Howdy!
We’re looking to develop a spec to recommend for security cameras/DVR. Wondering what folks are currently using, what you like about it and what you’d change if you could.
Looking forward to your responses!
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Gary…as you all are developing this list, one feature you may want to include in the assessment is if they have an API and what endpoint they provide.
Thanks
Currently Using Axis Line of Cameras and Exacq Vision. Looking at moving from Exacq Vision to S2 NVR to integrate into our S2 Door Control Software. I like the Exacq Vision for its relative simplicity and manageability of users to allow them to go in and search the footage of specific cameras.
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Currently using Axis Communications for intercoms cameras and Illustra for remaining cameras. ExacqVision is management software.
Would like to try Ubiquiti’s camera line as they are significantly less than almost all competitors and I’ve had good luck with their network equipment (which also beats out competitor pricing).
I would like to consider the Meraki Security Cameras for the AI features.
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I didn’t realize Meraki had security cameras. Look pretty nice, though the price tag on them, yikes! That’s 2-3 times the cost of Illustra cameras and 4-8 times the cost of Ubiquiti cameras!
Currently using two ring floodlight cameras at our main entrances and a ring doorbell. That’s all for now but we are a ~100 E.R.A. church.
I like the ring system fairly well. I can’t monitor multiple cameras on a single device at a time, which would be nice…but it’s not critical.
Bottom line for the RING system is it is great, when you have a few cameras. I feel like having many (let’s say 10+) would get quite tedious.
We’re using a unified system called Security Center from Genetec.
They offer a wide range of hardware components. Or you can roll your own. They also offer vast vendor support for burg, access control, and surveillance.
You could also look at Verkada. They came from meraki so all the cameras look identical. This would be a good option for small scale systems. You might also have time to get a free yeti from a 30 min webinar.
Biggest downside of all the cloud camera vendors (that I’ve seen) is lack of diversity of cameras and no PTZ models.
Axis has models 1/4 the size of meraki at 4x the resolution.
Arecont has similar offerings. But you also get the downside of less than full frame rate on most of their products and weird gimmicky tricks like pixel binning.
You could always go with a synology or qnap recording local.
Thank you all for you input!
Don’t hesitate to add if anything else comes to mind.
We are using Axis Cameras and Milestone software. We currently have 19 cameras but slowing adding more each year.
We are using Hikvision cameras with Exacq software. If you get Hik cams, make sure you block external communication on them.
Our school has Geovision cameras and DVR from a local security vendor. The system is all in one, 17 cameras plus 4 door entry units with built in cameras. I can have all 21 cameras on screen at once, and footage retrieval is fairly easy; either the admin or myself can view and download footage.
Key points:
- All cameras should be IP and POE
- How long to you want footage available? We have about 2 weeks on the server. You can always download and store footage from an incident
- What is the interface? Is the footage easily accessible via web browser or is a client required?
- Ideally, no Java or Flash involved in the system.
- Discuss with the vendor any special conditions the cameras may face, so they can choose appropriate equipment. We have 2 cameras in an east facing atrium, so those cameras have aiblity to deal with widely fluctuating light levels.
- What about warranty and service?
- Greg