Hello All,



 This is one of the best "How To" / Info threads i have read.  I am nowhere near through with it but have been reading alot.  I would like to do something at my home.  In the meantime i am trying to be an active member of my HOA and we are thinking of putting up a few security camera's at our neighborhood pool and entrance.  I have been asked to try to find some info on a system for this.  If anyone have any insight or info on any of this i would greatly appreciate it.  In the meantime i will continue reading this forum. Im looking for a complete package i can purchase if not i will get the pieces parts that we can put together.  
DVR Controller something to control 4 to 10 cameras.  

DVR’s between 500 Gigabytes to 2 Terabytes.



4 Cameras high resolution (480 range or better) and night vision on all of them.

one "long range" wired with night vision

One camera wired with night vision that would be located inside the pool fence.  

Two wireless cameras that have a significant transmission range of a mile or so.





I guess all the cameras would need to be compatible.



Thanks (Back to reading)

If you use network cams they would all be compatible. Best to stick with one brand tho to reduce configuration learning curve.

GR can comment on the best 'nightvision cams' as he has the most experience.

As far as the 1 mile link, use 2 Linksys WAP 54G's in a bridge config and a cheap 2.4 gHz directional antenna [from eBay] on each one.  Plug the cam's ethernet cable to one WAP and the HOA's network into the other WAP. Very easy.

WAP54G's cost from $50 or so used to ~$80 new, IIRC. I'm using them in this config now.

If you need clarification just ask.

The wireless bridging thing seems to be a common request.  I think I've got a couple of old D-Link bridges out in my garage.  Let me see if I can post some pics and screenshots (assuming my 1337 Network-Fu is sufficiently strong that I can get it to work)

Yep... presence of D-Link bridges confirmed.  I'll have to see if I can remember how to work these things.

Thanks,



 I will look into this.



 

Thanks for the heads up i will wait to see what you post.



Thanks again.



 

You're welcome.  I'll see if I can get something together later tonight.

GrayMan, I am coming late to the show here, but want to pass a few things by you to make sure I understand the basics.

IP Cameras have much better resolution than analog cameras and they are preferred
IP cameras are essentially a mini computer, they include the web interface and you connect to them to view them.
the NVR is essentially a programs installed on another computer that monitors the IP cameras and records them. it is also a web server
the NVR will always be recording the input from the IP Cameras. essentially there is no more motion detection.

Is that right?

thanks in advance.

Let me take these one at a time.

1.  IP Cameras have much better resolution than analog cameras and they are preferred.

Sometimes.  In terms of resolution and pixels, there is absolutely no comparison... IP wins hands-down.  In terms of very low-light and some very difficult lighting situations, analog is sometimes better.  Analog is also MUCH cheaper, and sometimes you're better putting up a handful of analog cameras to cover a number of specific areas (the resolution is perfectly adequate for narrow hallways, doorways, and other choke points).  If you want to cover a large area with enough pixels-per-foot to identify a vehicle/person/etc, you're probably looking at going IP/megapixel.

2.  IP cameras are essentially a mini computer, they include the web interface and you connect to them to view them.

Correct.

3.  the NVR is essentially a programs installed on another computer that monitors the IP cameras and records them. it is also a web server

Yes... save for the last point.  Not all NVR software suites are "web servers," such that you can connect to with a simple browser.  Some are... but others require a remote client to access the video streams.  The one I'm currently using requires client software.

4.  the NVR will always be recording the input from the IP Cameras. essentially there is no more motion detection.

Not exactly.  The NVR can be configured any number of ways.  They can record at a set rate, record in response to motion detection, or simply display the streams without recording at all.  Motion detection ability is included in virtually all NVR software, and is typically done by the NVR computer.  This is one of the arguments for including a bit of extra processing power.

I am still thinking a DVR will work best for me. I don't have that much space to record and zooming in will put me in the neighbors house.

Any chance you are going to review those?  I am leaning towards the gadspot right now.

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

Refresh my memory... which model are we talking about?

Bear in mind... I'm not that big a fan of embedded DVRs.  You're almost always better off going with a PC-based system, since what you give up in "reliability" with the embedded model, you more than make up in the expandability, repairability, and software/hardware choices of PC-based units.

