Looking for a camera security system.

nuraman00 said:
How do you know Lorex is a rebranding of Dahua?

I think I'm still not understanding the purpose of the PoE switch. Don't I just connect an ethernet cable from each port on the NVR, to each camera?

How does the camera know whether it's being connected to an 8 port or 16 port NVR? Isn't it only the NVR that has to know?

Is there a good connection diagram I can look at?

Why are you returning your Lorex?

Also, just a general question about cameras with variable zoom. Can the zoom be remotely controlled, such as through a PC? I don't have to physically go to the camera and hit a zoom button, right?
Click to expand...

Bump, anyone?

EDIT: The Dahua sales rep said some of the NVRs have PoE switches on them, and some don't.
 
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Just a mini update of sorts.

* I called a local company, Cypress Video. They gave me an estimate for 5 cameras, a NVR, and a 22" monitor. With installation.

They don't do 3rd party installation.

When I asked about whether I should get varifocal lens cameras, they said no, and that fixed lens have better resolution. Not sure I agree with that.

* California Security Camera: They are working on my estimate.

They are fine with either their products, or installing 3rd party products.

* Security Camera Warehouse: They want floor plans and pictures, so I'm working on putting that together so I can get an estimate.

* PSS Electronics: Have an appointment next week for an estimate.

* Dahua: The sales rep just called me back. Another sales rep will be in contact with me and refer me to retailers and installers. Will also work with me about an estimate (but I think that will be more about product information before referring me to the installer).


I need to find out if any of these offer technical support on the weekends, as that could be a difference maker.
 
nuraman00 said:
Just a mini update of sorts.

* I called a local company, Cypress Video. They gave me an estimate for 5 cameras, a NVR, and a 22" monitor. With installation.

They don't do 3rd party installation.

When I asked about whether I should get varifocal lens cameras, they said no, and that fixed lens have better resolution. Not sure I agree with that.

* California Security Camera: They are working on my estimate.

They are fine with either their products, or installing 3rd party products.

* Security Camera Warehouse: They want floor plans and pictures, so I'm working on putting that together so I can get an estimate.

* PSS Electronics: Have an appointment next week for an estimate.

* Dahua: The sales rep just called me back. Another sales rep will be in contact with me and refer me to retailers and installers. Will also work with me about an estimate (but I think that will be more about product information before referring me to the installer).


I need to find out if any of these offer technical support on the weekends, as that could be a difference maker.
Click to expand...
Any company that tells you that fixed cameras have "better" resolution than varifocal are incompetent baboons or scammers, neither of which is a good sign...you can direct them to this post.
Dont chase megapixels....2mp starlight cameras perform significantly better than 4mp cameras in low light....most of these companies will charge you 3-5 times the cost of having someone run the cable and install your own cams..they will also likely offer cameras that they make the best margin on, not the cameras that are best for you...
 
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nuraman00 said:
@looney2ns , reading your signature, you list what components you have.

What made you get those to cameras? And why in those quantities? And why 5 of the same?
Click to expand...

I chose based on the great info available on this site. I bought 4 of the Dahua Starlight Varifocal Turret (IPC-HDW5231R-Z) and one of the I'll be the guinea pig for the new SD59225U-HNI PTZ.

Reason I bought four of the same? Because they are the best cam going, and being varifocal they work great in all my locations.
 
fenderman said:
Any company that tells you that fixed cameras have "better" resolution than varifocal are incompetent baboons or scammers, neither of which is a good sign...you can direct them to this post.
Dont chase megapixels....2mp starlight cameras perform significantly better than 4mp cameras in low light....most of these companies will charge you 3-5 times the cost of having someone run the cable and install your own cams..they will also likely offer cameras that they make the best margin on, not the cameras that are best for you...
Click to expand...

Agree, I thought so.
 
looney2ns said:
I chose based on the great info available on this site. I bought 4 of the Dahua Starlight Varifocal Turret (IPC-HDW5231R-Z) and one of the I'll be the guinea pig for the new SD59225U-HNI PTZ.

