Razer_SE

What specifically are you planning on uploading, all video or just when an event occurs? If you want literally all video I would advise against that as the bandwidth requirements and storage requirements are huge. If each site you had only recorded 100mb a day, and you have 50 sites, it sure adds up quickly! If you are only accessing and downloading events as they happen you want to search first and then download only the video that you need and that will vary depending on each event, how many cameras got something, how long the event took etc. I had a break in last year where they were onsite for two hours so there was a lot of video to get, then I have had events with less than 3 minutes of footage. Downloading one took a while, the other was almost instant. You are limited by the upload speed at the remote site almost always.

I am in the US unfortunately. You are in the same boat as me, my video storage is local on my properties, the only time I ever use any bandwidth at all is when I have to access video stored there, then it is uploaded to me and I save it locally for review or to send to police. In my case, I access and look at video, then select what time frame and cameras I need, then that is downloaded in a single file to me via my Exacq NVR software that I personally use. I build a normal desktop computer and just add hard drives as needed for my storage. Not sure what your requirements are for storage amounts and backups and such so your needs may differ. For me at my locations 2gb recording only on motion will get me 90 days even at a busier location with 8-10 ip cameras.

Yes, there is an NVR at each site. The hardware cost is minimal really, I am building my smaller IP only Exacq systems and only purchasing by larger systems that need analog cameras. The ones I purchase are expensive, but the ones that I build are actually quite cheap. I'm building them for under $500 and they are working perfectly. I build i3 systems with 4gb of ram and at least 1tb of drive space, usually 2tb. I only record on motion so I don't usually need more than 2tb. My bandwidth usage is minimal, I actually use wireless data cards with cradlepoint routers so I'm limited to 5gb or 10gb a month depending on the plan. That causes no issues and for me results in the best speed too as virtually all of them are 4g LTE connections so I get good upload speeds of like 10-14mb at the remote site. Really, the upload speed at the remote is the most important, usually with a standard cable connection around here anyway you get 20mb down and 4mb up. The 20 down does the property no good at all as there is no one there to use any of it in most cases, all I ever use is the upload speed when I am pulling something remotely. So the average standard cable connection will be fine for you accessing the sites as it is faster than they will ever upload at in most cases. If you are not pulling video then you are using no bandwidth. At $500 you have as much in the hardware of the NVR as you would in a good NAS device. One license plate camera actually costs me more lol! I have to add in my license costs in my case, but you will have that in some form no matter what you chose.

I use the manufacturer utility to upgrade all the cameras firmware at once, though rarely do I bother as the cameras usually are working fine as they are. If I am working on a site for some reason I would upgrade if I'd ever had any issues, but I rarely have issues so it's not a big deal. I would upgrade if I was adding a new camera at a site that was the same model with a newer firmware as I like them all to match for example, but normally the cameras are working fine and there is no need to mess with them. Using ACTi for example, I see all cameras at once in the utility, choose them all and select the firmware and hit upgrade and it does them all and I don't have to do a thing. With Avigilion I can adjust all camera settings, on an ACTi or Vivotek or Axis for example, in the remote console? That would be nice I can see, and is a very cool feature. Being able to adjust events in the cameras event server and the like would be awesome.

Yeah, not a ton of fun but I very rarely have to adjust one of those settings. Usually my default config of the cameras works fine, but I might occasionally need to tweak WDR or something odd that requires me to log in and adjust in the web interface. Not all that bad though overall.

Yes, this solution thewireguys has is the same that I would recommend and is how I do it too. We thought about trying to stream all the video back to one source but the amount of bandwidth and storage I'd need is staggering really. So for example now a site with a local VMS can record and store as much as I want and it will never use an single bit of data until I access it to either remotely view a camera or pull some video footage. Works perfectly fine, and is very reliable. I have a video wall rotating some cameras from every site though, so in my case I do use data all the time. For most users this is not needed though I suppose. I put VNC on my servers so I have full remote control of them as needed to access camera settings that might not be available to adjust remotely. I also have a UPS with an NMC card in it so I can remotely reboot and such as needed, and lastly I have a powerstone device that pings the internet every so often, if internet is lost it will then automatically power cycle the modem and router and try again. This way my internet connections are virtually never down and no one even has to visit for simple stuff!

In theory that will work, but it will not be so easy to setup I don't think. You will still need a local computer to access camera settings through via VNC or something, and to be able to see the cameras during setup and such. At that point you might as well have a PC based NVR in most cases. There are exceptions of course, and I'm sure someone will have a solution that might work with a Synology NAS or something. In my case I have a DVR/NVR at each location and just use my software locally to access and pull footage as needed from each machine. I have 50ish separate remote sites now with 2-23 cameras each all managed from my laptop really. I'll be at 70ish sites by the end of the year. I use Exacq, but there are other great options like Avigilon that handle that many sites very well.