Absolutely.

I didn't have a model in mind to be honest, just leaning more towards that.  I am a systems analyst for unix systems for over 12 years, I am more a fan of appliances for anything I can get away with.  something purposely built for the task.

Here's one bridge out in my garage... the other I'll connect through, from my kitchen table, via my laptop.:







Here is the camera in question, hooked up to PoE and the bridge.  A Mobotix megapixel dome, capable of putting a serious hurting on your network bandwidth.  We'll see how the bridge handles it.







And our target image... good ole' JRS  







I started out by resetting both bridges to factory settings via the little button on the back... primarily because I couldn't remember what IP addresses they might have.  When set to factory defaults, they have the IP address of 192.168.0.30.  I assigned a gateway of 192.168.0.1.  I connected via a direct connection from my laptop, which had an IP address in the same subnet (192.168.0.X)







Here's the second one being set:







At this point, I realized that they had different firmware versions.  Wireless is often dicey enough without that kind of crap... so I updated it.  They are now identical:







I initially set the wireless settings to Infrastructure, encrypted it (out of habit), and set the SSID to FUAROCK1::







I set the other bridge similarly, except I set the SSID to FUAROCK2:







This left me with the two bridges as follows:








This failed to work.  The bridges couldn't see one another (despite the fact that they were on the same subnet.

TO BE CONTINUED:

OK... here's the epilogue... and the successful configuration:




I changed the mode to Ad-hoc rather than infrastructure (which, for some reason, prevented me from using WPA encryption... so I left it unencrypted.  It would allow WEP).








I did the same for the other bridge as well:







This also did not work... until I changed the SSIDs of both bridges to FUAROCK1.  At that point, we're trading packets back-and-forth like mad.







And here we go!









So here's the short version.  If you use Ad-hoc mode (which I never do... so this was educational for me), the SSIDs of your bridges MUST be identical.  Ad-hod mode also prevents the strongest encryption from being used in this model of bridge... but this model has been EOL'd and discontinued by D-Link as of December 2009.  It DOES work, however... so if you picked up a couple cheap on Ebay, you could use them.  Keep them on the same subnet, and they talk to each other great... and can pass enough packets to support a megapixel IP camera.

Infrastructure mode will ONLY work if you have an AP in your wireless installation.

G-M, unless I'm doing it wrong, you will have to set the bridges to "infrastructure" once you connect them into your home LAN.

The Ad Hoc mode apparently will work when you are using the bridges when there is no DHCP server [router] if I understand correctly. There is a page early in the D-link manual showing the difference between the two.

Nontheless, set the bridges to a static IP as you have done.

SSIDs have to match but only for the 2 [-or more in the bridge or access point].

If you have another 'bridge pair' somewhere on your LAN, they can [and probably should] use a different SSID. I have at least [sometimes I loose count] 6 different bridges with unique SSIDs running on this LAN over distances of ~2 miles in one direction and ~14in another.

Frankly, I've never found the need to use the AdHoc mode with what we're doing.

Soon there will be cameras incl one PTZ on 3 of the bridges incl 2 in the barn and one in the container. Wish I could allow access and still ensure privacy for my public IP addy.

The PTZ will look at the snow and around the barn inside [it's hi res] and another will look at a collection of temp and battery voltage 'gauges' so we can see the weather way up there. There is no other wx info at that altitude nearby.

Cams in the 'tainer will also look at temp gauges and voltmeters to monitor the electrical system and heat.

Difficult to get there in the snow, have to use tracked ATV, waiting for the PTZ to get here....

Yes.... that's correct.  I couldn't attach these to my home LAN because I'm using encrypted wireless-N, and these bridges don't talk to my access point.

G-M, also your D-Link access points are very nice being so small. They look ideal to set up a remote camera monitoring system at a BOL in a small package with a gel battery and solar panel.

If a 5 volt cam could be found the whole thing could run of a 6 volt gel cell.

A hacked walkie-talkie with tone control could be used for remote control of the unit to minimize the battery drain of the network 'appliance'.

A buried traffic sensor could detect intrusion and activate the wireless equip and send images of the intruder back to base or a laptop or Ipaq nearby.