Reason I bought four of the same? Because they are the best cam going, and being varifocal they work great in all my locations.
Click to expand...

Where can I find the equivalent of that on the US version of their site?

Network Cameras - IPC-HFW5100-IRA, IPC-HFW5200-IRA, IPC-HFW5100D

I can't find an equivalent for the Eco Savy series.

Why did you buy the Eco Savy 3.0 series, and not the Eco Savy ePoE 3.0 series?

When I chatted briefly with the Dahua rep, she said to use the US version of the site.

But she also said Steve, the sales rep who knows about cameras, would be in touch with me to help me.

If I wanted to buy a Dahau NVR, what model would you suggest?

I would need 7 gigs for 30 days of recording with 8 cameras, so I might as well buy 2 WD purple HDs. If I only get 6 cameras then 5.1 Gigs would be enough so 1 hard drive is good enough.

I would think this one, right? I'd try for a 16 channel instead of an 8 channel just in case I ever expand.

DHI-NVR52A16-16P-4KS2

What does the "1U" mean? I see some with "2U".
 
There's a lot to learn, and some of it is easier to learn hands on. Also, a lot of the choices are going to be what works best for you. I'm very familiar with networking and computers, so DIY is no problem for me. I decided I wanted a 1080p IP camera system as a minimum, and found a good starter system to learn on. I got a reasonable priced Laview (rebranded hikvision) system with 4 cams and an 8 channel NVR. I got this one almost 2 years ago: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16881183059. I got it on sale for $300, which was, and still is, a good deal for what I got. And I added a 3TB WD Purple drive. I wanted an NVR rather an a BI PC for the simplicity, smaller size, and less power consumption and less noise.

If you get an NVR, make sure it it can accept other ONVIF cameras. I've seen some of the Lorex systems that say they only accept Lorex cameras.

As noted a bunch already, the cameras included with the systems are normally wide angled. The ones I got were 4mm, about 90 degrees. They are good for watching doors, not so good for watching the street. But the NVR has 4 left over channels for adding cameras.

I moved and didn't set the cameras up in the new house, so I loaned it to my nephew for his house. He seems to like the system and added another camera.
 
nuraman00 said:
When I asked about whether I should get varifocal lens cameras, they said no, and that fixed lens have better resolution
Click to expand...

Just to offer some defence, perhaps they meant image quality... often in a very similar price bracket, fixed lens do give better image quality, you will see that in normal cameras too.
I think the benefit that the exact fit a varifocal can give you would more than make up for a tiny improvement at a single fixed length.
 
A question about NVRs.

I want to use a 1080p as a display, as well as a new (not yet purchased) 4K monitor @ 4 MP.

I asked about using this NVR, which has 1 HDMI out. I asked if I can use a HDMI splitter and an HDMI extender.

N42B3P

The installer said that you can't display two different resolutions that way.

He said you need this NVR with dual HDMI out to display at two different resolutions:

DHI-NVR54A16-16P-4KS2

Is this true?

What would happen if I tried to view 4MP on my 1080p TV? I read that a Blu Ray player downscales it, for example. But I'm concerned with a NVR, not a Blu Ray player.
 
nuraman00 said:
What's the difference between getting a camera vs. an IP camera?

How can I get help with installation? Is there a service that will install for me? Can someone do a site evaluation first?

I know Best Buy's Geek Squad does it. It's $100 for a 90 minute site evaluation. Are there any other options for site evaluation? And then after that, how can I get help with installation? What other installation services are there?

