[CCTV Camera] GXV3672HD

This morning the GXV3672HD was off line. 
 
The network cable connection was not wet. 
 
I did an end to end check of the cable in question and it is fine.  Indicator leds on the POE switch that it was connected to (not the Tycon mid stream switch) were not on.  I moved another POE device to same said port and POE lamp LED went on.  (so the POE switch is working).
 
I took the test cat5e cable over to a separate 48VAC injector and it powered up the GXV3672HD. 
 
I went to the IP of the camera and all appears to be running just fine.
 
I am not sure what to make of this yet.  I am though taking the camera inside to change the lens. 
 
That said I will leave it running inside for a bit (a week or two maybe?). 
 
Interesting is that I had thought also something was wrong with the camera cuz the HD picture was a bit fuzzy.  That said I forgot I had let the primary stream settings at MJPEG.  World of difference when switching it back to the H264 stream.
 
Mine haven't had any shutdowns.  I was able to stuff the connector into the soffit so maybe just being insulated is enough?
 
Yeah; it's still fine here.  Not really sure what happened though.  Haven't not taken it down to replace the lens yet. 
 
Swapped out the lens today.  It was difficult to remove the old lens and I needed to use some small pliers.
 
The above noted; installing the new lens was easy.  I purchased a 1.8mm, 2.1mm and 2.5mm.  There is an issue though.
 
The lens sits too far down (shorter than stock lens) on the lens board; such that when you put the camera cover back together the lens sees the cover tunnel like.  I will need to look for a lens which is longer or utilize maybe longer screws with washers to move the lens closer to the cover.
 
This modification or a different lens length is making me rethink the use of said camera.  8mm isn't going to work for me.  IE: I did mod all of the Optex combo cameras to 3.6mm from 4.00mm lens a while back and may still redo these to 2.5mm.  The design of the Grandstream dome camera with the same lens board makes it easy to do a lens swap.  The design of this camera doesn't so I would be "stuck" right now at using the 8mm lens outside (which I do not need).  I did notice that the illuminating LED's do get warm but not hot while I was looking and adjusting the camera.
 
With the move out coming very soon, I'm looking for a couple of cameras.
Is there another brand I should consider?
I would at least one more outdoor cam and one indoors for the garage.
 
The only requirements for me at this point is they need to be HD and POE.
I'm looking online to see what else there is out there but honestly...I don't know what I'll get quality wise on alot of these brands I'm seeing....
 
Other than not being able to change the lens I think the Grandstream IP HD camera is good but not worth over $200 USD.  I am seeing similiar with same OS HD cameras being sold in China now for less than $100. 
 
There was a mention on the Homeseer forum of another HD IP camera that was packaged with a cheap IP DVR sold at the big box stores. 
 
I think too this camera by itself was over $200 but really it was a $100 IP HD camera. 
 
I don't recall the specifications of the camera right now.  It actually looked a bit like the Grandstream IP HD camera.
 
My only concern so far would be how well they will hold up outdoors but I am happy with them otherwise.
 
My Aircam on the other is having major issues right now.  After a blackout, I lost access to the aircam.
When running the discovery tool, I find it and the ip info is correct along with all the other settings as far as I can tell but I can't get an image.
On Blue Iris, I'm getting a "refused" error.  I've been checking all the port settings and haven't been able to figure out what happened.
 
Reset the Aircam and configure it from scratch.  My personal preference when doing this is to have the camera on the workbench rather than connected some XX feet away.
 
I did have an issue with one of two Aircams a bit ago. 
 
The reset didn't work and it was only a week or so old. 
 
I opened up a ticket and RMA'd and the replacement has been working fine (weathercam #1) for a few months. 
 
I did upgrade the FW on this one recently to the newest and it is doing well.
 
Funny you mention that...I don't think the reset is working on mine either.
I'll have another look tonight.
 
On a few of their products the reset buttons break very easily - I've had some literally fall off the board.
 
Thinking of trying the little HD Dome Grandstream IP camera next.  This one will replace the Foscam PT that I installed in the garage with a stationary HD IP wide angle camera mounted on the ceiling.  I will most likely utilize a 1.8mm wide angle lens on this camera and it should do much better than the Foscam.  IE: I can put the Foscam in a boot loop by having it do two things at once.  That said though I did JTAG one Foscam and looked at the code in vivo and was not impressed.  Maybe today's newest HD line of Foscam's are different?
 
BTW the Grandstream GXV3672HD just quit on its own again last week. 
 
That said I went to RMA it to get a replacement.  Two attempts using the web based request appeared to be ignored.  I then called the company (they post their phone number) and got the "accountant" whom sent me an "RMA" form by email. 
 
Typically my preference is that the company pay for return shipping on an RMA'd problem product withing warranty period.  I have gone along with the paying to ship this item back; it doesn't provide me though with a "warm and fuzzy" relating to methodologies utilized.   This is totally different from my dealing with Ubiquiti on the RMA'd Aircam.
 
Next though to test is how much I can abuse an IP66 IP HD camera mounting it some 100 feet away from the house with direct exposure to weather, sun, snow, et al not shielded in any way.  (I have some cheapo analog with wide angle lens cameras that are still doing fine exposed to the weather).  Almost every camera outside has another camera (s) facing it.
 
It was the support/CS rather that the shipping.  I did pay for the return shipping on the Ubiquiti Aircam but really liked the customer service. 
 
I do push back vendors these days. 
 
It's a personal preference. 
 
I mean if you purchase a widget from the internet whatever that widget is and if it is defective why should you pay to return it?
 
Ubiquiti technical customer service took me through a step by step test of the camera to validate its disfunctionality. 
 
My comments are rather just me though and my "old age"  and "curmudgeonism".  
 
Not knocking Grandstream though as they are talking care of me.  Just venting out loud.
 
I sent UBNT an email about my Aircam not reseting so we'll see how it goes.
I'm also looking forward to trying out those Grandstream dome cams.
I have a couple of Foscams I want to replace.
That and a Grandstream to replace the last outdoor Foscam.
 
The two that I have work great.  I haven't had any shutdowns like you are experiencing.
The only thing I keep coming back to is mine are installed under the roof overhang so they are pretty well sheilded from overhead.
All the wiring is tucked into the house so that's not exposed either. 
pete_c said:
It was the support/CS rather that the shipping.  I did pay for the return shipping on the Ubiquiti Aircam but really liked the customer service. 
 
I do push back vendors these days. 
 
It's a personal preference. 
 
I mean if you purchase a widget from the internet whatever that widget is and if it is defective why should you pay to return it?
 
Ubiquiti technical customer service took me through a step by step test of the camera to validate its disfunctionality. 
 
My comments are rather just me though and my "old age"  and "curmudgeonism".  
 
Not knocking Grandstream though as they are talking care of me.  Just venting out loud.
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