Home Sureillance Camera - what all is needed?

[DcN484]

How are you going to record the IP cam? You need some type of capture hardware/software. IP cameras are nice, but when it comes to good video recording, I still prefer CCTV type setups (higher FPS etC).

IP cams do all the work inside the camera, there is no "capture", only 'saving'. Depending on what camera you use, all you have to do is specify the path to some mapped drive on the network, and you're done. It saves all the video right on the drive.

Not all cam's are capable of saving directly to a mapped drive themselves though. This is easy to overcome. You can do a simple FTP transfer, which works really easy, or you can use any number of IP cam software solutions out there. For an aftermarket software solution, you will need a dedicated PC though.

 

[electron]

If you want quality high FPS video, you will be paying a fortune for those type of IP cams. The cheaper ones are great for monitoring, but not recording IMO (and I do have a Panasonic as well). Missing a few frames could mean you might miss the critical info you need to identify someone, etc.

 

[DcN484]

I agree Dan, the good IP cams are spendy. I put in 9 Mobotix Megapixel IP cam's at work. Very spendy.

You're not going to be recording quality 30fps video with a $150 IP camera, but it's way more than you get with $150 worth of CCTV gear to get the same end result. That's why I think those Panny cams are perfect for a simple residential setup.

 

[Rupp]

Avoid "CCTV" camera's, and any "capture" type hardware/software. Outdated technology.

It's very hard to beat the new Panasonic IP cam's for an easy, simple, residential application.

Outdoor cam: http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-electro...000000000005702

Best price I've found: http://www.geminicomputersinc.com/bl-c140a.html

They are POE cams, that come with a power injector. Injects power into the Cat5 cable at the router end. Then all you have to do is run one single Cat5 to the camera. Any PC on the network can view the cam. Even a PC outside the network can view the cam if you set it up correctly with IP/PortForwarding. You can set it up to save the images on any computer on the network.

Outdated? The camera you linked is a 30 FPS CMOS camera. $175 for a CMOS camera? A easy way to remember the difference between a CMOS sensor and CCD image sensors is CMOS stands for Can't Make Out Squat. :wacko:

 

[Kevin L]

Outdated? The camera you linked is a 30 FPS CMOS camera. $175 for a CMOS camera? A easy way to remember the difference between a CMOS sensor and CCD image sensors is CMOS stands for Can't Make Out Squat. :wacko:

That's becoming less and less true. Many of the megapixel cameras are CMOS and rival the quality of CCD.

Keep in mind the sensor is only one part of the equation in image quality. Optics (lenses) can have a major effect on how good or bad the image is.

Kevin

 

[DcN484]

Avoid "CCTV" camera's, and any "capture" type hardware/software. Outdated technology.

It's very hard to beat the new Panasonic IP cam's for an easy, simple, residential application.

Outdoor cam: http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-electro...000000000005702

Best price I've found: http://www.geminicomputersinc.com/bl-c140a.html

They are POE cams, that come with a power injector. Injects power into the Cat5 cable at the router end. Then all you have to do is run one single Cat5 to the camera. Any PC on the network can view the cam. Even a PC outside the network can view the cam if you set it up correctly with IP/PortForwarding. You can set it up to save the images on any computer on the network.

Outdated? The camera you linked is a 30 FPS CMOS camera. $175 for a CMOS camera? A easy way to remember the difference between a CMOS sensor and CCD image sensors is CMOS stands for Can't Make Out Squat. :wacko:

I didn't say the camera I posted was anything fancy, I just said it's a perfect solution for a simple residential setup.

Mount the camera, run ONE cat5 cable to it, plug it in the router. Done.

What all needs to be done in order to get one simple CCTV feed into a stored image state on his computer? Can he buy an outdoor 30FPS CCTV cam, capture card/DVR, Power cable, video cable, BNC connectors etc...... for $170? Will he be able to access that CCTV cam from anywhere in the world, or from any PC on his network? I'm honestly not trying to be a smart-a right now, because I really don't know that much about CCTV. All I know is that I have been doing what the OP is asking for, for a while, and it was easy and cheap with better end results than what I could find researching a CCTV setup for the same price.

 

[electron]

Rupp: CMOS doesn't mean it's bad, CMOS has its place, and outperform CCD in certain situations. Just look at the high end digital cameras, which are also video recorders, and use CMOS hardware.

 

[Monk]

Avoid "CCTV" camera's, and any "capture" type hardware/software. Outdated technology.

It's very hard to beat the new Panasonic IP cam's for an easy, simple, residential application.

Outdoor cam: http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-electro...000000000005702

Best price I've found: http://www.geminicomputersinc.com/bl-c140a.html

They are POE cams, that come with a power injector. Injects power into the Cat5 cable at the router end. Then all you have to do is run one single Cat5 to the camera. Any PC on the network can view the cam. Even a PC outside the network can view the cam if you set it up correctly with IP/PortForwarding. You can set it up to save the images on any computer on the network.

