drdave

Exacq is like most commercial NVR solutions that require a software support fee. Having said that, the ipad client interfaces to the server via the web interface. If you open safari on your ipad and go to the IP address of your NVR server (if you don't know it, it should be in the exacq app config). You should see a web page with two choices, Choose the Exacq Mobile Client and you will find it works just like the dedicated ipad app. Since it pulls everything from your server in this case, you won't have the problem with version mismatch that is happening with the official client, so it should work fine even tho you are on an older version. The other choice (thin client) works well on desktop browsers if you have a need for that from remote.

So far I've had good luck buying Hikvision cameras from Aliexpress. I like the new offerings from them too. I saw in another thread that Costco has a new camera listed: http://www.costco.com/Swann-1080p-HD-IP-Vari-Focal-Dome-Camera.product.100070462.html It appears to be the DS-2CD2732F-I. So in this case, you have a US option.

In another thread, I was reading about a new offering from HIKvision. This new Swan appears to be the DS-2CD2732F-I. A good picture and specs are available at: http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/HIKVISION-30-meters-1080P-IR-dome-network-cameras-support-POE-DS-2CD2732F-I/420258_1077716612.html This looks to be another in the DS-2CD2X32F series. So it will be the same imager/software as the popular Swan Bullet. I expect we should be able to flash this to 3MP. There is a -S option that adds audio and alarm for this model, tho I doubt this one has it.

I'm in the process of upgrading my home NVR and analog cameras. For now, I'm trying Exacq because I like it's Mac OS client. I've been looking at various cameras on their supported list. I was going to buy some of the new ACTi D&E series cameras, but they haven't gotten the best reviews on here. I've read the threads on the Swan relabeled cameras at Costco and decided to try a pair. Exacq doesn't support that particular camera, but it does support the 1M version (DS-2CD2012-I) so I wanted to try it. I tried this camera with the stock Swan firmware and also with the 5.0 firmware from HIK. Both work with Exacq with the same limitations. Video works just fine using the HikVision driver. In camera motion detection works, but you have to set it up in the camera web interface, not the Exacq app. In particular, you need to change the linkage method to "Trigger Channel" and set the arming schedule. This camera works just fine at both 1080P and 3M. So with that good luck, I decided to try some of the other cameras in the same HIK product family. Again based on advise here, I decided to order from Aliexpress. I bought the following two cameras: http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Hikvision-camera-DS-2CD2132-I-Network-IP-camera-3MP-Mini-dome-Camera-w-3D-DNR-DWDR/904067_852257797.html http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Hikvision-camera-DS-2CD2332-I-Network-IP-camera-3MP-dome-Camera-w-POE-3D-DNR-Full/904067_1008324254.html As with other people's experience, Melinda was very prompt at updates on the ordering process and the cameras arrived as expected. They both came with the 5.0 version of the firmware. User interface looks the same as the Swan after the firmware update. Here's the cameras for comparison: Things I noticed: The 2132 dome is only a 2 axis camera. The 2332 is like other ball cameras and can be infinitely adjusted in 3 axis. The 2332 is significantly larger than the 2132. The 2332 has a square IR source -- this is advertised to have a better coverage. I did a few shots against a wall to see if that was a big deal. I thought it looked attractive because it would eliminate the IR leak that a lot of domes seem to have. The DS-2CD2132-I The DS-2CD2332-I You might ask did I switch these images, and no. The standard dome seems to have less of a hot spot, at least close against a white wall. The square sensor has a + like appearance when you look at it and the illumination looks like that on the image. Maybe it will be different at a distance. All these cameras have a bit of a weirdness in their field of view when switching from 1080P to 3M. The 3M mode gives more height but shaves off real pixels from the width. I don't know what the true resolution of the sensor is here. I'll post some more images when I have a chance to try these outside.

One more thing. I noticed an oddity with the China sourced HIKVision cameras and Exacq. The 3M mode works just fine. The 1080P mode has some encoding problem, or maybe Exacq has a decoding issue. There is a bit of garbled data at the bottom of the image in Exacq. This is not present in the web interface of the camera and VLC plays the video just fine as well. I tried the HikVision, ONVIF, and RSTP drivers in Exacq and it's the same. The reflashed Swan bullets don't have this issue. I'll have to spin up a VM and try another NVR package to see if this is unique to Exacq.