***************************** REPLY ***********************
1. Is money going to be a big issue
Meaning is a 5-6 thousand dollar spend foreseeable
2. If the above is foreseeable then I suggest going to
Mike, James and Greg at CCTV Camera Pro's be careful because there are 4-5 companies with the same name but only one is VETERAN OWNED AND OPERATED!
That will be the company you want. For cameras check out the Geovision FER5700
it is a wonderful camera with internal Quad View option ie: it is a full fisheye camera that further breaks down the viewer quadrant and takes one window of the viewer and breaks it down into for independant views that can be independently PTZ with full audio. at a modest price of between $300.00 and $600.00 depending when and possibly who you buy from, well worth the money. each cam support approx 300-400 sqr foot room I can possibly give you a demo of mine via a web portal.
for outdoors I have been a big fan of Speed Domes for the simple reason they have full Pan and Scan along with Patrol and trigger on motion, vandalism, night day, focus, amongst other triggers, I have 2 covering a 5000 sq foot property with zoom I can read license plates up to 1000 feet away day and about 700 feet at night.
any PTZ can be finiky as I am finding out with mine especially in the live latency department mostly due to a slow network and or storage. otherwise there worth the
$3,900.00 each I paid for them well more worth it than the $700.00 Dahua's I had and still have for basic small areas.

3. As far as storage I see your already thinking correctly No Cloud Storage, however get yourself a little G-Technologies eSata External Raid Box, they will hold up to 32 GB of drives in 4 2.5" drives. Buy it empty because they charge way too much for their drives. either 4 x 3TB or 4 x 4TB (Total Storage 12 or 16 TB) is plenty of storage in a raid 0,1 (Stripe) configuration as any one drive that dies replace it with a blank and the raid rebuilds itself all data saved.
I noticed in your existing drive configuration you mentioned a few gigabytes that is maybe a couple of hours before it is full, remember these are hundreds of 5 min MPEG files, 24 TB I could save for 60 days only, that is with a Qnap NAS unit. right now I am in a pinch and am using the G-Tech raid box, 4 x 2TB soon to get either 4 or 8 tb drives 6 cams with 2 TB maybe 5 days of storage at best. and you want what i like to way is record always no motion sensing. I am thinking you have a good income at least I did not really but I won a good chunk of lottery here a couple years ago just 5 digits but that afforded me some decent equipment believe me if you wanna catch bad guys you gotta be able to see them clearly and 720 will not do it trust me.
any ways hit me back in my private email for a demo admin529@tutanota.de
admin five-two-nine at tutanota.de (incase it doesnt allow email addresses)
Rob

I want at least 6 cameras and a 2TB storage. I don't want a cloud storage subscription. I want local storage.

And I want 24/7 recording, not motion based recording.

I think I'm going to record in 720p so I can get 30+ days of recording, but want the option to record in 1080p too.

Here's what I've researched:

* Companies like Q-See and Lorex can provide an 8 channel camera and DVR/NVR system, but the cameras have to be wired to the DVR. Either using BNC cables, or ethernet cables.

All of the cameras have to be wired to the same DVR, so there's going to be wires everywhere.

Costco has an 8 camera 2TB Q-See package for $400, or a 16 channel, 8 camera 2TB package for $500.

* Companies like Nest and Canary provide wireless cameras, but you have to subscribe to cloud storage to make it worthwhile. They don't offer local storage.

* Arlo provides wireless cameras, and you can provide your own local USB storage.

Product

But you can only connect to 5 cameras for free, and it only records when it detects motion.

* Night Owl has wireless cameras and a wireless DVR.

WNVR201-88P - Wireless IP Cameras - Cameras - Products

But it only records when it detects heat and motion.


Also, the hard drive in that package is only 1 TB. I can get a refurbished 6TB wireless DVR for $500. But this is the most expensive option with that 8 camera and 1 TB package for $950, and I don't like detection based recording, plus I'd have to get the 6TB hard drive to get the capacity I really want (at least 2 TB).

* Also, not available through Costco, but Q-See (first company above) also has a wireless camera, and wireless DVR. But it's only a 4 channel DVR. I want at least 6 cameras. I had to call them to find out this newer option. It's not available on Costco. And the hard drive is only 1 TB.

