laidbackrob 0 Posted September 1, 2007 Hi all, can anyone recommend a good system for a multi site implementation? my friend's business is taking off, he initially had 3 locations with a cheapy generic standalone dvr with 6 or so cameras at each site. he now has 5 sites, the cheapy dvr's are failing at the 3 initial locations in various ways i am looking to set up a system where all the sites have a DVR with 6-9 cameras, and ALL of the video is dumped to a "server" via IP/internet when he wants to view any camera, from anysite, for any time frame he only has to connect to the server...... he only needs to connect to ONE IP, only needs to backup ONE system, and can centrally manage from the main location is this possible? any systems out ther with these capabilites? the ip/networking set up is not a problem, i just need a good solid brand that is reliable and "standards" based, these generic DVR's are driving me up the wall with their little quirks... all the sites will be connected to the "server" site via dsl/vpn over internet if this kind of setup involves 3rd party software, please recommend as well... all cameras are in place and working its just a matter or ripping out the old dvrs, replacing them and setting up the networking i imagine... i also need a good recomendattion on battery backups and enclosures to ensure no one tampers with the dvrs, which if they did anyways it wouldn't matter because all the video is being dumped offsite realtime anyways! Thanks much for your time! we are ready to purchase yesterday! one of his locations was already broken into last weekend, and "coincidentally" the dvr at that site was somehow "OFF" that day since 6pm and we have no clue why! Robert Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
laidbackrob 0 Posted September 1, 2007 well ive been reading like a madman and so far.... it seems i am liking the axis video servers, caught them on another post here while looking for info and it seems to be what i need...... i still need to figure out what they stream to and software i need to make sure i get the whole package but i really like this ip based solution the only thing is i been searching on the pricing for these puppies on the net and it looks like 500-700 bucks for every 4 cameras..... are there any other alternative names i can look at that are reputable? are my prices way off? sorry no other way to check at this hour Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SureVeillance 0 Posted September 1, 2007 The Axis 241Q is a solid performer with high bit rates on all 4 ports but will probably cost you over $700. The 240Q has lower bitrate and is the range you mentioned. I have attached analog pelco, sony and other brand cameras to the Axis and been happy with the results feeding into a Milestone back end. You will still need to ensure you have the right bandwidth between the locations if you plan to transmit it all back to a central server. Another alternative is to have small DVRs locally and use the back up functions to copy the files to a central server or NAS at the end of the day. Set each location to backup at different times to reduce overall load on the network. Good luck! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
laidbackrob 0 Posted September 1, 2007 the cameras all seem to be of a "pelco d" type, according to the generic viewers that came with the generic dvr's. i think i am going to run into a problem with upload speeds. if each location has lets say 1 video server with 4 cameras , how much upload speed will i need? can you recommend some reliable brand names of dvr's that do what you said they could do. if i did this i need to buy 5 of them and i would like them to be all the same. they would need to be able to handle at least 8-9 cameras Thanks! i am making progress! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted September 1, 2007 Does he want to record it all off site? If so the video will either have to be heavily compressed and shrunken down to something like 320x240, or video with much slower frame rates, or just send images. Either way video takes alot of bandwidth. The CMS software with the Geo's and others, will typically record on the monitoring PC on motion detection if setup on the DVRs, once again 320x240, though it is also recording in higher resolution on the DVR. Also, if a 5 minute Mpeg4 recorded video clip from a single camera is say 100MB, imagine how much GB of data you would be backing up remotely every day ... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SureVeillance 0 Posted September 1, 2007 (edited) It really comes down to FPS - my last installation I set the video server on 2 frames per second normal with 8 frames per second on motion detect at 4CIF resolution which worked just fine. Many people posting on this forum are looking for 30 FPS, which gives a beautiful smooth picture but burns up a ton of disk space and bandwidth. At the lower setting, you are using about 2% of a 100 mbps LAN. At 30 fps, 4CIF and 4 cameras, you are using about 75% of the useful lan capacity. Edited September 1, 2007 by Guest Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted September 1, 2007 I wouldnt worry too much about the LAN, as much as I would the WAN .. less they got tons of bandwidth with the ISP. PS. Disk space is very very cheap these days Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SureVeillance 0 Posted September 1, 2007 Analog camera to video capture card to disk is very easy on LANs and WANs Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
