Recommendations for a Home Scenery Camera System

[MontanaDoug 0]

Requirements:

1. Minimum 2 cameras

2. Minimum 1080P resolution

3. Manual zoom … 4X would be more than adequate.

4. In protected outdoor location (under eaves)

 

Not Required

1. Night view (IR)

2. Recorded images or movies

3. Alarms

4. PTZ automation

 

Background: We would like to take advantage of the “drop-dead” views all around us. The views are partially blocked by nearby houses, but are much improved from the roof peaks. Security is not much of a concern. We purchased a Lorex NVR system from Costco that is overkill in many respects, however the mountains 8 mi. away are clearer with the naked eye than when displayed on a monitor with decent resolution. (Image says 1920x1080). The Lorex system is set up in “testbed” mode; camera and NVR are 2’ from my router, only 1 camera (out of 4) is hooked up, camera is “looking” out through a double-pane screenless window, etc. Daughter in Germany thought the view was great over the internet. Googling cameras brings up way too many choices.

 

I’d also like a brief explanation of how to setup the suggested system in order to view on a URL.

 

I’m reasonably adept at computers and software (build my own very powerful systems & run my own Python programs), but am weak in the IP protocol area … muddle my way through).

 

TIA, Doug

[peaceflwr 0]

Requirements:

1. Minimum 2 cameras

2. Minimum 1080P resolution

3. Manual zoom … 4X would be more than adequate.

4. In protected outdoor location (under eaves)

 

Not Required

1. Night view (IR)

2. Recorded images or movies

3. Alarms

4. PTZ automation

 

Background: We would like to take advantage of the “drop-dead” views all around us. The views are partially blocked by nearby houses, but are much improved from the roof peaks. Security is not much of a concern. We purchased a Lorex NVR system from Costco that is overkill in many respects, however the mountains 8 mi. away are clearer with the naked eye than when displayed on a monitor with decent resolution. (Image says 1920x1080). The Lorex system is set up in “testbed” mode; camera and NVR are 2’ from my router, only 1 camera (out of 4) is hooked up, camera is “looking” out through a double-pane screenless window, etc. Daughter in Germany thought the view was great over the internet. Googling cameras brings up way too many choices.

 

I’d also like a brief explanation of how to setup the suggested system in order to view on a URL.

 

I’m reasonably adept at computers and software (build my own very powerful systems & run my own Python programs), but am weak in the IP protocol area … muddle my way through).

 

TIA, Doug

 

 

You can actually set up a DDNS URL (for dynamic IP address), port forward the IP address of the camera/NVR and view outside of the network that way (inside the network simply put the camera/NVR address in the browser to view)

OR

every IP camera and NVR have a serial number (same concept as a MAC address) you can view the system with the serial number if you have a smartphone app or CMS software (if you send me a private message I can forward you a copy of basic CMS software)

[MontanaDoug 0]

After a lot more searching and talking on this subject, I've concluded that no one fills this niche even though it's technically very feasible, almost mundane.

 

The bottom line is that a wide field of view is great for security/surveillance(near field) but degrades scenery(far field)

 

Proposal: New Product Niche “Home Scenery Camera System”

 

Brief Discussion: Nearby houses block our 360o spectacular views. An outside camera mounted under the eaves at the peak of the roof would allow us to see these views on a monitor or TV (or mobile device). My wife and I have spent upwards of 50 hours trying to find a system which would meet some fairly basic requirements, to no avail. We were willing to spend up to $1000 for a high quality system. We did purchase a Lorex IP camera system from Costco to see if it would meet our requirements. It did not. The key issue was the inflexible wide field of view.

