Is it worth the trouble using this

[trig]

My neighbor give me a Samsung SRD-1654D DVR. I finally got the remote from him and was able to clear the password and it works great. I have two camera he give me and they work but not the best as far as being clear . Is something this old worth using ? I need more cameras and really don't have a clue which ones to get if I do decide to keep this. I do know the 4k Swann camera a friend let me try will not work . This thing has a terabyte drive and I can add three more I think. It is really an overkill for what I need as it has 16 ports and no way would I ever need that many cameras .
I am putting this in my 70 x 50 shop which is four miles from where I live. Eight cameras would work. I have internet there but from what I read it is sort of a security risk to put this on the internet. Sorry for all the questions as I am new to security cameras but I can learn. Might be better to just buy a new system ? with cameras ?? Thanks

 

[bigredfish]

Short answer, no. It’s far past it’s prime and won’t run even average analog cameras with today’s technology.

https://www.a1securitycameras.com/content/product_documents/7272/samsung-SRD-1654D_Specifications-A1.pdf

 

[TVille]

I'll be a little more optimistic than @bigredfish , but not much. If you want to tinker, and have something at the shop, then probably. Important word - "tinker". If you want any real security, hopes of identifying a perp, then no. Reality is that even with current technology, careful thought has to be put into selection of devices, location of devices, installation, and setup, to get the best chance of identifying or warning that something is about to/is happening.

 

[trig]

Short answer, no. It’s far past it’s prime and won’t run even average analog cameras with today’s technology.

https://www.a1securitycameras.com/content/product_documents/7272/samsung-SRD-1654D_Specifications-A1.pdf

Thanks, that is what I was thinking. I am retired but I have lots of things in this shop I don't want stolen. For the past four years I have been using the YI dome cameras but not very well pleased with them plus they don't work too good pointing outside. The alerts work sometimes and sometimes not. I have sims cards in the 5 YI cameras I have now and no way would I pay these people for the cloud as their tech support is awful. They keep wanting to push the cloud also.
Any suggestions on a new system ? I would like be view from my home so maybe an NVR ? would work if there is a way to set it up safe. If I lost internet I would think an NVR would keep on recording ??

 

[trig]

I'll be a little more optimistic than @bigredfish , but not much. If you want to tinker, and have something at the shop, then probably. Important word - "tinker". If you want any real security, hopes of identifying a perp, then no. Reality is that even with current technology, careful thought has to be put into selection of devices, location of devices, installation, and setup, to get the best chance of identifying or warning that something is about to/is happening.

I have plenty of time to tinker as I have been retired over 10 years. I live close enough that I could be at the shop in less than 5 minutes. I do understand the crooks can steal my DVR/NVR and I already planned on where I was going to hide it.
Right now if someone cut the internet cable running to my shop from the pole I would be out of luck. I don't have room to store all my tools and other things at my home plus I still enjoy working there everyday.
Here is a screenshot from a few minutes ago looking out back using the YI Dome. Last night because of the weather here now I could not see anything but moisture and I have an outside light. This don't happen often though. The downside is if I did lose internet nothing would work and my sims card would be useless.
This is why I am wanting to move to a newer system like an NVR that I could also view from home like I do now on my desktop PC.

 

[sebastiantombs]

Dome cameras for outside use are not a good choice. As you already know they fog with moisture and they will permanently fog from UV exposure. Most of us here use turrets and bullets for outside. Most also use Blue Iris rather than an NVR because it allows mixing camera brands without losing any features of the cameras. A terabyte drive in todays' world of video isn't much. I've got 12TB on my system and will be expanding to 20TB sometime later next year.

Standard welcome from a retired old guy -

Start out by looking in the WiKi in the blue bar at the top of the page. There's a ton of very useful information in there and it needs to be viewed on a computer, not a phone or tablet. The Cliff Notes will be of particular interest although the camera models listed there are a generation old at this point. The best way to determine what kind of camera you need in each location and where each location should really be is to buy one varifocal camera first and set up a test stand for it that can be easily moved around. Test using that, viewing using the web interface of the camera, during the day and at night. Have someone walk around behaving like a miscreant and see if you can identify them. There is also information for choosing hardware and securing the system along with a whole bunch of other good stuff.

