Soundy

Sure it's possible... the door phone system has to support it.

HDDs should run fine vertically or horizontally, just not on an angle.

One tip: when drilling from the outside, angle the hole upward (or, angle it downward when drilling from the inside), so water can't run in.

Tell ya a little secret: a lot of the ones with brand names are the same cameras, just with better manuals and phone support In any case... the three options have to match up: protocol, ID, and baud rate... as long as the wiring polarity is right, you should be good from there.

Try selecting Pelco, then any option that includes Pelco D or P protocol (this camera should support either). You'll also need to match baud rate and camera ID - those SHOULD display on-screen when the camera powers up. If not, there may be DIP switches to set those options.

Does it look like this? http://www.firststopsecurity.com/manuals/PE-100D.pdf You don't generally configure PTZ by manufacturer, but by protocol.

Of course they LIKE the idea - anyone who's had to battle undercutting grey-market online pricing would. You suggested, however, that this ability to "charge whatever they want for markup because nobody can look up the prices" (paraphrased) was the PRIMARY or SOLE reason that these installers were using Avigilon... something that, frankly, is ridiculous. As xellbuy notes, it's hardly a business model that's unique to Avigilon, or to this industry.

Correct... usually with a couple of seconds' pre- and post-motion recording. Yep... especially since you're in a forest and monitoring plants, even the slightest breeze would probably trigger it unless you dialed the sensitivity WAY down. Beam, pressure sensor, tripwire... a number of possible options. Yep. Apparently none of us here are very experienced with this particular type of covert situation That's okay, we're ALL here to learn Question: how is this area accessed? What would be the feasibility of one camera on the approach corridor (forestry road? goat trail?) to capture faces and/or plates entering and leaving the area, possibly with another distance-mounted wide-view camera to capture activity in the area, so the "tending" could be correlated to the person or vehicle ID'd? Something like this might better lend itself to not needing everything in one concealed device...

Because it was going in circles and accomplishing nothing. You postulated your conspiracy theories and were unwilling to listen to anyone's explanations, so there was no point in further discussion.

Sounds good on paper, especially as it has integrated camera. The trick with video motion detection is, a lot of things could set it off - wind moving the plants, animals passing, birds flying through. I'd suggest something that has either PIR-triggered recording, or an external trigger input that you could use a PIR to start the recording.

Ethernet over UTP, without using extenders, is limited to ~100m (300').... PoE is easily capable of that, as it runs at around 44VDC, up to 15.4W per port. If you need to go further, there are extenders than can take your signal and power past 1500m over UTP or coax... but if this is just around your residence, I doubt you would come anywhere close to 100m. It would be software controlled... either through the camera's own web interface, or through the VMS. Some VMSes support the use of a standard USB joystick to control PTZ function as well. BTW, most DVRs can also control analog PTZs; a special separate controller is rarely required. The only one I'm REALLY familiar with is 3xLogic's Vigil, but they don't see the software separately, only complete turnkey systems. You CAN download the software from them, though, and run it as a 30-day demo (it's not officially made available, but it's not hard to find). I've used VideoInsight in the past, it's pretty good, but the last few times I've needed support, it was dreadful. I've played with Exacq demos as well, and it's pretty good. I haven't had to deal with Exacq support directly, but their local partner support has been outstanding. That all depends on the software. Most have a per-camera license fee. Some let you buy licenses in "blocks" (one, two, four, eight, etc.). Some have a "soft" licensing scheme (where you enter registration keys), a few (like GeoVision) license via USB dongle. Some have special pricing depending on whether you use their own cameras - GeoVision, for example, doesn't charge for licenses for GV-branded cameras. 3xLogic charges about 1/3 the per-camera price for their own branded cameras vs. others. In almost all cases, licensing has nothing to do with how or where you view it, but only with how many cameras the software will talk to. The Exacq demo, for example, will allow you to configure up to four cameras during the demo period, after which it will only let you configure one camera to view or record. Many cameras do include their own free NVR software that will only work with that brand of cameras.

The timeframe is the real killer here - as others have noted, for the power requirements as well as the storage needs. Wireless - at least like the stuff in that video - isn't very reliable, and you'll probably run into quality issues before you get very far from the camera. You might be better off to consider something at a distance with a long lens to get a closer view, with sufficient total size and power for the time you need to cover, rather than trying to hide something small within the site.

Depends largely if you're using PVC or EMT - the latter will provide a good bit of shielding. No type of wiring is 100% impervious to induced noise, but twisted pair does a lot better because of the twists... baluns help more by creating a balanced line. Part of it, too, will depend on the amount of current the 14/2 is carrying - the more current, the larger the EM field it generates, the more likely noise will be induced in other nearby wires. If all it's powering is a couple coach lanterns, you could probably strap the two wires together without issue. If it's running something like a gate motor, any interference it DID cause, you'd only see when the gate was operating... And so on. Of course, it depends who "they" are, too

Wow... it's just so much more straightforward to take my Cat5 run from the patchbay to the camera, put an RJ45 on it, and plug it in...

As Numb-nuts noted, there are other factors to the installation than just time. Having done several warehouse installs, I can tell you, it's not as quick-and-easy as it may look initially, and that number of cameras would probably push things to two days for two installers. Assuming this is a typical steel-truss, concrete-slab-type warehouse... pulling wires through the roof trusses is more time-consuming that you might think, and punching holes through concrete and mounting cameras to it does take a good bit longer than with basic woodframe construction. They're probably looking at renting *two* man lifts - I would expect a scissor lift for inside and a boom or bucket lift of some sort outside; I don't know about your area, but around here, we'd generally be looking at $200-$300 per day for a scissor lift, $500-$600 per day for a zoom-boom.

