Which setup to go with?

[1dwn5up 0]

I have been spending lots of time trying to understand different systems out there, and I had a few questions, sorry if some questions are reposts, but it's hard to go through every thread. I'm looking for a 16 channel system and will use approximately 10-12 cameras, but I wanted to get some clarification on a few items:

 

NVR - if the unit is going to be in my house, is it relying on my Internet Service Provider (ISP) to record, what if the internet goes down do the cameras go down as well or is it only using the ISP if I'm doing remote viewing via phone or tablet.

 

PTZ Camera- I'm planning on purchasing one PTZ camera so that it can face the street entrance as we've had 5 burglaries on our street alone and there are only 16 houses. Will a good PTZ be able to pick up a license plate, let's say 50-100 feet. I doubt the cameras location is going to be 100 feet, but just curious for realistic expectations on whether I can zoom/record a license plate upon playback. I've read that you should half the amount per the manufacturer.

 

HIKVision & Dahua - I have both listed below, are the systems/firmware in English or Chinese?

 

Cabling - since it's an NVR, all of the cables will have to be an Ethernet CAT-5e or if affordable a CAT-6 correct? Is this sorta future proofing for upgrades? Or should I be looking into something else? I have access to my attic and the cameras will all be for outdoor use, so the locations shouldn't be too much of an issue to run the cable through. Is there any picture quality loss after a certain amount of feet?

 

PoE - the Costco unit below has 8 PoE, but the other 8 will need their own power source. Per HIK and Dahua, they can accept all 16 over PoE, is my understanding correct?

 

 

I'm looking into getting something along the following systems, unless you guys can recommend something better:

 

http://www.costco.com/Swann-16-Channel-IP-NVR-with-3TB-HDD%2c-8-3MP-Cameras-with-115'-Night-Vision.product.100144944.html

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1163220-REG/hikvision_ds_7716ni_sp_16_embedded_plug.html

 

[mod: removed retailer link]

 

http://www.securitycameraking.com/16-channel-4k-nvr-with-60517-prd1.html

Rebranded NVRs - is this just a rebranded Dahua camera? Any cons going with this instead of a branded Dahua?

 

Thank you for your time!

[zr1 0]

NVR

With the NVR at the same house as your cams, no ISP is even needed for the NVR to record.

The ISP is needed if you want to remote view from somewhere else in the world or from a smartphone.

 

PTZ

These are great for when you have someone manning the camera...and they give a great demonstration "wow" factor as well as bragging at family reunions or whatever.

But they only record where they are pointed at the moment. It's typically cheaper to get more cams to have full coverage of the areas you need.

For zooming/telephoto, PTZ's do this well, but again, less expensive to have the fixed camera with the correct lens to be recording what you want to see.

For a license plate, if the cars are coming through a choke point (gate, etc.), many of my customers will have two cameras for the gate. One for the wide area view of what's happening at the gate and another camera zoomed in on where the license plate would be.

 

Cabling

yes...Cat5e/Cat6. And that's the road for the foreseeable future.

Distance limits are the same as with any computer network. About 300 feet for a single cable run. Switches in the middle can help you extend that.

 

POE

POE is very convenient. If your NVR doesn't have enough jacks, then using a POE switch or POE injector for the other cams work fine. Also if you have a bank-of-cameras that are grouped far away from your NVR, you can run a single network cable over to that far-away-area and have your POE switch over there. Then your far-away cams can just connect to that switch.

 

Rebranded

Many rebrands are good, and some rebranders add to the warranty too. So going with a company you want to deal with.

The Costco layer adds the Costco warranty, for some people that's good enough by itself.

Swann has rebranded a number of Hikvision cameras, and these might be some, but I haven't tracked them down to confirm or anything.