Don't chase megapixels unless you have a really BIG budget. Chase sensor size and bigger is better. To confuse you more sensor sizes are listed in fractions so do the basic math to be sure, 1/2.7 is bigger than 1/2.8 or 1/3. General rule of thumb is that a 4MP camera will easily outperform an 8MP camera when they both have the same sensor size. Reason being that there are twice as many pixels in the 8MP versus the 4MP. This results in only half the available light getting to each pixel in an 8MP that a pixel in the 4MP "sees".

A dedicated PC doesn't need to be either expensive to purchase or to run. A used business class machine can be had from eBay and various other sources. The advances made in Blue Iris make it easily possible to run a fairly large system on relatively inexpensive hardware which also makes power consumption low, as in under 50 watts in many cases. The biggest expenses turn out to be hard drives for storing video and a PoE switch to power the cameras and, of course, the cameras themselves.

The three basic rules of video surveillance cameras-

Rule #1 - Cameras multiply like rabbits.
Rule #2 - Cameras are more addictive than drugs.
Rule #3 - You never have enough cameras.

Quick guide -

The smaller the lux number the better the low light performance. 0.002 is better than 0.02
The smaller the "F" of the lens the better the low light performance. F1.4 is better than F1.8
The larger the sensor the better the low light performance. 1/1.8" is better (bigger) than 1/2.7"
The higher the megapixels for the same size sensor the worse the low light performance. A 4MP camera with a 1/1.8" sensor will perform better than a 8MP camera with that same 1/1.8" sensor.

720P - 1/3" = .333"
2MP - 1/2.8" = .357" (think a .38 caliber bullet)
4MP - 1/1.8" = .555" (bigger than a .50 caliber bullet or ball)
8MP - 1/1.2" = .833" (bigger than a 20mm chain gun round)

Don't believe all the marketing hype no matter who makes the camera. Don't believe those nice night time captures they all use. Look for videos, with motion, to determine low light performance. Any camera can be made to "see" color at night if the exposure time is long enough, as in half a second or longer. Rule of thumb, the shutter speed needs to be at 1/60 or higher to get night video without blurring.

Read the reviews here, most include both still shots and video.

Avoid Reolink, Foscam, SV3C, Nest, and all the other consumer grade cameras. They all struggle mightily at night and never get anything useful on video. Here's a link to a whole thread debunking Reolink in particular.

Compiled by mat200 -

Reolink: Deconstruction of a dangerous misleading youtube review "Finding the BEST 4K Security Camera NVR Package (Reolink vs Amcrest vs Swann)"

Executive Summary: DO NOT be a sheep. Ask what a reviewer can be missing, ask if a reviewer is using hype words to sell the cheapest product. Test your cameras and kits right away. Just do a bench test. Test real world conditions. Test moving suspects. Test at night, test at day. Use a test rig...

ipcamtalk.com

Avoid WiFi cameras, even doorbell cameras. WiFi is not designed for the constant, 24/7, load of video that a surveillance camera produces. At best, with two cameras on WiFi, they will still experience dropouts multiple times daily. Murphy's Law says that will happen at the worst possible moment.

Lens size, focal length, is another critical factor. Many people like the wide, sweeping, views of a 2.8mm lens but be aware that identification is problematic with a lens that wide. Keep in mind that it may take two cameras, or more, to provide the coverage you need or desire. Another factor that effects view angles is the sensor size. Typically larger sensors will have a larger field of view in any given lens size.

The 5442 series of cameras by Dahua is the current "king of the hill". They are 4MP and capable of color with some ambient light at night. The 2231 series is a less expensive alternative in 2MP and does not have audio capabilities, no built in microphone, but is easier on the budget. The 3241T-ZAS has similar spcs as the 2231 and has audio. There are also cameras available from the IPCT Store right here on the forum and from Nelly's Security who has a thread in the vendors section.

