hotneutron

Saw this in today's booklet: Online-Only Offers 9/4/13 - 9/22/13 Page 20 Swann 8-Channel Surveillance System 2TB hard drive, HDMI, real-time 3mp recording and free instant remote access via apps. Includes four 1080p day/night bullet camera #788693 1199.99-300.00 = $899.99

with +$300 price tag, now at $1199. http://www.costco.com/Swann-8-Channel-HD-NVR-Security-System-with-2TB-Hard-Drive-and-4-1080p-IP-Cameras.product.100027599.html

Ditto I'm still new to all this, what exactly does having an alarm input get you? When I think alarm, I think alerts (email/texting) but I presume it can set off an actual alarm? You can hook alarm input (PIR sensor, door/window sensor) to this input. The sensor can be either Normally-Open or Normally-Close. Based on the settings on this one, you can trigger many actions like start recording, sending email, PTZ patrol, PTZ preset, siren output. And there is one recording option : motion AND alarm. With this option, I can let the NVR record only when alarm system is armed, and not record when I'm at home (disarmed).

It's available on costco.com now http://www.costco.com/Lorex-8-Channel-Full-HD-PoE-NVR-Security-System-with-2TB-Hard-Drive-and-4-HD-1080p-Cameras.product.100035609.html

lorex's NVR box doesn't have alarm input... deal breaker for me.

Probably it's the Ethernet cable not providing enough power.

One thing is for sure that 192.1.1.x are valid IP addresses, unlike private IPv4 ranges 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_address#IPv4_private_addresses IANA-reserved private IPv4 network ranges Start End No. of addresses 24-bit block (/8 prefix, 1 × A) 10.0.0.0 10.255.255.255 16777216 20-bit block (/12 prefix, 16 × B) 172.16.0.0 172.31.255.255 1048576 16-bit block (/16 prefix, 256 × C) 192.168.0.0 192.168.255.255 65536

This is tested on Q-See's QC804, should work on Dahua NVRs as well. Assuming you are using windows client, you need two commands: route add 10.1.1.0 mask 255.255.255.0 192.168.0.2 echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward Let's assume NVR's IP address is 192.168.0.2 Step 1) add static route open "command prompt" with admin privilege (right click on command prompt, and select "run as administrator") type (replace 192.168.0.2 with NVR's actual IP): route add 10.1.1.0 mask 255.255.255.0 192.168.0.2 Step 2) add ip-forward on NVR Use a telnet client (for example putty), telnet to 192.168.0.2 Connected to dvr. Escape character is '^]'. (none) login: <-type "root" Password: <- type "vizxv" BusyBox v1.18.4 (2012-05-17 14:08:15 CST) built-in shell (ash) Platform: N6, Revision: 321 Enter 'help' for a list of built-in commands. ~ # enable IP forward, type "echo 1 > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward" Then list the ip camera on the NVR: type "arp -a" ~ # arp -a ? (10.1.1.66) at 90:02:a9:12:16:c5 [ether] PERM on eth1 ? (10.1.1.65) at 90:02:a9:12:17:c0 [ether] PERM on eth1 Step 3) connect to the IP cameras on the PoE ports of NVR Goto web browser and type http://10.1.1.65:85/ or http://10.1.1.66:85, the 85 port of ip addresses returned by previous "arp -a" command. You can change the default passwords for better security.

My plan is to reuse the 4 cameras that comes with the package, then add more cameras to a DIY Synology surveillance station. There is virtually no limit on the number of cameras. It would be $600 to get the 4 720p cameras ($299/pair), and 40-50 for the 1TB HDD. So it's like $50-60 for the NVR... why not. You can switch to PC based system by rolling your own "synology diskstation" http://www.avsforum.com/t/1460222/how-to-roll-your-own-synology-diskstation-for-nas EDIT: looks like Synology wants $50 license per camera... NVM.