IP Camera Systems

[Napoleonbc 0]

I don't know of a way to do what you are saying cheaply. Maybe look into PC-Based DVR with some nice software...I've used one by 123CCTV.com they have a house brand of PC-based DVR card...thier software is nice though. Allows for remote viewing, playback...AND...you can record locally what you are seeing remotely. But then from that DVR it is Standard CCTV stuff. Nothing fancy.

 

Try it...I've used it and like it. Not ultra quality...but it works for what you are describing.

[ipProTech 0]

Netcam Watcher Pro seems interesting. Only issue I see the display rate...on a 30fps camera is less then 5ofps (Sony). I wish some of these less expensive software packages could reach the performance of ONSSI/Milestone.

[rory 0]

i dont want to stick in a DVR or system at the premises in this case, just remote watch, and record on event. When i say cheap, compared to a 4 channel DVR, Cameras, Lenses, Monitor, etc.

 

Rory

[loop 0]

Check these out:

 

http://www.linudix.com

http://www.flexwatch.com/products/fw_ncs.asp

http://www.webgateinc.com/wg_htdocs/english/products/webeye_intro.html

 

I've recently done a small research about all existing IP cameras/servers for my first large scale project that is monitoring 70 seperate remote IP cameras from a central location.

I was mostly looking for a good cheap product that is bundled with software.

All the information here is only based on my impression from the products, based on their specs/features, demos, and bundled software testing. I intend to order samples next week if I finally get this project. Then I can post some more concrete info.

 

Linudix products looks very well built, are cheap, and their bundled software is very cheap and gives good impression. It supports the monitoring of a few groups of up to 16 cameras each. For my project, this seems to be the best solution for now. Check out their video servers as well. I will use a 2 ch video server with one CCTV camera as the best cost effective solution.

The company's strong side is the server. They specialize in embedded linux solutions.

 

Flexwatch's products are more expensive, and the software isn't cheap too. The FW-50/100A cameras are discontinued, and there's a new 2 ch video server, FW-3210, that is not yet listed on their site.

 

WebGate has a great software. Products aren't cheap, but bundled software is.

 

Some more to check:

 

http://www.pixord.com

http://www.vivotek.com

[sue 0]

The reason I'm looking at IP solutions is that some people are not allowed to download client software on their work computers to view their cameras remotely. And some, even if they download the video client, cannot see the remote video as it is coming in over a port that is filtered by their company's proxy server. They need something they can watch via http.

 

Also, pardon my ignorance, but the camera I am looking at right now is the Axis 2130R. I can view 330 degrees L and R, and 100 degrees up and down with that guy. How can a camera with no moving parts possibly give me that field of view?

 

I'm glad I came back here before I spent $1500 of my hard earned money.

 

Thanks!

[rory 0]

you can view alot of DVRs these days on port 80 (http)

[Thomas 0]

There are other solutions then IP cameras that can handle your requirements. For instance our web software is a web page without any plugins. It's compliant on most modern browers (IE, Gecko family, KHTML, ect...)

 

www.demovi.com

[rory 0]

The quality you are getting from that camera, is digital zoom, not Optical like a PTZ. And then take a look at the price of the software.

[cctv_down_under 0]

Why not just use standard cameras and a webserver, the AVtech one costs less than $100 US, this allows you to do the very basics and is quite good, resoltion is fairly small though.

[sue 0]

Which camera are you speaking of, rory? The Axis 2130R is 16x optical zoom PTZ.

 

As for AVTech, I already have a 4 channel DVR with 4 420 line infrared cameras. It records just great. I just can't watch the cameras from work. This web camera is supplemental. I don't mind spending the money, I just want it to be good. I can hook up a $10 garage sale web cam (and have done that), but the picture looks like crap, and it needs lots of light. Ok if you just want to watch the second hand on a clock go around during peak daylight hours. I want to pan the first floor and see everything clearly.

[rory 0]

ok it costs $1500 but for that price you could use a PROFESSIONAL PTZ Camera with a web server,

[sue 0]

Ok, thanks. I'm looking for suggestions, rory.

[cctv_down_under 0]

AVTech sells a web server that goes with the 4ch Standalone??

 

really if your going to get into an expensive PTZ (merit lilin is about the cheapest) you really are better off witha webserver, mind you the I.P. stuff has improved, the new Sony is quite good indeed, but for me I would rather have a more pwerfull camera than a suite of softwrare, after all you are trying to watch the image!!!

