PoE Managed Switch

Jim I.

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I hear you. But I already had the Unifi Dream machine SE router and access points, so I sprang for their switch as well. I'm not using their cameras though, they tie you to just their product line. If I had to do it over I might have taken a cheaper route.
 

Flintstone61

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I just got done watching Network Chuck do a walk thru of the Catalyst 1000 series for small business. It has some really cool features. He made it seem affordable. But they're really more than a guy wants to spend for some IP cameras.
 

fenderman

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I hear you. But I already had the Unifi Dream machine SE router and access points, so I sprang for their switch as well. I'm not using their cameras though, they tie you to just their product line. If I had to do it over I might have taken a cheaper route.
That's how the get you :) . But I get it if everything else is unifi. Their cams being locked to unifi is strange. You would think they would want a broader market share....
 

Jim I.

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That's how the get you :) . But I get it if everything else is unifi. Their cams being locked to unifi is strange. You would think they would want a broader market share....
I read the reason their cameras are so expensive is because the cost of licensing them is included, whereas Synology charges you 50.00 per camera to use their Synology Surveillance Station. (first 2 camera licenses' are free). Don't know why they don't want a broader market share like Synology.
 

fenderman

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I read the reason their cameras are so expensive is because the cost of licensing them is included, whereas Synology charges you 50.00 per camera to use their Synology Surveillance Station. (first 2 camera licenses' are free). Don't know why they don't want a broader market share like Synology.
They must have done the math and didnt want to deal with or support onvif. Synology's $50 per camera is reasonable in the vms space that uses per camera licensing's model, though their NAS boxes have severe frame rate or camera limitations particularly at higher resolutions - information they bury.
 

looktall

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Their cams being locked to unifi is strange. You would think they would want a broader market share....
They could probably do without having to support the knuckleheads who can't figure out how to add a camera as well as having to support issues where their camera won't work with another vendors equipment through no fault of their own.

It would be like apple making their watches work with android phones.
 

Jim I.

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They must have done the math and didnt want to deal with or support onvif. Synology's $50 per camera is reasonable in the vms space that uses per camera licensing's model, though their NAS boxes have severe frame rate or camera limitations particularly at higher resolutions - information they bury.
I actually started out with Synology Surveillance Station last year using the 2 free licenses. I already owned one of their NAS units so it was a good way to get started with security cameras. But then I tried Blue Iris after lurking on this site for a while, and now I'm hooked! lol. To be honest, Blue Iris (at least for me) has a steeper learning curve, but it obviously has much more versatility and features. Looking forward to learning from this great support group!
 

fenderman

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They could probably do without having to support the knuckleheads who can't figure out how to add a camera as well as having to support issues where their camera won't work with another vendors equipment through no fault of their own.

It would be like apple making their watches work with android phones.
By that logic no other manufacture would support same. 50 other camera manufactures have figured out how to do it - there is a specific agreed upon protocol - onvif. Even developers of commercial VMS that sell their own cameras like avigilon support onvif in their cams.
 

looktall

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By that logic no other manufacture would support same.
50 other camera manufactures have figured out how to do it
Get much support directly from dahua do you?
No because they decided they could do without dealing directly with the end user.
Millions of other hardware manufacturers around the globe have figure out how to do it.

It's a business decision based on whatever metrics they've chosen.
 

fenderman

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Get much support directly from dahua do you?
No because they decided they could do without dealing directly with the end user.
Millions of other hardware manufacturers around the globe have figure out how to do it.

It's a business decision based on whatever metrics they've chosen.
I dont want or need support for dahua. Unifi could have done the same and provided no end user support or they could charge for it. No headache If you look at my previous post I already said unifi did the math and made a business decision - their product their choice. I dont understand what your reply is adding? If I had to guess its likely a capacity issue where they cannot produce enough - they are always out of stock with their own gear and would prefer to limit the market to their vms so that the prices are not artificially inflated by high demand.
 

looktall

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I dont understand what your reply is adding?
Simple speculation as to why they might prefer to lock their cameras onto their own gear at the expense of market share.

I haven't used ubiquity cameras but I have used meraki cameras.
I assume ubiquiti use a similar management environment.
There's a certain attraction to the simplicity with which things can be added into such a network, although it does come at a cost.
 

IAmATeaf

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Keep an eye out on Gumtree and FB marketplace, you can get some cheap deals there.

