SB_Jim

Howdy Friends, It's been a long time since I've visited - but I'm sure the answer to my question will be readily known. I own a Swann / Hikvision NVR 7200-8 and over the years I've used my old laptop to connect to the NVR in order to update my cam settings (primarily the IR begin / end times). My old laptop is no longer working, and I'm now attempting to do the same activity with a much newer laptop that does not have an RJ45 connection. I have a USB 3.0 to RJ45 adaptor - and just today updated the IP v.4 settings to match the NVR (success). In the camera menus there is a Save button at the bottom of each screen. However, when I use the "Image" menu to update the IR Begin / End times, I can enter the values I want - but there is NO Save button appearing (as there always has been). Thus, once I change screens - my edits are not saved. I haven't tried changing any other settings to see if the save button in those screens are operational - which I suspect they are. I have not made any changes to the F/W of the NVR. I'm using Google Chrome as my default browser, and I also tried Edge - but it didn't work either. I also am unable to use "Live View" as I had before when logged into an individual camera - and a message appeared in that screen space asking for me to download a file (WebComponents.exe) - which I did. I recall doing that years ago with my old laptop. I closed out and restarted my laptop (Dell PC), but still am unable to save my changes to IR begin / end times. I received some messages that this was an "un-safe" site - although I'm only logging into my own NVR. So, I opened Trend Micro Security and entered the URL of this particular camera as an exception - as a safe site. I'm most interested in being able to both access the cams (which I can) but to SAVE my chages. Thanks in advance for your valuable ideas. Jim

Hello - I'm attempting to send a Message to one of my favorite members - but I receive a message instructing me to make more space in my Inbox. I cannot determine how to do that.. or where to find such "inbox". Thanks in advance - Jim

Larry and Mark - thank you for your kind replies. Do I understand the "Messages" and the area that contains such messages are considered my "Inbox"? And, that by removing some of these - I would then have freed space? I don't have all that many (IMO) and did delete some of them yesterday. But, Larry - thank you for your mod to the size! Jim

Hello, I believe that my PIR is failing, and I'd like to replace it with an equivalent PIR. Specifically looking for curtain PIR, small form / factor, operates on approx. 9-16 VDC (I have an existing 12V power supply. Will be mounted outdoors under eaves and well protected from weather. Need approx. 40" "look-out" range as vertical curtain. The item being replaced is a Visonic CH-1000. Thx, Jim

Okay - thank you tomcctv. I'll have to check out the prices of these two - because if the pure curtain is less - then it will still accomplish my goals. I actually want to capture small animals - racoons / possums / skunks so that I know what climbing into my yard (or messing up my lawn).

I'm using purely as a curtain - mounted about 8' high under the eaves and looking "down & across" as a curtain to cover two doors and one window in-between - parallel to the house.

Thank you, TomCCTV. Might there be any advantage in using the Pearl Curtain Beam Detector - GJD141 vs the Opal XL? Jim

Thank you, TomCCTV. Is this available in the U.S. fairly readily to a retail client (me)? Jim

Hello - I've used three separate PIRs for a few years to trigger certain cameras. For a long time they were reliable. Now I'm wondering why one in particular is not working properly. My RECORD parameters can be all of the usual... (Motion, Alarm, Motion and/or Alarm, or simply Alarm). Even when I select only Alarm - I'm getting frequent triggers on that channel when I don't suspect there are any actual triggering events (heat, for example). This is a curtain PIR on the back of my home and I know well the area it's looking at. It will pick me up when I cross the PIR "path", but it's triggering many times both day and night when I can't imagine there is a cause. I've got zero "motion points" defined in the actual camera, and the cameras (two triggered by this PIR) do not appear to trigger by motion - as I would hope they wouldn't. So, I'm wondering why the PIR is doing what it's doing now - when the wiring is still correct to the alarm input terminal (as has been the same always). Any ideas before I consider a replacement PIR? Thx - Jim

Can someone tell me how my router's upload speed has influence on the ability of my wireless cams to connect with the "network? I realize that the upload speed has a very direct impact on streaming images "to the outside world" - but does an upload speed also influence a camera's ability to simply connect? I'm sure there's much more to it than I currently comprehend. Thanks much, Jim

Found this on Marketwatch this morning: "Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a written statement Monday that the U.S. government “will not tolerate the brutal suppression of ethnic minorities within China.” The blacklisted companies include Hikvision and Dahua, both of which are global providers of video surveillance technology. Hikvision said in a statement Monday that it respects human rights and strongly opposes the Trump administration’s decision. The company said it has spent a year trying to “clarify misunderstandings about the company and address their concerns,” and that this will hurt its U.S. business partners."