With a more powerful access point at a strategic location on the LAN,  monitoring could be accomplished with legal gain antennas for miles.

I can imagine a cam or two hidden in a tree with cables going 50 feet or so to a hidden power supply, access point, antenna and solar.

They're a weird VA rating... 5V @2.5A.  No idea why they decided to do it that way, when so many other peripherals are 12V.  Most camera stuff is 12V as well, so it might not mesh into a CCTV installation as well.

They do work, though... back in the old days of Linux when wireless card support was horrifically bad, I used one of these to run a rack-mount server back to the WAN connection.  It was pretty stable in that implementation.

Expy, TheGray,





 thanks for this info.  Im going to look into these options a little more.  I am thinking that some good IP cameras will be best for what we are trying to do.  With this bridge system do you think it could transmit about 1 mile or would it be better to get a good Wireless camera and put an antenna on it similar to this.



I guess im thinking of 2 wireless IP cameras that have a really good IR source on them.  Something like this.  Again im just getting into all of this so if im looking at something completly wrong please forgive me.  These camera will be located a the front of my subdivision a good ways away from the DVR or NVR or whatever i need.  



and two wired cameras similar to this.  



Would it be best to get an NVR similar to this  to bring the 4 camera into or is there something else.  



What other items would i need.  

The antenna does not have a narrow beam pattern and is not desirable.

Is the camera a 'network' camera?

Wired cams look nice.

You'll need a compatable 'receiving bridge' for the two remote cams. Actually an limited access point and the two remote 'bridges' would have the access point's MAC addy set into them to exclude other intrusions.

First of all, they're raping you on the price of that Nanostation.  Hit google shopping here, for some alternatives.  The Nanos are reportedly good bridges, and made for harsher environments than a standard bridge.  By the time you buy a conventional bridge, mount/power it, buy a NEMA enclosure for it... you're probably better off getting the Nano.  The manufacturer's website is here.

The wired camera you chose is one I own... the Acti cameras are very good.  I have an interior, and an exterior model.  They are both actual day/night cameras (and thus IR-sensitive), and the megapixel resolution is nice.  I have one in my garage, and a similar model (rated and sealed for outdoors) outside, zoomed-in and watching my mailbox.  I'm happy with both of them, and though slightly better IR sensitivity can be found in my Panasonic domes, the increased resolution of the Actis makes them a winner (you get about 6FPS at megapixel resolution, which is more than enough for most non-casino applications).

The NVR you chose is also one I can speak about.  Nuuo is a relative newcomer to the CCTV market (in the last few years, I mean... they're not fly-by-night).  I have one of those deployed for a friend, with plans to add some IP cameras to it once he gives me the go-ahead (heir license model allows you to get an analog encoder card and add IP licenses to it... or get a couple of IP licenses and add an analog card to it).  Their software works well, and is nice and stable.  The one I have out there simply sits on a shelf in a closet, on a UPS, and literally has run for months-and-months-and-months with no issues.  It also records in H.264, which results in efficient disk space utilization.

I think you've made good choices there... but can you tell me more about what you're trying to do at the entrance to your subdivision?  The camera you have listed there is an analog camera (not IP), and may not give you what you want.  

Depending on the physical setup at your subdivision entrance, you may decide to do one of several things.  If it's one of those gated-with-a-keypad deals, you could easily get away with a pinhole analog camera inside the keypad enclosure, and capture excellent face shots of anyone using the keypad.  You'd want another camera to give a general view of the gate area, to give you vehicle descriptions, and catch other things: vehicles who choose not to use the keypad, drive in through the out-gate, or draft their way in by tailgating another vehicle that DID enter a code.  Alternatively, you could use a license-plate camera for actual vehicle ID... I'm partial to speed-bump cameras for that application (I just think they're a sexy combo of psychology and technology), and here is an example of what I mean.  That's not the only choice... there are a number of purpose-built solutions (examples here) that you could choose.

GM what you ever looked at the lower end NVR apps?

http://www.webcamxp.com/home.aspx

Never heard of that one... but I couldn't use it.  They don't support my cameras.

Where can I find a PCI card that can record at 1280x720?  Most of them max out at 640x480.  The camera I want to get is the Covi EVQ-1000 1.3MP (1280x720) but if I can't find a DVR card for the PC that can record high def.