Review - 8MP 1/1.2" sensor full color camera

Worlds First Review - Dahua - IPC-Color4K-X / DH-IPC-HFW5849T1-ASE-LED - Full Color 4K Camera

Intro I’m excited to be doing another Worlds First Review. this time as I mentioned in the full color thread, I’ve been testing the new Dahua full color 4K camera. This was provided courtesy of @EMPIRETECANDY for a fair, honest, no holds barred, unbiased review. I’ll attempt to answer any and...

ipcamtalk.com

2021 Full Color 2.0 Has a Fantastic New Dual Lens Camera

Hey guys The full color 2.0 has been released. Most cams I already posted here. Like: IPC-Color4K-X Bullet 4MP Motorized Full color. Today I bring a secret model, 1st release for the Dual-Lens Full color model in the world. Dual-lens Camera( Sample at Early Sep ) Ø Dual light fusion...

ipcamtalk.com

5442 Reviews

Review - Loryata (Dahua OEM) IPC-T5442T-ZE varifocal Turret

Review-OEM Loryta IPC-T5442T-ZE Varifocal 4mp camera (Dahua)

IPC-T5442T-ZE Varifocal from @EMPIRETECANDY 4MP WDR Turret Varifocal Network Camera Review unit courtesy of Andy (@EMPIRETECANDY) in exchange for a fair and honest review. Andy's ipcamtalk store: link Andy's AliExpress store: link Andy's Amazon store: link Price Approximately US $200.00...

ipcamtalk.com

Review - OEM IPC-B5442E-ZE 4MP AI Varifocal Bullet Camera With Starlight+

Review - OEM IPC-B5442E-ZE 4MP AI Varifocal Bullet Camera With Starlight+

All, thanks to Andy (@EMPIRETECANDY ) we have a new 4MP AI camera for testing. This camera has been provided by Andy in exchange for a fair and honest review. This camera is using the OEM model number of IPC-B5442-ZE which is the equivalent of the Dahua IPC-HFW5442-ZE for reference. The IPC-B...

ipcamtalk.com

Review-OEM 4mp AI Cam IPC-T5442TM-AS Starlight+ Turret

Review-OEM 4mp AI Cam IPC-T5442TM-AS Starlight+

Dahua OEM IPC-T5442TM-AS from EMPIRETECANDY 4MP WDR Turret AI Network Camera Review unit courtesy of Andy (@EMPIRETECANDY) in exchange for a fair and honest review. Andy's ipcamtalk store: link Andy's AliExpress store: link Andy's Amazon store: link Price Approximately US $160 Link to camera...

ipcamtalk.com

Review IPC-T5442TM-AS-LED (Turret, Full Color, Starlight+)

Review IPC-T5442TM-AS-LED (Full Color, Starlight+)

Dahua OEM IPC-T5442TM-AS-LED from EMPIRETECANDY 4MP WDR Turret AI Network Camera Review unit courtesy of Andy (@EMPIRETECANDY) in exchange for a fair and honest review. Andy's ipcamtalk vendor forum: link Andy's AliExpress store: link Andy's Amazon store: link Andy's Email: kingsecurity2014...

ipcamtalk.com

Review: IPC-HDBW5442R-ASE-NI - Dahua Technology Pro AI Bullet Network Camera

Review: OEM IPC-B5442T-ASE-NI 4MP Pro AI Starlight Full-color Fixed Bullet

Many thanks once again to Andy @EMPIRETECANDY we have for testing the OEM IPC-B5442T-ASE-NI 4MP Starlight+ Full Color bullet. This camera has been provided by Andy in exchange for a fair and honest review. This is a fixed 3.6mm bullet (Pro AI) series with the 1/1.8” sensor. It has no built in...

ipcamtalk.com

2231 Review
Review-OEM IPC-T2231RP-ZS 2mp Varifocal Turret Starlight Camera

Review-Dahua IPC-HDW2231RP-ZS Starlight Camera-Varifocal

Again courtesy of @EMPIRETECANDY EmpireTech Andy we have a new cam to look over. Its a new model in Dahua's new Lite H265 Series of cam's. Available for purchase here: Aliexpress.com - Online Shopping for Electronics, Fashion, Home & Garden, Toys & Sports, Automobiles and more Price is approx...

ipcamtalk.com

3241T-ZAS Review

Review-OEM IPC-T3241-ZAS 2mp AI Lite series Varifocal

IPC-T3241-ZAS from EMPIRETECANDY 2MP WDR Turret Varifocal AI Network Camera Review unit courtesy of Andy (@EMPIRETECANDY) in exchange for a fair and honest review. Purchase in the IPCT Store Andy's ipcamtalk vendor forum: link Andy's AliExpress store: link Andy's Amazon store: link Price...

ipcamtalk.com

Less expensive models -

Budget Dahua Cams or china alternatives under $100?