Best Buy has them for $179.00 - (20.00 rebate - can't remember if it is main in or instant) just as I was wondering what to do with a 100.00 gift card I've had laying around :unsure:
I'm going to pick one up for the North facing side of my house as a try out - the POE will make this an easy swap later if it isn't sufficient.

 

[Rupp]

Outdated? The camera you linked is a 30 FPS CMOS camera. $175 for a CMOS camera? A easy way to remember the difference between a CMOS sensor and CCD image sensors is CMOS stands for Can't Make Out Squat. :unsure:

That's becoming less and less true. Many of the megapixel cameras are CMOS and rival the quality of CCD.

Keep in mind the sensor is only one part of the equation in image quality. Optics (lenses) can have a major effect on how good or bad the image is.

Kevin

You are comparing apples to oranges. I've yet to see a high quality CMOS security camera.

 

[DcN484]

You are comparing apples to oranges. I've yet to see a high quality CMOS security camera.

Mobotix M22, CMOS. Image downsized from original raw image to post on the forum. 30FPS video at same resolution.

Mobotix D12, CMOS. Dual lens, single cam. Downsized to post. Superior night quality. 30FPS video at same resolution.

 

[electron]

Those are incredible pics, and the Mobotix cams do have a good reputation. Can you share how (or if) you are recording the video feed?

 

[DcN484]

Those are incredible pics, and the Mobotix cams do have a good reputation. Can you share how (or if) you are recording the video feed?

I have a dedicated file server strictly for storing the video feeds from all my cams. They record 24/7/365. Because of the dynamic schedule a lot of the guys have to work, we decided to just go with a bunch of storage, and just record all the time, rather than try and rely on schedules and/or motion detection triggers (which work great BTW).

Each cam has it's own designated space on the server. Some get more than others. The biggest one goes back about a month's worth of video, the smallest is about 2 weeks. Once the cam has reached it's maximum storage limit, it starts to overwrite the oldest data in it's space. Each cam has about 60MB of internal storage as well, which I don't use.

I'm far from a video guru, but I do know that we are using the Mobotix proprietary OpenSource* MxPEG video codec. The quality is excellent, and gives us exactly what we need. Some info on MxPEG here: http://developer.mobotix.com/mobotix_sdk_1.0.1/docs/why.html

Based on hardware location/access, it would be difficult to get a full quality, full frame rate video sample to show you guys right now, but I'll see what I can do perhaps in a while.

The setup/access pages built into the Cam's are detailed to say the least. Very involved, and can get confusing. Every setting and option you could dream of, right there on the cam.

I also implemented another system along with my surveillance system. All of the cam's have two way audio, but I decided to put up a few amplified loud speakers. All of my Mobotix cam's slave themselves to one Master cam. Every Mobotix cam, upon a motion trigger at a specific time (late at night) will send a signal to the master camera, which then sends a signal to Elk audio board that has record capabilities. The Elk board will then send the audio signal to the amplified loud speakers: "YOU ARE ON PRIVATE PROPERTY......" We can record anything we want for playback. Obviously all of that happens in a split second. Fun stuff.

* Edit.

 

[electron]

What kind of FPS are you getting with the recordings? Sounds like a very interesting and solid setup.

 

[DcN484]

What kind of FPS are you getting with the recordings? Sounds like a very interesting and solid setup.

I would have to get on the file server, and use the MXControlCenter software to verify that for you Dan. As of right now, I don't have access to that. I only have access to the cam's themselves, which will serve me 5FPS video through an ActiveX control. Viewing from the ControlCenter gives you the full frame rate video, which I'm not completely positive what rate we are recording at. I do know that it gives you a full, real-life-like moving video that doesn't jitter, at the same resolution as the screenshots above. Like I said, I'm not a video guru :unsure: but I do know the video is quality.

Edit: Doing a quick peak at the specs of the M22, it looks like it will stream at 30 FPS, but will only record at 16 FPS. I'm fairly certain I'm recording at max quality, so I'm sure it's 16 FPS. The outdoor cam's may have different specs. My posts above the screenshots saying 30 FPS is only true for streaming.

 

[Monk]

Those are incredible pics, and the Mobotix cams do have a good reputation. Can you share how (or if) you are recording the video feed?

I have a dedicated file server strictly for storing the video feeds from all my cams. They record 24/7/365. Because of the dynamic schedule a lot of the guys have to work, we decided to just go with a bunch of storage, and just record all the time, rather than try and rely on schedules and/or motion detection triggers (which work great BTW).

Could you elaborate on what type of output it is? Mpeg files or maybe jpg's?