You're not going to find a CCTV encoder card that will do that, since the highest resolution you can get out of an analog camera is D1.  Unless you're going with something completely proprietary, the NTSC standard is your limiting factor.

That's not to say that some video cards might not allow video input... perhaps to digitize some old home video... but I don't think that will work for a security application.

AFAIK, there is no such thing as an analog "megapixel" security camera.

really?  they say they support any camera.  they even sell axis camers.

That statement is highly suspect.

Got my PTZ hi res cam today.

Opened the box and it was in two pieces, the base and the lens/gimble asm, w/ the ribbon cable holding the two pieces together.

The guy I bought it from had repaired it by gluing w/ Crazy Glue the plastic pivot the gimble rotates about, and the glue didn't hold.

Glad I found out up front....

We'll see how I resolve this close to $1000 screwup...

WTH?  

Nice... hope you get your money back.

Incidentally, just to show you that nothing is foolproof, I had a vehicle in front of my house egged yesterday.

The little bastards that did it stood down the street out of view of the cameras and lobbed the eggs from there

There will be changes... oh yes.

Anybody who is in the market for some serious, high-end CCTV needs to check out this auction on Ebay.  I'm not affiliated with this guy in any way, don't know him, etc, but I did buy another mobotix camera from him in the past, and it works great.

That's a Mobotix megapixel dome camera with TWO imagers inside, each of which will cover a 90-degree arc.  One camera can cover the whole side of a structure or an entire room.  Each of those imagers is color ONLY (won't be able to use IR, or see well at night, so these are best used for a well-lit area), and those individual imagers are 3-Megapixels each.  That particular model also has a PIR, microphone, and speaker (the camera itself can function as a VOIP phone).  Those would be perfect for providing daytime area coverage to any 180-degree area, including the entire side of a structure, backyard, front yard, large room, etc.

Those cameras retail for $1300 and up.  He's asking $650... if those cameras are as advertised, that's half-price.

I believe what we are
trying to do at the entrance of my subdivision is just see cars coming
in and out so if something were to happen we would know a time and what
cars came in and out at that time. The entrance of my subdivision necks
down to allow only one car in and one car out.




Im really new to this so im just guessing that IP cams would be
good to us ( if you think there is something better let me know).




For the front cameras i guess we just want to see cars and maybe
licnese plates. We would want them to be wireless however and you have
pointed that the cam i was looking at was a wired version. The wireless
camera i would want to be able to transmit a signal up to a mile as
where the cameras will be are a good ways away from where the NVR would
be.




Can you clear up what exactly that nano station does that i linked
to? Is it and antenna or essentially a high powered wireless router?




So for the camera that we want to be wireless IP cams in the front
just hook into the nano station like an antenna? On the receiving end
there would be another Nano station going to an NVR?




So do you see that we would need anything else hardware wise? Other
thank the two wired IP Acti cameras with IR, the Nuuo NVR with 4
licenses to pull in 4 IP Cams and two IP Wireless cams with long
distance IR capability (Can you recommend one since the one i choose
were wired) and the Nanostations.




I guess we would need a server or something for the NVR to record to as well.





Sorry for being a pain.  You have really created a great thread which im still reading through.  





Thanks again for your help.






 

What you have to distinguish between are wireless cameras, and wired IP cameras that transmit data over a wireless link (you want the latter).

There are wireless 802.11x cameras... Logitech makes one, as does D-link, etc.  They are NOT suitable for serious security duty... and regular consumer-grade wifi (your usual D-link/Linksys/Belkin access points and wireless routers) are likewise not really reliable enough for security use.  Ever noticed your laptop periodically losing sync with your access point?  Ever had to reboot your wireless router, or stop/restart your wifi connection in windows?  None of that is what you want.

What we're talking about with the Nanostation is a wifi (802.11a/b/g) link between two points.  You could have an access point or router back at your neighborhood's community center, with the Nanostation deployed at the neighborhood entrance.  The Nanostation simply establishes a wireless "link" between your network camera, and the access point back at your central station.  You plug your network/IP camera into the Nanostation (appropriately configured to talk to your access point), and you can get the live camera stream back at home base.  At that point, you can display it, record it, distribute it to other sources, put it on a webpage... whatever floats your boat.  

