Looking to migrate from Foscam

[Noctilum]

I am currently running 30 Foscam cameras with Blue Iris. I would like to begin to migrate from Foscam to a better quality camera and I would like to keep using Blue Iris if possible, or at the very least, the hardware it is run on. If there is better recording software that doesn't have insane costs associated with it then I would be open to that.

My criteria is mainly:

- Sub $200 camera
- PoE
- 720p minimum resolution
- Able to wall mount (ceiling mount is not an option)

- Panning would be nice since I have it with the Foscam's but it's not required

My hardware:

- Intel Core i7 4790 4 GHz
- 8 GB RAM
- 512 GB SSD main drive
- 32 TB storage
- Windows 10 Pro

Thanks for your help!

 

[nayr]

Dahua 4MP Turrets, you can get them for ~$80 each.. https://www.ipcamtalk.com/showthread.php/5132-Dahua-4mp-6mm-turrets-(IPC-HDW4421C)

The quality is a whole world away from 720p FoScams

 

[fenderman]

I would look at 1080p cameras as you will not be able to run 30x4mp cameras on that system. The 1080p will give you better night and low light vision than 4mp cameras...Look for a turret type design...dahua is a good choice..

 

[Del Boy]

A lot of the Dahua 1080p cameras are IMX122/222/IMX322, so they are a better option anyway IMO, especially for 30 cameras.

 

[Noctilum]

The one nayr suggested I cannot get because I just found out the vendor needs to have government contract sales and I can't find it elsewhere for sale.

I found this one on B&H:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1264225-REG/dahua_technology_dh_ipc_hdbw11a0en_2_8mm_lite_series_1_3mp_hd.html

I am not too concerned about an ultra high resolution, just 720p is fine for us. Can anyone see any problems with this model and working with Blue Iris?

Also, one of the problems we had with Foscam is when we had to many the cameras would randomly lose signals. We did have 45 of them at one point. So we dropped it to 30 and they stopped dropping signals. I am wondering if Dahua will have the same problem?

 

[nayr]

are these indoors or outdoors? IR through Domes is usually not a wise option.. you get bugs, dust, etc on the dome that destroys the night image.

You want the 2MP 1080p camera, its got the best sensor and image quality.. even if you want to run it at 720p output.

My dahuas been running years and never dropout, but if your issue was a network bottleneck or other networking issue.. it could have the same problem, but its not the camera's fault.

Was your old foScams h264 or MJPEG? if they were MJPEG you can run many times more H264 cameras under the same bandwidth celling..

 

[Noctilum]

They are indoor only.

So this model would be good then?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1264237-REG/dahua_technology_dh_ipc_hdbw42a1en_as_2_8mm_lite_series_2mp_full.html

or get the outdoor version and use it indoor?

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1257520-REG/dahua_technology_dh_ipc_hdw42a1en_3_6mm_pro_series_2_mp.html

The Foscams are MJPEG recording at 640x480. Cameras are on their own physical subnet, meeting only at our edge router to get Internet access. They are all home run to Cisco Catalyst 2960-X switches. Bandwidth between switches is 10 GB fiber. When I monitor bandwidth on the camera network I see less than 1% of it being used.

But I was told many times it was due to having cheap Foscam cameras so we will soon see

 

[nayr]

Well just for comparison, 30x 720p 10fps Cameras on MJPEG use ~200Mbps.. the same w/H264 is ~40Mbps... storage requirements for direct2disk go down dramatically also.. from 15TB to 3TB to record 1 day continuously.. it might of not been a network bottleneck but one on the server..

perhaps you were maxing out disk write speed from time to time and causing a loss of recording or something simuliar.. it was very likely the foscams but the fact that you hit a limit on MJPEG means you are unlikely to hit it as fast w/h264 cameras.. MJPEG was very difficult to scale and took alot of resources, even at low resolution.

If you need the vandal resistance then use the dome, otherwise you'll have less issues with the turret overall and better IR

 

[Del Boy]

MJPEG almost makes me want to cry, especially when people have good infrastructure.

10Gb giber and MJPEG is like having a Ferrari but putting a Fiat 500 engine in it.

 

[Noctilum]

MJPEG almost makes me want to cry, especially when people have good infrastructure.

10Gb giber and MJPEG is like having a Ferrari but putting a Fiat 500 engine in it.

LOL - well, I just installed the fiber and switches a few months ago. I've had these cameras for at least 3 years. Heck, I used to have the cameras spread across 8 different desktop computers until I built the server. Now it's time to get the cameras upgrade. I've come a long ways

 

[Del Boy]

LOL - well, I just installed the fiber and switches a few months ago. I've had these cameras for at least 3 years. Heck, I used to have the cameras spread across 8 different desktop computers until I built the server. Now it's time to get the cameras upgrade. I've come a long ways

It's more a diss at Foscam cos they still sell this rubbish.

I really really really recommend the 2MP Dahua stuff. KW12WP is a decent cheap indoor camera if you want 720p though http://www.dahuasecurity.com/products/ipc-kw1012w-584.html

 

[Noctilum]

Any thoughts on the 4MP camera? It is slightly less cost than the 2MP one. I figured I can change the resolution to 720p either way.

4MP
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1264266-REG/dahua_technology_dh_ipc_hdw44a1en_2_8mm_pro_series_4_mp.html

2MP
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1264261-REG/dahua_technology_dh_ipc_hdw42a1en_2_8mm_pro_series_2_mp.html

 

[klasipca]

2MP better for night vision, 4MP better for a little more detail during the day

 

[Del Boy]

2MP sensor (especially Sony one) > 4MP sensor if running at 1080p or 720p. Ignore the marketing rubbish of more megapixels is guaranteed to be better.

 

[nayr]

I like my Dahua 4MP's, very sharp image.. but its low light is not quite as good as the 2MP.. might buy one of each and see for your self, since the Govt paying for it