Old bnc cameras and ip cameras together?

[ray-zin]

Hi all. First off.... This is a fantastic forum.

I've already learned so much from lurking the past 2 weeks or so.

I've decided that I want to use BI mainly because of the motion sensor and zone configuration options. Also the continuous development and improvements that go into the software give me a warm fuzzy feeling ;-)

I moved into a house that already has a dvr and 8 entry level dahua bullets installed and set up.

My first experience with security cams.

I've called the security guys out around 5 times in as many months to check why this or that is not working etc. I'm tired of relying on and paying someone else a small fortune to come out and do not very much.

So now that I've decided to install another camera at my gate I started looking into the what and how. Wow! It's a whole new world!

So I already have 8 seemingly ok cameras... But they are bnc connected to a power supply and the the dvr. (setup picture attached).


If I go the poe / switch and BI route.... Can I still make use of the existing cameras. I've seen some poe converters out there but they seem to convert to Ethernet then back again later. Is it possible to convert once off from camera to cat5/6 which goes straight into a switch?

I'm planning to get one of those dahua turrets from Andy as my first poe ip cam but I'd like to still be able to use the current cameras if possible while I expand my system to 12 or so cameras.

Thanks in advance for any advice / help on this topic.

I have a million other questions but let me start here and keep browsing through archives...

R.

 

[copex]

the quick answer is no, you have a analogue CCTV system and you want to go to an IP CCTV (digital system). now in saying this you could install one of these in a PC New H.264 PC cards! - Blue Iris that would allow you to connect analogue cameras to a PC running BI and you can re-cable using C5 and run analogue cameras over Balms. there are ways to run IP cameras over Coax and convert analogue cameras to IP but the come with there own issues.

so replace all of the cameras or run two systems side by side and upgrade as and when you can.

 

[ray-zin]

I was worried that this would be the case. I think then as you suggest I will replace the old system over time then and run them in parallel as I grow the BI system.

In terms of cable runs. I saw that you can run poe around 100m or 300ft without injectors. Is this the maximum? Or at what intervals is best practice for an injector?

 

[fenderman]

I was worried that this would be the case. I think then as you suggest I will replace the old system over time then and run them in parallel as I grow the BI system.

In terms of cable runs. I saw that you can run poe around 100m or 300ft without injectors. Is this the maximum? Or at what intervals is best practice for an injector?

Actually you can easily do this... you can likely easily stream from your current dvr to blue iris....if its too much for the DVR to handle, a new dahua pentabrid could do this Dahua Technology Pro Series 16-Channel Penta-brid 1080p X21A3E
this will also allow you to swap out those low resolution cameras with dahua CVI HD cams (which are cheap) that run over coax...now you have a full hd system...
However, if you have the ability or the money, running new cable and using ip cameras is the best solution. (those blue cherry cards are a rippoff and should never be used)
What is the model of the current DVR?
As far as ethernet, if you have longer than 100m run, dahua just released cameras that are capable of very long poe runs - you need to use a special poe injector/switch sold by dahua...there is a thread on it....there are also other devices that allow for this without an switch in between Ethernet Extender, POE Powered Ethernet Extension, Network Extender, Cat 5 Extension, POE, POE Plus

 

[ray-zin]

Thanks fenderman. Very useful information. Still so much to learn! I think part of my reasoning to swap over to poe is that the current installation is very untidy. There is badly installed trunking/conduits stuck to walls and sides of the house in various places. So I was thinking of rewiring anyway and having just 2 neat underground Conduit hops to the house from outside walls. I think at the moment there is 4 or 5 not so neat wall to house conduits and also some naked cable jumps from 1 area of the roof to another.

That 16 channel penta-brid you posted a link for looks pretty good and really not badly priced at all considering the cost of the cherry card.

I guess the only drawback is not being able to make use of poe and the single cable advantage but at the same time if I already have power out near the farthest reaches I don't suppose it matters..... Unless I'm missing out on any other significant pros for having poe instead of current setup. Which your statement: "However, if you have the ability or the money, running new cable and using ip cameras is the best solution." clearly suggests.

I did not realise that I could stream to BI from the dvr. (got some more reading to do there).

