage 24/7 for way cheaper than ptz. if you want the ability to truly use almost any camera you will need a software based solution running on a pc such as blue iris or milestone.

[ibmtech 0]

I went with the Costco Swann system I referenced and it should arrive this week so I will know more soon. Here are few reasons for my decision. Costco has a liberal return policy, although they state 90 days I just returned the Samsung that was giving me troubles and poor IQ that I bought in May with no problems. Swann is a local company for me which may make issues easier to deal with. I have called and tested their support, after a short wait all questions were answered to my satisfaction. I feel confident if I have a problem they will help me through it. I have seen the 3MP video samples and it blows away my previous systems and the Samsung that I returned. The DVR you referenced seems to have the same specs except for 5mp recording and the composite video output. I am guessing you would be around $1400-$1500 with 4 1080P cameras. Regarding PTZ on the Swann, it has the controls and software for PTZ. Although at the moment they do not make one for the NVR it is planned for release by the end of the year. They are many other IP PTZ cameras that will work. My previous 2 systems all had red IR lights at night, they are not bright like red LED's just a red glow but noticeable if you look at them. The only one that I know of that noticed them was a police officer, shined his flashlight and blinded the camera. Its not an issue for me. I hope the perp sees them and goes elsewhere. I suppose the downside is they could try and disable the cameras but with in wall cables and a hidden/locked DVR I don't think they will succeed.

 

do you know if other brand/model camera's can be used on the Swann system ? in other words can i get a PTZ camera of another brand and hook it up ?

 

i appreciate all the info and would really love to hear back from you once you get this system up and running to see how it is...

 

on another note that other NVR i was looking at plus the cameras i was up over $2K and it seemed although i was able to pick and choose the camera's with the $2K pricing i didn't have 3MP camera selected and only a 500gb HDD

 

i would like to see the possibility of adding other cameras to this Swann system maybe Dome style camera or PTZ style

 

I think most of the IP PTZ's will work. The problem is getting one that has the 2-3 MP to take advantage of the NVR's capability. Still doing my research on PTZ. Since the Swann is a re-branded Hikvision I would think their 2.1MP PTZ would work.

Probably no support from Swann if it doesn't.

 

My Swann/Costco system showed up today, getting ready to unbox. Will report back.

[djm1k0 0]

@ibmtech thanks do much could you please let me know as soon as it up and running and let me know your thoughts i would like to make the purchase but would really like your feedback before doing so thanks again !!

[ibmtech 0]

@ibmtech thanks do much could you please let me know as soon as it up and running and let me know your thoughts i would like to make the purchase but would really like your feedback before doing so thanks again !!

 

I got it up and running in a test environment, just the NVR and cameras on a shelf. Didn't want to fully install until I am sure. So far I am very pleased with ops and image quality. It blows away the previous Samsung unit. I did have to call support to get remote viewing configured. I called on Friday AM and was 1st in line, no wait. Logged into supportme.com and she had it done in about 10 mins, including test. Had to set port forwarding on my router, 3 ports. One note, the NVR specs and pics are a little different than what is shown on Costco.com and even the manual they send with the unit. The manual shows no RS232 port when it does have one and the RS485 port is not separate, its on the bank of connectors with the alarm outputs. Haven't tried remote viewing yet from my laptop but working great on my Android phone and my desktop using the Swannview Plus. On the phone it auto logs in and within a few seconds its streaming live view, something I always had trouble using the Samsung DVR. Cameras are solid, seem well built. The Cat5e cables that ship are 100ft and light grey in color, unlike the blue 60ft specd at Costco.com. I just purchased some shorter white Cat6 cables to suit my install. Not sure why the have a power pigtail on it being it is POE. I may just put a cap over it and tape it up. The DVR is a little larger than I expected, bigger than my Samsung, but thin in height. There is extra room for a 2nd drive. Noise seems acceptable considering it probably has a CPU fan, a exit fan and a hard drive running. It has a blue accent light that looks cool but kinda says "Hey if your looking for the recorder I am over here" I plan on opening it up for a look and might disable it. I am using event recording, one thing I really like compared to previous systems is you can set the time for before and after the event. I assume it buffers the video, I have it set to 5secs before and after. Still learning the system but so far its a go. Confident enough I am starting the permanent install. Going with 6 cameras for now, maybe a PTZ later. I bought 2 of these systems and the 2 addition bullet cams, they are 2mp not 3mp that come with the system. I will either go with 2 NVR's sharing the workload running 3mp at 30 frames and return the 2 camera pack or return 1 system and keep the 2 camera pack and go to 1080P with 15 frames.

