shockwave199

There's no specific brand or model that's inherently "better suited" to CCTV systems. There are some features you can look for that may be useful, such as:

 

Port-range forwarding. Most can forward one port per entry, but if you need to forward two, three, or more ports to the same destination, you might want one that will let you specify a series or range of ports in a single entry. Functionally, there's no difference, it's just convenience in setting it up.

 

UPnP support. If your DVR supports UPnP for its port forwarding, a router that supports it as well will allow the DVR to configure the port forwarding on the router itself.

 

Customizable DDNS support. Most routers have DDNS client support, but most of those only have one or two DDNS services pre-configured (like dyndns.com) and if you're not using one of those services, it doesn't do you any good. Many better models let you specify any DDNS service you want (provided you have the proper URL information), or have a wider range of supported providers.

 

QoS (Quality of Service) support. With computers, cameras and/or DVRs that support this, it allows you to allocate bandwidth to specific devices or specific types of data, which could be useful to ensure your video gets the bandwidth it needs if someone is using the router/internet connection for other data-intensive transfers... or to ensure that your video data doesn't interfere with other types of data by throttling it back when others want more bandwidth.

 

VPN Server. This will let you tunnel into your router from outside, and set up a VPN between your remote system and the network the DVR is on. This is a rare feature on most stock routers unless you get small-business models.

 

If you're a little more technical, look for routers that support flashing with DD-WRT, a very powerful third-party firmware. That will give you all of the above features, and many more. Check http://www.dd-wrt.com for a list of supported brands and models. I have two D-Link DIR-615s I've flashed with DD-WRT (among others, like a couple older Linksys units); they're a nice, solid, small-form-factor 802.11n router that can be found relatively cheap. With multiple units, you can set up a wireless bridge, and with multiple units that use the same chipset, you can set up a WDS bridge or MESH network.

This is an excellent list. I would add one more- self healing. That's a soft reboot you can schedule daily from within the router. I would figure in most residential situations, aside from desktops and cctv dvr's being hooked up directly to the router, wireless is involed as well. Self healing goes a long way to helping the wireless side of the puzzle. And perhaps- the dvr too maybe. My dvr supports a soft reboot schedule too but it being wired in, I don't see the need.

QOS- something I have been very keen on understanding. My home network is doing fine and everyone on it, from wireless to my cctv system is happy. So I don't like to fix what ain't broke. But QOS does interest me. In my router, it's set to automatic and anything manual to change gets confusing so I opt not to mess with a happy network. But I'll wager it could be a VERY good option to have and adjust, if you know what the heck you're doing.

I always default to this dude, who is so good with his series. This is the QOS part of it-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNPGfcxHqMA&feature=player_embedded

Btw- My idea of a good router is one that lasts longer than 2-3 years before the self destruction starts. I've yet to find that from netgear or linksis. My belkin has only been in line for 8 months or so- too early to tell.

Dan

Thanks for the tips. I use windex with vinegar brand on countertops inside. The vinegar doesn't particularly clean better, but ants and such are supposed to be repelled by it. Not sure about that- an exterminater wipes out those problems. But thanks for pointing out my cheap bullets have glass. I'll consdier all options mentioned.

Dan

Thanks guys, and yes, I mean the galss not the lense. The rain-x, I love it for my windshield wiper fluid. No greasy film with the wipes?

Dan

If my house windows can get filthy, I figure my camera lenses are in the same boat. They've already been through some heavy rain. Any recommendations on how? Not a deep question, but I figure I would just use micro fiber cloth and wipe gently, being careful not to cause scatches. But is a cleaner in order, or just dampen the cloth? What say you? Thanks.

Btw- I'm talking bullet cams, not dome housings.

Dan

All in one systems are never that great.

Best to get the DVR and cameras separate.

