Need help picking out Equipment for remote Location- Needs to boot back up easily

[CaliGirl]

Hi guys. My name is Katie. I am new the forums but have been reading for months. I'm a professional photographer, putting together an IP camera system for our remote mountain home. I know cameras well, but only a little about IP.

1. Need help choosing equipment that is reliable and will boot back up after a power failure. Power goes out a lot in the winter, but good solid internet when the power is working. Currently we have 3 different Foscams about 4 years old. The quality sucks (dynamic range terrible), when they reboot after a storm, only some come back online and we have to power cycle the camera to get it to reconnect usually. That doesn't work since we live 4 hrs. away and we loose camera connections for a month.

2. New system! Budget $800-1000, wireless is preferred but can be talked out of this is its a must, Need an NVR device that I can access remotely and check the footage on our Mac or iPhone, only need to record maybe 4 cameras for 7 days, mostly for checking on the house and weather, no valuables to protect in the cabin, but also to make sure there isn't unauthorized guest on our dock, outdoor cameras need to handle -10F and lots of snow in winter (can mount under eve). Don't really want to the constant cost of cloud storage.

3. I have been eyeing the Foscam FI9828P the optical zoom would be so nice to checking on the lake conditions and looking around. Or maybe the Sunba 1080P would be better with PPOE to run a long ethernet through the trees to the house, or can you add a wireless adapter? And the Foscam FN3004H 4 channel NVR for recording but not sure if I can access the footage remotely easily with a Mac. No windows in the family. But I don't know if any of these would be reliable enough for our needs?

Experts, please chime-in and help a girl out!!! What do you recommend with my budget and ability to access recordings remotely?


Here is the quality of our current system. I do like EvoCam for checking and recording, but I don't have a dedicated computer to record it all. Rely on email alerts and the neighbor's phone calls.

 

[Q™]

D O N O T P U R C H A S E F O S C A M

In addition, you should run Cat5e cable to all of your cameras. Yes...it's a pain in the ass, but the benefits are many, including rock solid stability and power over Ethernet to power your cameras.

The camera surveilling the dock (labeled "Outside") is a natural for the Huisun Mini PTZ.

 

[CaliGirl]

Ok, will not by FOSCAM! And will hardwire the cameras!

The Huisun Mini PTZ looks like a good option if I keep it mounted under the deck away from the snow. I think the Sunba was attracting me bc it looked like I could mount it out on a pine tree closer to the dock. Right now there is a narrow field of view from the deck to the dock. Mounting closer to water we could look up and down the lake and it it would handle the snow load by being able to pan looking down during a big storm and keep the lens clear. And the 20x optical zoom is impressive. Does the Huisun have an advantage over those Sunba features?

What do you recommend for an NVR for 8 cameras PPOE and remote log-in capability from an iPhone or mac?

 

[nayr]

beware that Huisun and Sunba require a Windows Browser to run the ActiveX plugin, they are not mac friendly.

Dahua cameras are completely compatible w/Safari.. same with Hik, just about anything else.. fat chance.. I would suggest a 16ch Dahua NVR w/SmartPSS on your Mac and iDMSS on your iPhone with 4MP Turrets and LXIR Bullets.. perhaps Mini Black Face PTZ Inside if you have enough budget.

it looks like your choked in by conifers, I dont think massive zoom will end up being all that usefull.. start off with fixed cameras, they are cheap, simple and reliable.. then once you have your bases covered consider a nice PTZ, the Huisuns's have not proven to be reliable enough to setup at remote locations IMHO..

Since you already know about how important lenses are, checkout: https://ipvm.com/calculator and keep the PPF > 100 if you want to ID people at night.

