Quality Home monitoring ~ Comments please

Hi.

I need to set up a quality home monitor system.

Cost is not the prime consideration.

I need 3 or 4 IP wireless cameras with good images quality and audio as an
option.
I need to be able to view the cameras from anywhere preferably with access
control (password)
The must be no PC at the property
The property will have a BB connection (not static IP)

I guess I'll need the following:

Wireless Router
The Cameras
The BB Connection
A built in Web Service
A DNS facility to keep the BB IP known the Web Service.

Would something like the Axis 207W be the type of thing?

This retails at over £200 but seems to fit the bill

Comments or recommendations please!

Regards

Cid

Would something like the Axis 207W be the type of thing?

The 207w will do pretty well. The audio is
good on those 207 cams. It won't do much in
low light, though. A 60W lamp for typical
rooms will be enough. These need to be manually
focused, which wouldn't be a big deal except
that the focus ring on these are poorly designed
or manufactured. It's very easy to separate
the ring from the lens holder since the focus
ring is extremely hard to rotate. I've got
two (207w and 207mw) and each has what looks like
teflon tape in the focus threads, and that jams
them, so you have to torque it and ... pop, the
ring separates from the lens holder. To fix you
have to take the assembly out and hope you don't
drop the very tiny lens. What went pop was the
glue attaching the focus ring to the lens holder.

The 207mw has a much finer picture than the 207,
more than you would think (colors are spot on, even
viewing outside sun, and no fuzziness). The 207w
picture is only so-so. Audio (one way), though,
is good. Most cams have very poor audio in
comparison. Vivotek is also good; if you pick the
right ones. Most of the 7000-series gets you a
very nice looking image. These are usually le$$
than the mini-Axis cams. The Axis cams are pretty
small and can go almost anywhere, so that you pay
a little more may be worth it. Just be extra
careful with the focusing.

--
40th Floor - Software @ http://40th.com/
phantasm.40th.com - The finest sound in the world

Thanks for the tip on the focusing issue with the Axis 207

Also looking at some Panasonic kit, although the problem is they tend to
promote a hosting service for viewing the capture. I'd rather not have any
dependency on a service.

Some neat PTZ devices though.

Cid



wrote in message
...
Would something like the Axis 207W be the type of thing?

The 207w will do pretty well. The audio is
good on those 207 cams. It won't do much in
low light, though. A 60W lamp for typical
rooms will be enough. These need to be manually
focused, which wouldn't be a big deal except
that the focus ring on these are poorly designed
or manufactured. It's very easy to separate
the ring from the lens holder since the focus
ring is extremely hard to rotate. I've got
two (207w and 207mw) and each has what looks like
teflon tape in the focus threads, and that jams
them, so you have to torque it and ... pop, the
ring separates from the lens holder. To fix you
have to take the assembly out and hope you don't
drop the very tiny lens. What went pop was the
glue attaching the focus ring to the lens holder.

The 207mw has a much finer picture than the 207,
more than you would think (colors are spot on, even
viewing outside sun, and no fuzziness). The 207w
picture is only so-so. Audio (one way), though,
is good. Most cams have very poor audio in
comparison. Vivotek is also good; if you pick the
right ones. Most of the 7000-series gets you a
very nice looking image. These are usually le$$
than the mini-Axis cams. The Axis cams are pretty
small and can go almost anywhere, so that you pay
a little more may be worth it. Just be extra
careful with the focusing.

--
40th Floor - Software @ http://40th.com/
phantasm.40th.com - The finest sound in the world

C- [Tue, 1 Jul 2008 06:25:27 +0100]:
Also looking at some Panasonic kit, although the problem is they tend to
...Some neat PTZ devices though.

The only current PTZ Panasonic has is the 580/581
(it may have another line but those would be mega-
mega bucks).

The Panas active-x has a problem with mpeg4 from
what I see (though I think it takes a combination
of pana activex dlls installed). My own code,
which does not use any activex, works fine pulling
mpeg from the cam. These cams are pretty good in
low light, giving full FPS and color. If you switch
it to "night view" (basically, a longer exposure and
5 FPS) it's excellent (but not good then for motion).
At night, even at max zoom (21x optical), you can get
a perfect face capture at 100+ ft. The lower-in-line
Panas won't be as good (I've a couple lesser models,
too). Most of the Panas ( BB/HCM line), if not all,
PT, but none Z (not optically, anyway) except the 58x.
The difference in the 580 and 581 is the 581 is POE
(only) and has one-way audio...and costs an extra $100.

I don't think you have to use a particular service
for remote viewing. This is under the "Internet"
panel, though:

Viewnetcam.com will allow you to create a
personalized web address at which this
product's live video can always be found
on the Internet.Viewnetcam.com service is
completely FREE!. For detailed information,
access http://www.viewnetcam.com.

You could probably use any comparable one, but
I don't use that.

--
40th Floor - Software @ http://40th.com/
phantasm.40th.com - The finest sound in the world