Is it then also possible to have a poe switch connected to my router as well as the dvr and then stream both to BI? Ie: Running both systems into BI?

Ps: here is the dvr I have:

HCVR4104/4108/4116HS-S3 - Dahua Technology

It's the: hcvr41084116hs-s3
R.

 

[ray-zin]

It's the: hcvr41084116hs-s3
R.

Woops. It's the hcvr4108hs-s3

 

[ray-zin]

there are also other devices that allow for this without an switch in between Ethernet Extender, POE Powered Ethernet Extension, Network Extender, Cat 5 Extension, POE, POE Plus

.... So I followed this link and also saw mention of the CAMSWITCH plus. Does this device do what I think it does? Allows me to connect 4 cameras to it whilst only running 1 Ethernet cable back to my "main" switch?

 

[fenderman]

Woops. It's the hcvr4108hs-s3

you can stream direct to blue iris using that dvr...

 

[fenderman]

.... So I followed this link and also saw mention of the CAMSWITCH plus. Does this device do what I think it does? Allows me to connect 4 cameras to it whilst only running 1 Ethernet cable back to my "main" switch?

any poe switch will do that...if you have local power...there are also poe powered 1 to 4 switches if you dont have local power...

 

[ray-zin]

Actually you can easily do this... you can likely easily stream from your current dvr to blue iris....if its too much for the DVR to handle, a new dahua pentabrid could do this Dahua Technology Pro Series 16-Channel Penta-brid 1080p X21A3E
this will also allow you to swap out those low resolution cameras with dahua CVI HD cams (which are cheap) that run over coax...now you have a full hd system...
However, if you have the ability or the money, running new cable and using ip cameras is the best solution.

Hi fenderman,

Do I understand you correctly. Can I stream the analogue from the DVR to BI as well as run other digital POE cameras to my network?
Something like follows:



Thanks again for your time.
r.

 

[fenderman]

Hi fenderman,

Do I understand you correctly. Can I stream the analogue from the DVR to BI as well as run other digital POE cameras to my network?
Something like follows:

View attachment 25640

Thanks again for your time.
r.

yes - as long as the dvr supports it, which most do...
Ideally you will want the blue iris pc and the cams on the same switch or connected switches before they hit the router..that way the data does not pass through the router which may choke it (depending on model)...

 

[ray-zin]

Awesome. Ok so I will probably end up with at least 2 switches in the end as I will drive around half the cameras from 1 side of the house and the other half from the opposite side of the house with BI somewhere in between. So how would the network look then? I assumed i'd HAVE to have both switches connected to the router? - Can I connect 1st switch to BI and the other 2nd switch to that 1st switch?
Then where does the DVR connect? (I'm planning to phase out the DVR later this year anyway.).
Would it be something like this bypassing the router altogether?

 

[fenderman]

Awesome. Ok so I will probably end up with at least 2 switches in the end as I will drive around half the cameras from 1 side of the house and the other half from the opposite side of the house with BI somewhere in between. So how would the network look then? I assumed i'd HAVE to have both switches connected to the router? - Can I connect 1st switch to BI and the other 2nd switch to that 1st switch?
Then where does the DVR connect? (I'm planning to phase out the DVR later this year anyway.).
Would it be something like this bypassing the router altogether?
View attachment 25641

yes, but you would also connect one of the switches to the router as well..

 

[ray-zin]

Thanks very much. I'll read up a bit on optimal configuration.

 

[Tome10]

If your DVR ends up not supporting video serving, you can use the Axis 240Q Video Servers (4Ports) I use two of them.

 

[ray-zin]

If your DVR ends up not supporting video serving, you can use the Axis 240Q Video Servers (4Ports) I use two of them.

Nice. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[dubb]

yes, but you would also connect one of the switches to the router as well..

But wouldn’t it work like in the picture where he connected one switch to another?

 

[fenderman]

But wouldn’t it work like in the picture where he connected one switch to another?

It would work, but he would not have remote access and he would need to manually assign ip addresses. In the image nothing is connected to the router.

 

[dubb]

It would work, but he would not have remote access and he would need to manually assign ip addresses. In the image nothing is connected to the router.

Ok i see it. He probably forgot to draw the line