Just got a new IP camera and the motion detect works pretty darn good

[Fritz The Cat]

[Atl-Jerry]

And the bird looks pretty crisp too.  Which mfg/model is that?

[Fritz The Cat]

It's a Chinese box with Grandstream guts. I've got a few el cheapo 640x480 cams that are totally outclassed by this bad boy. It's a 3.1mp full 1080p at 30fps. It tells me if the mail lady and the UPS man have been here and whether they stopped or not.

http://www.securitycamera2000.com/products/Full-HD-1080P-IP-Camera-3-Mega-Day%7B47%7Dnight-IR-40m-Waterproof-2.8mm%252d12mm.html

[dreamaker]

It's a Chinese box with Grandstream guts. I've got a few el cheapo 640x480 cams that are totally outclassed by this bad boy. It's a 3.1mp full 1080p at 30fps. It tells me if the mail lady and the UPS man have been here and whether they stopped or not.

http://www.securitycamera2000.com/products/Full-HD-1080P-IP-Camera-3-Mega-Day%7B47%7Dnight-IR-40m-Waterproof-2.8mm%252d12mm.html

How do you save the videos, do you use a NAS drive. I have three wireless IP cams, Linksys, Swann and a Foscam. I don't recommend the Foscam to anyone, their tech. service sucks and it is not compatible with common NAS drives. I have them in my front window, when people come to my front door, in case they are casing out my place, they see the cams.  Most of the time I don't even have them on, but they don't know. But when they are on, you can see peoples reaction on their face, they don't screw around.

[olddog1946]

That's a nice crisp pic.

I just installed a NiteOwl system with 600TVL cams. Was getting tired of having my tools stolen so now I'll be able to get a record of who shows up in my yard. The video isn't as crisp as yours but seems to work pretty well. I got an 8 camera system with 4 cams off ebay complete for $218.50 Have only installed two of the cams so far, just have to decide where to hang the other two.

[Fritz The Cat]

At present I'm capturing both stills and video. The videos go to a Synology DS413j. The video is about 30 secs. long and it's handles by Surveillance Station which is a part of the DS413j. The stills are handled by the camera and are saved to a cheapie Zyxel single bay NAS. All this is overkill I know. The camera comes with a G Surf Pro which is an awesome monitoring program that's capable of doing it all and will work with up to 36 cameras. But the NAS came with 1 free license so I thought I'd use it.

In regards to the Foscam, I have a couple of those and a couple of HooToos and 1 Loftek outdoor camera. All of these low end low res cameras are made by one mfg. They are sold under different brands but are the same cameras, they come with the same SW and they are all compatible with the Foscam iPhone app.

This HD camera is in a different class altogether. Quality, performance and features are way above the Foscams and their cousins. The site I linked to is having a sale and there's a 5mp cam for 120 bucks. Might have to jump on it.

[Atl-Jerry]

Thanx for the info.  I've got a dozen cameras between my primary residence and a second home 260 miles away.  They are all SD except one 1MP HD camera, mostly Foscams.  In years gone by, they were an excellent value for what they did, but with the recent price drop in HD cameras, I'll be upgrading them all as soon as I can.  I'll take a hard look at the 5MP for $120.  Here is a good source for info on new cameras and objective reviews.

http://www.networkcameracritic.com/

[Fritz The Cat]

Thanks for the link. 

I initially bought a Hikvision but it died about an hour after I installed it. Pissed me off cause it ain't no fun mounting these things. The no name Chinese cam has bee flawless.

And you're right. HD cams are now reasonably priced so there's no reason to go with a Foscam. And btw, Foscam has a couple of 720p cams out but the reviews are really bad.

[Skinhead]

Anybody have a link that explains all the acronyms?

[The emperor has no clothes]

Anybody have a link that explains all the acronyms?

Yeah I had no idea what they were talking about

[BF]

Anybody have a link that explains all the acronyms?

I'm hip....and equally lost.  

[Atl-Jerry]

Here's a link to a glossary;

http://www.ezcctv.com/cctv-glossary.htm

However, none of the ones I used are in there, so here is a supplement;

SD=Standard Definition, like our old tube type TV's
HD=High Definition
1MP= 1 Mega Pixal, Barely HD
3MP=3 Mega Pixals, pretty good HD
5MP=5 Mega pixal, excellent HD, but will be ho-hum in a few years

[Skinhead]

Here's a link to a glossary;

http://www.ezcctv.com/cctv-glossary.htm

However, none of the ones I used are in there, so here is a supplement;

SD=Standard Definition, like our old tube type TV's
HD=High Definition
1MP= 1 Mega Pixal, Barely HD
3MP=3 Mega Pixals, pretty good HD
5MP=5 Mega pixal, excellent HD, but will be ho-hum in a few years

Thanks, Now I know what IP means.