Well here we go. I dont see anywhere more approriate to discuss this. Ive been messing around with putting together a cctv system for close to 3 years now. Ive bought everything i needed and also bought 2 cheap cams from a third party seller on walmart. Those cams cost me a grand total of $50...

ipcamtalk.com

VPN Information Thread

VPN Primer for Noobs

The internet is a force of nature; no video surveillance system made was designed to be exposed to those forces.. NEVER FORWARD PORTS to your NVR or Cameras, doing such things not only exposes you to severe security problems, but everyone else on the internet too.. Hackers dont want your video...

ipcamtalk.com

 

[trig]

Thanks for the good info. I do know about port forwarding as I used it years ago to log into our computer at work using port 3389 on a windows xp pro machine. I know this port is no longer safe to use anymore even though we never got hacked back when we used it. That was in the early 2000's.
For over 20 years I built and repaired computers but not much now as I am much older and don't like doing it near as much. Self taught but it came easy to me as I have always like to tinker. On occasion I am talked into working on one but not much.
I have two desktops now ( one with the i7 and other is older with core duo cpu ) and five laptops so finding a computer is no problem. I just got to find out more about this Blue Iris thing.
You are also right about this
Rule #1 - Cameras multiply like rabbits.
Rule #2 - Cameras are more addictive than drugs.
Rule #3 - You never have enough cameras.
Its winter and I am slow in the shop so I have time to read and learn.
We just can never give up. I try and tell my friends who pester me at my shop that they need to find something to do. All the fresh retired people seem to want to come visit me which I don't like.
Again, thanks for your reply. I will get on this today. Tom

 

[bigredfish]

Thanks, that is what I was thinking. I am retired but I have lots of things in this shop I don't want stolen. For the past four years I have been using the YI dome cameras but not very well pleased with them plus they don't work too good pointing outside. The alerts work sometimes and sometimes not. I have sims cards in the 5 YI cameras I have now and no way would I pay these people for the cloud as their tech support is awful. They keep wanting to push the cloud also.
Any suggestions on a new system ? I would like be view from my home so maybe an NVR ? would work if there is a way to set it up safe. If I lost internet I would think an NVR would keep on recording ??

I have quite a few NVRs installed, Dahua 5000 series mostly. They are very reliable and have most any feature you could ask for.
yes the system would still record without and internet connection.

 

[sebastiantombs]

In terms of a PC, use a desktop only. Laptops throttle the CPU under load and video processing is a constant heavy load. A 6th generation or newer CPU is what to look for. 8GB or memory, minimum. 16GB is better but not really necessary. Lots of slots for drives and SATA connections are a good idea too along with a decent power supply.

 

[trig]

In terms of a PC, use a desktop only. Laptops throttle the CPU under load and video processing is a constant heavy load. A 6th generation or newer CPU is what to look for. 8GB or memory, minimum. 16GB is better but not really necessary. Lots of slots for drives and SATA connections are a good idea too along with a decent power supply.

Intel Core i5-6500 - Core i5 6th Gen Skylake Quad-Core 3.2 GHz LGA 1151 65W Intel HD Graphics 530 Desktop Processor - BX80662I56500
CORSAIR CX-M Series CX550M 550W 80 PLUS BRONZE Haswell Ready ATX12V & EPS12V Semi-Modular Power Supply
My case will hold several SATA hard drives. I also have 8 gigs of ram
I could bring the desktop to my shop and use my i7 laptop at home so I should be good to go.
I have windows 10 pro loaded on a SS 250 gig hard drive now.
I am still lost on how this works but I will read today if I find time.

