newbie and lots of questions please read :)

[okosub]

Hey guys so I'm new on the site and to the camera world. I joined just a little bit ago (today) after seeing a post that intrigued me and for which i have been breaking my head. in any case i have 4 2332 (2 are 2.8, 2 are 4mm). I also have a 2532 which i'm hoping to place at the front door but thats a separate thread. anyway i was playing with my 7608 and the cameras and there is this option under image called capture mode which has close, 1920 and 2048. I have played with it somewhat and it seems that it adjusts the image from 16x9 to 4x3. which is fine BUT what is the point then of having that separate from the video/audio resolution? is one for live view and the other for recording and if so which one is which?

separately i have the 2.8 one in front and one in back covering a larger area that are setup right side up, but the 2 4mm are set on the sides of the house and view a narrow (6ft path) that is about 50ft long so i flipped it and did a rotate. what i'm wondering is what you guys would suggest as far as resolution for each of my cameras. i feel like i got the 3mp to take advantage of the clearer more pixel capable device and feel if i go with the 1920 will lose the point and may have just gotten the 1080 which would be silly i guess?

the other question is: what settings govern the live view and which ones are the actual record settings because i have yet to figure that out and am breaking my head on it. last but not least what types of config should i do as far as events or continuous, whats the best settings for resolution and motion sensing? any suggestions would be hugely welcome.

 

[Michelin Man]

I'm not sure what the capture mode thing is as I don't have it on my NVR, you must be running one of the later firmware.

It's up to you on the resolution. You gain more width at 2MP/1080p but lose a bit of height. At 3MP you lose width but gain height and a bit more detail. I believe most people run their cameras at 1080p for varying reasons. 3MP cameras are more common and readily available than the lower resolution models, also the price of the 3MP version is like $10 dollars more. The lower resolution models do tend to do better at night , I don't recall if the sensor size is the same or not. However less noise in the image and better low light performance (generally).

Whatever your main stream is should be what is recorded, unless you have it set to motion detect, there is a separate Main stream (Event) option I believe.

For motion detect vs continuous theres different things to keep in mind. With motion detection you may lose essential footage because the subject was too small in the frame, or the camera just completely missed them due to lag or whatever. It does make it easier to go back through events as theres only motion detected footage being shown. Your HDD space is used up more efficiently this way so it could last months in this setting. Continuous recording on the other hand you won't miss out on undetected movement. However you won't see when motion is detected, so you'd only playback when you know somethings happened. You can have continuous recording and motion detect set off an event. You can only see this when viewing directly off the NVR though.

 

[okosub]

hey thanks for replying so yeah i got the latest firmware for the nvr and all the cameras. i don't seem to have issues with image at night or day though i'd love for the remote image to be clear and it seems to not want to do so.

what do you mean set off an event with motion detect like send an email type of thing? thats the other thing, the way i configured the cameras i have the cameras emailing me directly which is great but they are either too sensitive or not sensitive enough so i either get everything or nothing. the nvr however for some reason seems to not pick up events even if i have the sensitivity set higher (maybe the way i have the cameras on the network configured?)

 

[Michelin Man]

By remote image do you mean on iVMS-4500?

The camera outputs 2 streams, the main stream and the substream. The substream is lower resolution therefore lower bitrate, it is more suitable for remote viewing due to the reduced bitrate. Most internet connections cannot handle more than 1mbps upload speed. The Main stream has a bitrate that's default setting is 4096 which is already 4 times higher than most internet connection upload bandwidths. You can change the resolution of the substream up to 704x576 which will make it clear enough to remote viewing.

If you mean remote image as in email attachments. The NVRs send a small screenshot which you can't change the resolution as far as I know. The cameras will send a large image if they can access the internet.

Make sure you change the settings on the NVR, as if you change the settings on the camera the NVR may overwrite the settings.

You will need to experiment with the boxes for motion detection and sensitivity.

 

[okosub]

The odd thing is if I reduce one camera to 1920 it works as soon as I up it to 2048 it dies and it seems to be just that one cam. I wonder if I should just reset it and start over.

 

[Michelin Man]

What is it you are actually changing that causes it to 'crash'?

Also the reason why it goes from 16:9 to 4:3 is because 1080p is 16:9, while 3MP = 2048x1536 = 4:3.

However, yes restarts work wonders.

 

[okosub]

It seems to be random and it doesn't actually crash it just gives me a blank output so if I switch to fluent it works then I play around with the different cameras to see which will work in clear and it almost seems like one at a time. Also I should say it seems to work better more consistent on an iPad than on an iPhone maybe something on the phone?

I'll try the reset

Also to go back to the capture mode basically under each camera in the image section it's the last item where you can adjust the frequency, mirror and rotate there is the capture mode. I'm just trying to figure out how it's different from the video output section because it seems to change in both places. Thanks for all the advice really appreciate it

 

[zero-degrees]

@okosub one thing to keep in mind when comparing motion recording vs. continuous recording as there are a LOT of varying opinions on this forum regarding that. I personally like continuous 24/7 recording so that nothing is missed. I also have motion turned on, on two of my cameras "main entry points". However the motion is set to email me, thus I get an email saying "motion detected" that includes 3 snap shots of the event each spaced 2seconds apart. If I see something I know when in the footage to go back and review. I get maybe one email a day, normally caused by an animal, so its not like i get tons of false email flags. I find this the most effective for my needs/desires.

 

[okosub]

@zero-degrees thanks I think that's what I will be doing as well however need to get the motion sensitivity adjusted. How did you manage that? From nvr or cams or combo and are you using all default software or using a standalone unit? I can't seem to have the nvr send shots I've only been able to accomplish that from the cameras after finally getting them ability to access outside while connected to nvr. Being in IT myself and having had my share of experience that particular bit is a thorn in my side.

 

[zero-degrees]

@okosub I am using an NVR from LTSecurity. They motion feature has this automatically built in just like the HIKVision NVR's. Again, everyone has an opinion about NVR's vs PC's with software like blue iris. Personally - the NVR from LTS (private label HIK) provides me all the features and functions that I need. I run my motion sensitivity at the lowest setting (in the NVR) and find this to be the most effective with only maybe 1 false alarm a day (if at all) - typically caused by an animal.

 

[okosub]

@zero-degrees lowest sensitivity you mean probably the equivalent of 1 on the hik?

 

[zero-degrees]

@okosub correct, that is what I found works best for me and my environment