That is the single best advice to give anyone at the starting line, imo. And it's the single best piece of advice to heed, as the newbie. It's just this simple- do a search here in the appropriate forums to find the dvr's that are favored. Luckily, the patience is very good for this group of people in the know, and they make suggestions time and time again. Do the same for cameras. Check signature links to help aid your desicion. Talk is talk, but examples of picture and video are very helpful too. There are examples here from budget systems, right on up to great systems. Understand what YOUR needs are and balance that with the levels of quality you'll find here. Buy the dvr that suits your needs. Buy the cameras that suits your needs- and the cables. Keep two things in mind in the end- set your budget a bit past what you wanted to spend because most all newbies want to spend the least we can, but the quality just won't be good enough to be useful doing that. You can't buck the system- cheap out too much and you'll know it almost immediatley after killing yourself installing it all. And I can tell you- that is a depressing moment my friend! And if you can, invest in an eight channel dvr. You'll be glad you have the extra channels, I can promise you.

Good luck to you.

Dan

I'd be interested in that answer too. All I know is they are great for me! And I came from lower res cams and there is no way I could be satisfied with them, nor go back to them. This type of camera would be my default lowest res cam- nothing less.

Dan

I have the QS408. I really like this dvr, but there are even better options that I would surely upgrade to if I was compelled to do so.

you can always choose the substream on your DVR to view at less than D1 but still record at D1 if bandwidth is a problem.

you can always choose the substream on your DVR to view at less than D1 but still record at D1 if bandwidth is a problem.

That is a feature that I don't believe my dvr has- or at least it isn't secified in the manual. It may be an automatic thing, but I have no choices of substream or not.

So shop around. Don't take my word for anything- I'm new to the process too. My system works for me, but there are obviously much better dvr's out there to choose from. Best to consider more closely what the real pros here are suggesting. Good luck.

Dan

LOL! Yes, I'm talking about viewing. Sorry- I almost always look at the puzzle in relation to live remote viewing. I actually VIEW my system remotely all night long, so balancing bewteen D1, fps, and resolution comes into play big time when viewing remotely, live. Viewing the drv directly locally- no problem. And of course recording D1 is a great thing. Any highest setting for recording anything is always best. I would just balance my recording schedule and motion sensing options to get the most out of the hard drive along the way. In my scenario, because I view my system along with another one as part of my empoyment, I choose not to have a recording schedule at all on my residential system. I manually record any or all channels if needed to save the hard drive some space and work.

Dan

I think what he's asking is did you use the cheap thin cables that come with the package. And I'm guessing you did. I did as well. I suppose that is a big part of it but my pictures are fine for my eyes, for now. I always said that when I upgrade to REALLY good cameras I would upgrade the cables too. Considering the hell it was running the cables, I should have done it first thing. But honestly, all looks fine with my cables to me. For you, what cameras are you using, first off? It could be no matter what you feed them with- cables and dvr- they're still gonna look bad. Within a month I changed out my cameras to better ones- all eight of them now. The dvr you have in line doesn't provide any of those features you mention? What doesn't it do, from the list you put forth?

D1 is a great number to throw out there. D1 on all channels. Yes, I suppose that's at least what anyone would want and there are dvr's that certainly support that. But in my experience, even HD-1 [half D1] is just fine. With eight cameras in line, you're gonna have to see if your network can support such high quality with all of them. And that means supporting it and leaving bandwidth left for everyone else to surf the internet in your home, or whatever else is going on with other users tapping into your bandwidth/router. D1 is one thing, but if you're forced to drop the fps low and the resolution low just to have decent image flow over all eight cameras, all of a sudden that D1 number is compromised. So I take D1 on all channels kinda with a grain of salt, unless you have the bandwidth from your router/network to truely handle the spec and do it justice. Get a great dvr- no harm in that for sure. But you'll probably need to upgrade those stock cameras too. I use a q-see 408 dvr and it does everything you have on your list except it only does D1 on two channels and you have to drop the fps to 7.5 to get it. Frankly, I don't care. I use HD-1 on all channels at 20fps, all on highest resolution and get very good images- keeping everything happy. But that's me. Someone will jump in a recommend a great dvr. I think a Dahua seems great and not a lot of bucks. People seem to love samsung's too. But I would plan on upgrading all cameras too- it's gonna happen, trust me. If you like almost everything about the dvr, I'd put the bucks towards better cameras first and then see if a dvr is really needed. Good luck.

Dan

Very nice job that matie. Thanks for sharing.

You're very welcome.