Probably all sick of hearing this from me but I picked up a HP 24 port POE+ gigabit switch for £20 plus around a £10 in fuel to replace my 8 port Trendnet which cost me around £70 which I thought was a bargain at the time.

The HP is in my loft and during the summer days you could hear it in the dead of the night so I added a couple of 1watt 28ohm resistors in series with the 12v line which didn’t slow the fans down much but got rid of the high end drone so I can no longer now hear the switch.
 

EricB

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Wow, this thread blew up!

I really appreciate all of the info.

I am wavering on whether or not I want/need a managed switch. I prefer to set the IP address of all of my devices at the router/switch using static addresses simply for the ability and ease of changing an address (or group of addresses) if I change the address scheme or move a device somewhere else, rather than having to go to the device or access the device through a web ui.

But thinking it through, that might not be necessary/needed with the cameras. I will probably just keep watch on ebay and other places to see if a really good deal comes up and then decide on whether or not to get it, or wait until I run out of ports on the little switch I have since right now I have to get another 180 camera.

I put the test 180 up in a temp setup very similar to where it will be once the real cabling is installed, and moved the 5442 to another area yesterday afternoon. After a few hours (late afternoon into the evening), my wife determined that she really liked the picture and definition of the 180, and the amount of area that it covers. After it got dark, she determined that the night vision capability, the definition she was seeing and clarity of the 180 was really to her liking.

Then right around the time she was getting ready to take the dog outside for the evening ritual, the following conversation occurred:
Her: How much does one of the 180s cost?
Me: 250 plus the mount, less than 300.
Her: Were you are planning to get a 180 to replace the 'brown one' (the 5442 is brown)?
Me: That was what I want to do eventually.
Her: Can the brown one be used somewhere else
Me: Yes, there are a couple of places it can be moved to.
Her: Can you just replace the brown one with it without a lot of effort or do you have to redo everything you did yesterday?
Me: Nope, same mount, just disconnect the network cable, loosen on screw, take off the camera and mount and then connect the cable to the new camera, put the new camera and mount on the mounting plate and tighten the set screw. The hardest part will be tweaking the camera so that you see the area you want to see and we did that today, so you know what that will take.
Her: Will that mess up the plans you had for putting in the cameras you wanted and where you wanted which type of camera?
Me: Nope, that was what I thought I would do in the future anyway
Her: Can you order one tomorrow and put it up this week?
Me: I'll order one tomorrow. It should be here in a couple of days. Remember it is supposed to get cold and snowy Tues-Thurs, so I might not get it up until Fri.
Her: Fri is fine, but you should go ahead and order it so that we have it as soon as the weather is good.
Her: Is the 180 what you are planning on putting out back as well, and would it work on the other side of the house? Oh, is it okay if there is overlap on the video like you did today?
Me: Yep. Yep. Yes, overlap is what we want.
Her: Ok, you figure out what we need where and then when the cabling is done, just get the cameras that you think we need.

Damn it is nice when the camera sells itself!
 

wittaj

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Sounds like a keeper! Dude you should have bought like the moment she said go and talk her into a few more LOL
 

IAmATeaf

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The only reason we have cameras is because my wife wanted them, me personally I had never ever considered them. Did take approx 2 years of badgering me before I relented and had them installed but she did have a say in exactly where and how they were installed to minimise their obviousness.
 

EricB

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My wife was ok with cameras in 1 or 2 places that can't be seen from inside the house, but was thinking more along the price point of Wyze or ReoLink, and wasn't on board with full coverage to start with.

I got one of each the Wyze and ReoLink, and she wasn't happy, so "allowed" me to do more research and then agreed when I wanted to try a 5442 as recommended.

She liked that and liked the doorbell, but wasn't sure about the 180. Once the 180 was up, that was what really sold her on the 180. Next one should be here tomorrow, hopefully before the cold arrives.

Now to work on the Alerts.

Eric
 

wittaj

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Wow - most wives would be happy with the Wyze or Reolink LOL.... it isn't until something happens that they get mad.

Next you will tell us you thought those looked great :lmao:

I hear a PTZ in your future!
 

EricB

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@wittaj, Nope, wasn't happy with them. I found this place doing a search on alternatives to ReoLink, and after 2 days of reading, I knew that I was looking at the wrong cameras. Thus my first post regarding which camera to purchase where you suggested the 5442.

Yes a PTZ and/or one of the tracking cameras could definitely be in the future.
 
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