The Nano has quite the range of options... check their wiki here.

Depending on your topography, establishing the link could be very easy, or very difficult.  If you are on flat land, you simply need to put the Nanostation up on a pole or building (the same place as the camera would be fine, provided it's high enough to get good signal), and orient the Nanostation (it has a directional antenna inside) toward your access point.  You'll need two PoE injectors (power-over-ethernet adapters... one to feed your network camera, and one to feed the Nanostation), preferably in a lockable steel box/enclosure down at ground level.  This will prevent you having to climb the pole/building/roof, if, for some reason, you need to power-cycle the camera, or the Nanostation.  

After that, it's all lens/camera/lighting selection... where you have to decide where to place the camera, how high to put the camera, and what you hope to see.  For instance, say you decide to place your camera on a pole mount across the street from your neighborhood entrance.  You're going to need an enclosure, enough light at night (hopefully you have some street lights or carriage lights at the entrance), and a zoom lens to get where you want to be as far as visualization of the back of a vehicle.  I'd also put in a speed bump to make them slow down... that will give you a few more frames of video to work with.  If you're hoping to ID a vehicle, you're going to need plates... because a million people drive that white pickup truck you saw enter right before that residential burglary took place.

OK.  Time to update on this little number:






OK.  see these tools?  We're going to need them.







Here is the Ext IO install itself.

First, I had to figure out where to mount it.  Here's the handy Mobotix-supplied template on the wall.  There is a CATV and Cat5 outlet just to the left (you can see I removed the cover plate).  I did this to see where the studs are... and the nearest stud (going to the right) is exactly where you'd expect it to be; flush with the right side of that light switch.  Junction boxes, outlets, and switch boxes are generally nailed into a stud on one side or the other... I just needed to know where to drill up in the attic.  A nice coat-hanger slipped behind the drywall did the trick.







Soo... up in the attic we go.  The insulation is cellulose, so we save ourselves some pain there.  I found where the previous installers fished the CATV and Cat5 down for the outlet pictured above/left...







And I found a couple of pilot holes they drilled in addition to the ones they're using.  Hmmm... wonder why they did that...







Ahh... here's why.  Dropping our handy-dandy coat-hanger down the hole reveals an obstruction.  In addition to drilling through the top plate, we also have to drill through another 2x4 further down the wall.








The second 2x4 is about 14 inches down the wall.  We're really going to need that long drill bit I brought.  The bit is about 17 inches long... so we're cutting it close.  If that second obstruction is a double 2x4, we're screwed.







Only one way to find out....







And we're through!







Dropping a fishing rod down the hole shows we can get two entire sections of rod down that hole before we hit anything solid... which should be enough to reach the area we want.








Electrical-tape some Cat5 to the rod, push it down the hole, and now we see if we can find the end of it relative to our planned mounting location.







To be Continued....

Incidentally, I should point out that the ExtIO unit can be attached by USB... which was initially my plan.  However, look at the cable they provide.  The connectors are right-angle connectors, and are almost an inch across in almost any dimension.  There is no way to fish those down a wall without making a gigantic hole... especially a wall with multiple levels of cross-bracing, like the one we've drilled.  Bad design, Mobotix







Here we made a penetration in the drywall with a hole saw (same kind that you use to drill doors for deadbolts... the exact dimensions escape me at the moment.







And here we see our red fishing rod, with the Cat5 taped on the end, resting right on top of the switch box.  It's better to be lucky than good.







Nice thing about Mobotix... everything fits together very nicely.







Here is how it fits up against the wall.  







Mobotix included a bag of rubber grommets through which you can easily pass the cat5 cable, the USB cable, or other cables.







The ExtIO contains a nice, handy, color-coded diagram inside to show you how to wire it (it's the "B" configuration for cat5):







They also include a nice little blue screwdriver in case you don't own a punch-down tool:







Here's the back, all wired up:







Here's the front:







Here it is in place.  The trim ring, as well as the mounting ring underneath, are put in place with the included Torx screws and bolts.  They even included washers in the appropriate size:







To be Continued...

