spork947

Hello Everyone, I'm still thinking of ways to simplify my cctv setup running xprotect with 4 cams. At first I was checking on recordings everyday. Now I mostly use it for live viewing. The dropcam I only do snapshots or live viewing also. I tried camcloud but didn't like the idea of ftp over the net or the fee's and I think the service was not able to deal with the raw video files from my acti cam. So my current idea is to purchase a raspberry pi and upload snapshots to it. I would like to run something like dropbox or owncloud on there as well for checking the snapshots remotely. I can still upload the raw video from my acti cams if I ever wanted to record but not be concerned with regular viewing. The pi is cheap and very low power. It would be cool if something like xprotect was optimized to run on it.

My issue with ftp fwir is that its a old protocol and very insecure unless its ftps. If I added a indoor cam to my setup then I wouldn't want those images to be easily hackable which is why I would like to use dropbox or owncloud on the pi and keep the ftp local. There is a very long thread on the dropcam forums requesting a outdoor model. If I can get the pi setup how I want it then I could be happy not using dropcam at all. However I have 5 mbps upload and I would rather pay the $200 for 3 recording dropcams than have a standard nvr ... if they ever release a outdoor model and if they do I hope they don't make a silly mistake and not include POE. I am trying to be a extreme cheapskate on my cctv setup to have minimal power usage and hardware cost replacements. I'm learning a lot about networking and stuff too which is fun. I wanted to thanks again. You are a cctv encyclopedia Edit: The tablet nvr sounds awesome. Will there be a how to if you get it working? I could give in and use windows for a application such as that.

your right of course. For some reason I thought ssl was not supported. I signed up for the free service. Its all based on ftp. I can get image uploads with my d32 when pressing the test button but for some reason when I set it to video I get nothing. I've changed resolution and codecs but nothing works. I don't know if its a problem on their end or if there is another setting for it to work.

thanks for the info, AFAIK acti nvr still does not support hikvision cams. I also may look into camcloud by axis. They limit you to 1 day of video with the basic plan. I would be fine with that if it over writes itself once your at the limit so you don't have to manually delete it. Only uploading on motion would be important as well. Not sure how it really works though. Either way I don't think the hikvsion cams have ssl which is a requirement for me if I open them up for something like camcloud.

What is the power usage like on a AverMedia NEH1004HN? Does it use the motion detection built into a camera? Can you access it from a web browser over lan? I'm no longer interested in remote access except for the indoor dropcam. My desktops are fairly power hungry. I'm also trying to get away from windows and not sure if I want to dedicate a entire pc let alone mess with zoneminder.

I turned off the xprotect server and the camera will now stay in x264. It seems to operate smoothly when accessing the camera directly. The mjpeg mode is also improved but not really smooth at 15 fps. So yea maybe it was a bug with the milestone software. I'm going to do some more tinkering and updates this weekend. Not even sure if I will stay with xprotect yet. thanks for the help Edit: Now that the wind has picked up the cams are still choppy but improved after shutting off the server. Maybe its a bandwidth issue? However the hikvision cams are working fine. I also have my poe switch plugged directly into my gigabit router. Maybe its time to contact acti.

I have the d32 cameras and I am getting very choppy performance with the old or new firmware and it always reverts back to mjpeg. I must be getting something like 1-5 fps with the higher res and only 640x360 is smooth. This problem is with both cams through ie or firefox.

So I ended up not buying a long enough cable. I quickly ordered something else and just realized its only 30 AWG. The cam is only rated to use up to 7 watts but isn't that still a bit thin? I don't want to create any hazards. Originally when I searched for poe compatible ethernet cables some nice looking SSTP/SFTP cables came up. I have them on the other 3 cams and just realized they are only 26 awg. I'm not sure how important the shielding is but I really should have stayed with the basic 24 awg cable. I'm thinking that these will still be ok though. All my runs are 75 feet max. I didn't use outdoor cable either but I do have them tucked away from the rain and sun the best I can. thanks Edit: I also wanted to note that looking under the product specs on amazon states that the slim cable is safe for poe but I wanted to check a second opinion here

I guess that I wasn't patient enough. I see that its a delayed start. Thanks!

