Home CCTV recommendations

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Forums › Gadgets, robotics, home automation, electronics › Home CCTV recommendations

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Reply # 642984 19-Jun-2012 10:05
Dahua makes great CCTV gear. They are an OEM and never sell under their own brand name. Other companies like Liniovision, Qvis etc rebrand Dahua gear. I recently purchased this. 1080P @30FPS 2MP. This is not another crap Chinese CCTV camera. This is really good. The web interface and PSS software (supplied) is really really good. http://www.dahuasecurity.com/English/product_info.aspx?type=339&&css=0&&id=8 I bought mine from Aliexpress. Including DHL shipping, it was NZ$166. I know people in USA using this with 16GB and 32GB micro-sd card (it has a slot) set on motion detection. And a lot of people are using this with Synology NAS like DS212J and it's built in surveillance station as this Camera supports ONVIF. I bought mine of this seller below. http://www.aliexpress.com/fm-store/104916/210856336-538093149/2-0-Megapixel-CMOS-Full-HD-Water-proof-Network-Mini-Dome-Camera-1080P-IP-CAMERA-2.html Here is an screenshot from one of the guys setup with this camera from States. http://www.cctvforum.com/images/imported/2012/06/193446_2.jpg Microsoft\|Outlook\|Skydrive\|Windows Live Admin Center\|Skype\|Office Web Apps\|Office 365\| Windows Phone\|Windows 8\|Xbox\|Hyper-V\|Office2013\|Bing\|Security Essentials\|Server 2012

sbiddle

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Reply # 643577 20-Jun-2012 08:28
Damn you! I've been looking for a couple of cheap cameras for a project so I couldn't help but order one now to have a play with. *Need help configuring your Linksys ATA or IP Phones for New Zealand? Check my blog post

dimsim

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Reply # 643588 20-Jun-2012 08:58
billgates: Dahua makes great CCTV gear. They are an OEM and never sell under their own brand name. Other companies like Liniovision, Qvis etc rebrand Dahua gear. I recently purchased this. 1080P @30FPS 2MP. This is not another crap Chinese CCTV camera. This is really good. The web interface and PSS software (supplied) is really really good. http://www.dahuasecurity.com/English/product_info.aspx?type=339&&css=0&&id=8 I bought mine from Aliexpress. Including DHL shipping, it was NZ$166. I know people in USA using this with 16GB and 32GB micro-sd card (it has a slot) set on motion detection. And a lot of people are using this with Synology NAS like DS212J and it's built in surveillance station as this Camera supports ONVIF. I bought mine of this seller below. http://www.aliexpress.com/fm-store/104916/210856336-538093149/2-0-Megapixel-CMOS-Full-HD-Water-proof-Network-Mini-Dome-Camera-1080P-IP-CAMERA-2.html Here is an screenshot from one of the guys setup with this camera from States. http://www.cctvforum.com/images/imported/2012/06/193446_2.jpg Quality info - just what I was looking for, thanks! Does anyone have a preference when it comes to bullets or domes? Can all domes be wall or ceiling mounted? Have just noticed - they're not day/night? Do you know if they'd work with an IR flood? or are they simply a daytime camera?

sbiddle

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Reply # 643589 20-Jun-2012 09:00
Bullets and domes both have different uses, so it really depends what you're after. *Need help configuring your Linksys ATA or IP Phones for New Zealand? Check my blog post

dimsim

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Reply # 643597 20-Jun-2012 09:07
sbiddle: Bullets and domes both have different uses, so it really depends what you're after. is it purely the mounting/ physical aspect to them, or is there an expected quality difference. e.g are all bullets generally better quality, more feature rich etc etc than domes?