Yep, that is a perfect explanation, the in-between sucks bad everything else is great.

I swear that adjustment does nothing lol, I normally set the adjustment to go into night mode at 1 out of 100 and I still have issues. Even set at one, with the auto exposure adjustment to 1 to keep gain as low as possible and still get get bad color images. It would be fine if it'd would go into night mode, but it stubbornly clings to day mode.

I'd say the odds of catching a plate at that distance at night with cars moving is close to zero. I have 20+ of these cameras out in the field specifically to catch LPs at exit gates where the car is stopped. There are still plenty of times where I'll have issues at 20m due to lighting conditions and such. The camera is great, but I've had to add lighting and do lots of camera tweaking to get the plates even that close at night. During the day there is no issue at all though, but the night will still mess with it. Worst of all is when there is just enough light to keep it from going into night mode, then you get a blocky color view that sucks, and has a lot of motion in it when trying to only record motion events. I have to keep upping the shutter speed to get it to go into night mode, then I finally get a night mode that is darker than it should be. I wish I could make a schedule the camera to go into night mode at say 9pm, and come out at 7am for example, ACTi does not have that option for some reason. The IR for me anyway is close to useless as it is pointing at black asphalt, the IR is not very strong at all in my opinion and is very limited on what it can do. Still, it is the best LP I've used for our needs and I have 6 more on the shelf getting ready to go to more of our properties!

I too want to do a time lapse on a construction project we are doing now. I have two ACTi TCM-1111 cameras but I'd prefer to store the images locally on the DVR if at all possible as the internet connection comes and goes at times. Cameras are already setup and working with Exacq on the property. Have to look in the cameras and see what my options are for doing a time lapse.

If you need an email address for them I can get you one where I order, or you could just call them up and order that way too. They just charge my amex every time I place and order, no issues. Yes, if you have five separate locations or sites, you can only connect to them one at a time. There is a list of sites, you click the checkbox by the site you want to connect to and then you are on that one, click the next site and it will disconnect the first site and connect you to the second one and so on. This is only in start, really designed for home use or single locations I suppose. That is literally the only thing that we as a business need that keeps us from using start. We currently have 50 separate locations and servers and I prefer to have them all connected all the time when I open my client. Another user connects to just the one site he wants even though he can connect to them all, he chooses to use it like start works and checks the site he needs out of the list each time. If you want multiple sites simultaneously like watching a single camera from four different locations on one screen then you'll need the standard license.

I deal with Koorsen to buy my Exacq licenses. I have two sets of licenses coming form them today actually. I just email the number of cameras I want, what license (start, standard, enterprise) I want and the mac address plus how many years of licensing. They then send me the key in my email in a day or two, easy. I would recommend getting a separate NIC that you could move from computer to computer, so if it ever does the license can travel with the NIC to the new PC. I buy $30 Intel gigabit pcie NICs for the servers I build and license to that mac. Start licenses are $50 per camera, and I think $10 a year beyond one. So for 4 cameras for 5 years of support and updates would be $400 total at MSRP. I pay less but I purchase a ton too, you might find better deals out there. Start would be enough for us as a business except that you can only connect to one server at a time and we have 50 right now. For home use I'd get start myself as there is nothing that I need in the higher versions personally.

Thanks for weighing in on the camera, glad to hear it is as good as I hoped. After looking at more at the prices I got from ADI they are actually over MSRP as stated in the press release from Axis when they were released. I've never ran into that before lol. I saw the partner levels last night and the requirements for such a small discount is pretty dumb. Were I reselling cameras I would not bother with Axis I don't think, glad I'm just using what I get. Appreciate the feedback on the camera everyone, thanks!

I was just wondering if anyone has used the new 360 cameras from Axis, the M3007-P and the M3007-PV. I have used a couple of the ACTi hemispheric cameras and they preform alright, but when using them for a 180 panoramic view you only get half quality and though it works ok, I would sure like more resolution. Anyone that has used one, or seen video examples online, I'd love to hear what you thought. Wondering if the Axis would be a major jump, the only video I have seen of them working are factory type videos and I like to see third party "real" videos before I make the decision. I priced them though ADI and they are way higher than I can get them from literally anyone else so I guess I'll be buying online if I decide to get a few. ADI was over $70 higher than Amazon for instance! I get my ACTi cameras from ADI and get great deals, Axis not so much it seems.

On par with Mobotix sounds good to me as I have really liked their cameras, just not liked the prices. If so then the pricing on the Axis looks even better. The locations my cameras would be for now would all be totally lit 24hrs a day so low light is less of an issue for now, but I'd like to test them anyway as I know how the ACTi ones work at night. Thanks for the pricing information, I may see what I can do as I do like to have a warranty available to me just in case. I'll see about getting registered with them, maybe get one first and ensure I like it then do the work. I have liked Axis images but never used them as they do not make what I need usually, like bullets. Domes I use rarely in our camera situation, and I've had great luck with Vivoteks domes recently so I never bothered with Axis. I'll shoot you the price I got too Tom.