[PAVALKER]

No cams here.... just a motion sensing Gun Turret mounted on the crest of the roof.  It even keeps the birds off....    I did lose a substitute mailman a few weeks ago, he didn't get the word.






Actually.... I will have to check into that camera stuff....  the picture looks great.

[dreamaker]

At present I'm capturing both stills and video. The videos go to a Synology DS413j. The video is about 30 secs. long and it's handles by Surveillance Station which is a part of the DS413j. The stills are handled by the camera and are saved to a cheapie Zyxel single bay NAS. All this is overkill I know. The camera comes with a G Surf Pro which is an awesome monitoring program that's capable of doing it all and will work with up to 36 cameras. But the NAS came with 1 free license so I thought I'd use it.

In regards to the Foscam, I have a couple of those and a couple of HooToos and 1 Loftek outdoor camera. All of these low end low res cameras are made by one mfg. They are sold under different brands but are the same cameras, they come with the same SW and they are all compatible with the Foscam iPhone app.

This HD camera is in a different class altogether. Quality, performance and features are way above the Foscams and their cousins. The site I linked to is having a sale and there's a 5mp cam for 120 bucks. Might have to jump on it.

I am assuming your cams are hardwired, Mine are wireless which presents some extra issues. I believe that the people at Foscam tech told me that the Synology NAS drive was compatible with my Foscam. In my Foscam internal software it does not provide for IP Address so I can download to a NAs drive.   I am assuming you are using A NAS drive, is your path an IP address or are you using a drive letter. You mentioned a NAS licenses, I have two NAS drives and they don't require any licenses or am I misunderstanding you. I have a Buffalo and a Lacie.

Just foe chuckles, see if you can logon to my cams and let me know.

http://valkcam.homeip.net:1024

Does not need login code, you may have to run ActiveX  util.

http://valkcam.homeip.net:1030

user: gen
password: harley

may have to run ActiveX util. to see video. let me know.

[HayHauler]

First link worked after installing the AX control.  What's that white stuff in your yard?  2 trucks across the street, one with a plow attached.

Second link I couldn't get to work for me.  Might be something to do with the firewall here at work tho.

Pretty good resolution too.

P.S.  IP = Internet Protocol

Hay 
Jimmyt

[dreamaker]

First link worked after installing the AX control.  What's that white stuff in your yard?  2 trucks across the street, one with a plow attached.

Second link I couldn't get to work for me.  Might be something to do with the firewall here at work tho.

Pretty good resolution too.

P.S.  IP = Internet Protocol

Hay 
Jimmyt

which on worked the 1024 or the 1030? are you running XP or Win7. if it was the 1030 did you at least get in the page but not the video.

[Fritz The Cat]

Everything I do is by hard wired IP.

Surveillance Station, which comes with Synology NAS's, is free for one camera. Additional cameras are $50. I doubt I'll every buy any additional licenses since the bundled SW seems to do everything SS does. I used SS for this camera because I could.

If you're doing wireless, 1 or 2 cams will work OK. Any more and you're guaranteed to have problems, dropouts, dropped frames, and occasionally you'll loose the camera altogether. When this happens you'll have to run a Ethernet cable to it to reestablish the connection. Run a cable if you can.

As for the Foscam saving to a NAS, it will, the settings are in the web UI. What the Synology does that's different is that it does the motion detect and controls scheduling and stuff like that. It does motion detect way better than the Foscam can.   

[Fritz The Cat]

As a comparison, here's a shot from the previous camera, a Loftek Nexus 543. The Foscam equivalent is the same exact camera right down to the firmware and web UI. Notice the crappy color and 640x480 just doesn't give enough detail.

[dreamaker]

My Foscam is the same that is why I don't use it, I think the whitish look may be due to inferred kicking in. Anyway I think it is a crummy cam. never had those issues with the multiple cams, but one thing I do know is when I turn on my microwave it wipeout my cams till the microwave is done, then they come back. Still little confused about the  Synology NAS that is a hard drive correct, my NAS drives I connect via. HUB or Router. But may be I am thinking about something else.

