Channel Vision new PTZ cameras, any feedback or suggested altneratives?

[carempel]

We're looking to put 3 security cameras at the front of our house, connected to a NVR. One camera on each corner to catch people coming up the driveway (we have a driveway both sides of the property), and one over the door to catch people coming up the path. Those are our 3 choke points.

My husband travels for a living & it would be nice to be able to see what's making noise at 1 AM. I like the idea of a PTZ camera, but I'm not set on it. My priority is night vision. It's not enough to see that someone's coming up to steal my tv, I want to see who it is & help the police catch the punk.

We have a nearby supplier who we like to support & they're pushing these new Channel Vision cameras. The specs seem decent in terms of the number of television lines, optical zoom, day & night, etc. My only concern is that I don't see many people mentioning this brand & there are no reviews as these products are so new.

http://www.channelvi...x-optical-zoom/
http://www.channelvi...x-optical-zoom/

Does anyone have any feedback with these cameras or Channel Vision? Is there an alternative we should consider?

I should add, we're new construction so I'm only interested in wired solutions.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Del91574]

They're not going to really perform well in the dark, you're going to need some sort of lighting (a significant amount, actually) around to get any sort of usable picture.

I guess the big item would be cost vs. performance. Usually a PTZ is installed where an appropriate # of fixed cameras would be impossible or there's a lot of different views to be considered. You're also going to need to consider how they're going to be controlled, keyboard/joystick, via software, on an automatic tour....

While Channelvision isn't horrible, they would not be my first choice when considering a PTZ.

 

[carempel]

I thought going with something that wasn't IR would be better given the bug issue. Also, with the PTZ, it would be pre-set to record a specific area and I'd use an app to move it.

What would be your first choice for a PTZ? how about for a IP home surveillance camera?

 

[Del91574]

For D/N with no IR, you're not going to get any usable views unless there's some level of lighting on at all times in all the locations that the camera is going to look at. Lux rating would be at .1 or less IMO to even start to be considered for a dark/dim application.

Once you start using software and other items to control a PTZ instead of a direct hardware controller, the movement and control is not going to be smooth or as precise as I would assume most people would expect.

I've used Pelco, Panasonic, Bosch, Speco, Honeywell and Digital Watchdog for analog. I've used Axis and Mobotix for IP.

 

[carempel]

This is great feedback. I was having a tough time finding much info on Channel Vision, I thought it might have to do with limited distribution.

Sounds like an IR camera with some extra IR illuminators would be the best bet. I'll definitely look at Axis & Mobotix.

We're wiring it tomorrow so I need to have this figured out by tonight so we know what wires to run.

 

[Del91574]

If you're not sure, you should run a siamese camera cable and a category cable. If considering a PTZ, typically it's not recommended to use a category cable for the PTZ data, so a separate cable in addition to those listed should be pulled.

It may be possible to have an up-the-coax PTZ control, but you're going to need to plan the hardware to do such from the beginning, and since everything is open, I'd plan on running a separate data from the outset.

 

[carempel]

After your comments & some more reading, I talked myself out of PTZ. If we have 3 cameras in the front & one in the back, I don't think I'd need the functionality and could do better for the price. After some more research I found the Vivotek IP8352. It seems to have the best night vision of all the ones I looked at (0.001 Lux/F1.2 (B/W)), as well as some other nice features. I'll likely still add some IR Illuminators, I'm hoping to find some that are POE with adjustable strength.

Can you recommend any NVR's? I'd like all 4 of the cameras connected to an NVR & ideally a video modulator so I can see it on the tv. And if that's not too greedy, I'd like something that I can access on an app (android & iphone). The Vivotek NVR seemed decent, but when I called tech support to ask some questions, they said it wasn't compatible with apps.

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[Del91574]

Personally, for NVR's I like Verint, we've got a couple of sites with about 600-2400 cameras each. I can't recommend anything AD.

If you're running a NVR and IP camera, plan on pulling a power wire in addition to the category cable, most IP cameras, especially outdoor rated units, exceed what can be powered using POE....I wouldn't even attempt to run with anything more than the camera's NIC via POE...this is coming from working on sites with anywhere from 600-5000 IP cameras.

 

[carempel]

I'm really glad you mentioned the power issue. In case I'm unable to run 110V power to the cameras (worst case scenario), what would you recommend?

Thanks for this info, it's hard to find this kind of honest truth.

 

[Del91574]

Most IP cameras can use a low voltage power source, like 24VAC or 12VDC, so an 18/2 or heavier is what is desired, not a 110V outlet or source.

 

[electron]

I personally ran CAT5e and Coax to each location, which takes care of Ethernet, I/O and Power (either via PoE or use as LV). This has worked out very well, and allows me to migrate from analog to digital. I use an Axis IP server to clone some of the analog CCTV feeds, and pipe them into my PC based motion detection software, while the coax goes directly to a dedicated analog DVR as backup.

DELInstallations: Can you think of an affordable NVR for home use? With the popularity of IP cameras increasing significantly, I am surprised no one has tried to corner this new market yet (at least in the SOHO category).

 

[Del91574]

As far as NVR, it depends, and honestly, it's a get-what-you-pay-for item. Affordable and quality/reliability are usually mutually exclusive items, and the cheapie units don't have support for the better quality cameras, and vice versa. I'm sure someone can whip up handlers and drivers, but what's the point?

The big item for NVR's is choosing a PC/server based platform or embedded hardware, usually the OS is of little concern, I can say with certainty that ActiveX is an issue with a few manufacturers units.

 

[electron]

I basically wanted an embedded device which can handle IP streams (RTSP, MJPEG, etc.), and maybe even do some basic analytics. I would love to replace all my analog cams with HD IP cameras, but can't do this until I have a reliable appliance. While I can build a PC based system, I want something which is fool proof, and even the cops could use should it get to that point.

 

[carempel]

I basically wanted an embedded device which can handle IP streams (RTSP, MJPEG, etc.), and maybe even do some basic analytics. I would love to replace all my analog cams with HD IP cameras, but can't do this until I have a reliable appliance. While I can build a PC based system, I want something which is fool proof, and even the cops could use should it get to that point.

I'm hoping to find the same, and ideally one that is compatible with smartphone apps.

I still don't understand why the Vivotek NVR isn't compatible with apps. Tech support told me I either build my own PC based system & use a 3rd party app or I can run their NVR, but not both.

 

[George M]

Exactly where I am also. Would love to see what is recomended.