dahomes555

Use PSS Software. It allows you to add as many Apollo DVRs as you want and view all the cameras from multiple sites on one software platform.

Good luck on the project! Given your listed experience, I'm sure you'll figure it out no problem.

I didn't read the entire post word for word (kinda long) but here's some tips based on what I did read.

1) Dahua/QVIS DVR is a perfect fit for you. Their Zeus model DVR is very inexpensive, but still has all the features you asked for. Stepping up to the Apollo won't cost you a ton more, but it will give you a little higher quality video encoder.

2) Most exterior cameras you buy these days are going to have IR night vision on them, so I don't think it's really a "pipe dream" to hope for that. You'll honestly be hard pressed to find exterior cameras (bullet or dome) that DON'T have IR. You can get cheap bullet cameras with night vision for like $29. You'll want to spend a little bit more than that to get decent TVL and IR distance, but it shouldn't be unrealistic to find cameras in the $60-100 range that will do a fine job and fit your needs.

3) Cabling: First off, you don't really need to "ground" your Cat5. I've never heard of anyone doing that. As far as Cat5e vs Cat6 it doesn't really matter because the baluns don't actually use the "twisted pair" component of the cable in order to pass the video. You could run 22-2 cable honestly and it would transmit the video exactly the same. So, save your money and don't buy Cat6.

You can DEFINITELY buy baluns for cheaper than $8.75. If you search "bnc video balun" on amazon the first result you get will be 6 pair (12 baluns) for like $16.99. Just keep in mind that you tend to get what you pay for when you go really cheap, just like the Zmodo brand you referenced before.

Last thing I would recommend is to familiarize yourself with the laws associated with audio recording in your local area. Laws definitely protect the person you are trying to record more than they help you, so be careful any time you are wanting to record audio.

Feel free to PM me with any further questions.

I have not heard of a wifi dongle that will work. They have software/firmware protocols that need to be installed in order to work. The dvr has its own embedded Linux OS but it doesn't give you access to set up something like a wifi dongle.

If the location of your dvr does not allow you to connect to your router via Ethernet, consider a powerline network adapter. You plug one end into the power outlet by your router and the other end into the outlet by your dvr. Then a cat5 from device to router and from device to dvr and you're set.

I'm not familiar of any dvr with wifi capability. Wifi sucks at streaming constant video. Wired is always best, which is probably why manufacturers have been slow to adopt wifi.

He's asking about mobile apps. I know your netbook is small, but hardly a mobile device.

FYI, the most recent update of IPCamViewer app on iOS now supports Dahua/QVIS DVRs. Select the DVR under the manufacturer AData, then Apollo range.

Only problem I have seen is that the refresh rate is much slower than other apps, such as dmss. With dmss I get at least 1 frame per second, if not more (you can watch the time stamp in screen and see every second tick by). With IPCamViewer, the image only updates every 4-6 seconds. It is obviously the app that does this, as the other apps download at much higher speeds and don't appear to be slowed down by any issues with bandwidth.

You're right. That is poorly written!

Yeah, that should work just fine. The BNC connection is what you connect to your camera and to the DVR. That connects to the RG59 cable, but they've already done that for you.

The other end will be used to run power.

It will not work on Firefox. If you want to view from web browser, it can only be Internet Explorer because the web interface uses ActiveX to control and ActiveX is only found on Internet Explorer.

As far as the PSS goes, you shouldn't have any issues running it on 10.6.2. So where you said "where to begin," I need you to begin. Don't know what issue you're having.

That cable should be sufficient for you. The description that you gave is a little vague, but it sounds like a pre made cable with RG59 and power (not sure what gauge) with connectors already attached.

Yes, you will need a power supply for the cameras. You will want to look at the specs for the cameras you purchased. It should list the power consumption with IRs on. Make sure that the power supply you purchase will provide enough power. Most power supplies provide 850mA to 1A, so you should be fine since I've rarely seen any decent cameras that draw more than 500mA, but just make sure.

I've never seen anything from Monoprice that does 30fps at D1. Often times they will list D1 30fps, but keep in mind that that is divided amongst the 4 channels in the DVR. What you want to look for is D1 120 fps (120/4 channels = 30 fps per channel.)

Not a lot of great stuff that consistently works with Blackberry. Every Blackberry has a different OS that will work on some and not work on others. I've finally had to tell my customers that we do not support remote viewing via Blackberry because it just creates a nightmare with some older Blackberrys (older than 1-2 years).

Get with the times and ditch the Blackberry man! Maybe you need it for work, and there's nothing you can do about it if that's the case. But iPhone, Android, and Windows phones all blow the Blackberry away if you have a choice.

Need information on what DVR you use. There isn't a general iPad/iPhone/Android app that works with all DVRs.

QVIS. Super easy to set up and does everything you've asked for.

Don't both with CIF resolution, though (half D1.) Even though the QVIS DVR will only do 7 fps @ D1, you'll see a much better image at D1 than you will in CIF at 30 fps.

Wireless cameras are unreliable and lower quality at a premium price in my opinion. The only time I would consider using them is if wired is not an option. They also tend to be very proprietary, so if you want to upgrade cameras or the DVR later, you have to stay within the same brand and they may not have upgraded equipment available. And even wireless cameras still need to have power, so they aren't completely wireless anyway. If you have to run a power wire, you might as well run the video at the same time and get a higher quality wired camera.

Dahua DVRs will do everything you are asking for (other than the wireless cameras) at a very affordable price. Available in the US under a few different names, but the best to buy is QVIS. Best price and 3 year warranty on DVR.

Two things to check:

1) Make sure that you are running Lion. I know this seems like a simple step but if you aren't running Lion, the method you are trying to use won't work. Click on the Apple icon (top left) then "About this Mac." If the version number is 10.7.x, then you are running Lion. If it is anything besides that, you are running a previous OS.

