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Mobotix camera question

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Quick question on the Mobotix cameras as I can't seem to figure the answer out by reading the spec sheet on their site. Can any or all of these cameras operate WITHOUT a network connection? Of course, I realize you wouldn't be able to view them remotely without the network, but would they continue to record to their internal SD card? Two reasons I ask: for areas that do not have network access but you still want to record, can these cameras do that (assuming you can power them other than PoE), and two, in the case the network goes down (and the switch is still sending power over the Cat5) will they continue to record?

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not all cameras but the m12, d12, q24 and d24 all can accept sd cards to record to so no network needed.

 

all cameras have 64mb of flash memory inside that is used as a ring buffer to help buffer the video stream but the cameras will soon be able to use the sd card as this buffer so you could have 32gb of buffer which would be amazing -- the network could go down for several days and you wouldn't lose any data.

 

currently the camera goes to the ring buffer first then streams that data to the sd card or to a nas, shared drive, etc.

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There was one company assembling a Mobotix M12 with battery pack and hard drive and poe switch that you can just charge up, put it up somewhere and it would work for a week or so with no wires.

 

So to do this more permanently where there is no network access, you would need a AC to power a PoE switch and nas drive and put them in weatherproof box if it's outsde. A 1TB NAS drive is pretty cheap and hold a lot of events, maybe months depending on your use.

 

If you are just worried about a network outage, that's not a big deal, like griffonsystems said, it will hold a lot in it's built in SD card until the network is back up, probably days worth.

 

Is the problem that you can't wire the camera up because of distance or costs? You can go with wireless bridges.

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Thanks guys for the responses; that's exactly what I wanted to know.

 

Buellwinkle, I asked because of both the reasons you pointed out. I have client where a network cable run to the location would not be feasible, and another client that was concerned about losing recording capabilities if the network were to go down (either the network and/or the switch providing PoE). In the latter case, I want to demonstrate that provided a back up power source to the camera, it would continue to record to its internal SD card even with the switch down.

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currently if you have it setup to store to a nas or shared drive somewhere on your network and the network goes down it will not switch its storage automatically to the sd card... that is something that will change when the sd card becomes the "ring buffer" but currently it uses just the 64mb flash memory in the camera so watch what you are promising at this point

 

there is a script using firefox browser and using microsoft scheduled tasks where it will schedule a download of the entire sd card back to a pc... so lets say you have the camera setup on recording to the sd card and the network goes out for a day the camera is still recording and then once you have network again the script runs and pulls down all that data so you have the 3 days or so that can be stored on the sd card and then it sends that data every 3 days to a pc for longer term storage -- sounds good right

 

ok now the m12 you can connect a backup power source to the serial port so if the poe goes down the camera continues to be powered

 

and i only buy the secure models, im not even sure why they offer anything less because the price is not a big difference but the resolution and functionality is a big difference in the lower models

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I am not sure of the type of location you are installing at, but if you are installing the camera in a remote location, there is a 3rd party vendor that makes a pretty cool Solar and Battery Powered mount for the Mobotix Line. The product also I believe has a wireless transceiver to send the data back to the main location. I am amazed at how the Mobotix and other Poe IP cameras draw such little power.

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Griffonsystems, thanks for that info - very helpful. You mention about being able to in the future use the SD card as the ring buffer as opposed to the internal 64MB memory - is that actually a feature that you know is planned in a subsequent firmware upgrade?

 

Voipmodo, the install location has power, but running cat5 would be costly to do right (outdoor rated cable and a number of local codes), so I thought wireless might be an option, but that has its own problems and in my opinion not as reliable. At this point I'm just looking to see if Mobotix is an option to present to the client.

 

BTW, I posted in the classifieds that I was looking for either a used or demo model that I could purchase to do evaluations and testing - these cameras are expensive so I was opening to find some used and cheaper models to acquire for that purpose. So would any of you have such items for sale?

 

And one other question if you don't mind I saw in another thread that many people have asked if the Q24 was going to be released in a true day/night version - does anyone know if Mobotix is planning on developing such a model? That would definitely be something I would be interested in. Is the low light capability better in the Q24 than the previous model Q22? (sorry, guess that was two questions).

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Griffonsystems, thanks for that info - very helpful. You mention about being able to in the future use the SD card as the ring buffer as opposed to the internal 64MB memory - is that actually a feature that you know is planned in a subsequent firmware upgrade?

 

Voipmodo, the install location has power, but running cat5 would be costly to do right (outdoor rated cable and a number of local codes), so I thought wireless might be an option, but that has its own problems and in my opinion not as reliable. At this point I'm just looking to see if Mobotix is an option to present to the client.

 

BTW, I posted in the classifieds that I was looking for either a used or demo model that I could purchase to do evaluations and testing - these cameras are expensive so I was opening to find some used and cheaper models to acquire for that purpose. So would any of you have such items for sale?

 

And one other question if you don't mind I saw in another thread that many people have asked if the Q24 was going to be released in a true day/night version - does anyone know if Mobotix is planning on developing such a model? That would definitely be something I would be interested in. Is the low light capability better in the Q24 than the previous model Q22? (sorry, guess that was two questions).

 

 

If you are a dealer/installer you can contact Mobotix to purchase some demo units at a discounted rate.

 

Yes Mobotix is working on the firmware update to use the sd card as the ring buffer and I have heard rumors of a day/night Q24 but I don't know if that is true.

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Be aware of new models just around the corner also. M24 to replace the M22, M14 to replace the M12 and finally a T24? to replace the Dual Dome D12.

 

 

As i understand it the key change will be the processing power that is currently in the Q24 and D24 will be used which roughly doubles the frame rate.

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IF the remote location is within 300 feet and has a twisted pair or coax wired already you can use the mx2wire from mobotix to send the power and the data via that. If the power in the install location is on the same bus as the central location, you may be able to use one of the ac power networking options that are on the market to send the data over the ac lines.

 

 

Griffonsystems, thanks for that info - very helpful. You mention about being able to in the future use the SD card as the ring buffer as opposed to the internal 64MB memory - is that actually a feature that you know is planned in a subsequent firmware upgrade?

 

Voipmodo, the install location has power, but running cat5 would be costly to do right (outdoor rated cable and a number of local codes), so I thought wireless might be an option, but that has its own problems and in my opinion not as reliable. At this point I'm just looking to see if Mobotix is an option to present to the client.

 

BTW, I posted in the classifieds that I was looking for either a used or demo model that I could purchase to do evaluations and testing - these cameras are expensive so I was opening to find some used and cheaper models to acquire for that purpose. So would any of you have such items for sale?

 

And one other question if you don't mind I saw in another thread that many people have asked if the Q24 was going to be released in a true day/night version - does anyone know if Mobotix is planning on developing such a model? That would definitely be something I would be interested in. Is the low light capability better in the Q24 than the previous model Q22? (sorry, guess that was two questions).

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the feature of using the sd card as the ring buffer will be a software update but only with the new models as I understand so anything with the 4 as the second number q24, d24 m24, etc.

 

the m24 is shipping in europe next week but wont ship to at least end of the year for the us and the m14 is still a few months off

 

wireless is reliable if setup correctly.

 

the q24 will probably come out with a night version, ie bw sensor, but not a day/night version since putting in a cut filter would be a moving part and their whole thing is no moving parts in the camera -- all the x4 models are using the same board so if they make a night sensor itll be for all units

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