 

[sebastiantombs]

That should work but may be a little light weight for it, IE higher CPU utilization. If you use sub streams it shouldn't be much of a problem at all.

 

[looney2ns]

What type of internet service do you currently have at the shop? You mention sim cards, are those for your current cams, and that's the only internet service you have?
You need an Alarm system, surveillance cameras are for just that. They are not a security system.

 

[trig]

What type of internet service do you currently have at the shop? You mention sim cards, are those for your current cams, and that's the only internet service you have?
You need an Alarm system, surveillance cameras are for just that. They are not a security system.

Spectrum 400 mbps down and 20 upload . They must have upped the speed and I didn't know it. I thought it was 200/10 but I guess I was upgraded and didn't know about it. I just checked using fast.com and indeed got 400 mbps.
They won't cut me any slack as far as price because this shop was once where I made my living and its listed as a business address even though I am retired. Believe me I have tried.
Yes the micro sim cards are installed in the YI cameras ( 32 gig )
What sort of alarm system would work ?
I like the idea of surveillance where my wife can check in on me and I can also view the area when I am home. I know if I am asleep at night I won't hear the alerts it sends to my iphone though. When the weather is warm I get alerts from bugs flying so I normally just turn off the alerts.

 

[looney2ns]

Spectrum 400 mbps down and 20 upload . They must have upped the speed and I didn't know it. I thought it was 200/10 but I guess I was upgraded and didn't know about it. I just checked using fast.com and indeed got 400 mbps.
They won't cut me any slack as far as price because this shop was once where I made my living and its listed as a business address even though I am retired. Believe me I have tried.
Yes the micro sim cards are installed in the YI cameras ( 32 gig )
What sort of alarm system would work ?
I like the idea of surveillance where my wife can check in on me and I can also view the area when I am home. I know if I am asleep at night I won't hear the alerts it sends to my iphone though. When the weather is warm I get alerts from bugs flying so I normally just turn off the alerts.

You have plenty of speed for a camera system then.

With good cameras, with AI, such as the 5442 dahua cams, you can set them up and eliminate most, if not all false alerts.
Review-OEM Loryta IPC-T5442T-ZE Varifocal 4mp camera (Dahua) | IP Cam Talk

Everything else that Ring has is crap, but their Alarm system gets good marks.

Amazon.com : ring alarm

www.amazon.com

 

[sebastiantombs]

Being an old fashioned guy, and having installed more than a few alarm systems, I prefer wired systems. Ademco/Honeywell or DSC.

 

[JeffCharger]

my suggestion would be to buy blue iris and install it on your i5 desktop so you can then tinker with it. Use the DVR that you've got with existing cameras. This will allow you to get your feet wet and determine what you want/need. I've seen a number of people buy equipment and cameras that are more than what they need. You sound technically capable and it sounds like you'd enjoy the work getting it all going. While you do this, you'll better understand what you're after.

 

[trig]

my suggestion would be to buy blue iris and install it on your i5 desktop so you can then tinker with it. Use the DVR that you've got with existing cameras. This will allow you to get your feet wet and determine what you want/need. I've seen a number of people buy equipment and cameras that are more than what they need. You sound technically capable and it sounds like you'd enjoy the work getting it all going. While you do this, you'll better understand what you're after.

Thanks, is this software limited to the one computer ? like most software. I am not even sure just yet where I would connect one of these cameras . I watched one youtube video today but got interrupted as usual but hope to find time later tonight.
I have been playing around with the Samsung DVR. I installed two cameras on the side of my building and was able to just unscrew the base of the cameras and screw them right in where outside lights were once mounted. I removed the breaker for those lights several years ago so no power to knock me off the ladder lol. Same pipe thread as the camera. Feeding the cable was not too bad. It went thought the light outlet fine. Just knocked out one of those knock out plugs and in I went to shop.

I have the DVR in my office connected to a 32 inch tv using HDMI cable. My friend give me two of his older 2mp cameras plus 60 foot of this Siamese cable after he bought a new system last month. I had a 12 volt DV 5 amp power supply as I am many things from years working on computers to power these cameras on. I don't throw away many things lol
I really like the idea of use my home built i5 pc with this blue iris software on it. One problem might be if it gets really cold at night. We get in the teens on occasion . I have a infrared heater in my office but I cut it off when I leave. I wonder if I just left the pilot light on it would be enough to keep this pc warn enough ?