[dreamaker]

It just clicked in my head!!  When you say Synology NAS is this a physical unit or are you talking about an FTP sight?

[Fritz The Cat]

Yep, it's a box with Hard Drives in it. It has it's own operating system and it's own apps. SS is one of them. The NAS is connect to the network and so are the cameras. It's primary function is to provide storage to the other devices on the network but it does lots more stuff in addition. It's not tied to any one device so any device can access it irregardless of what the other computers are doing. And it's small and easy to hide. In the event of a burglary, it's doubtful the burglar would find it but the cams would find him and send pics to the NAS.

[Atl-Jerry]

I was able to connect to the Linksys cam on port 1024, no login required.  See screen shot below.  I was unable to connect to the cam on port 1030, it just rejected the login credentials.  I know the Foscams and their clone cousins only support 4 concurrent logins, so it is possible others are logged into the cam.  The second snap is of my "Poacher Cam", a Foscam 1MP outdoor cam.

[dreamaker]

The thing that throws me is the license, on my drives they are setup as a network FTP sight and my cams save to their separate folders. The reason I asked, because you can get hard drive space  on the internet service FTP virtual drive. The reason is they can burn down the house, but you still have your proof. Never heard about the license before. On my system I can be anywhere in the world and access my video or cameras. But this is all good information for me. I learn the hard way trial and error and researching for info. on the internet and from people like yourself.

Thanks.

[dreamaker]

I was able to connect to the Linksys cam on port 1024, no login required.  See screen shot below.  I was unable to connect to the cam on port 1030, it just rejected the login credentials.  I know the Foscams and their clone cousins only support 4 concurrent logins, so it is possible others are logged into the cam.  The second snap is of my "Poacher Cam", a Foscam 1MP outdoor cam.

I messed up the password Harley should have been spelled with a small, h, harley.  Try it again.

[Fritz The Cat]

Yea, the license thing is a major turn-off. If you visit the Synology forums you'll see lots and lots of griping about it. In truth tho, SS is mucho overkill for the averge joe with a hand full of IP cameras. The free version of IP Camera Viewer can handle up to 4 cameras and is compatible with every camera I've thrown at it including the newest HD camera.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/ip_camera_viewer.html

[WamegoRob]

which on worked the 1024 or the 1030? are you running XP or Win7. if it was the 1030 did you at least get in the page but not the video.

Both worked fine for me after installing the ActiveX control. I'm on Win7.
And I like that 'auto-patrol' setting.

[dreamaker]

which on worked the 1024 or the 1030? are you running XP or Win7. if it was the 1030 did you at least get in the page but not the video.

Both worked fine for me after installing the ActiveX control. I'm on Win7.
And I like that 'auto-patrol' setting.

Interesting, on my XP computers I can get the 1024 cam, but on my Win7 computers I can get the 1030 cam, but not the 1024 video. Have to figure it out.

[dreamaker]

Yea, the license thing is a major turn-off. If you visit the Synology forums you'll see lots and lots of griping about it. In truth tho, SS is mucho overkill for the averge joe with a hand full of IP cameras. The free version of IP Camera Viewer can handle up to 4 cameras and is compatible with every camera I've thrown at it including the newest HD camera.

http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/ip_camera_viewer.html

My cameras have internal software that I can configure, so in the setup when it ask me where I want to save video and images, I tell it the NAS hard drive.  Just put in the IP Address of the NAS Drive via my router and a folder and that is where it gets saved. Do your cameras hardwire with a LAN cable or a video/power cable to the unit. Trying to understand your system, sorry I am slow. I shut down the cams at 6:00PM EST, its to dark, will turn them back on at dawn tomorrow if you want to check it out. Your info helped me out.  Thanks Again

[Fritz The Cat]

All are IP cams so yes, they connect via Lan (Ethernet, RJ45) cabling. The Foscams and others like it require a FTP server to upload to I think. Most all NAS's come with FTP server SW but if you upload to a PC you'll need something like Filezilla server which is free and works well.

  All my camera wiring is in the attic. I have one Ethernet cable running to a switch up there and then the cameras all plug into the switch. The high heat up there in the summer doesn't seem to bother the switch or the camera PSU's. They've been up there for 2 summers now with zero problems.