SG- if you're gonna hijack a thread, it's common courtesy to at least acknowledge the OP first. Or better yet, start your own thread maybe.

Dan

From the 528 manual-

NOTE! While each camera can have its resolution and frame rate set independently of the other cameras, the DVR may limit the frame rate available to a camera based on the settings of other cameras.

That's an interesting little disclaimer. Not sure how that would translate for each individual user. Guess you'd have to see. I have a qsee 408- I got the package via amazon. In my experience the dvr is really great. Even the cameras are ok for what they are, but within a month I switched out the whole lot of them for better cameras. Take a look at my vids in my signature. There's a bunch of them on my experience with my chosen gear.

Dan

Funny, I've had the same cable modem for probably ten years (Motorola Surfboard 5110), no problems. Just offhand, can't think of anyone else who's had a cable modem die. DSL modems, on the other hand... I've replaced two or three for customers in just the last three years.

 

Our Cable comes in on the poles and they like to get hit when lightning strikes around here .. most common cause for those failures here.

There are no poles in my neighborhood- everything is run underground. This is the first place I ever lived with this setup. Always had poles. Sounds great? Not the case. Everytime it rains things can get funky. If the system isn't sunk properly or maintained well, water will wreck havoc and it's a LOT more likely than a lightening strike. So as much as I thought it was great to have all cables underground and not hanging on poles, it has it's problems too. About the only thing that's really better about it is that trees don't pull down lines in storms and the need for the town to prune [and that budget] is absent.

Dan

I've also had my cable modem for over a decade- a surfboard. I think this thing will outlast me. If a dsl ran THAT hot, it would call for a cooling fan mod for sure.

Something like that or even just a small fan on the modem 24/7 would be very worth it. The heat is not only killing the device faster, but I'm sure it's effecting it's performance in a very bad way as well.

Dan

Amen on sh-canned. With routers, frequent odd behavior warrants a new one, if you ask me. IME, netgear was my worst router, linksys was better but died a fairly early death too. Currently I'm using belkin and it's been surprisingly stable, even now when stressed with eight channels of cctv. Two things help- firmware updates when available, and if you router supports it- a self healing schedule. That's just setting a once a day schedule to do an internal soft reboot. Man has that been great. I set it an hour or so before I get going for the day and it has really helped clear up stalls and jams along the way. If I could set it for twice a day I would, it's that great. My dvr supports the same function, but I don't need to do it. Any gear you have in line that supports scheduling an automatic soft reboot- do it. Everything in life needs a fresh start- especially finicky network stuff. Good luck. Btw- when this belkin dies I'm going for d-link as well. So many people love d-link. I'll be next in line.

Dan

Thanks for those suggestions Mike. Short of being easy with the dvr, I'll probably go with something like this-

Either that or I'll just upgrade to a dvr that supports the function. I'm not much of a tinkerer. Plug & play all the way! Or, I might cheap out and go with something just as effective, only my remote switch would be a human-

Dan

Here's a day video. These are really tough to do because of mp4 compression. It's kind of counter productive to show the quality of cctv veiws, and then have that quality compromised by rendering compression. But so be it, we're talking amature diy stuff here and considering there isn't much help for people at this level to view somewhat comprehensive videos, I make this effort. When I was shopping and planning for my install, vids like these would have been golden and such a help. In that spirit, hopefully this helps other diy'ers get some ideas for their installs.

I'll have a total of three vids on my setup, which will be in my signature link. Thanks for watching!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcWBo4rNsm4

And here's my last one, covering my install with camera placement-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mc9a-MYNtZk

Dan

Have you tried tweaking any of the display settings in the dvr for each camera? There should be picture settings to adjust. Could be your hue is off and you need to drop the saturation a ton. Thing is though- blue skin and all is just pointing to REALLY poor cameras. I've had some q-see cmos cameras up and the landscape colors weren't accurate because there is no IR cutoff- which I believe is your problem coupled with just a horrid camera. But even still, my cameras showed accurate color for clothing and skin. You could identify what colors someone was wearing perfectly, or the colors of cars, but the leaves on the trees in the same shot were purple. Your colors are just whacked, totally. Try adjusting and if all else fails, return the package for something better. Good luck.