laidbackrob 0 Posted September 1, 2007 it looks like upload speeds is going to be somewhat of an issue as well of the pricing for the quality i will be getting due to the upload speeds is of concern... so it looks like maybe the multiple dvrs 1 at each location all backing up to a server somewhere at nite? this would give me the ability to watch everything in real time if i connect to the different sites, and hopefully each day or at predetermined intervals allow me to copy all of the data offsite via IP my main concerns are: - i need duplex or better dvrs to keep recording while i view or playback - remote ability to rewind etc - ability to upload on schedule via ip to a server or network space - all dvr's must be able to use same piece of software - must be able to handle 9 cameras for 1 site and 6 cameras for the rest this solution seems a LOT more cheaper than the video servers, which i would prefer but i am not paying the bill the client is and that solution requires more and more investment to really use its potential Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted September 1, 2007 Personally I wouldnt want to download 24 hours of video over the internet, even if it is motion recorded and not completely 24 hours. It took me a few hours last night just to download 800MB of video from a DVR (about 30-45 minutes of recorded video from 4 different cameras) that has a standard business cable internet account .. something like 256 upload speed. - i need duplex or better dvrs to keep recording while i view or playback Most if not all DVRs will do that now adays. - remote ability to rewind etc Most that have remote video option will have this feature. - ability to upload on schedule via ip to a server or network space Not sure. - all dvr's must be able to use same piece of software Once they are all the same they would. - must be able to handle 9 cameras for 1 site and 6 cameras for the rest The amount of channels will depend on which card or dvr you get, some come in 10 channels, some in 12 channels, or some just in 8 and 16 channels. Seems its down to the scheduled upload now to determine which one you get. You could always use another 3rd party program to do that for you though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
laidbackrob 0 Posted September 1, 2007 yes that is why i had the biggest concern about upload speeds most people's dsl is 256k upload i rarely even see 384k on basic dsl subscriptions what third party software/method are you talking about i am curious dumping it all to a local pc then uploading from there to somewhere on the internet? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rory 0 Posted September 1, 2007 Dont know which software, but if you used a PC based DVR, not an embedded non Windows based, then you could always just run that software on the side. Usually it would just use scheduling which would not do anything to the PC performance, until it starts uploading that is. Other option, and im only using this brand as an example as I know it, is to use something like a CMS software such as comes with GeoVision. Set everything on the DVR and set motion record. Set the Center software, or their CMS software (Center is free but limited to a certain amount of DVRs and cameras), then have the Center or CMS download on motion detection; the PC running this software would also be able to view live video. Only thing is this will be 320x240 but its something and it is still recording on the DVR, and if the cameras are not high resolution it would not matter anyway. They also have other features such as Remote Playback, or the newer one Remote ViewLog which lets you playback video as if you are sitting there at the DVR, as well as other software add on modules. Other than that, you may need to look at an IP Video based Software solution. That said, typical of most DVRs these days, PC or Standalone, is upload images to FTP on certain events. Rory Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
laidbackrob 0 Posted September 1, 2007 yes well it looks i am looking for brand names or recommendations on a decent ndvr anyone have a recommendation on a good system that comes with a decent software package for remote playback and live viewing thats easy to use with 5 sites? back to the plain ndvr setup! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jisaac 0 Posted September 1, 2007 forgive me if i am repeating some information already posted. But i did not read the reply's as it is 5:33 in the morning and I cant sleep. anyways. I would highly recommend using panasnics 300 dvr or their 200-300 nvr. Then you can use their newest managment software. We use this set up for several bank locations over here that they use the software from one location.. All the video is ftp every night up to be stored at the main branch. it works perfect and looks like your looking at one location as it is all brought up in one screen. p.s. if your wanting to upload the video you will need t1's at each location if you want it to upload all the video daily. trust me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
