Designing my first IP camera system, would appreciate advice

[RMatt]

I am new to this site. I appreciate the wealth of knowledge and information this group provides. I want to purchase and install my first wired camera system for my home. I have spent three weeks doing my homework, but would appreciate a bit more advice.

I am looking to replace my four-camera Y-Cam Home Monitor setup with a wired NVR-based system. I want to start with six to eight cameras, perhaps adding another two or three later as budget permits. I would appreciate a confirmation of what I think is a reasonable system, and I have a few additional questions I have not been able to figure out.

Here is my tentative plan:

• NVR: NVR5216-16P-4KS2 16 Channel POE
• External unmanaged POE switch. Would this be a good choice? BV-Tech 16 Port PoE+ Unmanaged Switch + 2 Gigabit Ethernet Uplink – 130W – 802.3at – POE-SW1602A. I am leaning toward an external switch so that I can easily change my DVR location in the future without needing to alter the wiring from the switch to the cameras. Is my reasoning correct?
• Western Digital purple 4 Tb drive for the NVR.
• Camera over front door: Dahua Starlight Fixed Lens Turret (IPC-HDW423, 2.8 mm. (Small porch and courtyard, and the porch ceiling is only about 7 feet high.)
• Cameras for each corner of house plus driveway, as above, but 3.6mm. Thinking about adding a 6mm aimed toward street to capture cars going by.

My questions:

1. Is it possible to have a separate dedicated monitor continually displaying the video from one camera, independent of the NVR? I am interested in a continuous display of the front door camera at a location different from where I control and monitor the NVR.
2. My eaves have an unusual design, as shown in this picture:
   
   the bottom of the eaves are not horizontal, but rather are parallel to the roof line.
   • Is there a mounting box that will allow the camera a clear view not obstructed by the overhang? Can someone direct me to a good source of mounting boxes compatible with the Dahua cameras
   • Do these cameras have sufficient range of motion (pitch/yaw/roll) to allow me to orient the camera either horizontally and vertically (corridor mode) on the underside of these angled eaves shown in the picture? I have use cases for each orientation. (Should I take my camera questions to the other section?)
3. I am considering buying a 1000 ft spool of outdoor Cat 6 cable, as one or two locations may need to be connected via surface runs of cable under the eaves. I know it is a little more expensive, but are there other disadvantages? I have heard it is stiffer and harder to work with outdoor cable.
4. Most importantly, what flaws or shortcoming do you see in the system I described above? What am I missing?
   

I would appreciate advice.

Thank you.

 

[ChooChooman74]

If you are going external POE, you don't need a POE NVR. Save the money and get the NON-POE version.

I don't see any boxes, but the boxes I use when I surface wire under vinyl siding are dahua boxes I buy from Andy @EMPIRETECANDY . They are made for the camera.

When shopping for switches, location matters. My home switch, Ubuiti 24 port, is fairly quiet, but the fan will turn up when it is warm. One of my larger installs, I have a 24 port Zyxel switch. That fan runs loud, and is luckily in a place where it won't be heard. I have been having luck with Zyxel products. Depending on number of cameras, 2 8 port Zyxel switches could do it, as those are fanless.

I use all variable focus starlights, but they do work great in corridor mode. I have both Turrets, bullets, and one mini ball in Corridor Mode. (See Pics)

For a dedicated monitor, you can always get a FireTV stick and install TinyCam on it.

 

[mat200]

..

1. My eaves have an unusual design, as shown in this picture:
   
   the bottom of the eaves are not horizontal, but rather are parallel to the roof line.
   • ..

Welcome RMatt,

I do not see the picture with regards to the eaves..

It's easy to get swamped with information here, so I wanted to share some notes with you - some of which will answer some of the questions you have.

Please check out @giomania 's notes:
Dahua Starlight Varifocal Turret (IPC-HDW5231R-Z)

I have also made which are a summary of a lot of the reading I've been doing here,:
Looking for some advice and direction!

Have fun joining us here.

btw I recommend monoprice for the cable

 

[Silas]

As a possible answer to ?1 for a friend I suggested a cheap android TV device connected to a tv that had Ivms4500HD installed, on this they see the cameras they want independent of the NVR. works for him

 

[RMatt]

Wow. Thanks to everyone. This really helps

Thanks for the suggestions on dedicated monitors. Great options.

I will go with the non-POE Dahua NVR. Thanks to ChooChooman74 for suggesting that. That will save money, and I assume it will be quieter, too. The fanless switches are a great discovery.

mat200: thanks for those links and your summary. Those resources are amazing.

I do not see the picture with regards to the eaves..

Sorry. My attempt to link to a photo in Google Drive did not work. I have the photo attached below. That brings up my one question that I did not find an answer to in those resources. If I mount one of these Dahua turret cameras on the underside of the eaves shown in the photo, does the camera have enough freedom of movement to align horizontally or vertically? For example, if I were to try to aim directly away from my position where I took the photo, will the camera image be tilted at the roughly 30 degree angle of the underside of the eaves?

In aeronautical terms, I can tell that the turret cameras let you adjust pitch and yaw, but I think I also need to adjust roll by about 30 degrees to solve this problem. Can that be done?

