good network camera.

[thewireguy]

Your other and cheaper option is a analog camera with a Axis video encoder. You could get a 4 channel video encoder and 4 cheaper analog cameras for less then $1000 bucks.

I use Axis encoders pretty regularly in on a project that I am not necessarily open to discuss publicly. That said, I am not certain why one would suggest using one for home surveillance. If you have to run coaxial cable to the camera anyway, why not get a DVR card that supports analog cameras directly, rather than converting to IP video before it gets to the PC? There are products available such as the GeoVision or AverMedia cards that accept the analog feeds directly and can make the analog video just as easy to access remotely over Internet connection as using an Axis encoder. Also, while not certain about the AverMedia, they come with DVR software as well, along with some rudimentary forms of video analytics, allowing the DVR PC to record to HDD only with certain conditions occur. Such as, any motion in the picture, or simple tripwires, so recording is triggered by someone walking up your driveway, etc. This video is archived for either some set time, or until its overwritten by new data days or weeks later - depending on the amount of HDD space you have. The Axis card alone wont do any of this, and is only good for converting analog video to IP video. The only reason I would suggest an Axis card is if I were doing cameras on a detached building/garage and needed the data sent back (via IP) over a wireless access point or bridge connection.

Even then, I would personally have to rule out running cable from the remote location to the DVR PC in the home. The conditions where I see this is 1) the distance is too far for a coaxial run such as LARGE facilities or 2) cant or simply dont want to run the coaxial cable between the locations

Well the main reason I recommended the Axis server is, he was talking about IP cameras and price. If he goes with the encoder now he will have the NVR software so if or when he upgrades to IP cameras he will not lose any money. If he goes with the DVR card now you will have to buy the software when he upgrades. (I think GeoVision has hybrd software now) I would us a video encoder over a DVR card any day but that is my professional opinion. For a 4 camera setup you will not see the advantages of say 36 cameras. With the encoder you push the processing power off of the server and onto the encoder when it comes to motion detection. Also, there is a lot cool stuff you can do with the trigger in/outs on the encoders and they have better image quality then a DVR cards.

 

[drvnbysound]

Well the main reason I recommended the Axis server is, he was talking about IP cameras and price. If he goes with the encoder now he will have the NVR software so if or when he upgrades to IP cameras he will not lose any money. If he goes with the DVR card now you will have to buy the software when he upgrades. (I think GeoVision has hybrd software now) I would us a video encoder over a DVR card any day but that is my professional opinion. For a 4 camera setup you will not see the advantages of say 36 cameras. With the encoder you push the processing power off of the server and onto the encoder when it comes to motion detection. Also, there is a lot cool stuff you can do with the trigger in/outs on the encoders and they have better image quality then a DVR cards.

I can certainly follow your logic here. I am certainly green when it comes to the commercially available software that is used for this stuff. We use custom written analytic software

GeoVision does have some Hybrid stuff now from what Ive seen on their website. I dont personally own any GeoVision products, and havent used them before, but I plan to. The reason I dont want to go with IP cameras is the price of them. I wont spend $500+ on single cameras just to have them IP. And if Im going to be using analog cameras, I feel that I can stay with a GeoVision card reliably up to 16 cameras - as they have 16-channel cards. I would assume they have a way to have multiple cards installed and support more cameras (ie. 32), but I have not looked into this at ALL. I personally dont see myself ever using 16 cameras or more in my home (Im only planning on having 4) which goes back to my thinking of using the DVR card. The image quality may be better from the encoder, but for forensic data to hold up in court or other, I'm pretty sure the DVR cards video quality will hold up just fine.

I suppose a good question for the OP would be how many cameras are planned? Even a ball park number. If he only plans to use 2, you get to that point of it not really being advantageous to go the Axis encoder route.

When you say "With the encoder you push the processing power off of the server and onto the encoder when it comes to motion detection. " I dont follow the statement, because you state the processing is pushed to the server, but then say the encoder processes motion detection. What processing would be done at the server, if its not doing detection? Are you referring to the Axis encoder having the ability to do motion detection processing? If so, I was unaware of that, because again, we use other software for analytics.

