agenergy 0 Posted January 28, 2008 Hi, everyone! I've been browsing through some of the posts here and I believe I've got enough information to start asking some intelligent questions: I'm the IT manager for an Ethanol manufacturer; we're in the process of building our plant and are to the point where I'm about a month away from needing to install my network as well as a security camera system. The network will be no sweat, however, I've never done a CCTV system, but would like to in order to cut down total cost. As far as our needs, I think we're only going to need to keep our recordings for less than a month. I would 'like' to have no more than 16 cameras with some outdoor, some indoor (in the plant itself) and possibly a few in our control rooms (PTZ?). I would also like to set this up such that I can view the cameras accross the network. I will be installing the network with Cat6 and will be using a gigabit switch so bandwidth is of little concern. I plan on building the DVR myself and am open to suggestions for that, also. We're an HP shop, so I plan on using some type of HP rackmount server either a DL320 or 380, but as everything else, that's up in the air, too. As everyone else, I would like to get the best product for the best price, but am at a loss for who's actually good and who isn't. In my field, you can generally look at specs and tell, but since i'm new to this, I was hoping someone might be able to make a recommendation for either a total system or at least some places to go to look. Thanks for any help! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
user1 0 Posted January 28, 2008 Everyone will have personal preferences based on experiences in the past. My preference is Axis cameras. I like the variety and the fact that they are a little more professional than others. There is no $100 Axis IP camera so if it's only cost then you may want to look elsewhere. However, just like every other product in the world there is a price difference for a reason. Maybe it product quality, support, warranty..whatever but there is a difference. From a server side, for 16 cameras I use about a $500 PC. Server software is not needed so no sense spending on it. It'll depend on the app and what kind of hardware it needs but generally the bandwidth is the pusher, so hardware does not have to be top-notch....it won't guarantee any different performance. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
agenergy 0 Posted January 28, 2008 Thanks for such a quick reply! I have actually just ventured back to this site from looking at some Axis gear online. Another place I have checked out was video insight. I believe another poster had recommended these in someone else's thread. I may have overemphasized price a bit in my previous post, though. I'm certainly not opposed to spending money on this project because I would like it to have a bit of a 'wow factor' for the owners (which is why I liked the video insight web site). I had no idea tho that the system running this would be so small... I was actually checking out dual xeon systems and the like, so thanks for saving me a couple grand already! Any other ideas? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
securitysys 0 Posted January 28, 2008 The system speds depend on the camera, if you want to run a bunch of Arecont cameras, your going to need those dual xeons. The setup for the server depends on what your using for the software / hardware. If your going to run 16 5 MP Arecont Vision cameras I would go with with (2) Servers, Intel Core 2 DUO 3.0 GHZ Processors (or better), 3.5 GB Memory, 512 MB Graphics Card, 8 TB Storage. For the software, I've used Video-Insight, Lux Riot, Mile Stone, and Exacq, but I seem to still favor Exacq. You can check exacq out at exacq.com As for camears, it depends what level of detail your trying to capture, take a look at some of the lines here: www.axis.com www.mobotix.com www.iqinvision.com www.arecontvision.com www.lumanera.com IQeye is more expensive then arecont, but they do give you a 2 year warranty instead of a 1 year. If you want a demo of the Exacq, Video-Insight, Luxriot, or Mile Stone client then just PM me and I can get you links to a few demo sites. Good Luck with your purchase! Edit: Make sure that you seperate your video from your data by using 2 networks. If your going to run megapixel cameras, consider 1 network for data, 2 networks for video. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
agenergy 0 Posted January 29, 2008 Would it be possible for, off the top of your head, to tell me about what I should expect to pay for (not including labor or cabling... just the bare necessities) for 4 outdoor day/night cameras (midwest climate) 6 indoor normal industrial lighting and one PTZ camera? The POE sounds very attractive, so possibly something that would handle the switching of that calibre as well as a capture card that will support the system. I will probably put it in a used dual 3.06 xeon system I have with 5- 500GB HDs. It doesn't have to be super-accurate... but if you wanted a system that was 'middle-of-the-road' as far as quality, price, and features (I really liked the axis cameras and have noticed that they seem to be the 'industry-standard' so maybe based on using some of their gear) I understand if this is a lot of work and no one has time. But any ideas would be appreciated! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
user1 0 Posted January 30, 2008 Probably looking at $10k for cameras...switch shouldn't run more than $200 as outdoor cams will want power for heater/blower if extremely cold weather. Could be lower for one of the lesser PTZ's from Axis. I'd do 210's with enclosures indoors....or if not dirty eliminate the enclosures and save some bucks. Those cameras will stand up pretty good and come with 3-year warranty's. Would do 221's outdoors with ach13 with heater/blower (if will have consistent temps below 15 degrees). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
securitysys 0 Posted January 30, 2008 For the cameras it depends what your looking for. If you went with Arecont 3130's on the outside your looking at $1095 MSRP per camera plus lenses. If you went with the IQEye 5MP Day night Outdoor camera, your looking at $2339 MSRP per camera plus lense. Lumanera also has a 3 MP day night version that MSRP's for $1495. Personally, if I had the cash I would go with the IQEye, comes fully enclosed with POE, you can get it in the 5MP version which gives you 5 MP day / 5 MP night compared to Arecont's 3 MP Day, 1.3 MP night. Comes with a bettery warranty and MUCH better support. As for the indoor cameras, Axis makes some decent ones with attached lenses, but remember most of their cameras are CMOS, not very good in low light conditions. If I was doing this and I had a decent size budget this is what I would go with: 1 X IQEye 510 WDR Camera @ MSRP: $519 5 X Arecont 3MP Camera @ MSRP: $635 4 X IQEye 5 MP D/N Camera @ MSRP: $2339 1 X SONY SNC-RZ25N @ $1399 Total for cameras = $14,450 Add Aprox $750 for lenses. You should be able to do these on one system. I would go with a 3.0 GHZ Core 2 Duo, 512 MB Graphics Card, 4 GB Memory, dual gigabit nics and a 4U case. With that case you can put up to 8 hard drives. Without the hard drives, the system should run you no more then $900. For software, I would use Exacq Vision, I don't remember the pricing off the top of my head, but it's pretty competitive, I think it's $125 per camera. For the OS, I would use Ubuntu, no need to buy a windows license if you don't need it. Again, that's just the way I would do it. Everyone does things differently. All together you would probably spend $18,000 to $19,000 but you'll be pleased with the system. If you have any more questions feel free to shoot! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ipman 0 Posted March 1, 2008 I would advise prior the installation to use IP Camera Calculator to see what the storage space and network traffic is required for your 16 cameras Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chad_cooper 0 Posted March 6, 2008 Snce I work for a manufacturer, I am going to give us a shameless plug, but only because so many other company names are on this thread. http://www.acti.com Free true NVR 16 channel software and all the camera types you could need to go with it. Thanks, Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RobAnsell 0 Posted March 12, 2008 Snce I work for a manufacturer, I am going to give us a shameless plug, but only because so many other company names are on this thread. http://www.acti.com Free true NVR 16 channel software and all the camera types you could need to go with it. Thanks, We have the ACM-4200 here at the office. Nice little megapixel camera for a nice price. I have been plugging it with people who ask for recommendations. Keep up the good work! -Rob Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
