Sorry for taking so long to get back, I will reply in order:
That's a PoE switch, not an injector, although it serves the same purpose, just costs more. Yes that technically will work. That is active PoE so compatibility is greater than that of passive PoE.
I got a POE injector and plugged it into the adapter and into the first POE port on the PDVR and nothing... the LEDs on the port do not come on.
I then plugged it into the router (say LAN4 on the router) and when I logged into the router, LAN4 was listed as disconnected.
I even tried plugging it into my laptop via ethernet but nothing.
It looks like the cameras might be dead also. Strange but I can't be bothered with it now.
If no matter what you connect to the DVR the LAN lights do not respond, it is either a hardware failure in the NVR (extremely unlikely) or a driver problem within the firmware. (likely, since firmware is the only thing you changed). At this point, can it. You've put more effort into the box than what it's worth, I'd hate to see you waste any more effort on it. I've had some projects in the past like yours where you get all the way to the end, but something so small holds you up but is make or break for the whole project. Had to scrap and start over. On the bright side, you learned A LOT. and so did I actually. Live and learn.
With regard to the guys at WAPA, I had a bit of a kerfuffle with the manager before he put me through to the techie.... luckily the techie spoke english and was very helpful.
Management is the pitfall in any company. The larger the company, the larger the disconnect between management and engineering. Engineering is often safeguarded from the general public so their time isn't being wasted on silly trivial things. I totally agree with this setup, it logically makes perfect sense and the reasons why, but if you truly do know what you're doing and need to confer with them intricate engineering-oriented questions, you have to cut through many layers of red tape to get anywhere. There's no middle-ground approach to this problem AFAIK. (I'm not a business major, computer and electrical engineering) Some companies have better support structures in place than others, without a doubt.
As for the HIKVision system I mentioned in an earlier post, I am wondering whether to go for a 2MP camera rather than the 4MP and save about £60.... am I going to notice the difference?
There is a colossal difference in image quality between a 2MP and a 4MP. There are however, some important things to be aware of:
- 2MP is 1080p (1920x1080) that the world has come to know and love, and that marketing firms and divisions have come to severely abuse. I would consider 1080p to be a base standard of video universally. That is, you would never want any less than that. 2MP has a wider frame than 3-4MP, because it has a 16:9 aspect ratio, as opposed to 4:3. Ever watch an old video on your widescreen TV and have black bars on the sides? That's called the letterbox effect. That's a 4:3 source being displayed on a 16:9 display. In the case of Hikvision, the image is stretched, not letterboxed, and it actually looked pretty good, distortion does not seem to be an issue at all. (with 3-4MP cams)
- 4MP cams have a noticeably clearer image during the daytime. At night, the 1080p image is slightly better with less grain (but not terrible in any way). I have mine with the highest level of noise reduction and they work great. Some people that's not acceptable so they stick with 2MP cams. Plus, at this point in time, those are dirt cheap. I would personally go with 4MP, but that's my opinion. Use good judgement and a quick cost/benefit analysis based on your needs (of which only you would know best).
Also, should I be looking to get 4mm or 6mm lens on the HIKVision cameras?
The larger the lens, the narrower and more zoomed in your field of view is. When in doubt, 4mm. That is the standard lens shipped with every Hikvision "value" camera. It yields about a 75-degree field of view. 6mm will have a farther throw (far-sighted), but will have narrower coverage width-wise (think telescope). 2.8mm is near a perfect 90-degree FOV, but obviously that means it's zoomed out as much as possible, so details are not as close up. All of my installations stick with 4mm unless some condition or requirement explicitly calls for a different lens. Hikvision actually has a lens selector tool that might help you (Windows only):
http://www.hikvisioneurope.com/port... Lens Selection Tool/&file=Lens Selector.exe
With regard to the POE Injector, I bought the following one and used a 12V adapter to connect to it:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Passive-Po...8AAMXQ1ZhTi1Bw
PoE standard is 48VDC. (no matter what Ubiquiti and their almighty highness says otherwise) sending 12V over the spare pairs on the line will do nothing. If the camera does not support Passive PoE (Hikvision's support both), it could cause damage. I have purchased these adapters before for very special hand-crafted PoE applications. At work we have Panasonic cordless IP handset phones. The base station is 6V inverted polarity DC, and it needed moved to a central location due to poor coverage. I used one of those passive splitters over a Cat6 line, and it worked great. Cheaper than running 120V in very high up and far away places. The other adapter you listed is also passive. No dice. I know because I have one, because I work primarily with Hikvision devices.
Personally - I'd leave getting a switch until you are sure you need it. You may decide to get an NVR with PoE ports and PoE cameras.
YES. If your computer shows no link between your computer and ethernet port on the back of the recorder, consider it dead and move on. The money you are spending on extra supplies and
tools, you could be putting towards brand new equipment. Hate to see you spend all this money and get nowhere. Been there, done that.
