POE video camera home system tips

Do you have any tips to help others? Please post them here.

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RHenriksen
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Re: POE video camera home system tips

#16

Post by RHenriksen »

PBratton wrote:Nothing better than a good old Milestone system. I use it as my system at work. My Axis cameras run just a bit more however...
The camera system I'd inherited was running the Geovision VMS; Milestone is so much better, it can be difficult sometimes not to weep w. joy.

I've been eyeballing Axis, but have been having trouble justifying the cost difference over GV hardware. Zipstream does seem to be working as advertised, though, as best I can tell; that might help tip the scales. I'd love to learn more about your experience w. them.
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Re: POE video camera home system tips

#17

Post by misterlarry »

Sounds like the conversation going on here is quite a bit over my head but if I could I would like to ask the advice of people who are more knowledgeable than I am. Is a system like this a complete waste of time and money or would it suit the needs of someone who wants simple yet reliable video surveillance? How much should I expect to spend on a similar system within my requirements. Thanks all.



Or something like this?

http://www.swann.com/us/conv8-a10804c
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mrvmax
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Re: POE video camera home system tips

#18

Post by mrvmax »

I had one similar to the Swann, the DVR type which usually have pretty cheap cameras. My old ones were not 1080P and the picture was alright during the day but even with night vision the picture quality at night was not good. I had two cameras that came with the 4 camera system fail within a couple of years. It served its purpose but if you have to run the wire to power the cameras so install is about the same as a POE system.
So, I wanted to upgrade to better cameras and I decided to use a POE system since I felt it was easier than providing power to the cameras and running cat5 cable too. The Power Over Ethernet cameras get power from my gigabit switch. My system consists of a dedicated PC, gigabit switch to power the cameras, cat 5E cable and the cameras. Here is the equipment needed:
1. cat 5 cable - I went with solid copper, shielded cat 5E cable and I bought a 1000 foot roll. There is cheaper cat5 but I did not want to run into any issues. I used this one:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0085G ... ge_o03_s00
2. Cable crimpers - I bought this pair and they worked fine, they come with the cable stripper and tester which comes in handy. I would buy different connectors, these were a bit on the cheap side and the quality could have been better. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008UY ... ge_o05_s02
3. Gigabit switch - There are cheaper ones but this one has eight powered ports for cameras. It has enough power and 2000 Mbps of bandwidth and a lifetime warranty. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GG1 ... ge_o05_s01
4. I picked two different cameras, the first were these Dahua. The 3.6mm lens gives a wider view, my previous camera would capture the front door but not much more. The 3.6mm lens allows me to see my front door and about 12 foot of sidewalk leading up to the door.http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PQK ... ge_o04_s00
4b. I chose the Hikvision 6mm cameras for other areas and they allow me to see a wide area out into the road in front of my house. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PQK ... ge_o04_s00
5. PC - I found a new but older technology Lenovo M53 on sale for a little over $200. These are tiny and have only the essentials but I found out later I needed a better processor (I'll get to that later). http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00U6G ... 1_1&sr=8-1
6. software - I chose Blue Iris but tried a few different ones and I have a few more to try. The Blue Iris works well but like I stated earlier, depending on how many cameras you use you really need an Intel Core I7 processor to run well.
7. Fish tape - Lowes sells a 25 foot tape and it works well if you have to run cable down an insulated wall.http://www.lowes.com/pd_471916-295-FTS1 ... =fish+tape
You really need to know about setting up IP addresses, subnets and the like to get the cameras set up. There is too much to explain here but with the Hikvision and Dahua you download their programs and modify the IP addresses as needed. You may be able to find some videos on the net but I deal with this a little at work so it was easy for me. If you have never dealt with it there could be a bit of a learning curve.
So the PC has the Blue Iris software and it connects to the gigabit switch and the cameras plug into the switch. The Blue Iris software has numerous settings on how to record (continuous, motion activated etc.), where to save the files too, whether to encrypt - there is a lot of selections and it takes a little while to get everything right but it is all menu driven and you can go to Blue Iris forums to get help if needed. Once again I do similar tasks at my day job so it was easy for me to figure out.
Now for lessons learned, buy different connectors and watch some videos on how to crimp the connectors. If you do not do it right it will cause some time troubleshooting. When I first got things hooked up I had multiple problems making it hard to troubleshoot - I had one camera that was defective and would work intermittently, a couple loose crimps that would work at times then stop and some internet issues. As you go along get each piece correct before doing the next step. When testing the line move the connectors to make sure they are crimped properly. It also help throughout this to have two people.
Second, check Blue Iris to see if the camera you want to use is supported. I picked the cameras first and software last so it caused some initial issues.
Third, get help running the cat5 cable, it is not hard but it goes quicker when you have help feeding wire.
Fourth, get the best processor you can afford. My Lenovo M53 with only three cameras has the processor running at 90-95%. This limits the settings I can use and I will need to upgrade to a better processor so I can add more cameras. Blue Iris states that the Intel Core I7 works best and they updated their software so the 4600 integrated graphics should work well (so I have been told on the forums).
As I think of things I will add more so I can save people some time if you want to build your own system. I am sure some people may chime in and tell me how I could have done things better so maybe I can learn some more too.

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Re: POE video camera home system tips

#19

Post by mrvmax »

Another thought that someone else reminded me of, make up small cables and set up everything ahead of time before mounting the cameras. I had it all set up on a small table and made sure all the cameras worked before mounting them but I forgot to add that.