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Reply # 643601 20-Jun-2012 09:13
Dome cameras are typically roof or wall mounted and obviously easier to vandal proof. Bullet cameras on the other hand lack the vandal proofing and offer greater flexability in terms of mounting and aiming the camera exactly where you want it. Quality depends entirely on the quality of the camera. Most high end stuff is also CCD rather than the cheaper CMOS technology. If you want to check out the ultimate in IP CCTV check out the 29MP Avigilon camera! *Need help configuring your Linksys ATA or IP Phones for New Zealand? Check my blog post

sbiddle

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Reply # 646650 26-Jun-2012 20:53
My camera arrived yesterday. Initial impressions are very good. There is some noticeable curvature in the image from the lens used, but overall this camera is a bargain for the price. It certainly makes the current AirCam look terrible (which it is) and is up there with many of the $400+ cameras. I'm keen to try one of their 2MP bullets, but don't have any spare $ at present to buy more unnecessary toys. @billgates Now you've made me want to buy a Synology NAS as well. I actually haven't looked at much NAS based surveillance still for a while, but their solution looks really nice. *Need help configuring your Linksys ATA or IP Phones for New Zealand? Check my blog post

billgates

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Reply # 655693 14-Jul-2012 20:00
If you want another great camera and try Day/Night functionality with a superb lens then another Dahua IP camera below. Below has a Built-in 3.3~12mm/F1.6 CS Auto Iris lens so good for zooming in to a target and the IR field on this is brilliant. http://www.dahuasecurity.com/English/product_info.aspx?type=339&&css=0&&id=180 You can buy it from the below seller which is the same seller as which I linked few posts above. http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/2-0-Mp-CMOS-Full-HD-Water-proof-IR-Network-Bullet-Camera-1080P-ONVIF-IP-CAMERA/104916_577010438.html Sample Day and Night images in the below link from someone's house in States. http://www.cctvforum.com/images/imported/2012/06/195175_1.jpg http://www.cctvforum.com/images/imported/2012/07/195188_1.jpg This model also has a micro-sd card slot. btw - This model and the dome model that I linked few posts above, states that they work with 32GB micro-sd card max but I have tried the dome model with a 64GB micro-sd card and it's detects and records fine. I am using both Synology DS212J's surveillance station and a 32GB micro-sd card inside the dome camera (set to motion detection to save storage space) to record my house's drive way now. I am using 1080P, 4000 odd bitrate @ 10FPS. Otherwise, the camera will chew through the storage but even then the quality is brilliant. Edit - I forgot to mention that both Dahua IP cameras that I have stated above are POE capable. I use a TP-Link POE 8 port (only 4 POE port though on the actual switch) that I purchased from PB-Tech for $90. If you are going IP cameras, then go POE! You will not regret it. Also Dahua makes an awesome 8 port POE NVR for their IP cameras. I know someone in States that uses it and it works a treat for him. Also the NVR is not too expensive to buy so rather than buying a POE switch, you are better off to buy a NVR that is also POE capable. Just be careful that IP cameras are very picky as to which NVR or which software they will work with so be careful as to what you are about to purchase. http://www.dahuasecurity.com/English/product_info.aspx?type=336&&css=0&&id=204 http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Wholesale-8-Channel-Network-Video-Recorder-8ch-NVR-HD-1080P-video-view-and-many-brands-IP/104916_590988117.html Microsoft\|Outlook\|Skydrive\|Windows Live Admin Center\|Skype\|Office Web Apps\|Office 365\| Windows Phone\|Windows 8\|Xbox\|Hyper-V\|Office2013\|Bing\|Security Essentials\|Server 2012

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Reply # 655696 14-Jul-2012 20:09
I was tempted to order one of those next to see what they were like. Is there any curvature of the picture like the dome camera? I've actually just ordered another couple of the dome ones for a small install for somebody. I've opted for a PC rather than a NAS as a SFF shuttle is only $399 complete, and an Atom processor is fine for a small number of cameras. How do you like the Synology interface and software, and have you used any other NAS solutions that you can compare it to? *Need help configuring your Linksys ATA or IP Phones for New Zealand? Check my blog post

