Re: video security system- Should I save to a dedicated PVR or to a PC. What about remote viewing etc.

[Lucas Tam <REMOVEnntp@xxxxxxxxxx>]

"David Jensen" <DJNews1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
news:3ZZ1e.7655$z.6814@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:

> Which is best for video with minimal to moderate hassle, on the low to
> middle of the price spectrum, and bang for the buck (value)
> perspective?   A Network/Internet camera (one with a built in web
> server, not a USB webcam) or the traditional cameras that are not
> networked.  My observations are that the decent network cameras are
> still quite expensive while you can buy all sorts of video security
> cameras on eBay for < $100.  It seems like much of the time that I try
> to view a camera on-line it seems to not work at all or not work well,
> causing me to question their reliability.  Also, in reading product
> reviews on Amazon.com and other sites, I see that a lot of people seem
> to have trouble with the initial configuration of such products thru
> firewalls and such.  I'm also not sure if the video quality is
> generally as good as a traditional camera or not.  Nonetheless, it
> seems like it would be nice to not have to route thru a PC and still
> make yourself directly available on the net.
>
> What is the best hardware to record the video?  You can buy 4-camera
> video capture cards with software on eBay for $20 - 50.  You can buy a
> dedicated DVR to do the same for several hundred dollars.  If one has
> a late model PC with a large hard drive and fast processor, is there a
> good reason not to use it for video surveillance?  Does the software
> that's out there work good or is it bug and hassle prone?  What are
> the pros and cons and issues here.
>
> There is also a $100 device on eBay titled  "IP Network web camera
> video server 9100A, DVR, AXIS"  that looks impressive and supposedly
> turns regular cameras into a network based system.  It can be viewed
> at
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=48634&item=
57636
> 15610&rd=1. I wonder if that would work well.


Do you need full motion video capture? Or will stills do?

You can purchase a decent video server for ~300 - 400.00 USD. Hook your
cameras to the video server and archive the stills to a FTP Server or
File Servfer.

Video servers convert analog CCTV camera pictures into JPEG/MJPEG or a
variety of other formats. Video servers can produce a better quality
picture than IP cameras since the lenses and quality of CCTV cameras
tend to be better than 90% of the IP cameras out there. Not to mention,
CCTV cameras are MUCH cheaper.

There are several brands of video servers out there. I can't really tell
you which is the best one, since each have their own feature set that
you might find useful. One useful feature you might want to look for is
compactflash slot on the video server - this allows the server to
archive a backup copy of the still onto a local card... in case the
remote server is down. I've seen one or two video servers with this
feature.

BTW, you asked why not use an old PC? Since this is for security you
probably want high availability. Unless your old PC an provide quick
recovery, ease of use, etc, it's better off buying a dedicated recording
device.

You really don't want to find out the next day after the school has been
broken into that the PC you set up has crashed : )

Oh, might want to add a UPS to the recording device too!

--
Lucas Tam (REMOVEnntp@xxxxxxxxxx)
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