Does anyone have any experience with retail IP cameras that have integrated PIRs? I'm thinking of cameras capable of 3,4,5 and 8 MP resolution. I see some on the market, but would be interested to hear from someone who owns some of these - especially in regard to the effectiveness of the PIR. I currently have very nice quality separately powered PIRs to control alarm notifications to set recording on a few of my cameras. But, this required extra power supplies for each PIR, and add'l effort over and above the camera installation. If I were to replace my NVR one day and upgrade for higher resolution, I might like to consider a camera that contains its own PIR. Thank you, Jim

HD908 - You seem to be a person of very small character - choosing to take every opportunity to belittle another contributor. You simply cannot resist taking a "pot shot" at another person who you disagree with. Even after the moderator cleaned-up my thread to eliminate the pointless / useless / child-like comments you are prone to post - one again you unleash trash. If you ever see a thread that I have initiated in the future, please feel free to stay out of the discussion. You are not welcome - and nothing you have contributed has provided one single benefit to me.

hd980 - I AM the OP. And, no, I do not want misinformation. I could care less about the discussion about whether some particular camera is PTZ or not PTZ. I also don't care whether the camera of previous discussion is indoor / outdoor, IP66 or IP10. What I do care about is the subject of my original thread - which is all about the effectiveness of newer cameras that contain a built-in PIR. I would like to learn about user's personal experience with retail cameras that have such built-in PIR. Are they happy with the heat detection, is the range effective for their intended usage, do they consider them reliable, etc. That was the intent of my thread - and I have yet to hear anyone comment on this. If you have personal experience with cameras that contain a PIR, then I'd love to hear from you. Jim IMO - TomCCTV has provided a lot of helpful and useful information over the years. Even if he made a mistake (which we all do), let's not get fixated on beating him up. Thank you to the moderator for cleaning up this thread to help keep it focused.

Hi TomCCTV - thanks for your reply. I'm not actually looking for the camera that the other person referenced! I'm looking for something equivalent to what Swann sells, which is not a Hikvision any longer. I have the 2DSC Cams - or something along those lines - an 8 CH NVR w/ 8 bullet cams. I've been very happy with the build quality of my 2 MP cams. But, I'm interested (for the coolness factor) of the much higher resolution available nowadays. I'd love to have the 8 MP (4K) cams, or perhaps a combo of the 5 and 8 MP cams. I've observed that a handful of Mfrs are now selling their cams with the integrated PIRs. So that's what I'm trying to understand - the effectiveness of those PIRs. I have to believe that my own PIRs (Optex LX402) are far better than what's crammed into the cam housing. Unfortunately, the newer NVRs do not have the alarm panels that mine does - allowing me to integrate the PIR w/ the NVR. Thankfully, my old NVR8-7200 (Swann) is still working very well. I just wish I could have the same, but w/ higher Res. Jim

Has anyone had any experience with the Swann NVR 8580 and their HD cameras? At some point I'll upgrade from my 2MP cams to either 5MP or perhaps the 4K system. I do like that they've integrated the PIR into each camera to work in conjunction w/ in-camera motion. I also like that with the 4K cams there are also analytics available. I searched the forum for this model and didn't find any results. Cheers - Jim

If you can log into the cameras, you'll find a menu that lists the range of resolutions to which they are capable. But, more importantly, that same info is also in your NVR - likely under the "Record" menu and resolution. In my case, my cameras may be able to produce 3MP images, but the NVR can't do anything with it If my older system didn't work as well as it does (even at 2MP), I'd quickly replace with newer. I really like the Swann 8580 - I believe it is - that comes with 4MP cameras, but can handle higher as well - which then unlocks the door to some pretty cool image analytics. I think it's 4 or 5MP basic, and 4K (8MP) with addition of 4K compatible cameras

I can't answer your question, but do make sure that your existing NVR can process the higher resolution camera. I have the NVR8-7200 - which came w/ 2 MP cameras, but I'm pretty sure that the NVR (such as yours) can't scale up to the 4 MP imaging. I wish it were that simple!! Good luck.

