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

nayr

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that sucks about iDMSS, try it again in a couple weeks/months and they might have it fixed.. my Android version has been reliable to me, but its gotten several updates throughout the summer and i'm suspecting the latest one for iPhone has got some big bugs in em.. they havent given up on them..

if you want to play back recordings, the Dahua apps are the only ones tha'll do it on your phone.. so dont burn the app and never look back quite yet.
 

Ford

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In fact I have tried to make several encoding changes within smart pss and it has caused all sorts of trouble. They were always changes to reduce data but the NVR didn't like it and the image turned black or smart pss would get a stream time out error.

1. I highly recommend going with the default camera settings (video>default) within the camera web browser menu. Adjust any other values having to do with exposure or backlighting control. Then DO NOT TOUCH any camera settings from the remote apps or smart pss. This took me countless wasted hours to realize it was causing tons of issues. You can easily log into each camera's web browser by plugging your macbook into the back of the NVR and into an open camera port. That way the camera is powered through POE and you don't have to unplug wires over and over.

2. DO NOT EVEN TRY TO USE IDMSS LITE OR PLUS apps for the IPhone. They work and then they don't and then they crash constantly. They must have given up supporting them. The reviews are terrible and they don't work for me. There is a new app Easy4Ip that works significantly better. If the app is crashing (even the easyip) then you need to make sure your camera sub stream is back to the default. If you adjust it in anyway up or down or vbr vs. cbr the app can't handle loading the stream and it will crash the whole app. Which is a huge pain bc you could have one bad camera stream that takes down the entire app and you cant see the other 3 cameras.
Blue Iris users don't know how good they have it!
 

CaliGirl

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that sucks about iDMSS, try it again in a couple weeks/months and they might have it fixed.. my Android version has been reliable to me, but its gotten several updates throughout the summer and i'm suspecting the latest one for iPhone has got some big bugs in em.. they havent given up on them..

if you want to play back recordings, the Dahua apps are the only ones tha'll do it on your phone.. so dont burn the app and never look back quite yet.
Gotcha. It looked like they weren't updating it on the iTunes app store bc people have been complaining about it since march 2016 with no improvements. And there is a new banner when you open the app telling you to try Easy4IP instead. But maybe they are improving the android version still. I have an old android phone with wifi and I will try it out. The cool thing about Easy4IP is that you don't have to add the cameras each time you open the app. It remembers what cameras you wanted and what channels to load. And it also does recording playback pretty well. I like the interface better. I know a lot of you guys dig IDMSS but at least there is an alternate version for us iPhone people.

Yes Ford, I originally thought an NVR would be less work, but not so sure. I'm happy with the Dahua, but there is probably a lot to be said about blue iris. The windows computer is what scarred me away from that setup.
 
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nayr

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thanks, I'll check it out... mine started poping up recently for ezip but I just ignored it.
 

mando209

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Looks good.wish they didn't go with the blue layout.black from idmss looks better :)


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CaliGirl

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Ok math folks.


4 mainstreams= 26,400kbps (one main stream is 6,600kbps it says on the camera)
-or-
4 sub streams: 4,400kbps (one sub stream is 1,100kbps)


How long will it take me to reach 8.33gb a day? I'm wondering time wise. 60 mins, 2 hrs?


And how about if I only run 4 sub streams instead?


There is no option for unlimited internet at the remote site. They give us 250gb for 30 days. So 8.33gb a day to play with.


For some reason while running all 4 mainstreams the VPN reports only: 652.32KB/s? unless that is a different KB then kbps?



Thanks






VPN is saying:
 

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bp2008

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Usually an upper case B indicates bytes, while lower case b indicates bits. 1 byte = 8 bits. Internet speeds and camera bit rates are usually both written in bits. Total sums of data are usually in bytes. So your monthly cap is 250 gigabytes, also known as 2000 gigabits.

Of course internet providers get it wrong as often as they get it right so you can't learn from them.

These google queries will tell you how long it takes to burn through 8.33 GB at whatever rate you want:

8.33GB / 26400 Kbps: https://www.google.com/webhp?#q=8.33+GB+/+26400+Kbps

8.33GB / 4400 Kbps: https://www.google.com/webhp?#q=8.33+GB+/+4400+Kbps

Of course you would need essentially 30 Mbps upload speed at your lake house to be able to stream all the main streams at one time anyway. What is your measured upload speed there? http://www.speedtest.net/
 

CaliGirl

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Ahh now I see the differentiation.