Thanks again to everyone.

 

[ChooChooman74]

The Dahua PFA137 Box will drop you down the camera down another 1.25". The lens will be approximately 3.5" from the mounting base, when mounted at 0 degrees angle (As straight forward as it goes) and the camera at 0 degrees rotation (IR at the bottom). Rotating it 180 degrees (IR on top, which could cause more IR reflection off the eaves), would put the lens at approximately 4.25" from the mounting surface.

 

[mat200]

Wow. Thanks to everyone. This really helps

Thanks for the suggestions on dedicated monitors. Great options.

I will go with the non-POE Dahua NVR. Thanks to ChooChooman74 for suggesting that. That will save money, and I assume it will be quieter, too. The fanless switches are a great discovery.

mat200: thanks for those links and your summary. Those resources are amazing.



Sorry. My attempt to link to a photo in Google Drive did not work. I have the photo attached below. That brings up my one question that I did not find an answer to in those resources. If I mount one of these Dahua turret cameras on the underside of the eaves shown in the photo, does the camera have enough freedom of movement to align horizontally or vertically? For example, if I were to try to aim directly away from my position where I took the photo, will the camera image be tilted at the roughly 30 degree angle of the underside of the eaves?

In aeronautical terms, I can tell that the turret cameras let you adjust pitch and yaw, but I think I also need to adjust roll by about 30 degrees to solve this problem. Can that be done?

Thanks again to everyone.

Thanks RMatt,

Happy to share with others what I am learning here.

As ChooChooman74 suggests you should have plenty of play, and adding a junction box maybe helpful. ( I really like them now that I have used them as they give me a nice space for the connection / pig tail. )

You will have to play with the positions a bit to reduce IR glare issues - may perhaps even consider extgernal IR illuminators if this is an issue.

I would also consider dropping a 1/2 EMT line down the brick wall from the eave/wall joint and mounting the camera on the wall as an alternative.

Probably a good idea to pick up a junction box, camera, and PoE injector, and start testing various options.

Is this a one story?

Thank You

 

[ChooChooman74]

Here is the link to the 8 port fanless that I install in residential use.
http://a.co/0chl5qQ
Using a POE 1-4 splitter, you can easily power 4 Turrets with this (make sure you change the . Remember, you need 1 port to go to your router and 1 to go to your NVR. This switch does a great job handling the traffic for the cameras when hooking your NVR directly to it. I had an install where I hooked the NVR to the router, as the switch was hidden and in a remote location. I ended up going back and running another wire because the cheap Verizon FiOS router couldn't handle the traffic and just bogged down EVERYTHING. After installing the wire direct to the NVR, cleared the issue. Lesson learn, as a free warranty call was needed to fix the issue. All future installs are that way for me.

 

[RMatt]

The Dahua PFA137 Box will drop you down the camera down another 1.25". The lens will be approximately 3.5" from the mounting base, when mounted at 0 degrees angle (As straight forward as it goes) and the camera at 0 degrees rotation (IR at the bottom). Rotating it 180 degrees (IR on top, which could cause more IR reflection off the eaves), would put the lens at approximately 4.25" from the mounting surface.

Thanks. I will definitely use the box.

I think I understand your description of rotation, but please let me confirm. Discussing rotation about three axes is hard to put into words! Attached are two images: 1) an original downloaded from the web and 2) a photo I doctored with the camera rotated in such a way that I could compensate for the slant of the eaves. Is this second orientation possible, or can the camera only be swiveled about the other two axes?

Thanks so much!

 

[RMatt]

Thanks RMatt,
You will have to play with the positions a bit to reduce IR glare issues - may perhaps even consider external IR illuminators if this is an issue.

I would also consider dropping a 1/2 EMT line down the brick wall from the eave/wall joint and mounting the camera on the wall as an alternative.

Probably a good idea to pick up a junction box, camera, and PoE injector, and start testing various options.

Is this a one story?

Yes, this is a one story with a full basement. At one end, the basement has above-ground windows, so that end is more like a 1.5 stories.

Wall mounting may be the best approach, especially at the high end of the house. My walls are brick. Which of these mounting boxes would you recommend: Wall Mount Bracket PFA137 or Waterproof Wall Mount Bracket PFB203W ?

Thanks for the suggestion of picking up a camera, box, and PoE injector. That may be the best way for me to walk through the things I am considering.

 

[RMatt]

Here is the link to the 8 port fanless that I install in residential use.
http://a.co/0chl5qQ
Using a POE 1-4 splitter, you can easily power 4 Turrets with this (make sure you change the . Remember, you need 1 port to go to your router and 1 to go to your NVR. This switch does a great job handling the traffic for the cameras when hooking your NVR directly to it. I had an install where I hooked the NVR to the router, as the switch was hidden and in a remote location. I ended up going back and running another wire because the cheap Verizon FiOS router couldn't handle the traffic and just bogged down EVERYTHING. After installing the wire direct to the NVR, cleared the issue. Lesson learn, as a free warranty call was needed to fix the issue. All future installs are that way for me.