 

Requirements:

 

1. Minimum 2 outdoor cameras

2. Minimum 1080P resolution

3. Manual optical zoom … 4X would be more than adequate, set during installation.

4. PoE wired

5. In protected outdoor location (under eaves)

6. The camera should be easy to clean (maybe twice/yr.)

 

Possible Upgrades:

 

1. Automatic zoom

2. 8x optical zoom

3. Full PTZ control

4. System to lower camera for cleaning

5. Dual usage; scenery and surveillance

 

Not Required:

 

1. Night view (IR)

2. Wide field of view (great for security, lousy for sharp scenery pictures)

3. Recorded images or movies (won’t need a hard drive)

4. Alarms and/or motion detection

5. PTZ automation

 

Business model: We believe all the required components are fully developed. We further believe that at a reasonable price point ($250-$450), the potential market is quite large. Based on our research, this market has been totally overlooked, while top quality companies focus on the “security” market. As the price of flexible, light weight TV’s drops, I envision “full wall windows” bringing the outdoors into the house; even into basements.

[MontanaDoug 0]

peaceflwr wrote:

You can actually set up a DDNS URL (for dynamic IP address), port forward the IP address of the camera/NVR and view outside of the network that way (inside the network simply put the camera/NVR address in the browser to view)

OR

every IP camera and NVR have a serial number (same concept as a MAC address) you can view the system with the serial number if you have a smartphone app or CMS software (if you send me a private message I can forward you a copy of basic CMS software)

 

Thanks for the reply, however, my problem is hardware; I mentioned the software setup if someone came up with neat hardware solution that required a more creative software solution. again, many thanks!

[Boogieman 1]

peaceflwr wrote:

You can actually set up a DDNS URL (for dynamic IP address), port forward the IP address of the camera/NVR and view outside of the network that way (inside the network simply put the camera/NVR address in the browser to view)

OR

every IP camera and NVR have a serial number (same concept as a MAC address) you can view the system with the serial number if you have a smartphone app or CMS software (if you send me a private message I can forward you a copy of basic CMS software)

 

Thanks for the reply, however, my problem is hardware; I mentioned the software setup if someone came up with neat hardware solution that required a more creative software solution. again, many thanks!

If all you need is 4x zoom then look at the Hikvision DS-2DE4582-AE 2MP...its available for about 500

If you need more there are other options from hikvision and dahua for about 700 or so...

There is no market for scenery cameras....dont kid yourself...the security ptz do the job and then some...

[MontanaDoug 0]

Boogieman wrote:

 

If all you need is 4x zoom then look at the Hikvision DS-2DE4582-AE 2MP...its available for about 500

If you need more there are other options from hikvision and dahua for about 700 or so...

There is no market for scenery cameras....dont kid yourself...the security ptz do the job and then some...

 

Analogy Kinda like driving my M1A3 Abrams 3 miles to Sunday breakfast! It will do the job and then some!!

 

My wife (aka "boss") wants me to get 2 of your suggested Hikvision DS-2DE4582-AE 2MP's. My Scot ancestors are rolling in the grave.

 

Anyway ... thanks for the suggestion & stay out of the way of my main battle tank.

 

Cheers, Doug

[Boogieman 1]

Boogieman wrote:

 

If all you need is 4x zoom then look at the Hikvision DS-2DE4582-AE 2MP...its available for about 500

If you need more there are other options from hikvision and dahua for about 700 or so...

There is no market for scenery cameras....dont kid yourself...the security ptz do the job and then some...

 

Analogy Kinda like driving my M1A3 Abrams 3 miles to Sunday breakfast! It will do the job and then some!!

 

My wife (aka "boss") wants me to get 2 of your suggested Hikvision DS-2DE4582-AE 2MP's. My Scot ancestors are rolling in the grave.

 

Anyway ... thanks for the suggestion & stay out of the way of my main battle tank.

 

Cheers, Doug

Most of what you are paying for is the ptz and image quality, the rest is icing on the cake and firmware related..you are not going to pay much less if you remove features..its costs next to nothing to add ir..

If you dont need ir and would like a smaller package this is another great camera

Dahua DH-SD42212S-HN

It has 12x zoom also sold as ESIP-PTZMINI12X

remember that both these cameras require poe+ not standard poe.