We only get 5-6mbs upload speed. In fact the upload was pretty dang slow. I can already tell it affects the frame rate but it will have to work for now.

So, I guess even though the mainstreams report 6745kpbs (on the video screen) I not actually pulling that much data across the cable modem. More like 625 KB or 0.652MBs as the VPN data is reporting. Wonder what the bottle neck might be? I'm still happy with it all.

With your google pages, looks like I could stream 625KB for 1.23 days to reach 8.33GBs or pretty much indefinitely without going over the 250GB cap. 37 days to reach 250GB at 625KB. HERE

Am I missing anything else?

--------

Last month we went way over at 360GB because a lot of friends were over and I was streaming a Zmodo Mini and the old Foscams for quite a few nights remotely.
 
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CaliGirl

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nayr

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usually you tune down your substreams to a VBR and lower bitrate/framerate so you can view them remotely without exceeding your upload speeds, let your local NVR record the high quality stuff and if you want to say do time-lapse of your lake camera pull a full quality jpeg snapshot from the NVR.. If you want to get a high quality recording off the NVR you can download it remotely at whatever speed it will give it, even if not realtime..

to fetch a snapshot from the camera, use the following scheme: http://IP-ADDRESS-OF-NVR/cgi-bin/snapshot.cgi?channel=1

if you want to do a webcam where anyone can check w/out impacting your internet limits, you'll want to grab that image and upload it to a webserver at a timed interval, with a simple page to refresh it at same interval.. once a min or more is usually plenty for weather watching and could be made into timelapse videos automatically.

If you want to get uber nerdy give each of your siblings a rasperyPi powered picture frame that VPN's into the cabin and displays a jpeg snapshot of the view on the tree-cam every 20mins or so.. I have faith in you ;)
 
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CaliGirl

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I had the all sub streams turned down initially and VBR set on. But unfortunately I discovered that was a causing the IDMSS and Easy4IP apps to crash. It wasn't until until hours of trial and error and resetting the Dahua stream defaults did they work ok. So I think that option is out of the picture until I can head back and experiment with alternate settings that might work.

I feel like JPL mission control adjusting any setting remotely. I try to think through it carefully before sending any commands. I don't want to crash the system or loose connectivity.

I really do like the idea that that NVR records all the good quality content and I can get to it at anytime. That is a game changer coming from the Foscams. Yesterday we someone wondering the property and they were easily identifiable and there to fix something. As we all know, the motion alarms are pretty much useless. I tired all different thresholds and zone, etc. but too many tree shadows and spiders in the lens to contend with. Need to set up a few motion detectors or laser beams to activate email alerts so we know when to check the cams.

if you want to do a webcam where anyone can check w/out impacting your internet limits, you'll want to grab that image and upload it to a webserver at a timed interval, with a simple page to refresh it at same interval.. once a min or more is usually plenty for weather watching and could be made into timelapse videos automatically. *

Wow, that link worked great. Really cool. Is it possible to substitute the NVR ip address with the DDNS address to view the image without the VPN? I was trying but I think the DDNS directs you to the Asus router and not the Dahua box. For example http://xxxxxddns-name.ddns.net:37777/cgi-bin/snapshot.cgi?channel=1

Live snapshot at that resolution would be really nice on a website to share with people. Looking into how to do this today. Not uber web savy but I'll start reading and watching youtube.

Got word that a drunk driver ran into our family's strip mall and took out tons of 8 year old trees then took off. The police were able to download the footage and catch a license plate and identify the person. The CCTV made all the difference and their insurance is picking up the damage bill. Yay for IP cameras.

Oohh great idea about the rasper, they would love that. I don't much of anything outside Mac but I will read up and see if it is something I can handle.


usually you tune down your substreams to a VBR and lower bitrate/framerate so you can view them remotely without exceeding your upload speeds, let your local NVR record the high quality stuff and if you want to say do time-lapse of your lake camera pull a full quality jpeg snapshot from the NVR.. If you want to get a high quality recording off the NVR you can download it remotely at whatever speed it will give it, even if not realtime..

to fetch a snapshot from the camera, use the following scheme: http://IP-ADDRESS-OF-NVR/cgi-bin/snapshot.cgi?channel=1

if you want to do a webcam where anyone can check w/out impacting your internet limits, you'll want to grab that image and upload it to a webserver at a timed interval, with a simple page to refresh it at same interval.. once a min or more is usually plenty for weather watching and could be made into timelapse videos automatically.