I really like the idea of the fanless switch. Is the POE 1-4 splitter needed only if I run out of ports on the switch? Do you think there is enough power on this to handle six turrets?

I think one word of your post got eaten by the internet: "make sure you change the ___. " What do I need to change?

I see this is a managed switch. Does a managed switch offer advantages over an unmanaged switch in a dedicated IP camera network?

I appreciate your help.

 

[mat200]

Yes, this is a one story with a full basement. At one end, the basement has above-ground windows, so that end is more like a 1.5 stories.

Wall mounting may be the best approach, especially at the high end of the house. My walls are brick. Which of these mounting boxes would you recommend: Wall Mount Bracket PFA137 or Waterproof Wall Mount Bracket PFB203W ?

Thanks for the suggestion of picking up a camera, box, and PoE injector. That may be the best way for me to walk through the things I am considering.

Hi RMatt,

I really like the PFB203W - great mount - however it would require the wires to come in from the back of the wall or a naked wire from the side, as your walls are brick I would instead use the PFA137 and 1/2 EMT conduit vertically down the brick wall from the attic space above the eave/soffit to the junction box. Probably a nice idea to spray primer it and paint it to better blend in with your walls.

 

[ChooChooman74]

Oops. If using the zyxel, change POE to consumption. Depending on how you mount the camera, yes, IR on the bottom.

 

[blanch007]

If you are going external POE, you don't need a POE NVR. Save the money and get the NON-POE version.

I don't see any boxes, but the boxes I use when I surface wire under vinyl siding are dahua boxes I buy from Andy @EMPIRETECANDY . They are made for the camera.

When shopping for switches, location matters. My home switch, Ubuiti 24 port, is fairly quiet, but the fan will turn up when it is warm. One of my larger installs, I have a 24 port Zyxel switch. That fan runs loud, and is luckily in a place where it won't be heard. I have been having luck with Zyxel products. Depending on number of cameras, 2 8 port Zyxel switches could do it, as those are fanless.

I use all variable focus starlights, but they do work great in corridor mode. I have both Turrets, bullets, and one mini ball in Corridor Mode. (See Pics)

For a dedicated monitor, you can always get a FireTV stick and install TinyCam on it.

ChooChooman74, could you plz explain how to set up Tiny cam on firestick? Do you plug it into the nvr and monitor via wifi?

 

[ChooChooman74]

ChooChooman74, could you plz explain how to set up Tiny cam on firestick? Do you plug it into the nvr and monitor via wifi?

I will explain how I set it up, and why I set it up the way I did, and what I am using. I am also assuming you want to use it inside the same network as your camera.
On the camera(s) that I want to view on TinyCam, Dahua Starlight, I did the following.
1) Turned on Substream 2 at 720P resolution, 10FPS.
2) Create account specifically for an RSTP Feed (password complex with numbers and letters only, no symbols to confuse things)
On Tiny Cam Pro (I have the paid version through Amazon Apps)
Add the camera, using generic for the camera type.
Type in the RTSP URL for the camera using subfeed 2
rtsp://usernameassword@<cameraIP>:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=2
Make sure you pick protocall RTSP over TCP

Reasons why I do what I do
1) My TV is only 720p, so getting any higher of a stream is a waste
2) Conserve WiFi Bandwidth
3) Use less of the Firesticks Processor for decoding

 

[blanch007]

I will explain how I set it up, and why I set it up the way I did, and what I am using. I am also assuming you want to use it inside the same network as your camera.
On the camera(s) that I want to view on TinyCam, Dahua Starlight, I did the following.
1) Turned on Substream 2 at 720P resolution, 10FPS.
2) Create account specifically for an RSTP Feed (password complex with numbers and letters only, no symbols to confuse things)
On Tiny Cam Pro (I have the paid version through Amazon Apps)
Add the camera, using generic for the camera type.
Type in the RTSP URL for the camera using subfeed 2
rtsp://usernameassword@<cameraIP>:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=2
Make sure you pick protocall RTSP over TCP

Reasons why I do what I do
1) My TV is only 720p, so getting any higher of a stream is a waste
2) Conserve WiFi Bandwidth
3) Use less of the Firesticks Processor for decoding

I will explain how I set it up, and why I set it up the way I did, and what I am using. I am also assuming you want to use it inside the same network as your camera.
On the camera(s) that I want to view on TinyCam, Dahua Starlight, I did the following.
1) Turned on Substream 2 at 720P resolution, 10FPS.
2) Create account specifically for an RSTP Feed (password complex with numbers and letters only, no symbols to confuse things)
On Tiny Cam Pro (I have the paid version through Amazon Apps)
Add the camera, using generic for the camera type.
Type in the RTSP URL for the camera using subfeed 2
rtsp://usernameassword@<cameraIP>:554/cam/realmonitor?channel=1&subtype=2
Make sure you pick protocall RTSP over TCP

Reasons why I do what I do
1) My TV is only 720p, so getting any higher of a stream is a waste
2) Conserve WiFi Bandwidth
3) Use less of the Firesticks Processor for decoding

Awesome, thanks for taking the time to explain w pics ... really appreciate it!! BTW, nice truck!