fenderman, I appreciate both you and J Sigmo taking the time to respond. Yes, I am not tied to Hikvision, and have a server that I can very easily run Blue Iris on. The problem with reading the specs, is that they don't mean a whole lot to me. I'm not super up to speed on camera technology and like leveraging the collective wisdom. I've got lots of areas where I'm an expert, and in those respective forums I provide my expertise and try to "pay it forward".
Clarification on "locale"
- Thread starter dhendriksen
- Start date
To make sure I followed things through right, is this what you're suggesting?
https://www.amazon.com/EmpireTech-I...irect=true&s=merchant-items&slotNum=0&sr=1-14
https://www.amazon.com/EmpireTech-I...irect=true&s=merchant-items&slotNum=0&sr=1-14
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J Sigmo
Known around here
- Feb 5, 2018
- 996
- 1,336
That is a camera that is well respected here because of it's good low-light performance. These are 2 megapixel cameras, which is standard 1080P.
There are starting to be 4 megapixel cams with allegedly decent low-light performance, but I have not tried them.
The restriction to have the cameras be supplied with black finish is another thing that limits your choices. If you're willing to use white cams, or to paint them yourself, that opens things up further for you.
But yes, those black ones in your link are excellent. Being able to adjust the focal length after installation is handy, and they do perform very well. They're one of the most highly-recommended cameras on this forum, for sure.
There's still quite a bit else to all of this.
First, how will these be mounted? I use the PFA-122 junction boxes to mount those cameras. These junction boxes make things easy, but I'm not sure if they are available in black. So you may have to paint them if black is a requirement.
Second, for running Blue Iris, you want to use a dedicated PC that is used only for Blue Iris. You want it to have a fairly recent Intel processor that has their quick-synch video processing built in. @fenderman has excellent recommendations for refurbished PCs that will do what is needed. That's the best route. I have gotten six PCs he's recommended, and they've been excellent for Blue Iris and other uses.
He maintains a section on BI hardware in the Wiki. Very useful!
You will also need a good POE switch to power and connect the cameras, and there is a thread for choosing those here that is updated regularly.
Finally, to secure your system, many of us use newer Asus routers that have built-in support for, and powerful enough processing to run a VPN so that you can block all of these cameras from directly accessing the internet, yet be able to connect to your system remotely in a secure way.
There's a bit to all of this, and it is worth taking the time to read about all of it to get things set up properly. There are a lot of possibilities, and it is a lot digest, but worthwhile to understand in the long run.
Get good pure-copper Cat 6 cable, and run spares to each location or area.
You'll probably end up wanting more cameras than you think you will. Run wire everywhere. Get a bigger switch than you think you'll want, etc.
As much as it's a pain, really do try to read and absorb as much as you can before choosing your equipment and planning everything. There are some tools available to help plan camera locations and coverage so you can select the cameras and focal lengths you'll want.
But if you don't mind adding to the system a little at a time, you can start off with a few general coverage cameras and then add in tighter or more coverage as you find needs.
There's so much to discuss and decide. Try to take your time if you can.
There are starting to be 4 megapixel cams with allegedly decent low-light performance, but I have not tried them.
The restriction to have the cameras be supplied with black finish is another thing that limits your choices. If you're willing to use white cams, or to paint them yourself, that opens things up further for you.
But yes, those black ones in your link are excellent. Being able to adjust the focal length after installation is handy, and they do perform very well. They're one of the most highly-recommended cameras on this forum, for sure.
There's still quite a bit else to all of this.
First, how will these be mounted? I use the PFA-122 junction boxes to mount those cameras. These junction boxes make things easy, but I'm not sure if they are available in black. So you may have to paint them if black is a requirement.
Second, for running Blue Iris, you want to use a dedicated PC that is used only for Blue Iris. You want it to have a fairly recent Intel processor that has their quick-synch video processing built in. @fenderman has excellent recommendations for refurbished PCs that will do what is needed. That's the best route. I have gotten six PCs he's recommended, and they've been excellent for Blue Iris and other uses.
He maintains a section on BI hardware in the Wiki. Very useful!