2) If you are sure you are running Lion, try open xQuartz first, then open PSS. Make sure you have v 4.04. That should work. It was a little bit quirky the first time I opened it, but it has worked just fine ever since.

Try uninstalling PSS completely then re-install it. Make sure you have the most recent version, which can be found at:

http://www.bahamassecurity.com/go/?url=www.mediafire.com/?962o0q91snknln6&title=Dahua%20PSS%20MAC%20LION%204.04.7.T.20110815

Nope, you shouldn't have any problems at all. Bootcamp allows you to install a full, complete, install of Windows (or any other OS.) Internet explorer runs just fine.

I hope not! I like it's functionality way better.

Use DMSS, not iDMSS for the functionality we have discussed.

No, that's not correct. For simplicity, the app just shows Cam 1-4 on the home screen. In the bottom right corner, there is an icon to switch pages (5-8, 9-12, 13-16).

The app will automatically determine the number of pages based on the max number of channels on your DVR. So if you have a 4 CH DVR, the app won't give you more than the 1st page. If it is an 8 or 16, then the pages will adjust accordingly. If you have downloaded the app and tried to view the "Demo" acct that comes loaded on it, you'll probably see just 1-4 because it is only a 4 Ch. DVR. Trust me, with an 8 or 16 Ch DVR you can view them all. I have a customer with 26 16 Ch DVRs installed and he LOVES the app. We have all 26 DVRs loaded onto his DMSS Pro App on his iPhone and he can view all 16 channels on any store within seconds. It works really well.

The DMSS-Pro app on iPhone doesn't require you to add/remove cameras each time. You can add in the settings for each DVR you want to use and then it is very easy to switch from one DVR to the other. From there, you just hit play and one camera at a time pulls up. To switch cameras, you just tap the camera number that you want to see and it pops right up.

I agree with previous posters that having 4 (or more) cameras on screen at a time isn't good. Of all the DVR apps I use, I actually like DMSS the best for ease of use and ability to view multiple DVRs easily without having to constantly change settings.

IP Cam Viewer is available for iPhone, unfortunately the developer hasn't loaded codecs for most H.264 compression DVRs yet. I emailed him a few months ago about that and he said the code is more complex on iPhone with H.264 than for MPEG, so he will get to the H.264 DVRs at some point in the future.

Take the wifi adapter back. The guy didn't know what he was talking about. That device requires you to load a driver onto the computer you are connecting it to. You can't load that driver onto your dvr, so it won't work.

Here's an EASY solution:

Plug your Airport Express in next to your dvr. Make sure it is set up in "Extend a wireless network" mode. Then connect your dvr to your Airport Express with an Ethernet cable (it has one Ethernet port on it) and bam! Your DVR is now on the network!

If you got port 80 to open, then you are doing it right. Just copy exactly what you did to open port 80 for the other ports and it should work just fine.

I find it very very unlikely that your ISP would be blocking port 8000 and 9000, but not port 80. So you must just be doing something wrong.

When you are setting up your port forwarding and it starts for the start and end port, those should both be 8000. Then repeat for 9000. If you set it up with 8000 as start and 9000 as end, you've done it wrong.

A great feature is a model that has 12vdc output. This will allow you to power your camera as well as view the video. This has come in handy a few times to troubleshoot a camera that wasn't working (i.e. is the camera bad, or do I have a bad connection somewhere on my power supply.)

Pretty much any monitor you buy is going to have much higher resolution than the DVR you're using can put out. A 1920x1200 monitor is going to have 2x the resolution of the cameras you are connecting to it. Unfortunately, if youre connecting it to an analog DVR, the maximum video it can record anyway is 486 lines anyway.

So basically, hook up pretty much any VGA monitor and you're going to be set.

If you are viewing on your laptop screen, keep in mind that the video you are viewing is compressed in order to allow it to pass over a network connection without it killing your bandwidth. So the image will never look as sharp on your computer as it will on a monitor connected directly to the DVR unless you are somehow to disable all compression by the DVR, which most are not capable of.

Gotta love those translations.

I found the user manual for your router online. You can access it here:

http://onlinehelp.verizon.net/consumer/bin/pdf/Vz9100EM_user_guide.pdf

The instructions for port forwarding setup are on page 95. Looks pretty standard and straight forward.

Now, lets get the rest of the networking set up. It would be helpful if you had given the model number, but these are the basics with most DVRs:

1) connect the DVR to your router and assign it an IP address. You should not use DHCP, as you will want the address to be static. Without making things too hard on yourself you can just assign an address to the DVR that is at the end of the address range specified in your router. For example, if your default gateway is 192.168.0.1 and your router is set with 50 addresses, that means the last possible address is 192.168.0.50. So maybe assign your router 192.168.0.49. That should help avoid any conflicts.

2) port forwarding. Use the manual above for assistance. Try to decipher from the DVR manual which ports need to be opened. There are usually at least 2 ports, with 80 typically being one of them. You can use a service like www.yougetsignal.com when you are done to check if you opened your ports successfully.

3) once your ports are opened you are basically done! Open a browser window on a computer on the same network and type in the LAN ip address you assigned in step 1.

4) to access remotely, you will need to know your WAN ip address. You can find this out by going to website like www.ipchicken.com. Then you can just type in that address from a computer not on yore same network as the DVR. (try hopping on your neighbors unsecured wifi, go to Starbucks, or call a friend.)

5) once you have gotten that done, pat yourself on the back! The only other thing you would maybe need is to set up a dynamic DNS acct if your ip address from Verizon is not static. You can set that up for free at www.dyndns.org. Let me know if you need help with that.