Advice, Please!

[grobbs]

I'm having a lot of trouble finding a camera that will simply:

1. Provide good quality video, ideally 720p+ with IR
2. Allow access via LAN IP address and RTSP (or possibly, HTTP)

Ideally, I'd like an audio stream, too.

Motion detection, FTP/SMB upload are nice but not essential. Maybe even screen capture via HTTP.

I've tried three cameras, so far:

A. FunLux
This has good quality but no way to use it without an account and their phone/web app. If there is an RTSP stream, please let me know!

B. ShieldEye (Rosewill)
Good quality and RTSP, it does not allow special characters in the WiFi password. This is a very poor security design. Likewise, their cloud app was able to get to the camera, from outside the LAN, even though cloud and UPnP settings were disabled. According to the manual, that should prevent access. That seems like a huge security flaw!

C. EnGenius EDS1130
Poor/average image quality, even at higher bitrates. The camera I got also failed to connect via RTSP, with any application. After an hour with their support, EnGenius agreed it was probably a hardware issue with that unit.

 

[bp2008]

Choose anything from Dahua or Hikvision for much better results.

In fact just about any of the cameras from this seller would be a good deal, but 4 MP is the best bang for your buck usually: https://www.aliexpress.com/store/all-wholesale-products/1282343.html

They all have good quality video, most of them have IR, and all allow LAN access by RTSP. You can disable UPnP in their web interfaces, though I suggest you actually just turn it off in your router if you can, because that is the far more reliable method. In my router, I even specifically blacklist my cameras from having internet access at all, and I always do my remote viewing through Blue Iris software.

Both brands also support motion detection on the camera. Some models have SD card support, while some don't. I don't think Dahua cameras support SMB or FTP. Hikvision does, but the support for those protocols is limited and you would be better off getting an NVR or some recording software like Blue Iris if you want to record video.

Also, whenever you buy a Chinese camera that has been hacked to English (which is pretty much everything sold by that seller I linked), do not ever try to update the firmware or at best you lose the language hack and at worst you brick the camera.

 

[rnatalli]

Choose anything from Dahua or Hikvision for much better results.

+1 Another thought is the TrendNet IP310PI which is basically a rebadged Hikvision 2032. Usually you can load Hikvision firmware on this IP camera. You pay more, but don't have to worry about getting a U.S. versus Chinese model.

 

[nayr]

WiFi? Thats a mistake..

 

[grobbs]

+1 Another thought is the TrendNet IP310PI which is basically a rebadged Hikvision 2032. Usually you can load Hikvision firmware on this IP camera. You pay more, but don't have to worry about getting a U.S. versus Chinese model.

Thanks bp2008 and rnatalli. I'll have a look around. Those are a little more expensive that I was hoping to spend. I am not using these for security and don't need anything too fancy.

I'm still surprised at the plethora of hacky, poor software out there. The low-end devices would be fine with me if they'd stop preventing users from using the devices in a more customized fashion.

WiFi? Thats a mistake..

What was the point of this post, nayr? It doesn't help or add to the conversation. If you want to say WiFi is bad, please elaborate on the issues and perhaps, include some links to more information.

 

[nayr]

WiFi Security Cameras are shit, you need a solid reliable connection between the video source and the storage medium; it requires constant uninterrupted access to the wifi if your recording it and physics makes that impossible.

If you just want a webcam that wont be destroying your wireless network when your not actually viewing it, then fine.. but once you start trying to transmit HD video non-stop over wireless your in for nothing but trouble.. you have to run a wire to power the camera, so use a PoE cable or Power Line network and do your own research why wifi cameras are shit.

it also does not scale, 3 1080p or greater cameras will entirely destroy the best wifi network and interfere with eachother to the point nothing on wireless works anymore.

 

[Del Boy]

TrendNet IP310PI is $200, massively over-priced. Get a proper Hikvision DS-2CD2032-I for less than that.

Wifi security is misunderstood. You can't run it on your normal network, you need a dedicated Wifi LAN just for your cameras. Otherwsie as nayr says it will eat all the bandwidth. I actually have found this better than Power Line. Different people get different results.