Do HD IP Cameras use less power than analog cameras?

[badmop 0]

I have 2 cameras like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/271401591185?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

They are running off a 12v 4a power supply, anything less and the LEDs are dimmer when plugged into a less powerful power supply. (yes, description says 12v 2a for each camera)

 

Okay, my question is do HD IP cameras use less power than analog cameras? Because I was looking at a dahua NVR with 8 ports BUILT into the back of the NVR. The power supply for the NVR was 12v 4a, how can that power the NVR, plus 8 IP cameras? If I understand correctly, doesn't the one ethernet cable running to an IP camera have video/audio/power running through the one POE (ethernet) cable?

 

I'm confused and curious, haha. I have 1 dauha HD IP Camera coming soon and was just doing some thinking.

Thanks for the responses!

[MaxIcon 0]

A few things to consider:

 

For 12Vdc, cable length becomes an issue, as the wire resistance causes a bigger power loss at 12V (due to the higher current) than at the 48V POE voltage.

 

Older cams may have less efficient electronics, but you'd have to test that to be sure. The cam you linked recommends a 12V, 2A (24W) supply. This doesn't mean the cam uses that much, but it may. Not many IP cams use that much.

 

Typical POE only supplies 12-14W, so the majority of POE cams use less than that. POE+ supplies more power, but isn't very common yet. PTZ cams are more likely to need higher power for the motors.

 

Most basic cams from the mainstream vendors only use 4-8W these days, even with IR on, though high power IR cams will bump up against the 12-14W limit.

 

For the NVR you have on order, make sure all 8 ports are POE; many only have 4 ports of POE. If they are, that would require over 110W to supply all 8 ports at full power, and the supply you mention only supplies 48W, so you've either got half-power ports with all 8 cams connected, or 4 POE ports.

[badmop 0]

Thank you for the reply, I did forget about the 48v POE part of it also.

This is the NVR I am looking at, can't order yet but planning everything out slowly.

 

Dahua NVR4216-8P Megapixel 1080P 16 CH CHANNEL HD IP Network Security Surveillance CCTV Video Recorder NVR, 8 POE Ports Switch Build-in

 

The longest run of ethernet cable for any of my cameras would be no more than 120feet. I was curious about it as it seemed odd about powering 8 cameras through the NVR, possibly being underpowered, but since I haven't had my hands on any of this new tech, I'm learning as I go.

 

Thanks

 

 

 

A few things to consider:

 

For 12Vdc, cable length becomes an issue, as the wire resistance causes a bigger power loss at 12V (due to the higher current) than at the 48V POE voltage.

 

Older cams may have less efficient electronics, but you'd have to test that to be sure. The cam you linked recommends a 12V, 2A (24W) supply. This doesn't mean the cam uses that much, but it may. Not many IP cams use that much.

 

Typical POE only supplies 12-14W, so the majority of POE cams use less than that. POE+ supplies more power, but isn't very common yet. PTZ cams are more likely to need higher power for the motors.

 

Most basic cams from the mainstream vendors only use 4-8W these days, even with IR on, though high power IR cams will bump up against the 12-14W limit.

 

For the NVR you have on order, make sure all 8 ports are POE; many only have 4 ports of POE. If they are, that would require over 110W to supply all 8 ports at full power, and the supply you mention only supplies 48W, so you've either got half-power ports with all 8 cams connected, or 4 POE ports.

[MaxIcon 0]

Interestingly, that's a POE+ NVR, which makes sense because Dahua makes some cams that pull 15W, IIRC.

 

They're not very clear on the detailed specs (the manual may have more info), but their web site power specs say:

NVR: 60W(without HDD) (the spec sheet say 20W(without HDD)

PoE: Max.25.5W for single port

 

So, it can supply the POE+ spec to a single port, but doesn't specify how much total power they can supply to the POE ports, which is the important number. It's good to know if 2 POE+ cams use up your entire POE power budget.

 

Also, note that the web page spec doesn't match what your PS is labeled for; welcome to Dahua specs!

[badmop 0]

Thanks, I'm not extremely worried about the power being run through the ethernet cable. As with my current cameras, I have a power wire run already. So with most IP cameras they have the barrel connector for powering them separate. I was just curious about it being all in 1 cable, that's great as long as they get sufficient power.

 

I just hope the IR led's on IP Cameras will be as sufficient as the 84 IR leds on my analog cameras. If not, i'll add some illuminators, currely have an illuminator in the driveway.

[MaxIcon 0]

POE gets pretty addictive once you start using it. Single cable, no wall warts, the POE switch or NVR can be on a UPS and keep all your cams running through power outages, etc. I have a few on separate supplies still, but have retired the big supplies I used back in the analog days.

 

Many IP cams have lots of low power IR LEDs like your analog cams, and some have one or a few high power LEDs. Generally, the few-high-power LED versions have more illumination, but it really depends on the design. The trend seems to be toward a few high power LEDs; they take up less space, but require better heat management.

 

With lots of low power LEDs, you can have some fail or reduce output and still get decent illumination, though. Many of my cams have had some LEDs fail or grow dim. None of the high power LEDs have failed yet, but I don't have that many in service so far, and none of them are very old.