I think you'll find agreement that a dedicated network is always preferable, for a number of reasons: performance and security being the main ones, but not having to battle another IT person over it is another good reason. If you DO need to use an existing network, performance of the cameras themselves actually isn't usually as much of a concern, as how the camera traffic may affect other network operations.

You might be able to rig something up with mirrors in some kind of periscope configuration... doubt you could actually do anything with the lens unless you're a master with optics.

Well... I can't think of many standard analog cams at that price that I'd want to use... nevermind IP or megapixel. The eBay ones you linked to are probably as good a bet as anything. Frankly, I don't know how much I'd expect for the price they are, but they look fine on paper... The cheapest MP cameras I've actually worked with were 1.2MP Acti domes, I think they ran around $300 each... the ones I use most commonly these days are 2MP HIKvision domes that go for around $850. Aside from a couple of specialty items, I don't generally buy online, so I can't really suggest anything. You could try easterncctv.com, they've been good for me for those aforementioned specialty items. The trick is to determine the view you need for each camera, and equip it appropriately. Two or three wide views for general floor coverage, maybe some tighter views for the paypoint(s) or front door... the cameras listed can be ordered with different lenses. Check this thread for some good examples and links: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=24549 Download speed doesn't mean much - UPLOAD speed from the store will be your main bottleneck.

Unless you know everything that goes into a reseller or integrator's markup, it's not a very valid comparison. You don't know how many levels of wholesale a product might have to go through for one integrator vs. another; you're also comparing integrators from different areas where different taxes, import duties, or shipping costs may apply. Keep in mind that the S in MSRP stands for SUGGESTED... meaning nobody downstream is beholden to it by the manufacturer. The thread was split because you derailed it with your own rant, which had nothing whatsoever to do with the original thread. So does threadjacking someone else's topic with your own rants. As has already been pointed out, you ASKED SPECIFICALLY about Avigilon in your very first post. Nobody rammed it down your throat. When you later complained about their business model and stated that you wouldn't use them, you were given numerous other suggestions. That should have been the end of it, but you continued to harp on the subject and even brought it up again in someone else's thread. Unwarranted false accusations also tend to draw hostility. If I accuse you of beating your wife, how will you react? If I continually respond to your denials with little more than, "methinks he doth protest too much", will you not become hostile in defending yourself? That's because your posts on the subject contain nothing other than calling it's proponents scammers and accusations that they're ripping people off. There's no value to that, just as there's no value to this thread. Nah... but I think it's time to lock it.

You're bitter about Avigilon specifically, but the fact is, integrators that love them, love them because they're far and above the herd in quality, both the cameras and the software. The reason was explained to you. Just because Google can find it, still doesn't mean it's SUPPOSED to be available. Besides that, it was also pointed out to you that that's a very old list and the prices on it aren't applicable now. Enough with the conspiracy theories. Again, you think you have a better business model, you go ahead and use it... let us all know how it works for you.

Well, you'd need a five-port switch - four ports for cameras, one for the NVR. Maybe another if you want to uplink to the rest of your network. Several manufacturers (D-Link, TrendNet, etc.) have eight-port switches, four of which are PoE. And no, a standalone NVR is no more complicated - it, too, just connects to the cameras via the network. If it's just something you're experimenting with, you can run the NVR software on your regular desktop machine, but if it's to be an actual security system, you'd probably want a dedicated PC for it (or a standalone, although I'm a fan of PC-based, myself). So just to be clear: A DVR (whether standalone or PC) has capture hardware to digitize analog video from individual inputs. An NVR receives video data streams over the network; the video is digitized within the camera. A hybrid DVR has both capture hardware, and the ability to receive and record network streams.

So what's a guy gotta do to get a look at the beta?

Sounds like a pretty kick-ass setup... so what's the "massive instability"? Why not just address that before trying to completely re-do the front end?

I think it's a little cynical to word it as "people are in it for the money". A business HAS to be able to MAKE money, or there's no point (or like the sign I saw on a store wall once, "This is a non-profit organization. It wasn't intended to be, but that's the way it worked out.") Not to mention, they have very low overhead. They don't have to support technicians' salaries, many of them have little or no physical location to support... a guy sitting in his den on his laptop can easily get a bulk deal on a bunch of equipment (possibly factory seconds, grey market, someone else's overstock or liquidation), stuff it all in his garage, and re-sell it below dealer cost while still making a profit... and there's nothing to force him to have ANY kind of after-sale support. Meanwhile, the legitimate integrator has to continue to provide phone and on-site support before, during, and after the job... he has to go through proper channels if he wants gear that will give HIM warranty coverage... he's the one providing free advice to the customer that ends up going for the cheap way out... What's wrong with making money from both? Look at it this way: you're prancing in here spouting your utopian view of how you think businesses should be run. EVERYONE ELSE who actually does this for a living is telling you, that's not an effective, efficient, or practical way to operate (nevermind profitable). If you think your way will work, then you go ahead and open a CCTV business under that model... see how long it lasts. I can GUARANTEE you, there are others here who've tried the same thing, and if they stayed in the business, have moved away from that model, because it DOESN'T work long-term.