If you want to get uber nerdy give each of your siblings a rasperyPi powered picture frame that VPN's into the cabin and displays a jpeg snapshot of the view on the tree-cam every 20mins or so.. I have faith in you ;)
 
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gmaster1

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That Dahua PTZ has a nice image. Seems to be a popular form factor (dome-less design) but I'm curious about weather sealing. Do you worry about crap getting inside the housing between the dome and the spinning half? There's like a quarter inch gap. I'm assuming someone has already thought of this and built it appropriately but just curious.
 

nayr

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you cant expose that image snapshot without exposing your entire video system to the internet, I'd advise against that..

nothing like rebooting a machine thats hours away and praying it comes huh? its like winning the lottery when it comes back :p

@gmaster1, once in 2 years I had a heavy wet snow storm that packed its self on the dome and froze it in place.. just parked the camera until it thawed back out, it required a PTZ Init again because it had tried to move and the belts slipped.. so its positioning was basically lost, didnt do any harm really
 

duranged2001

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Everything arrived quickly and easily from China in less than 10 days. I do not suggest using a USA retailer I ordered from several of them and they just special order it and increase the price 30% and then tell you that they are not in stock. It may also increase your wait time for the product. But the dahua and NVR I did order from newegg. I would never order from them again. It was a bad experience. They missed their estimated shipping times by several days, had items listed in stock when they were not, and items listed as located in California yet they shipped from NYC, and shipped with signature requirements so I kept missing the package.
Hi CaliGirl. I read your IP camera adventure thread, and I'm inspired.

Would you be able to tell me which "...Technology..." seller you bought from?

I need to replace an aging Panasonic IP camera that we have at OUR remote place in the mountains. Our camera has been in place for six years, and the sun has taken its toll on the plastic lens housing.

Thanks!
David
 

CaliGirl

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Get something that is metal to avoid the sunrot. Or if you get plastic, wipe some 303 Aerspace Protectant on the housing. That stuff is like magic and has UV inhibitors. The aviation industry has been using it for years.

I order from "Empire Technology Co., Ltd" I would be confident in ordering from them again. Their cameras have english firmware bc I did an entire camera reset to defaults and it held the english language.

Note: they did try to rip me off and pay extra $ for the wall mount for the PTZ. It comes included in the box from Dahua at no charge. Luckily I was smart enough to realize this and talked them out of the extra charge. I knew he was lying when he didn't have a part number or any listing for it on the website yet he was going to sell it to me for $25 more. http://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/eN9Zgco
 

duranged2001

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Yup, I'm all for clarifiying expectations ahead of time! How were you communicating with them as you were asking your questions? And, if you dont mind saying, how much did you pay for the camera, and what form of paymemt did you use?

I'm looking forward to blow away our old Panasonic image with a brand new camera.

IMG_0418.PNG

Also, are you pleased with the night performance? Do you have some good low light examples?

Thank you for sharing your experience.

David
 

CaliGirl

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Night vision is very good at 50ft. I'll shoot some tonight for you. Pm you answers to the other questions in the morning.
 

duranged2001

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I'm sorry to respond to a PM in a message thread, but I'm low on post counts.

CaliGirl,

Thank you so much for responding. The information and video samples are very helpful, and I appreciate your taking the time to provide those. I've been using forums for many many years to research anything and everything I'm interested in. Individuals wiling to share their experiences are what makes forum communities invaluable, so thank you again.

Yes, the Panasonic (BB-HCM735A) has a plastic half-sphere lens protector. The camera is oriented south, more or less, so it bears the full brunt of the sun. In the last year, it has degraded significantly to the point that we don't even bother to pan to the west. If I can find a replacement lens protector, I will try to repair it. Quality camera for it's time though.

Panasonic BB-HCM735A
10-24-10 021.JPG

I'm very impressed with the Dahua. I was particularly blown away in one of your previous videos to see the camera zoomed in and focused on a nail head on your dock. I think I'm going to make the purchase. It's not that much more than I paid for the Panasonic six years ago. I'd say it's time for an upgrade.

Thank you again,
David
 
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