You will also need a good POE switch to power and connect the cameras, and there is a thread for choosing those here that is updated regularly.
Finally, to secure your system, many of us use newer Asus routers that have built-in support for, and powerful enough processing to run a VPN so that you can block all of these cameras from directly accessing the internet, yet be able to connect to your system remotely in a secure way.
There's a bit to all of this, and it is worth taking the time to read about all of it to get things set up properly. There are a lot of possibilities, and it is a lot digest, but worthwhile to understand in the long run.
Get good pure-copper Cat 6 cable, and run spares to each location or area.
You'll probably end up wanting more cameras than you think you will. Run wire everywhere. Get a bigger switch than you think you'll want, etc.
As much as it's a pain, really do try to read and absorb as much as you can before choosing your equipment and planning everything. There are some tools available to help plan camera locations and coverage so you can select the cameras and focal lengths you'll want.
But if you don't mind adding to the system a little at a time, you can start off with a few general coverage cameras and then add in tighter or more coverage as you find needs.
There's so much to discuss and decide. Try to take your time if you can.
Thank you. I have 9 ports free on a 48 port Luxul PoE switch that I use for all of my matrixed a/v distribution (Just Add Power) and was planning to use that. I run a custom built SunMicro rack mount PC with PFSense installed for my firewall, and use OpenVPN for my VPN access.
I’m knowledgeable in networking and lots of different areas, just not the camera hardware or BlueIris. I absolutely appreciate your guys recommendations. I think I’ll snag one of those cams and do some bench testing. As far as BlueIris goes, in the limited research I’ve done I’ll want to grab a dedicated PC for that. Ideally I can find something I can rack mount, but that isn’t the end of the world if not. I’ll try to find any suggestions he has on machines.
I’m knowledgeable in networking and lots of different areas, just not the camera hardware or BlueIris. I absolutely appreciate your guys recommendations. I think I’ll snag one of those cams and do some bench testing. As far as BlueIris goes, in the limited research I’ve done I’ll want to grab a dedicated PC for that. Ideally I can find something I can rack mount, but that isn’t the end of the world if not. I’ll try to find any suggestions he has on machines.
J Sigmo
Known around here
- Feb 5, 2018
- 996
- 1,336
Excellent. Yes, play with one of those cameras and see what you think, day and night.
@looney2ns often recommends using a bucket of sand or rocks with an adjustable 2x4 gadget in it to test the camera mounted at various heights and various locations so you get a feel for where to mount to get the views you want.
Usually, you need to mount cameras fairly low to get good facial detail. From higher locations, you just see the tops of the perps' hoodies!
Then again, more experienced crooks just wear gloves, a hoodie, and sometimes a mask to completely avoid danger of ID from cameras or fingerprints. It's actually quite easy to avoid being identified if you're not a complete moron.
Most folks recommend having an alarm system as well as cameras. The cameras are fun, if nothing else, though!
@looney2ns often recommends using a bucket of sand or rocks with an adjustable 2x4 gadget in it to test the camera mounted at various heights and various locations so you get a feel for where to mount to get the views you want.
Usually, you need to mount cameras fairly low to get good facial detail. From higher locations, you just see the tops of the perps' hoodies!
Then again, more experienced crooks just wear gloves, a hoodie, and sometimes a mask to completely avoid danger of ID from cameras or fingerprints. It's actually quite easy to avoid being identified if you're not a complete moron.
Most folks recommend having an alarm system as well as cameras. The cameras are fun, if nothing else, though!
J Sigmo, thanks again for your input. I'm not actually interested in it really for security in the sense of being able to identify people and what not. More just keeping tabs on our pool, being able to understand if a package is on the porch, what time my kid(s) came home, etc...
The cameras are really just a convenience item, and not a "I need to identify this person" type of thing. For that reason, we've mounted the cameras where they're least intrusive in terms of aesthetic, and provide the views we want of the property. We did the same in our current home, and it works great!
The cameras are really just a convenience item, and not a "I need to identify this person" type of thing. For that reason, we've mounted the cameras where they're least intrusive in terms of aesthetic, and provide the views we want of the property. We did the same in our current home, and it works great!
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