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Re: POE video camera home system tips

#20

Post by uthornsfan »

In regards to the WiFi talk.

Ubiquiti is great value for the money but the controller software can be a massive train wreck. I was fortunate to get Meraki gear for free and it works great. Two access points and a poe switch would set you back thousands though.
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Re: POE video camera home system tips

#21

Post by cbunt1 »

From the wi-fi and router perspective, have a look at some of the DD-WRT or Tomato-USB based firmwares that will run on home-based routers.

I'm using a group of Asus RT-AC-66U's at sub $200 prices that let me do enterprise-class things like separate subnets and virtual LANs.

I bring this up because it makes sense to me to separate your camera traffic from your general network traffic, and can make the management of camera IP addresses MUCH easier.

Granted a custom firmware router/Wi-fi hotspot setup isn't exactly "plug and play" but the benefits of tinkering a bit can be incredible.

Remote monitoring becomes a breeze with this setup, if that interests you...
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GeekwithaGun
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Re: POE video camera home system tips

#22

Post by GeekwithaGun »

uthornsfan wrote:In regards to the WiFi talk.

Ubiquiti is great value for the money but the controller software can be a massive train wreck. I was fortunate to get Meraki gear for free and it works great. Two access points and a poe switch would set you back thousands though.
the Unifi AP I have came with a PoE injector (1 port) and for home, I only needed to run the controller to get it connected and provisioned. once that is done it is active and the controller software is not needed until making a change.

on topic - anyone know about the Hikvision products? ip cameras and NVR's
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Re: POE video camera home system tips

#23

Post by uthornsfan »

GeekwithaGun wrote:
uthornsfan wrote:In regards to the WiFi talk.

Ubiquiti is great value for the money but the controller software can be a massive train wreck. I was fortunate to get Meraki gear for free and it works great. Two access points and a poe switch would set you back thousands though.
the Unifi AP I have came with a PoE injector (1 port) and for home, I only needed to run the controller to get it connected and provisioned. once that is done it is active and the controller software is not needed until making a change.

on topic - anyone know about the Hikvision products? ip cameras and NVR's

Just a heads up. If your computer that you installed the controller software goes kaput. You will have to factory reset your access point, rediscover and reconfigure. Its a complete nightmare, I should know, we have deployed these systems to multiple clients.

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Re: POE video camera home system tips

#24

Post by RHenriksen »

GeekwithaGun wrote:on topic - anyone know about the Hikvision products? ip cameras and NVR's
Hikvision is a VERY large Chinese company with significant government patronage & funding.

For my work on potentially sensitive commercial/industrial sites, I won't use them for that reason.

They're going to be the Wal-mart of security cameras - undercut most other manufacturers and capture a large market share.
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Re: POE video camera home system tips

#25

Post by GeekwithaGun »

thanks for that info RHenricksen - one of the companies i got some quotes from would install those camera's. would like to buy USA products.
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Re: POE video camera home system tips

#26

Post by RHenriksen »

GeekwithaGun wrote:thanks for that info RHenricksen - one of the companies i got some quotes from would install those camera's. would like to buy USA products.
Boy, I'm not sure what US manufacturers are available! I'm taking a weekly online class from IPVM, next class starts in 20 minutes. I'll ask them about what US manufacturers are available, if any.

Axis is Swedish, and one of the original IP camera manufacturers. Very good quality, and I wouldn't have the same security concerns about using them. Samsung is a solid mid-tier manufacturer worth looking at.
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Re: POE video camera home system tips

#27

Post by RHenriksen »

Oh - and also bear in mind that many low cost cameras are generic, white-label products all from the same Chinese factory, just re-branded.
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Re: POE video camera home system tips

#28

Post by PBratton »

RHenriksen wrote:
PBratton wrote:Nothing better than a good old Milestone system. I use it as my system at work. My Axis cameras run just a bit more however...
The camera system I'd inherited was running the Geovision VMS; Milestone is so much better, it can be difficult sometimes not to weep w. joy.

I've been eyeballing Axis, but have been having trouble justifying the cost difference over GV hardware. Zipstream does seem to be working as advertised, though, as best I can tell; that might help tip the scales. I'd love to learn more about your experience w. them.
Love my Axis cameras! easy to set up, great tools and beautiful images. Certainly not low or mid tier, but now that Milestone and Axis are both owned by Cannon, they will be working much closer going forward. I use the on-board SSD slots as my first tier failover, when Milestone reconnects to the camera, it spools the offline video to the NVR and automatically places it in the correct chronological order.

I've been using the Milestone Corporate system now for about three years. Wouldn't trade for anything right now.
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rentz
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Re: POE video camera home system tips

#29

Post by rentz »

Ah so I think the op posted this on the sig forum too, this greatly interests me as the kit systems are either too expensive or not good enough for my needs.
Time to start shopping

Plus side of I run wire for the cameras I will finally be forced to wire my house with cat5

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mrvmax
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Re: POE video camera home system tips

#30

Post by mrvmax »

rentz wrote:Ah so I think the op posted this on the sig forum too, this greatly interests me as the kit systems are either too expensive or not good enough for my needs.
Time to start shopping

Plus side of I run wire for the cameras I will finally be forced to wire my house with cat5
I regularly visit Sigforum as well as this one so I posted on both. I know that I have read posts on both forums where people were asking about self install camera systems.
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