ACTi actually has some pretty well reviewed software that comes with all the cameras. I've never tried it myself, but I know a lot of people think it does a great job - as long as you use all ACTi cameras!

Well, I finally got my ACTi e31 cameras in and am starting my testing and such now. So far so good, like the overall image I'm getting with them a lot better than some of the older bullets. At first this looks fun, then it looks like work....

Ha, yes, I did not convert my bytes to kb when I was in a hurry. Lol, I get the same numbers as you once a reran my numbers, about 1.2gb for 14 days per camera at my 4mp settings on two I checked this morning. With the OP wanting 8 cameras, I still think something like 6tb would be wanted to get a basic 14-20 day time recording. OP never mentioned if it needed to be 24hrs a day, that would make a big difference too. Sorry for my broke math lol!

I was figuring 8 cameras at 15fps averaging 40000 bytes per second streams. (h.264) That is average for my 4mp ACTi cameras running variable bit rate high quality. I think it was 43tb for 14 days. I have some that are much higher I noticed when looking though. Some as high as 250,000 bytes per second. I can go lower, but see a noticeable difference in quality, and I use them to get license plates so I need the high quality stream. I could well be off, these were quick and dirty calculations lol. Some of my one megapixel cameras stream 2,000 bytes per second, then another of the exact same camera with the same settings at the same site will be at 16,000 bytes per second. Depends on the scene a lot, so you may vary. I have over 70tb of storage now, but I record on motion and I have multiple sites so most sites record to say only 1-2tb getting me anywhere from as low as 30 days to as much as one site with 302 days right now. Must not be busy there lol! My goal is for at least 90 days storage, I'll be working on that more once we finish rolling out the next 20-30 sites.

When you say massive hard drive you are not kidding around! How many days of archived time are you going to need, and is this 24hrs a day or 8-5 or? I have to run some calculations, but you are really talking a lot of HD space to say the least, plus I would want some redundancy for a drive writing that heavily non stop. I roughly came up with about 40+tb for say 14 days with a quick minute figuring if 24 hours a day using my average 4mp stream from an ACTi camera! As others have said, processor will totally depend on the client you are planning on using. Some are light and some are not, I use i3 processors but I have a light client.

I know you review a lot of cameras, but I have to say that while I do not consider Vivotek to be top shelf by any means, I use a few of their cameras with great results. I had a few early 8332 bullet cameras die, but they were replaced quickly and I've had no issues since. Picture quality is amazingly good, better than comparable ACTi in many cases. I just got in 8 more Vivotek domes as I cannot get an ACTi to preform well at all at night no matter the setting where the Vivotek works perfectly, in in color no less! I tried 4 different ACTi domes to no avail, so I now have all ACTi cameras usually except for Vivotek domes. I have yet to have one fail too which is fine with me. Comparing side by side the Vivotek picture quality is better than my ACTi's, I'm hoping the new line of cameras they are making with the new chip they made will improve the overall image quality, I get artifacts that should just not be there currently.

Is the E31 buggy too? I hope not as I have a bunch on the way already....

Two to three seconds or so delay has been my experience with the Dahua cameras when I view them in IE also. I have only used them in basic testing, but in the web browser that was normal behavior for me.

I say go for a PC, it gives you options to change your software and such and is much more capable and flexible overall. I have used both, all of our standalone NVR/DVRs are being switched out to go to a totally PC solution. Some software solutions need a powerful PC, some do not. I use Exacq for example and it uses very little PC power, I have it running 8 camera systems on a few year old Pentium Dual core machine with 2gb ram and it uses only about 10% cpu normally. Even displaying all cameras and messing with it it usually is only about 40% on that old hardware. Not saying Exacq is right for you, just giving you an example of super low CPU usage. You could buy a $400 i3 machine and add a 3tb HD for $130 and be all set in computer when using Exacq for example. Much better than a standalone at that price to me anyway. Other software may be cheaper, but if I then spend $800-$1000 more on the CPU, is it really a better deal? Camera wise it depends. Higher MP cameras are awesome during the day, then not so good at night usually. As in amazingly bad in some cases. If you have great lighting then no issues. If not, then 1-2mp cameras would be best depending on the cameras. I use 1 and 2mp cameras from ACTi usually and they work great, and the price is good too. I just purchased 20 of the new e31 cameras and will see how these new ones work soon. I also use the hemispheric cameras and the 5611 box camera. Hemispheric camera would be an amazing porch camera imo, in my case I'm using one to get an overall view of a whole office, it replaced 3 analog cameras! Be neat to get that huge overall view of the front of a house for example. There are tons of options, it will take some work to figure out what works best for you!