 

[JeffCharger]

Thanks, is this software limited to the one computer ? like most software. I am not even sure just yet where I would connect one of these cameras . I watched one youtube video today but got interrupted as usual but hope to find time later tonight.
I have been playing around with the Samsung DVR. I installed two cameras on the side of my building and was able to just unscrew the base of the cameras and screw them right in where outside lights were once mounted. I removed the breaker for those lights several years ago so no power to knock me off the ladder lol. Same pipe thread as the camera. Feeding the cable was not too bad. It went thought the light outlet fine. Just knocked out one of those knock out plugs and in I went to shop.

I have the DVR in my office connected to a 32 inch tv using HDMI cable. My friend give me two of his older 2mp cameras plus 60 foot of this Siamese cable after he bought a new system last month. I had a 12 volt DV 5 amp power supply as I am many things from years working on computers to power these cameras on. I don't throw away many things lol
I really like the idea of use my home built i5 pc with this blue iris software on it. One problem might be if it gets really cold at night. We get in the teens on occasion . I have a infrared heater in my office but I cut it off when I leave. I wonder if I just left the pilot light on it would be enough to keep this pc warn enough ?

you can only install on one computer at a time, but you can move from one to another quite easily. Blue Iris also allows you to install a demo version/trial without paying. You could give it a try.

It sounds like you're in good shape. I suspect that you may be limited by the camera quality rather than the DVR quality. I've used some old DVRs that are fine.

I think your PC will be fine in the cold. I live in Ontario/Canada, and have been running a PC in an unheated cottage 12 months a year for about 15 years. The computer has never blinked. I think they like the cold more than the heat. Mine has operated in -20 C easily. I used to keep it in a box in the winter to retain it's own heat -but haven't done that in years. I think it'll be fine.

 

[trig]

you can only install on one computer at a time, but you can move from one to another quite easily. Blue Iris also allows you to install a demo version/trial without paying. You could give it a try.

It sounds like you're in good shape. I suspect that you may be limited by the camera quality rather than the DVR quality. I've used some old DVRs that are fine.

I think your PC will be fine in the cold. I live in Ontario/Canada, and have been running a PC in an unheated cottage 12 months a year for about 15 years. The computer has never blinked. I think they like the cold more than the heat. Mine has operated in -20 C easily. I used to keep it in a box in the winter to retain it's own heat -but haven't done that in years. I think it'll be fine.

I have always like to tinker with things so I am interested in Blue Iris and want to install it on my PC. I plan on installing the trial version to see how things work first and will do that his week I hope.


I also want to mess with this older DVR. As I mentioned I am completely new to these systems. This is how I started with repairing PC's back in 1998. I bought older ones at yard sales and worked with them until I figured it out with help forums just like this one.

If I installed the software on my desktop and installed Blue Iris then how do I go about connecting to a camera ? wired ? using my router and I assume a cat 5 or cat 6 cable maybe using an IP camera ? Where would I buy a camera that would work ? or one you would recommend. I will continue to read more this week.
Again I am new to this so hang with me on all the questions.

Same with the Samsung DVR. Not sure what camera to get ? that would work the best . I am just messing around with it now and don't want to sink a lot of money in something I might never use . It does work great though with the two cameras I have now. I just need two more similar that I could buy for cheap. This would be for backup in case I lost internet. At least that is what I keep telling myself lol

 

[sebastiantombs]

You don't want to connect more than one or two cameras through a router. The backplane bandwidth of ISP routers is too low to support the never ending video streams without bogging it down pretty badly. You need a switch, normally a PoE switch, to connect the cameras and the BI PC to. Even better if that switch has a gigabit uplink port for the PC. That switch can then connect to the router as well to allow access to BI and the camera GUIs for access on other PCs, phones, tablets. BI has a built in web interface, UI3, accessed by using "BI PC IP address:81". It does need user login credentials as well.