Good luck.

[TRod760 0]

Hi all, didn't want to start a new thread for my question so I figured I'd ask here.

 

I recently bought this system from costco and installed it myself. Getting the system up and running was a breeze. Hardest part was crawling around in my tiny attic to run the ethernet. The NVR is pretty quiet and sleek looking. Not that it matters since I installed in a closet that I'll be dead bolting in the near future. Also ran a long USB 2.0 cable into the attic that attaches to a backup drive that captures video. Figured this would be a good idea in case someone busted in and stole the NVR.

 

ANYWAY....

 

I've managed to get everything working with the exception of the iPhone app. I can remotely access the system via the Swannview Plus Client desktop software and the web based software via the swanndvr.net domain.

 

The instructions that came with the system made it seem that setup for remote viewing would be much easier than it actually was. Per the instructions, I should be able to just enter my systems "UID" into the software and vua' la', it should work. Even easier with the iPhone app. I'm supposed to just be able to take a pic of the QR Code. When I took the pic, a UID automatically filled the field, so the QR code sticker is working. What I noticed though is that in my system, the UID field is blank where the UID should be. Even if I click the "Send UID" button from the NVR itself, I get a blank email. So I had to do the whole port forwarding thing. Wondering if they just forgot to put the UID into my NVR?

 

Just wanted to ask around, see if anyone had the same issue. I found another thread that mentioned changing the RTSP port to 5544. Did that, forwarded it and still no luck.

 

I have an iPhone 4 that's running iOS7 on Verizon. Thanks in advance.

[djm1k0 0]

awesome thank you so much for the review, since it's been some time now are you still satisfied with this system ? We are getting close to pulling the trigger just waiting on my client at this point to schedule some time.

 

 

 

@ibmtech thanks do much could you please let me know as soon as it up and running and let me know your thoughts i would like to make the purchase but would really like your feedback before doing so thanks again !!

 

I got it up and running in a test environment, just the NVR and cameras on a shelf. Didn't want to fully install until I am sure. So far I am very pleased with ops and image quality. It blows away the previous Samsung unit. I did have to call support to get remote viewing configured. I called on Friday AM and was 1st in line, no wait. Logged into supportme.com and she had it done in about 10 mins, including test. Had to set port forwarding on my router, 3 ports. One note, the NVR specs and pics are a little different than what is shown on Costco.com and even the manual they send with the unit. The manual shows no RS232 port when it does have one and the RS485 port is not separate, its on the bank of connectors with the alarm outputs. Haven't tried remote viewing yet from my laptop but working great on my Android phone and my desktop using the Swannview Plus. On the phone it auto logs in and within a few seconds its streaming live view, something I always had trouble using the Samsung DVR. Cameras are solid, seem well built. The Cat5e cables that ship are 100ft and light grey in color, unlike the blue 60ft specd at Costco.com. I just purchased some shorter white Cat6 cables to suit my install. Not sure why the have a power pigtail on it being it is POE. I may just put a cap over it and tape it up. The DVR is a little larger than I expected, bigger than my Samsung, but thin in height. There is extra room for a 2nd drive. Noise seems acceptable considering it probably has a CPU fan, a exit fan and a hard drive running. It has a blue accent light that looks cool but kinda says "Hey if your looking for the recorder I am over here" I plan on opening it up for a look and might disable it. I am using event recording, one thing I really like compared to previous systems is you can set the time for before and after the event. I assume it buffers the video, I have it set to 5secs before and after. Still learning the system but so far its a go. Confident enough I am starting the permanent install. Going with 6 cameras for now, maybe a PTZ later. I bought 2 of these systems and the 2 addition bullet cams, they are 2mp not 3mp that come with the system. I will either go with 2 NVR's sharing the workload running 3mp at 30 frames and return the 2 camera pack or return 1 system and keep the 2 camera pack and go to 1080P with 15 frames.