The Ext-IO is a ethernet-networkable device all by itself.  Once connected to a PoE switch, it will power up, and can pick up an IP address by DHCP... or you can assign it a static IP.  It comes with an IP assigned from the factory, which is actually written on the side of the device (in case you forget).

If all else fails, power it up, wait for the left-hand LED to turn red, then press the left-hand button.  The device will speak its IP address through the built in speaker.  Nice feature.

I simply took a laptop, assigned the network adapter an IP address similar to the Ext-IO (in the same subnet), and connected to the factory-default IP with a browser (Firefox works fine... none of the IE-specific nonsense here).  You can also connect to it with a Droid or Windows Mobile phone, if so inclined.

You get this screen.  The factory default password is "meinsm"  (my German is pretty rusty, but I'm pretty sure that's "my SM"... maybe they're sadomasochists or something?).  Always change the default password.







Main screen turn on... How are you, gentlemen?:  







Here is the screen to assign the Ext-IO a new IP address.  Pick something within your home network subnet that your Mobotix camera can reach.  In case you forget, this page helpfully includes the factory default IP in the information field to the right... another nice feature.







The hardware information page tells you everything you need to know about the unit... firmware version, bootloader (I'm pretty sure these are Linux-based), serial number, assigned camera (you can only assign the Ext-IO to a single Mobotix camera at a time), network address, and so forth:







To be Continued...

Once the Ext-IO is on the same subnet as your Mobotix camera (and it interfaces to multiple models... the one shown here is a D22M-SEC model), you can configure your camera to talk to it over the network.  This isn't necessary if you used the optional USB cable... you simply enable it as a connected USB device, and all the network-addressing stuff becomes moot.

Enter the admin menu by clicking the top-left softbutton:








Under "General Administration" (not shown above... you have to scroll down a bit), there is a "Manage Hardware Expansions" link.  Clicking that link brings you here:



You simply enter the IP address of the Ext-IO unit, and click "Connect" (this one is already connected)... the camera and the Ext-IO do their thing, and that's it.  You can see the Ext-IO (USB) option above... that one becomes enabled if you connect the camera to the unit via USB.






You then go to the Speaker and Microphone link on the main admin page (note the "Back" arrow in the upper left-hand corner of that window?  That will take you back to the previous screen), and enable the Ext-IO's speaker and microphone.  You can also play various sounds through the unit... including a Cuckoo Clock sound (had a great time with my kids and dogs with that one).







On the top of the "Admin" page, there is a link for Temperatures.  The Mobotix dome in question has its own internal temperature sensor.  It reads high, and not unexpectedly, seeing as how it's an electronic device that generates heat inside a sealed dome (this can be corrected... see below), and the Ext-IO has a temperature sensor as well.  I previously had these in my garage before installing them yesterday, so you can see the temps were lower.  Both devices actually keep a temperature log every hour going back several days, so you can see what your temperatures were around-the-clock for 3-4 days.  There is also a correction factor you can add to compensate for the internal heat of the dome camera, or any heat sources near the Ext-IO... your choice of degrees, based on a presumably more-accurate thermometer.  Again... nice feature to have designed in.







With the addition of the Ext-IO, you get greatly expanded options as far as triggers (they are accessed from the "Setup" menu on the main page).  Clicking "Event Settings" will bring you the following voluminous list:






You can see that you have boku ways to set up alerts/events.  The camera can send images, call your cell phone, send messages, etc based on any of these triggers.  Look closely... there are motion triggers, Passive-Infrared triggers (the Ext-IO has a PIR sensor), triggers based on sound the microphone picks up, triggers based on temperatures that exceed a certain range, triggers based on Lux level (the mobotix cameras have a built-in light meter... so you can have it send you a message or FTP images the  moment somebody turns on the lights).

The triggers can also be timed, so the Lux trigger could be active only at night, for instance.

Truly... I've never seen cameras with the configuration options and versatility of Mobotix.  They are pricey (I've bought all of mine used on Ebay... I can't justify $1000-1500 per camera... I just can't), but when you dig into these cameras, you know where that extra money went.

I will try to include some images once I have this camera combo permanently mounted (right now it's temporarily mounted).

I thought this was a riot... if a bit sexist.

