metapts 0 Posted October 17, 2007 If I buy IP cameras (no analog), then all I need is a PC and recording/viewing software, right? Does the PC need anything special other than a network connection and a hard drive? How much does the power of the PC impact the quality/frame rate of the video I'm able to store (primarily) and view (really, only when necessary)? What is most important - processor, memory? What is good and cheap software? Really all we need is the ability to record video and then search through and back up if something happened. No one will really be monitoring the cameras in real time and I doubt we'll ever have a need for PTZ. I'll have about 32 cameras max. Thanks. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VST_Man 1 Posted October 18, 2007 I'd recommend Video Insight IP software. Your PC power is only half the solution. Since your going IP the bandwidth required to record fps needs to be planned out. A basic home or business internet connection won't handle 32 cameras. If your building a internal IP security system then I'd go with Gigabyte and dedicate that link to IP cameras only...don't share data links with it unless you have to. run seperate network cable. Fiber...........your good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
metapts 0 Posted October 18, 2007 Hmm, ok. Well, here's a little more about our setup: The cameras would all be in one apartment building. They would be recorded locally and viewed by a local apartment manager. Occasionally, we would like to view live or recorded video from our main business office at a different location. 1. An internal network should be able to handle this kind of traffic, right? 2. For recorded video, the data will have to come from the DVR PC. For watching live video from our main office, can we view individual cameras directly, or would the images be routed through the DVR PC? (we have a hardware vpn that will effectively make both locations on the same network) Thanks again Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
metapts 0 Posted October 18, 2007 one more question about the PC DVR: will we be able to use this pc as a workstation as well (MS office, internet, etc.), or should it be dedicated as a DVR? or, how powerful would it have to be in order to perform both functions? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
user1 0 Posted October 18, 2007 You should be fine running on the non-shared network at 100MB for 32 cameras, although may do GB for server network connection to switch. Have you looked at cameras yet, or software? If not, I'd suggest something like Axis with ControlByNet software. I'd also do mostly power over ethernet when allowed. No, you wouldn't use the server for anything else. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