Good luck.

[ibmtech 0]

Hi all, didn't want to start a new thread for my question so I figured I'd ask here.

 

I recently bought this system from costco and installed it myself. Getting the system up and running was a breeze. Hardest part was crawling around in my tiny attic to run the ethernet. The NVR is pretty quiet and sleek looking. Not that it matters since I installed in a closet that I'll be dead bolting in the near future. Also ran a long USB 2.0 cable into the attic that attaches to a backup drive that captures video. Figured this would be a good idea in case someone busted in and stole the NVR.

 

ANYWAY....

 

I've managed to get everything working with the exception of the iPhone app. I can remotely access the system via the Swannview Plus Client desktop software and the web based software via the swanndvr.net domain.

 

The instructions that came with the system made it seem that setup for remote viewing would be much easier than it actually was. Per the instructions, I should be able to just enter my systems "UID" into the software and vua' la', it should work. Even easier with the iPhone app. I'm supposed to just be able to take a pic of the QR Code. When I took the pic, a UID automatically filled the field, so the QR code sticker is working. What I noticed though is that in my system, the UID field is blank where the UID should be. Even if I click the "Send UID" button from the NVR itself, I get a blank email. So I had to do the whole port forwarding thing. Wondering if they just forgot to put the UID into my NVR?

 

Just wanted to ask around, see if anyone had the same issue. I found another thread that mentioned changing the RTSP port to 5544. Did that, forwarded it and still no luck.

 

I have an iPhone 4 that's running iOS7 on Verizon. Thanks in advance.

 

Set mine up on an Android with no trouble. I did not use UID in the setup, just a static IP address. I just setup a second system and on the phone I can see all cameras from both NVR's. Swann supprt should be able to help, I have used them 3 times, 100% success rate.

[ibmtech 0]

awesome thank you so much for the review, since it's been some time now are you still satisfied with this system ? We are getting close to pulling the trigger just waiting on my client at this point to schedule some time.

 

So far so good, just installed the 2nd one. I am not much at reading manuals so I am learning by mousing around. Very pleased with it. I am not sure where you can find one now, Costco increased the price from $899 to $1299. Shortly after the increase it was removed from the Costco.com website. I did see it on the Swann website but no price.

 

Edit: Opinion may be changing. Within a few hours of this post the 1st installed NVR is dead. Looks like a power supply, no light or fan.

[TRod760 0]

Hi all, didn't want to start a new thread for my question so I figured I'd ask here.

 

I recently bought this system from costco and installed it myself. Getting the system up and running was a breeze. Hardest part was crawling around in my tiny attic to run the ethernet. The NVR is pretty quiet and sleek looking. Not that it matters since I installed in a closet that I'll be dead bolting in the near future. Also ran a long USB 2.0 cable into the attic that attaches to a backup drive that captures video. Figured this would be a good idea in case someone busted in and stole the NVR.

 

ANYWAY....

 

I've managed to get everything working with the exception of the iPhone app. I can remotely access the system via the Swannview Plus Client desktop software and the web based software via the swanndvr.net domain.

 

The instructions that came with the system made it seem that setup for remote viewing would be much easier than it actually was. Per the instructions, I should be able to just enter my systems "UID" into the software and vua' la', it should work. Even easier with the iPhone app. I'm supposed to just be able to take a pic of the QR Code. When I took the pic, a UID automatically filled the field, so the QR code sticker is working. What I noticed though is that in my system, the UID field is blank where the UID should be. Even if I click the "Send UID" button from the NVR itself, I get a blank email. So I had to do the whole port forwarding thing. Wondering if they just forgot to put the UID into my NVR?