 

[Q™]

I'm not you CaliGirl...but if I was -- besides having radically different plumbing -- I'd purchase a Windows 10 Skylake box for 500.00 and install Blue Iris NVR software on it. Purchase a $75.00 power-over-ethernet (POE) switch and hang four (4) $100.00 Hikvision turret off it (what @nayr said). The POE switch will power the cameras I'd use remote desktop for the Mac to administer Blue Iris (BI) on the Win10 box, which would function as an NVR...nothing more...just a high-end NVR. Then -- for $10.00 -- I'd purchase the Blue Iris iOS app which is a wonderful and very powerful application to access video captured by the BI NVR. You may want to throw in a UPS which would supply power to the BI NVR and the POE switch (and therefore the camera) in the event there was a power failure. The result will be a S U P E R B systems with plenty of capacity for future expansion and superb performance. The Huisun does have issues (as per Nayr's comments) but installed at the shoreline (in a simple open-front mini-shed/housing to provide some protection from the elements) the Huisun would be a terrific option for viewing the lake and shoreline, wildlife on and near the lake and activity on the lake. I'll dig up some shots of the Frisco Bay that @alphawave7 posted to give you an idea of what you might accomplish with the Huisun.

All IMO of course.

 

[Q™]

Check out all pages of this topic.

 

[CaliGirl]

Thanks nary Exactly the info I need to know. They don't really specify mac/windows info on the specs. I suppose I could buy a cheap windows machine to set them up. I wouldn't need to touch them after that, just control them with an iPhone app? More importantly, I just want to be able to log into the NVR remotely and check the recordings. Can you do that with Mac OSX on the NVR machines or will that require windows? How about viewing remotely with iPhone app?

The current foscam's let me log-in remotely with Safari using "server push mode" and 3rd party iPhone aps. In that aspect that have been very versatile.

The goal would be to mount the PTZ on this big tree up high over looking the lake. Then we could look around and zoom and not be obstructed by trees. We could watch the winter storms roll in, record some fun time lapses, and even let the public view it maybe. I know they are complicated and it is better to start simple, but we've had the simple foscam's for 4 years, time to upgrade them to suit our purpose. The right star is where the outside is currently mounted. The left star is where I'd like to add the PTZ.

 

[CaliGirl]

Much appreciated. Q2. Reading up on your suggestions right now before I ask any more questions

 

[nayr]

mounting cameras to trees usually ends up with very poor results, when a storm is rolling in that tree is going to be moving and with a low shutter speed because of cloud cover the image is going to be entirely worthless.. besides never being able to run motion detection on it because wind will cause motion. Other issues like exposed cabling and tree damage tend to just make it a bad idea overall.

if you want one down by the waterline, put it on a post and make it very sturdy so it can ride out the storms.. next to water I would use galvanized steel pipe so it'd not rot and I could run the wiring inside.

 

[CaliGirl]

Nayr, you are full of useful information! Makes total sense! I would not have thought about the tree swaying! I'm not sure the rest of the family is going to keen on a pole near the waterline. I think I am already pushing it with a PTZ camera. I was planning on carefully spray painting the camera camo or grey so it blends in better. We like to keep it looking natural around here At least with this PPOE concept, the outdoor cameras are easy to move around with long runs of ethernet cable under the forrest floor.

 

[nayr]

and that brings up another potential problem, painting cameras dark color that are exposed to the sun is not a great idea.. they are metal housings and doing so can increase internal temps by quite a bit, which leads to premature death.. outdoor cameras are all white for a good reason.

if its not exposed to the sun for hours, like on your house.. it wont be really a problem, but down by the water.. I would not suggest it.

 

[bp2008]

the Huisuns's have not proven to be reliable enough to setup at remote locations IMHO..

I had one set up at a remote location in December, and after two days it went offline and stayed that way until someone was able to power cycle it ... in July! I think the problem was the software we were using, which opened the Huisun's RTSP stream every ten minutes to save a snapshot. I think Huisun's RTSP server didn't like that, and after a few hundred RTSP connections it just stopped responding. Now with that software disabled and the Huisun feeding video to an always-on NVR, it has remained online for the last month without issue. Still, I would not recommend one for a remote location unless it gets its power from a Web Power Switch or a managed PoE switch so it can be power cycled remotely.