[sue 0]

Even tho I'm not from Missouri, I'm a "show me" kind of person. The demos I see for the Axis 2130R are fantastic. The demos I see for the Sony SNC-RZ30N are lame, if I can even see anything at all. (Not to mention that Sony's customer support is horrid to non-existent)

 

Can you point me to anything concrete that I can look at?

 

Thanks!

[sue 0]

This may or may not be turned on, but I set up a little train cam for my husband:

 

http://odomcam.d2gwebsite.com:8282

 

 

He won't let me run the train when he's not home.

[Rickd 0]

The higher the resolution the better the digital zoom. If you want to see digital zoom from the camera with the most resolution available today, visit http://cam1.iqeye.com

 

With 2 megapixels this does pretty well in the zoom department. The lens is not wide angle on this example - but other than that it will give you a feel for what digital zoom can accomplish. This camerais fixed, no moving parts, so all pan tilt zoom is done in the interface. And no client software required, all http like you asked for...

 

Rickd

[sue 0]

It's very nice. No wide angle demos? How many degrees on the wide angle? I need 330-340.

 

What camera is this? How much for the wide?

 

The zoom gets grainy.

[Rickd 0]

the demo cam is an IQeye302 from IQinVision and the list is $1395 w/o lens

www.iqeye.com

 

it support CS and C mount lenses, so you can pick the lens and so the FOV.

 

I think IQinVision offers a 2.6 mm ultra wide angle, but even that only covers 115 degrees. other lenses are available from other sources...

 

iPIX offers a two camera system that covers 360 degrees, but it is expensive. most digital zoom solutions today are designed to cover 90 to 180 degrees. beyond that you get problems zooming much, because the cameras today don't have enough resolution. maybe soon.

 

regarding grainy digital zoom, any digital zoom that has a capture resolution bigger than the viewing resolution has a period of relatively lossless zoom, no grain. the ratio between the capture resolution and the viewing resolution describes the zoom ratio in the nearly lossless area. if you're interested in the tech, this is using downsampling to resize the image, and good downsampling algorithms are nearly lossless. When the capture resolution (or the part of the image being displayed) is smaller than the viewing resolution, then a process called upsample is used. A single step in upsample is generally acceptable - but after that the picture degrades very fast. So the trick is to have a very large capture resolution, and right now the top mark is the IQeye302 and IQeye602 both with 2 megapixel resolution, or 1600 by 1200. With a viewing window of 320 by 240 and only allowing a single upsample step that provides a 10X zoom.

 

Rickd

[sue 0]

Thanks. I don't think this is the solution for me.

[sue 0]

Say, I just went back and read what you guys were saying about video servers. A light bulb just went on in my head. I have this 4 channel DVR that I can't see from work. Can I just buy a video server, and put a Y-connector on the end of my camera cable, one goes to the DVR, the other to the server? Then I can view it on the web and record too?

[rory 0]

Yes. Or loop out from the 4 channel DVR to the Video Server.

[sue 0]

Thanks, rory. Is this one and the same as the $200 webserver someone mentioned? I have been looking, and the first thing I found was a Stardot video server, and that's $895, a bit too much. I'm not sure what search string to use. I'm sorry I'm so slow, but I didn't pay much attention to video servers before, and didn't know what they were for. I'm blonde, you know.

[PKassab 0]

Rory,

 

email me at Peter@kassabtechnology.com and lets talk about the new ip based system we have coming out next week, I will get the the details on it and see what you think of, I will have a review of it up by the end of next week. i hope to hear from you and maybe we can start a partnership with yout to sell out system.

 

Peter

[sue 0]

Rory, are you speaking of this guy right here?

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=48634&item=5717594980&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

 

Also, when you say loop out, what exactly do you mean?

 

Thanks.

[dusan 0]

idea for best ip video server and 2 way audio and things to look for in server

 

1.) mpeg4 hardware compresion in a chip or better (mpeg7 ?)

2.) 2 way audio (~2-5w power audio out, eq audio mic filter like hearing aid)

3.) ptz rs232/rs485 (modular software drivers on a flash card with os )

4.) flash memory card slot ( support for ~16gb flash card and more )

5.) poe = power over ethernet spec ~15w 48v (1 wire neded only all in one)

6.) linux os open system ( not closed limited os )

7.) memory ram in a socket for easy upgrade (or start with 128mb ram)

8.) 2 wire comunication channel for electronic web control (sound volume etc)

 

if anybody knows of one for fair price i like get it

 

so jump in expand the new ip server model of the near future

 

dusan