Well, I think I got lucky. I disconnected all the cams / PIR power wires and other attachments and removed my NVR from the cabinet. I was able to remove the cover and also the power supply with enclosed cooling fan. And then I needed an extra hand in getting the power supply opened. Got that done, and found I had to remove the board at the bottom of the enclosure in order to remove the fan. The power wires for the actual fan are potted twice, and there's no obvious connector as there were for the connections from the power supply to the two primary boards in the NVR. The fan is not a real common fan from what I could see. Not that it isn't used in many NVRs - but in looking up the P/N it wasn't the run of the mill part (IMO). I'm now of the impression that what was happening which caused my NVR to heat up (around the pwr supply) was that the fan was running slowly. I did a thorough cleaning of the interior of the "box" and ditto for the power supply enclosure and fan blades. Lots of dust accumulated. Same for the larger fan in my cabinet that the NVR lives in. So now I have it all reassembled and closed up (testing it) before I install it back into the cabinet. Thus far - 3+ hours - it's acting like new Tomorrow I'll put it all away again and hopefully I'll be good for another 4-5 years. The estimated fan cost was $30, and a new P/S with the fan would cost about $100. Not terrible, but not real cheap - given the cost of newer NVR's w/ better cameras and features. But for now, these 2MP cams keep a pretty good eye on things - and it's been quite reliable for many years.

Hello, For the past month or so I've noticed that my NVR is now producing a slight whine - which fades in and out at times. It's not unbearable, but when combined with the sound of the cooling fan (which I've grown to accept over the past 4 years+) I'm a bit annoyed. My NVR is located in a cabinet w/a door (that's vented at the sides) and in that cabinet space I also have a nearly silent fan that exhausts the air out of the cabinet. It's very effective. The spacing in the cabinet is such that I avoid trying to remove the NVR at all due to the many cables in play and tight spacing. I also have some PIR's attached w/ fine pwr wires, so I don't want to just pull this out of the cabinet if it can be avoided. I'm not suspecting the NVR cooling fan of making the noise, so I'm wondering whether or not it may be the HDD? I've heard that it's relatively painless to replace the 2 TB drive. Ideas from your experiences? Thanks in advance!

Thanks TomCCTV! That's encouraging - so now I know where I'll go first. Thankfully our small town has at least one really good "electronics" store where I've had good luck before. I kindly "called-out" the gal at Swann after she offered to help me select a new NVR the third time. I had to remind her that my NVR works perfectly well, and that I am looking to buy a $7 fan and not an entire new NVR! However, it's tempting when I see the newer products (well-priced) that are 3-5 MP and come with a whole lot more analytics than my older NVR offers.

Okay, I'm now fairly confident that the issue I need to solve is the cooling fan for the POE power supply. I noticed a "hot" scent when I got up the other morning in the proximity to my NVR (which is in a vented cabinet). And, my NVR had never been SO quiet. If only it could stay that way!! I felt the case in the area of the rear-mounted air vent on the back of the NVR and the localized materials were quite hot. So, I've turned it off for now. I called Swann and they only offered for me to replace the NVR or send for repairs. I told them that I wasn't in need of a new NVR, but simply a single fan. They don't offer the part. I plan to open the case this weekend and have a look at the fan which I believe will be mounted directly above the pwr supply. Can one of you please suggest a replacement fan? I don't wish to change the configuration of my POE switch or the Pwr supply as some have done. I'm simply wanting to replace the original fan for an equivalent fan. Many thanks for your ideas. Jim

Hello, I've been wondering whether or not my existing 2MP Swann IP cams (which use visible IR) would benefit if I were to install "non-visible" (to our eyes) IR illumination to the area of interest? The purpose would be to remain as stealth as possible while at the same time improving my night time imaging. Thx for the help. Jim

Excellent - thanks to you both for the great explanation. Very helpful as I consider my options.

Thanks for that! My cameras are working properly, however, there is an area of the front yard where I could use some add'l light. I could also install a traditional light - which would solve the problem. So you're saying that my existing cameras will not see the "light" produced by a 930 nm IR?