Need IP Cameras advice

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carlcrack

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I was asked to deploy 10 to 12 cameras on a hotel. I already have fiber/remotes switch deployed across the site including a street to cross (yes, fiber across the street and we are paying for that) so that's why i'm opting for IP cams instead of regular coax. Budget is under 3000$ for 10 to 12 cams including hardware and new PC for recording. I was taking a look to Ubiquiti AirCam but never had one in hands, does it worth it ? All cam except one will be outdoor, all area have light at night so nightvision is not a must. Any comments on theses cams of suggestions ?

Thanks
 
The AirCams are decent if you have enough light. If there's light there all the time, they will do fine.
 
what about the PVR soft they have ? I guess all normal options + remote monitoring is available ?
 
the aircams are not reliable in my opinion. software is buggy. quality is good when it works. thats just my opinion.
 
I also have to say the AirCams are not ready for prime time.

They are a great hobby cam or around the house or data center, but I cannot rely on my cam.

Also the quality is lacking severely.
 
I am doing a site with the aircams....there will be 15 cameras total. Client wanted cheap. I've not installed them as of yet.

Impressions:
-They are cheap and plastic
-Low light/dark, good luck!
-Plan to update firmware out of the box. Also install adobe air, and do not install java unless it is from the cd that comes with....
-Software is buggy
-It takes a series of jpegs and stores them, then when you want to export the video, it creates an mp4.
-CPU intensive

These are a hobbyist cam. Blue iris was a software I saw others recommend when using these cameras.

I am also going to try 3 of these at work to monitor some high traffic areas, we got someone hitting shit with a forklift we want to catch :)

Within the next few weeks I can comment more on how these are or are not working.


Note too that the install instructions state you need to ue shielded cabling to get warranty. They also use a proprietary POE adapter so be prepared for spaghetti. 3 packs can be had from amazon for $250.
 
wow... tought they were better than that.. I guess the budget allowed for this project is not enough to get some reliable equipment ?
 
Axis cameras are nice and worth the money. They have a lot of different models depending on what your needs are. They also use standard poe so no pigtails, no adapters, or special switches needed like the Ubiquity cams.

We use Salient CompleteView at work and it is really nice.
http://www.salientsys.com/products/
Very easy to use and configure and there is no client license like some other nvr software. It also supports most IP cameras out there. (not sure if they support ubiquity stuff yet)
It has a very nice client that is easy to use and the clients can be configured manually or from a config server. It really makes it easy to standardize client config and make limited cameras selections for certain groups of people with the config server.
For example one of the departments wanted cameras on the entrances to their labs. They purchased the cams, and I put them in and configured them so their people can only see their cams, while the security people can see all the cams including the new ones.
You can also do AD integration if you want. (not on the base software though)
One of the best things is the server does all the heavy trans-coding of video. The client will run on any computer and uses very little cpu. The server needs a very powerful cpu however. We have an 8 core amd and it is usually around 50-70% cpu usage. We have 20 cameras recording 24/7 @ 10 fps, quality set to max, no compression, and with most cameras at 1Megapizel resolution. Any more than that I would spec out dual hex or better.

carlcrack said:
wow... tought they were better than that.. I guess the budget allowed for this project is not enough to get some reliable equipment ?
Click to expand...
$3000 is not a whole lot for cameras and NVR software. Some companies will give away their nvr software that only works with their brand of cameras. Originally we had ACTi which are ok-ish cameras but their free nvr software is the worst ever. We still use ACTi cameras with the Salient software, but all new cameras are Axis.
If you can't get more money, maybe scale back you number of cameras you want initially and get a good nvr software. If you can, get a few demo cams to see the difference in quality.
 
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feffrey said:
$3000 is not a whole lot for cameras and NVR software. Some companies will give away their nvr software that only works with their brand of cameras. Originally we had ACTi which are ok-ish cameras but their free nvr software is the worst ever. We still use ACTi cameras with the Salient software, but all new cameras are Axis.
If you can't get more money, maybe scale back you number of cameras you want initially and get a good nvr software. If you can, get a few demo cams to see the difference in quality.
Click to expand...

^ QFT $3k, for 10-12 OUTDOOR Cams, NVR Software, Hardware with enough storage for 10-12 Random MP+ feeds, plus labor? Good luck.

I'd start small with the most important locations and the NVR server/software. After the backend, you'll get maybe 5-6 decent cams for the $3k mark. Do NOT go ultra cheap on them or you WILL be replacing them in a hurry and have a pissed off customer/manager.
 
thanks for the great amount of tips guys, i still don't know what to chose... i wonder if i can have a hybrid NVR that accepts coax cams on the NVR side and IP cams on the other side of the street ? Do you have any preference between a built-in-all-in-one solution for the NVR or use a dedicated PC ? Just found out that coax cams are cheaper on price than IP stuff so it might worth a try..

3000$ is for material only, labour time is not included and dealed differently with this client.
 
carlcrack said:
thanks for the great amount of tips guys, i still don't know what to chose... i wonder if i can have a hybrid NVR that accepts coax cams on the NVR side and IP cams on the other side of the street ? Do you have any preference between a built-in-all-in-one solution for the NVR or use a dedicated PC ? Just found out that coax cams are cheaper on price than IP stuff so it might worth a try..

3000$ is for material only, labour time is not included and dealed differently with this client.
Click to expand...

Axis makes coax to IP converters. We use one with a older PTZ cam that is coax and it works pretty good.
http://www.axis.com/products/video/video_server/index.htm

As for a all in one box verses a PC, I would always go with a PC. Usually the boxes that a vendor pushes are way too expensive and have limited storage that you can't expand.
It may cost more to build a SuperMicro box, but you can stuff it with as many drives as you want, change nvr software, put in as much processing power as you want, etc. You can never have enough storage. It is like backups, someone never notices that half their data is missing until two weeks later. Same thing with cameras, someone may not notice something is missing / wrong until later and if you can't go back far enough you can't prove anything.

Video surveillance is one of those things that you really need to spend the money on to get a good product imho.
I put in a GeoVision system about 6 years ago for a guy who wanted something cheap. Sure it sorta worked, but the cams were crap, the software was buggy as all heck, and it would often crash leaving gaps of time where no video was recorded. Support was useless and couldn't ever get updates.
You get what you pay for and in security cameras, it really makes a difference.
 
Take a look at the Geovision solutions. They are multi-channel Co-ax input cards with software that also has IP Cam functionality. They can be pricey, but any appliance-type box that can accomodate enough channels and hybrid functionality and enough storage will end up to be the lion's share of your budget at cost. Build youself a nice cheap i3 box with an 8 channel Geovision card and their software, slap in a couple 2TB drives, and then go price analog cameras. Coax is pricey in long runs, so also look for cams with an integrated Cat5 balun so you can use cheap Cat5. Once you have the base analog design done, then go look at compatible speciality IP Cams
 
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