 

Just wanted to ask around, see if anyone had the same issue. I found another thread that mentioned changing the RTSP port to 5544. Did that, forwarded it and still no luck.

 

I have an iPhone 4 that's running iOS7 on Verizon. Thanks in advance.

 

 

 

Update, in case anyone has the same issue.

 

Called Swann, they gave me a link to a firmware upgrade that populated a UID into my system. Tried scanning the QR code to get access on my iPhone and still nothing. Turns out, back when I fist installed the system and was trying to get everything to work, I entered my laptop's MAC address into the "Users" field of the NVR. That made it so that only my laptop could access the system. Once I changed that MAC address back to all 0's (00:00:00:00:00), the iPhone app started working.

 

Last week I installed my inlaws system and just used the UID to connect everything and I noticed when I access their system, it's much slower than when I access mine. Their system is using UPnP / UID setup while I did the whole port forwarding thing on mine. Accessing both systems remotely, my system is much faster when bringing up the client, switching cameras, etc....

[bkvanbek 0]

Hi all, didn't want to start a new thread for my question so I figured I'd ask here.

 

I recently bought this system from costco and installed it myself. Getting the system up and running was a breeze. Hardest part was crawling around in my tiny attic to run the ethernet. The NVR is pretty quiet and sleek looking. Not that it matters since I installed in a closet that I'll be dead bolting in the near future. Also ran a long USB 2.0 cable into the attic that attaches to a backup drive that captures video. Figured this would be a good idea in case someone busted in and stole the NVR.

 

ANYWAY....

 

I've managed to get everything working with the exception of the iPhone app. I can remotely access the system via the Swannview Plus Client desktop software and the web based software via the swanndvr.net domain.

 

The instructions that came with the system made it seem that setup for remote viewing would be much easier than it actually was. Per the instructions, I should be able to just enter my systems "UID" into the software and vua' la', it should work. Even easier with the iPhone app. I'm supposed to just be able to take a pic of the QR Code. When I took the pic, a UID automatically filled the field, so the QR code sticker is working. What I noticed though is that in my system, the UID field is blank where the UID should be. Even if I click the "Send UID" button from the NVR itself, I get a blank email. So I had to do the whole port forwarding thing. Wondering if they just forgot to put the UID into my NVR?

 

Just wanted to ask around, see if anyone had the same issue. I found another thread that mentioned changing the RTSP port to 5544. Did that, forwarded it and still no luck.

 

I have an iPhone 4 that's running iOS7 on Verizon. Thanks in advance.

 

 

 

Update, in case anyone has the same issue.

 

 

Called Swann, they gave me a link to a firmware upgrade that populated a UID into my system. Tried scanning the QR code to get access on my iPhone and still nothing. Turns out, back when I fist installed the system and was trying to get everything to work, I entered my laptop's MAC address into the "Users" field of the NVR. That made it so that only my laptop could access the system. Once I changed that MAC address back to all 0's (00:00:00:00:00), the iPhone app started working.

 

Last week I installed my inlaws system and just used the UID to connect everything and I noticed when I access their system, it's much slower than when I access mine. Their system is using UPnP / UID setup while I did the whole port forwarding thing on mine. Accessing both systems remotely, my system is much faster when bringing up the client, switching cameras, etc....

 

I do have an issue, no UID was sent by email, blank. But maybe it is slower and I shouldn't use a UID, what do you think?

[TRod760 0]

Call and get the firmware upgrade or just shoot them an email at tech@swann.com. I have access to both my system and my inlaws system on my iphone. I used the UID for theirs and the IP for mine. Both systems seem equally fast on the iphone. I notice a difference in speed when logging in using the desktop client on my PC. Iphone seems fine using the UID.