Hello everyone, I'm leaving on a trip soon and have my cctv setup mostly completed. My question is there any way to have the mobile server restart automatically when the pc boots up? It loads but will be stopped and not working. I added the dns updater to the start menu and everything else seems to be working good but I'm stuck here. thanks

Actually this thin stuff is cat 6 rated. I ordered something quick without looking at the specs. I didn't realize there was that much variation in ethernet cables. I sort of did the same with the shielded cable but at least thats 26 awg. Shouldn't that be ok? The shielding sounded like a good idea and in theory it should be. I was going to order from mono price but I have prime shipping and amazon has been reasonable on cables so I didn't compare. The 26 and 30 both say 60 C on the jackets. Although its working fine I'm going to pull the 30 awg cable. Its easy access unlike the first cable (26 awg) which I fished through the attic. I've been fairly stressed out trying to get all of this setup (4 cams + dvr). This was the last weekend I had until we leave on a trip for 2 weeks. Not sure if I will have time to get the last cam going with a new cable. I'm still working on the more fun half which was setting up the server pc and getting it configured for remote access.

So I now have 2 Hikvision ds-2cd2032-i and 2 Acti d32 cameras. I only have 2 of them up so far but the static ip's are set and the firmware on the d32's are updated so it should go smoother than the first 2. I had glitchy video on the d32's until I updated the firmware and now it requires quicktime for the browser plugin. Ispy seems to be working for me after the firmware updates on the d32's. I will dump the recording folder into dropbox for my remote access. I also plan to have a dedicated box. Fwir with ispy connect you can manage the setup over lan for free. I feel like I have a good plan. They were a little tough to install. Nothing solid under the fascia on my house to drill into so we made a L bracket out of wood behind it. I found some flush mounts for vinyl siding that I used on the other cam. It really sucked fishing a wire through the attic so the rest are going through the basement. Here is a quick pic. I found that the problem with the door cam where I have it is that if it faces out I can't see if someone is standing at the front door but it gives me a great view of the mailbox, yard, and the path leading up to the door. I'm thinking of pointing the other cam more towards the door simply so I can see if someone is there and I should still have good coverage of the driveway. Then I can rely on the cam mounted by the door for mailbox coverage and to get a good ID of someone approaching. thanks again for the help on choosing the cams. Now I just need to find a way to deal with the bugs setting off motion ... actually I'm not even sure if I can adjust the cams anymore as a spider webbed them in place.

Hello Everyone, After being burglarized I now have a alarm system with glass breaks and sensors on all entrances. We self monitor through next alarm and it sends alerts to family close by as well. We were planning a trip and wanted to check in on our pets while we were gone so I finally made it around to setting up a camera. I started out with a dlink cam so were were able to watch from our phones and it worked well for a proof of concept. However after reading the tos they pretty much say you have no guarantee at all of security. I returned and picked up a dropcam instead which advertises 256 bit encryption directly from the cam. It works great for us. 3 cams would give us nearly a complete view of the areas accessible to our pets when we are gone so I'm looking for some more options. They stay in the living room 75% of the time so 1 works quite well but we are really thrilled about being able to check in away from home. My Wife leaves a tablet set up on her desk and checks in on them often. I like being able to record but the most important thing to me is just a quick peak to make sure everything is ok at that moment. I was thinking of going with the cvr plan on the primary cam and having 2 more setup for live feeds. My other idea was to use a different brand of ip cam in the other areas and have them email or dropbox sync snapshots to my phone. Basically I don't want any kind of server running with outside ports forwarded so I can stay as secure as possible. The dlink is accessible without forwarding ports, maybe cause it goes directly to the mydlink servers? If I was going to do this I would want a cam that can be completely shut off from the outside internet. I would prefer not to keep a pc running and something that could email shots without a pc would be awesome as well if its not visible outside. Running a pc and replacing hdd's on occasion isn't free so I can certainly see the benefits on cloud storage for smaller setups and I can schedule them to shut off when I'm home. Sorry for the long winded post but I hope I explained what I'm trying to do. The dropcam setup still seems the over all most simple, and maybe best solution (not because of the simplicity either). Additional cvr cams are $50 and not $100 a year. The company is also looking into plans with less retention and local recording so options should continue to open u with them. One last options I can't find a lot of info on is y-cams homemonitor setup. It has good reviews on amazon but their other products don't fare as well. They claim completely free dvr storage as well.