I applaud the good Samaritan who stepped in to help at about 1:45

TGM,
I need to get a DVR that will handle 16 cameras.  I don't have the budget for high end pelco, or panasonic, and I don't want unbranded chinese junk.  For lack of a better choice I'm looking at Swann:

Swann 16 ch DVR

The system is all analog cameras, a mix of panasonic domes and mini domes, and some low end cameras.  It's for a friend of mine whose bussiness has had multiple robberies.  In return, I'm getting one camera pointed at a building I own next door, which has had an attempted break in.

Any thoughts?  I'm no CCTV expert.

She wants recording for monitoring empolyee theft, and hopefully preventing armed robbery, and the ability to vew images over the web.  All of the important cams are panasonic.

That Swann will probably get the job done... but I think I'd go PC-based if I were you.  If you have an extra computer laying around (or you can get a cheap one off-lease on Ebay, which is what I usually do), you could put a Geovision card or something similar into it and have a PC-based DVR for hundreds of dollars less.  That Swann DVR looks like it goes for $1300-1500 minimum, while a 16-channel Geovision card will run you 700-800 dollars, and come with its own software.  Add a 1.5TB drive from newegg for another 150 dollars, buy an off-lease PC on Ebay for 200 dollars, and you're still hundreds of dollars ahead, with 6x the storage space.  You'll also be able to repair or replace the PC if something dies, without shipping their proprietary box back to the manufacturer for a big-bucks repair.

A PC also doesn't look out of place in a store, provided you conceal the multitude of wires that go into the back.  If the bad guys are looking for a VCR or DVR, they may completely overlook that mundane-appearing generic Dell computer under the counter.

Having had an embedded DVR die on me (that I fortunately had the technical know-how to fix, despite the fact that I voided the warrant in the process...), I've got all-PC.  You wouldn't believe what some of these companies will charge you to swap out a part, or replace a simple commodity item like a hard drive.

More Mobotix!

Remember this auction on Ebay?

Weeeellll....

I bought one.

It looks to be in good shape.  It's not particularly weathered, and the dome had some minor scratches (the domes are easily replaced).  The seller even threw in an extra dome (tinted) for free.  This is the model that has TWO cameras inside a single dome, allowing you very broad area coverage at 3MP for each camera.







The outer base cover pops off easily via three flanges that are accessible from the bottom camera surface (you couldn't pop it off once mounted)







Good construction: everything is sealed with a nice gasket (the gaskets are the blue rings you see annotated with the red arrows).  Also note the accessory stuff: PIR, microphone (left), and speaker (right).  This Mobotix camera essentially has all the same functions as the dome-camera-combined-with-Ext-IO unit... except this camera gets all of that in a single package.  naturally, it's a bit bigger as a result of including all the extra electronics.  This is one of those camera that can actually act as an IP softphone.  You can talk through it from halfway around the world.







The dome simply unscrews (it's also nicely gasketed)







And, like all Mobotix cameras, it includes the factory default IP address on the camera itself... very helpful if you screw something up (as I'm prone to doing) and need to revert everything back to factory defaults.







I will post more pics once I have it powered up and have had a chance to play with it.

OK, some hoodlum 17YO grils stole my daughters yard sign on 1/30 (Friday or sat night) and I deleted last months "captures".

Note to self: keep it for a week or 2 so when something goes "missing" you have records.

My bad?

Sorry, this is as bad as it gets around here (complete let-down for the readers, I know).

That's OK...  I'm still pissed that the little bastards that egged my friends' car weren't on camera.  The 180-degree panoramic camera I showed above should remedy that problem.

OK... here are some additional configuration screen-shots:

If you're going to do anything with Mobotix cameras or hardware, you should register and set up an account on their website.  This will enable you to download software (it's free), tools, and firmware updates.  Among their software choices is a program called MxEasy, which allows you to view, record, and browse Mobotix cameras on your local network.







MxEasy has an "add" feature in the upper left (the button will actually flash when it detects a Mobotix device on the local area network that isn't already added).  Clicking on the add button will bring up all the available Mobotix devices on the LAN, regardless of their IP address.  MxEasy uses Bonjour (an Apple network-discovery protocol) to detect devices on the same physical network segment.  Note the wildly different IP addresses for the two Mobotix devices listed.  Also note that the second device has very out-of-date firmware... so we'll have to update that.