* LaView has some options too:

6 regular camera system with 2TB ($549):

LaView 1080p HD Home Bullet Camera Surviellance Kit, LV-KN988P84A4-T2

6 IP camera system with 2TB ($899):

LaView LaView 1080P HD Dome Camera Kit 8 Channel NVR
Click to expand...
 
1. How do you know Lorex is a rebranding of Dahua?
Doesnt matter both are dump truck brands.

2.I think I'm still not understanding the purpose of the PoE switch. Don't I just connect an ethernet cable from each port on the NVR, to each camera?
POE (Power over Ethernet) Expl. each port if it is an 802.xxat port will put out around 60 wats each. and it is hardware safe which means you cant smoke cameras or anything else you plug into a poe port it is auto sensing. thus no power cables to run. just a cat 6/7 cable. however most of your higher end cameras take alot of power such as 100 150 watts under a load and must use AC power 24vAC @ 4Amps
which poe will not put out.

3. I called a local company, Cypress Video. They gave me an estimate for 5 cameras, a NVR, and a 22" monitor. With installation.
Of course they will they are making mega bucks on the cams nvr (which is nothing more than a pc with a large hard drive and some software) and a monitor.
which you probably already have. If you go with geovision cameras the software come free with no limit on cameras per license.
 
Rob C. said:
1. How do you know Lorex is a rebranding of Dahua?
Doesnt matter both are dump truck brands.
..
Click to expand...

Hi Rob,

What brand(s) do you prefer and why?

Thank You
 
mat200 said:
Hi Rob,

What brand(s) do you prefer and why?

Thank You
Click to expand...

Rob C. seems to prefer Geovision, as mentioned in this post here #70.

Look at the "***************************** REPLY ***********************" section where he quotes my post. He added a response there.
 
Just an update on my search.

I've gotten estimates from Cypress Video; California Security Cameras; Enteractive Networks; See Clear; and a parts supplier, Security Camera Warehouse.

Enteractive Networks and See Clear install Dahau products.

California Security Cameras quote was for Sony cameras, but say they'll install 3rd party products too. They say if you go 3rd party, then buy all the parts yourself.

There's differences in the parts that they all suggest, as well as how trustworthy I think they are. And large differences in installation costs.

So I'm evaluating the few that I like more than others, and asking questions about whether specific products will work with my setup, or asking questions about installations.

If anyone has an answer to this, that would be appreciated.

#69
 
Does anyone have any recommendations on a wall mountable 4K monitor? I think a 21 or 22" is fine. Probably a max of 41 or 42".
 
What do you think about this. If I get a TV with built in Wi Fi, what if I were to use that TV's web interface to view the cameras? Would I still be viewing it at 4K?

If so, would that be better/easier than using a HDMI extender from the NVR?

If so, I could perhaps get the NVR model with 1 HDMI. Connect that to my 1080p TV downstairs.

Then use the new 4K TV's web interface upstairs to view it at 4K.

Do you think there would be any issues with lag or something?
 
Agree with power supply problems with the wireless ones. We have an Arlo pro and I must say their batteries will really need to be improved.
 
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nuraman00 said:
What do you think about this monitor:

https://www.amazon.com/LG-24UD58-B-...=UTF8&qid=1505535132&sr=8-1&keywords=24UD58-B

And this wall mount?

https://www.amazon.com/VideoSecu-ML...id=1505534723&sr=1-3&keywords=vesa+wall+mount

I've not been a fan of LG before, but it seems to meet the requirements of it being a 4K monitor with VESA mounting.
Click to expand...


This is the monitor I'm going with now:

Sony XBR-X900E 4K HDR Ultra HD LCD TV Review (XBR-49X900E, XBR-55X900E, XBR-65X900E, XBR-75X900E) -

After the responses in this thread:

http://www.avsforum.com/forum/166-l...-pioneer-still-make-tvs-usa.html#post54918964
 
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