After having fun with my dropcam I decided its time to setup some outdoor cams. So I purchased 2 Hikvision DS-2CD2032-I cameras. I've always wanted to do this project but was uncertain how I should do the wire runs and mounting. Half of the attic is not really accessible from the vaulted ceilings in the living room but I should be able to feed it around the soffit. I'm not even sure if I will have to put up some extra boards to attach the cams underneath the fascia. I have help coming over and we plan to figure things out then. For now I need some placement suggestions on a single cam for the front yard. I might post a backyard pic later for the other one. My first thought was to place it on the end by the far window so I could get a view of the general front yard and have some coverage for the windows and front door. Maybe this would also have some of the driveway but we normally don't have a car outside. It would be out of reach here. However I see a lot of suggestions here that its nice to have a close up around the front door. So maybe it should be in the other corner but I wasn't sure how good of coverage I would have on the windows. Also it will be within reach but I'm not overly worried about someone stealing the cam. Maybe I'm nosy but I would also like to monitor whats going on around the sidewalk. Also my house is facing east with a clear view of the sun. Would there be a huge benefit from having 2 cams in front for me? I guess I could wait on the back so I could finish the front properly. As I said I'm not overly worried about the driveway but it would be nice to know if someone was wandering around there. This is a old pic but should give a idea of the layout. I have been broken into and already have a full alarm system as well. Thanks!

I just came across this topic and had a few comments and questions. This sounds fantastic but what kind of security will it have? Is it just a simple relay of the information or would it be possible for some retention of videos as well? If some company wanted to compete with dropcam they could also offer some kind of cloud service and the ability to choose which cameras are cloud enabled from the nvr, compression quality, etc. You also need solid support for android and ios. I'm new to cctv and just started with a dropcam but like others have mentioned now that I want a full setup its not practical for all the cameras to be uploading all the time. I will still keep 1 around simply for the ease of remote viewing.

I already have a addiction and now I want outdoor cams! Maybe I would be better to have a traditional setup for outside and dropcam for indoors so I can check on the dogs remotely. As you mentioned I don't want to hog that much bandwidth. Maybe I could run ispy along with a few BW IPC-HFW2100 (i think they are dahua). I like the idea of using a single ethernet cable to power the cam. Or I could keep hoping dropcam releases a outdoor model and offers a record only on motion option. I really want a complete setup now and still weighing all options. I'm going to experiment with pointing dropcam out my front window without the IR since it has a good viewing angle from there.

Actually the Dropcams do have night vision. Not sure about the original model. We work nights so most of our viewing is in night mode. The quality isn't as good at night but it does the job. We thought our new dog eventually relaxed and slept in the crate but she freaked out and tries chewing the crate all night. She is doing better with the other dogs so we let her stay out. She runs back and forth all night howling with her eyes glowing in the cam but isn't causing much trouble otherwise. No wonder she can sleep all day. There is constant action from my event list. Blue Iris isn't clear if they use a secure connection. Ispy claims they have secure remote access but its 7.95/month for 1 viewer only plus whatever it costs to run a server. My Wife and I can view the dropcam stream at the same time. We could on the dlink as well and I believe they had free dvr software but again I feel a little better with the security on dropcam. I think I've pretty much made up my mind to stay with their system. The cam has a nice wide view as well so I can get a lot of coverage from 1. I can schedule them as well to save bandwidth or switch less active cams to sd. I was reading the feature request forum and things like local recording and outdoor cams are being looked into. I also found a article about a 1080p model coming out. I'm still curious about this setup but other y-cams seem to be poorly reviewed. pcmag gave it high marks along with other amazon reviews. Maybe these would be ok for my less active cams. With free cloud dvr service and encryption. http://www.amazon.com/Y-cam-HomeMonitor-Indoor-Monitoring-Recording/dp/B008QN6V9W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1377106031&sr=8-1&keywords=homemonitor+cam http://www.homemonitor.me/

Thats why I was curious about this subject but from my understanding some of these cams use the authentication in plain text and are easily hackable. If you could connect directly with ssl wouldn't that make them safer? Are the connections to a nvr setup encrypted? I don't see dropcam as unhackable either however they state that not even their employees can access your video feed as its encrypted on their servers. I guess if someone has your password its open game but to me that seems safer than connecting to a cam or home server with a unsecured connection. If someone was able to access my cam they would be quite bored and not the end of the world but it does give me the heebeegeebees. Thats why I like to physically shut them off when I'm home. thanks for the info from everyone! edit: After further thought a motion email setup may not work as my dogs would activate it constantly!