Dan

Very cool. Thanks for all that.

Dan

Awesome! Love everything about your system! Those cams are sweet man. I just may have to treat myself to one or two per year until I hit eight of 'em.

Just when I get all happy with my setup, you have to go and post this! Software looks really good too. Yes- night vid is in order!

I am very happy with my setup- repeat 100 times till gear lust subsides.

There, I feel better now.

Dan

No, don't want voice at all. I don't want a PIR to trip anything either- much too risky tripping off an alarm I can't hear remotely. I simply [i had hoped] wanted to hook up a siren to the dvr that I could, remotely through the software, engage for a moment if need be. Turn on/off manually, remotely. Not sure my dvr can do this considering the settings I have in the alarm page. I see the newer model q-see dvr supports manual alarm triggering- it has a spearate software control button that turns it on/off and also has a spot for an IP address. Mine doesn't have a manual trigger button in the software. Only NO/NC/OFF. I thought maybe just switching to the oppposite- either NO or NC could trigger it manually, if something was hooked up. Seems like I may have to spend even more bucks for a web switch if I really want to do this. I was hopeful my dvr could somehow accomodate manually triggering a siren on and off, but if it ain't so, oh well. Adam- thanks so much for your help in trying.

Dan

According to the manual towards the end-

ALARM I/O

VOLTAGE

0-2V, low voltage, 5-30V high voltage

In looking at my alarm settings in the dvr, I don't think the 408 supports manual triggering in this kind of setup. Darn.

Dan

Thanks, you might want to increase coverage on the cars if possible.

That's a tricky spot for me. On the left just out of frame is a lighted lampost. So I can't go too far. The only option is a different camera placement- looking straight down the driveway. But I'm not thrilled with how that will work out. What I was really suggesting is that there are even better cameras out there than q-see, for less bucks when comapring specs. And without all the fidgiting with added IR. And with much better shells. Eight q-see cams came with my package. One is all that remains and that one will go as well. I'm not saying to spend 350 bucks or more on a camera. There's budget cameras that do perform well. But no one should have to pay over 100 bucks for cheap marginal spec cams and shell just because there's a name on it. There are ways around that in the cheap market- getting even more for the same money. Good luck.

Dan

Hi,

Check out my vid from this thread for some more food for thought.

viewtopic.php?f=53&t=26639

Dan

Tip. Regarding the multi client software, try dragging the group name to box 1 to connect to and load all cameras ... works for other software so may work with that one.

Thanks Rory. I'll look closely at tweaking that for sure.

One correction- the cameras were a little more expensive than 50 bucks, but not by much- 60 bucks.

I do love this whole thing. I got hooked for sure. But an eight cam system is all I need at my residence. I foresee my hobby being just chasing down problems, cleaning lenses, webs, and such. Just trying to keep the whole shebang as good as it is right now. I am trying to get some family to think about the same system too though- at residences and a business. After all, my software is for multi client and I watch the cams all night long. I suppose I AM sniffing around to expand the hobby.

The dvr is a q-see 408. I'm very happy with it. This summer has been anything but smooth sailing with power outages and storms. The dvr and the cameras continue to hold steady and strong. I have no delusions about the whole system being budget- cheap. But I figure if I hang around here and maybe update on a diy install such as mine, maybe all us diy'ers can learn a thing or two from the experience.

Thanks a bunch for checking in guys. I continue to learn a lot from you all who know so much. Looking forward to sharing more.

Dan

I did this short vid of my finished install- shot in remote view at night. Not one of these cameras was over 50 bucks- a few under 50 bucks. Considering the amazing quality I've seen here from great cameras, these cheap cameras do fall short, obviously. But for a diy job on a tight budget just to get a system up a running, I think it's quite adequit. Perhaps I'm bias though!

Seven cameras are gadspots; bullets and domes, 520's and a 560 tvl, and one q-see 400 tvl cmos that came with my package. I opted rather quickly to change the q-see cams out to gadspots to upgrade my viewing quality. I'm pleased. And I hope maybe this will be of interest to other residential diy'ers out there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IF6KhI_eGT0

Dan