Pro-tip: firmware updates from Mobotix are virtually always worth getting.  They not only fix bugs, they regularly add features.






So we go on over to the Mobotix website, log in, and download the latest firmware.  It comes as a ZIP file:






Unpack the archive and save it someplace memorable.  The MPL file is the one the camera needs... the "readme" files are strictly for your technical edification.:







That having been accomplished, go into your windows network settings, and change your TCP/IP settings to something that closely resembles the camera's IP address (the same IP address noted in the MxEasy "add camera" dialog... you did write it down, right?).

If the camera is 10.5.3.14, you'd make your laptop 10.5.3.13, with a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0, and a gateway of 10.5.3.1.  DNS won't really matter, since you're simply going to be entering IP addresses, and changing the camera address to something your local subnet likes better.







Now you can log in (remembering that the default Mobotix password is "meinsm"):







Change your network settings, update the firmware, change the default password, choose your image settings, etc, etc, etc.







And you're off!

Just when I though the people on this site couldn't be any cooler I stumble across this thread. I've been considering and wanting CC cameras at my place but had no real idea where to start asside from little blurbs on non-trustworthy websites. Thanks everyone!!!

YW.

It's a longish thread, but between myself and the other contributors in this discussion, most of your questions can probably be answered by reading through the whole thing.

Just wanted to let you know this is an awesome thread.


Now I want to upgrade my cheap eBay 4 camera system I have been running.





Edit, I have a question, maybe you can help me.



I want to upgrade and start running at least 8, maybe 12 cameras at my place.

I am currently viewing my 4 camera setup in my office on a 19" tube tv that is about 8'-10' away.

I am concerned that I won't be able to make out anything when I change over to 8 or 12 channels.

Is there some type of system that would allow me to display only a certain number of cameras that I want to be able to see, but still record the other channels?

I know I can set the DVR to cycle through channels, but that would be too slow I think for that many channels.



I am mounting my DVR in another room, so I couldn't use the remote to just go to a certain channel if I need to.

Do I need to suck it up and buy a 19"-24" LCD and mount it on the wall right next to my desk, and leave the 19" TV for the news?





Thanks.
 

I'd recommend the dual-monitor setup.  The mount I use most frequently is a Planar; I have one set up at home, and one for a friend (here is a link to the egg)





Mine runs dual 19" LCDs (big enough and relatively inexpensive... both bought on Ebay), while the one I set up for my friend runs a 20" monitor and an LCD TV on the other (he likes to be able to watch football and surf the 'net at the same time).  The right-hand monitor runs my security cameras in a tiled view, and the left-hand one is my main "working" monitor.  I will sometimes minimize the security cameras if I'm photoshopping pictures, or doing video editing where I need the second screen.




What sort of setup you use will be partially dependent on how you're getting the picture from your DVR to your computer.  Presumably you have the DVR connected to your home network, so your options are direct-feeding video from the DVR's video-out "Monitor" output to a TV or LCD, or you could use the web client.  If it has a remote web client, I'd recommend using it on a second computer monitor (many video cards these days do "dual-head" or dual-monitor), since most of your cheaper DVRs simply have an RCA-out or S-video out jack putting out an analog signal.  

The digital picture you get from the web client will be superior to the analog "Monitor" output from the DVR, especially if you attempt to display the analog "Monitor" output on an LCD.  Most LCDs have a certain "sweet spot" in terms of resolution (1024x768, 1600x1200, etc), outside of which they look like complete garbage.  Displaying a low-res analog TV signal on an LCD (even an LCD TV) often looks VERY sub-par.  If you're going to use the analog "Monitor" output, you'd actually be better off with an old-fashioned tube (CRT) TV.

ETA sorry... realized I didn't answer your entire question.  Some DVRs will allow you to set which channels are shown on a "spot" monitor, and also the dwell time for each camera view.  Cheaper ones won't... they'll simply cycle through every camera, in 4-5 second intervals.  The web client should give you much more control over which views, how large, how long, etc.

Awesome.  Thanks for the info.  

I am off to do some parts research.