 

[CaliGirl]

Ok, painting them dark Nayr! Maybe light grey it is freezing most the year and 80-90F for about 2 months during the day. But, I'm sure black would be HOT on a 90F day.

Ugh, sorry to hear that bp2008. That must have been frustrating. That is what used to happen to us in the winter. But, luckily the Foscam's have been more reliable. I think the original issue we were having was that after a power failure we were assigned a new IP address and didn't have the DDNS set up properly to track that. They have been solid the last 3 months. I think the wireless adds another whole level too, getting the camera to try to reconnect on its own. This stuff is a little over my head, but I am trying . I'd be happy setting up the Huisun camera with just the NVR and not RTSP (not sure that is, googling it).


So here is what I came up with, after all the nice advice:


$500~ Windows 10 Tower (couldn’t find anything about Skylake?) What specs do you suggest for blue iris?
$75 POE switch: amazon is this ok for up to 100ft cable runs maybe, prob more like 50 though
$200 Huisun Mini PTZ: where to buy? amazon $199?
$300 (3) Hikvision turrets: can you suggest a model number where to buy, amazon looks like fakes?
$60 (3) cat6 ethernet cable 100ft each: amazon
$60 UPS backup APC amazon
$60 Blue iris
$10 Blue Iris IOS

=$1,265

If there is a way to reduce the Windows Tower cost that would be nice. Do I need a computer display, or is the idea to set it all up with hdmi on a TV and hide the tower once it's all working? Or remotely log in from my Macbook Pro and adjust the windows tower.

 

[Q™]

,,, We like to keep it looking natural around here ...

That motorboat does not look very natural.

 

[Q™]

Cat5e cable can be run up to 328 feet; you should also purchase "direct burial" rated cable for outside cable runs. You can use exterior rated cable for inside runs too.

 

[mando209]

U can always get like a dahua nvr for $100-200.which can be viewed remotely.saving u $371.or get a cam with sd card slot built in.i get 2 days of recording with 64gb card.720p medium settings.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[CaliGirl]

Thanks Q2U. Didn't know you could run cat5 that far and didn't realize there was outside cable that we can burry.

Thanks Manod209. I keep coming back to wanting an NVR. It would eliminate some of the cons of a tower (smaller, can use a tv screen, more reliable then a computer, dedicated for this purpose, cheaper). But, I read the reviews on the remote viewing app and they are terrible. The NVR would only be as good as the iPhone app and remote log in software. I think that is where a desktop computer tower and blue iris really would shine. I'm torn.

 

[nayr]

The Dahua Mobile apps are very nice and work quite well.. They leave me wanting nothing.. I am android and wife is iphone.. I use SmartPSS on my Desktop Mac for Live Viewing and managing recordings.

much better than EvoCam

 

[CaliGirl]

That is great to hear because I am feeling lost about buying a windows machine with the proper specs for blue iris.

Is the SmartPSS a software package that comes the Dahua NVR box for free?

There are so many to pick from and most are special order from B&H. $229-$800 I only need 8 channels but would be nice to have 1080P option for down the road. Looks like I'll need 3-4TB to record 4x 3mp cameras for 6 days at 15 fps.

Whats the best place to buy the Dhaka NVR in USA or should I buy this from China somewhere?

 

[nayr]

SmartPSS is free, you can get the OSX version here: https://www.ipcamtalk.com/showthread.php/1019-Dahua-Video-(*-DAV)-Playback-in-Mac-OSX

iDMSS Pro costs $5, https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/idmss-plus/id509992470?mt=8

Buy a 16ch, the cost difference from 8ch to 16ch is minimal and you dont want want to have to get another NVR because you decided you wanted a couple more cameras in the future.. I am running the 4216-4k (non PoE) and I imported it from China for ~$250, with built in PoE it'll be a little more.