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

The newer Axis video servers (such as the 241Q) do have the ability to perform motion detection (though I haven't played with that particular feature).

The unit also has some other cool features such as FTP upload based on a contact closure, motion detection, timed event, etc... plus up to 20 viewers can view the cameras directly from the server itself (password/user enabled). You can run it on any port you would like and just port forward that port on your router for remote viewing. You can also send emails of grabbed pics based on these events.

The Axis products would really be the 'cat's meow' if they would incorporate a way to view their IP products via a windows mobile phone device (they had come out with some buggy software in the past, but have abandoned all development in this area). This is a REAL SHAME as it puts a big damper on spending this kind of money they demand for a product you can't use via your mobile phone!

 

[twilo123]

ok so i guess this is my time to chime in. we are in beta for a windows mobile app which support all axis vapix products including their video servers. i'll have a video up on the website in a week or so with commercial release in about 3 weeks. we are already doing it on Android, Blackberry, and Iphone-Itouch.

oh and the winmo version will support touchscreens also.

 

[thewireguy]

When you say "With the encoder you push the processing power off of the server and onto the encoder when it comes to motion detection. " I dont follow the statement, because you state the processing is pushed to the server, but then say the encoder processes motion detection. What processing would be done at the server, if its not doing detection? Are you referring to the Axis encoder having the ability to do motion detection processing? If so, I was unaware of that, because again, we use other software for analytics.

Yes the encoders have built in motion detection, you can setup multi window motion detection on each port. This saves a lot of processing power on the server. Now none analytic motion detection is only effective with constant lighting conditions. If you plain to us video motion detection outside, you will have a lot of false alarms. You can also install analytics right on the IP cameras or decoders. What analytic software are you using?

 

[thewireguy]

When you say "With the encoder you push the processing power off of the server and onto the encoder when it comes to motion detection. " I dont follow the statement, because you state the processing is pushed to the server, but then say the encoder processes motion detection. What processing would be done at the server, if its not doing detection? Are you referring to the Axis encoder having the ability to do motion detection processing? If so, I was unaware of that, because again, we use other software for analytics.

Yes the encoders have built in motion detection, you can setup multi window motion detection on each port. This saves a lot of processing power on the server. Now none analytic motion detection is only effective with constant lighting conditions. If you plain to us video motion detection outside, you will have a lot of false alarms. You can also install analytics right on the IP cameras or decoders. What analytic software are you using?

Trying to give some details without saying more than I should, and I may be doing so anyway, but...

The software we use is custom written by a contracted company who specializes in video analytics. We currently do detection, tracking, and perimeter protection 24/7 over water
h This is certainly a LOT more processing than can be done by an Axis encoder

Aimetis?

 

[drvnbysound]

Aimetis?

No, but apparently one of their competitors. Object Video is the company we work with.

I havent heard of Aimetis before, I will have to check out what they offer.

 

[thewireguy]

Aimetis?

No, but apparently one of their competitors. Object Video is the company we work with.

I havent heard of Aimetis before, I will have to check out what they offer.

Object Video can be embedded in to the IP camera or encoder

 

[electron]

The Aimetis solution is pretty cool stuff. I wish there was an affordable version of these video analytic packages.


As for the IP camera question, I would personally go with a good DVR solution which gives you IP access to regular cameras. It will give you more choice of what camera to go with, and not having to compromise on features.

 

[thewireguy]

The Aimetis solution is pretty cool stuff. I wish there was an affordable version of these video analytic packages.


As for the IP camera question, I would personally go with a good DVR solution which gives you IP access to regular cameras. It will give you more choice of what camera to go with, and not having to compromise on features.

Dan that is why I recommended the video encoder...... Go IP now

 

[drvnbysound]

Object Video can be embedded in to the IP camera or encoder

That is correct, we dont use the OV OnBoard for a couple of reasons, 1) it cant do some of the analytic work we need and do, and 2) we only feel that the onboard alleviates bandwidth issues, where a user wouldnt have to pull live views to the server to be processed, and would only see alerts when an alarm event was triggered. However, our users need to have DVR of the video anyway, so the video has to be pulled over the network regardless, so we dont care that the OnBoard "saves bandwidth", because it doesnt for us.