Re: Cheap network dvr 4-8ch

[Jim <alarminex@xxxxxxx>]

On Saturday, November 17, 2012 2:23:39 PM UTC-5, Bob La Londe wrote:
 Jim, I have done quite a bit of research on IP cameras and NVRs recently. =
The big thing if the customer is going to max out their number of camera li=
censes over time going into an NVR is that IT HAS TO BE ITS OWN NETWORK. I =
did some calculating using H.264 with good resolution and good frame rates.=
 You can very quickly put a serious load on the bandwidth of a network. IP =
cameras got popular with IT techs because they could slap one on their netw=
ork and be up and running in minutes. They put in a POE injector or on a mo=
re advanced switch just configure the port for POE and the don't even have =
to run any wire if the site was wired to modern standards with redundant wi=
re. Literally. Up and running in minutes. Since many IP cameras have onboar=
d storage or the option for onboard storage and they never even bothered wi=
th any worries... until they started getting 10-15-20 cameras on their netw=
ork and they started streaming all of them to a station for a security guar=
d, operations manager, etc. For one or two cameras that are acting as their=
 own DVR they put nearly no load on the network. Only when they are being c=
hecked. The onboard storage can be good for a couple days to a month or mor=
e depending on the capabilities of the camera, setup, and the storage capac=
ity onboard. Storage affects price, and as rarely as customers check that a=
 single main recorder actually works, they will never individually check ev=
ery single standalone camera for complete operation. The big advantage to s=
ome of the IP cameras out there is the resolution allows them to do things =
we have been telling customers is impossible for the last 15-20 years. A si=
ngle 3 megapixel IP camera can cover all 4 lanes of 2 gas pump islands AND =
allow them to expand an image and read a license plate. Ok, its not the sam=
e as they do on NCIS where they take a blurry image of a city block and rec=
ognize somebody from their poorly lit reflection in a car window, but it's =
a lot better than we have become accustomed to over the years. An order of =
magnitude better. Cameras with 2 megapixel resolution are common and 3 mega=
pixel or greater with all the IR, weatherproof, vandal resistant, and other=
 features we have grown to use are available. Now back to NVRs. This last p=
oint of paragraph two above alone is an argument for a centralized storage =
system. "They will never individually check every single standalone camera =
for complete operation." A good NVR has two NICs. One to go to the clients =
existing network, and one to go to a separate network switch. Preferably wi=
th built in POE. They do not have to run all new network cable. Anyplace th=
ey have an available network cable they can just change the patch cable ove=
r to the switch managed by the NVR. The cameras can still have onboard stor=
age as backup set as FIFO on an SD card or other internal media, but the NV=
R is the work horse of the system, and if properly setup puts very minimal =
load on the customer network. Only when streaming video to a client work st=
ation, sending alerts, or backing up data to another storage center. Even t=
hen the load is equivalent to only one or two cameras per client connected.=
 In addition an NVR has the ability to manage load on a per camera basis. O=
ne with more activity will refresh more often then one with little or no ac=
tivity. This maximizes the use of data storage over cameras with internal s=
torage. Bob

That's invaluable information. Thanks.=20

I love the technology but doing the reasearch that " I " need to satisfiy m=
y need to know, takes a long time. I usually put it off ..... and put it of=
f until something happens .... like losing a job because I didn't know enou=
gh about it..... or something ..

I've printed a copy of your response and put it in my "IP Camera Research" =
folder. Thanks.