billgates

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Reply # 655709 14-Jul-2012 20:36
I have added an update to my post above btw. No curvature on this model. This is a high end lens on the bullet model. I am really shocked by the awesomeness of the IR field on the bullet model. I guess the price being higher is also a result of much better quality overall as well. Load the Dahua supplied PSS software on that PC and that's it! The PSS software is actually really good. I am a big Dahua fan. They actually know CCTV unlike a lot of other big time companies that have been in CCTV business for a while. Push POE to your customers. Tell them the benefits (one less point of failure with no DC power going to camera!) If you have not already ordered the PC, then I strongly suggest the above Dahua NVR. Load your HDD. Set it to record at highest quality setting that these Dahua IP cameras are shipped as and it's a really great CCTV solution for a house or business. I have only used the Synology NAS personally and that too the DS212J model after frietasm's recommendation. Did some more bing searches and the surveillance station was rated really high in terms of performance and usability. Dahua is not listed as an officially supported device in any of the Synology's NAS but all their NAS's are ONVIF compliant and so are Dahua IP camera's. The good thing about the NAS is that I have created a CCTV user with only 500GB max quota limit so it records and starts over writing the original when it needs to. This way I can use the NAS for other personal stuff. There is nothing wrong with using the Synology NAS at all. If you head over to Synology's website, you can actually play with their DSM demo to see how it works. If you need the real deal then let me know and I can setup a remote access to my NAS for you to access my Dahua dome CCTV on the Synology. Microsoft\|Outlook\|Skydrive\|Windows Live Admin Center\|Skype\|Office Web Apps\|Office 365\| Windows Phone\|Windows 8\|Xbox\|Hyper-V\|Office2013\|Bing\|Security Essentials\|Server 2012

dimsim

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Reply # 655713 14-Jul-2012 21:02
more great info, thanks. what's the mount like on that bullet. hard to tell how much (if any) adjustment there is.

mjb

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Reply # 655715 14-Jul-2012 21:09
Damn, wish I didn't open this thread and read it, I now wish I had some spare cash. dimsim: more great info, thanks. what's the mount like on that bullet. hard to tell how much (if any) adjustment there is. Looks like a pretty standard mount - check out the last page of the pdf: http://www.dahuasecurity.com/File/201203/20120307091944770.pdf contentsofsignaturemaysettleduringshipping

billgates

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Reply # 655727 14-Jul-2012 22:02
dimsim: more great info, thanks. what's the mount like on that bullet. hard to tell how much (if any) adjustment there is. you can adjust the mount on the above bullet model. where the actualy camera connects with the mount, you can do your rotation adjustments there. the pictures hide that area. Microsoft\|Outlook\|Skydrive\|Windows Live Admin Center\|Skype\|Office Web Apps\|Office 365\| Windows Phone\|Windows 8\|Xbox\|Hyper-V\|Office2013\|Bing\|Security Essentials\|Server 2012

sbiddle

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Reply # 655843 15-Jul-2012 09:50
billgates: I have only used the Synology NAS personally and that too the DS212J model after frietasm's recommendation. Did some more bing searches and the surveillance station was rated really high in terms of performance and usability. Dahua is not listed as an officially supported device in any of the Synology's NAS but all their NAS's are ONVIF compliant and so are Dahua IP camera's. The good thing about the NAS is that I have created a CCTV user with only 500GB max quota limit so it records and starts over writing the original when it needs to. This way I can use the NAS for other personal stuff. There is nothing wrong with using the Synology NAS at all. If you head over to Synology's website, you can actually play with their DSM demo to see how it works. If you need the real deal then let me know and I can setup a remote access to my NAS for you to access my Dahua dome CCTV on the Synology. I've actually been planning to stop by with a camera at Freitasm's to have a play with the Synology. I actually haven't done any CCTV installs for a while, but in recent weeks have upgrading a friends analogue system and now have a at least one IP install, with another one that I might look to migrate across. While I've been keeping a brief eye on what's been happening it's very clear that the last few months has been the tipping point when it comes to IP over analogue. It's certainly something I've spent a lot of time in the past couple of weeks looking into. That DVR looks nice, I think an Atom is going to be fine for maybe up to 4 cameras and PSS isn't a bad application so on a $399 PC I think it makes a good solution. Beyond that however the Atom will definately choke, so the DVR definately has it's place, especially with PoE. *Need help configuring your Linksys ATA or IP Phones for New Zealand? Check my blog post

Niel

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Reply # 655944 15-Jul-2012 12:51
I'm interested in this thread, please do post what you end up with. I'm heading towards a DVR myself, but could also pick up a low cost ex-least PC and de-rating the processor so you do not need a fan and fit a larger heat sink might also work well. You can never have enough Volvos!

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