CCTV system here in Thailand.

[jack71]

We have an existing CCTV system with 2 megapixel cameras (I think). 

 

A few of them are not working correctly. The guy is quoting us 2250 baht for each new 5 megapixel cameras. Is this an adequate megapixel coverage for an average CCTV system or am I being taken to the cleaners?

 

First he says he has to come and check the DVR support for the new cameras... whatever that means. 

 

Please help me if. you have knowledge on this subject

 

thanks

[OneMoreFarang]

I suggest have a look at this video and maybe other videos from this guy. He knows what he is talking about.

 

DVR = Digital Video Recorder, this is where your videos are recorded and where you can replay i.e. the last hour or whatever time. They have obviously all limitations. A relative old DVR won't be able to handle the newest cameras with the highest resolution, etc.

 

I am not sure if this is described in the following video, I know he has one video about the purpose of video cameras. What do you want? And overview about everything? That will give you an overview but no details. Or do you want to be able to recognize a face i.e. near your door?

 

 

[recom273]

I was just watching the latest hook up video.

 

 

I think the video recommended by @OneMoreFarang is excellent .. After watching the video, I ended up with a few Reolink RLC-810A @ around 6K THB - I will upgrade these cameras in time as the price drops on the higher spec'd reolink cameras, and move them to less critical roles. I think the 810A offer a balance between performance and cost.

 

5MP cameras, what do you want them to do? You can see from the YouTube video how cameras perform, if you want detailed captures of peoples faces or number plates, then the camera (1080P?) he's offering probably won't cut it. 

 

IMHO, from what I see, every cowboy and his brother is on CCTV a the moment, they have no real training on placement or networking knowledge, they are just installing Chinese kit with a high profit margin - when they aren't doing CCTV they are cleaning and fitting air-conditioning.

 

You DVR whatever you have is your video recorder. He needs to check compatibility.

 

[CharlieH]

My opinion, it depends entirely on individual needs.

 

If its simple monitoring/recording for a home it can be done very economically and no need to throw money at it.

If its more elaborate and perhaps security etc for a business then of course its a different application and cost.

Gone are the days of specialist installation in many cases.

[OneMoreFarang]

About prices:  I also bought Reolink cameras in the Reolink Direct Store here:

https://reolinkdirect.aliexpress.com/store/4445019

 

About cameras: I bought the Reolink RLC-811A 4K PoE IP Camera 8MP 5X Optical Zoom Human/Car Detection 2-way Audio Color Night Vision Smart Home CCTV

I use is in the moment in my new apartment where I see the renovation work which is going on. The camera quality is very good. But I also learned (again) don't assume everything is included.

 

Reolink offers for some cameras a connection to their cloud. I think for one camera it's even free. Great! But for the model which I have there is no Reolink cloud connection, even if I would want to pay for it. There are of course other options. But I naively thought that the cloud connection is always available...

 

So, buyers be aware and look what you really want and get. It's not rocket science but be careful and don't assume...

[thailand49]

Years ago I was quoted 1500 per camera said they couldn't be fixed? 

I replaced 3 out of 6, as soon as thunder came they got knocked out,. 

I took everything sold it to the recycle guy for 1000 baht,  replaced them with fake ones and got a big Labador.

[portlandtree]

i have issuses with my cameras occasionly out of 8 1 stops working its always from lightning all i do is replace the low wattage plug-in transformer at the non-working camera  3-4 in the past 3-4 years no big deal cheap too.

 

[tjo o tjim]

My CCTV system has cameras that range in price from 2,500B to over 50,000B; it all comes down to what they are being used for.  You need to understand the requirements for field of view, distance of interest from the camera, low-light performance, and then what you need out of the DVR.  I mostly like my system for my personal needs, but those needs are a lot more extensive than most people might have.

 

There is a big financial difference between knowing there is a car at your driveway and being able to identify who it is when it is coming down the road as an example.

[JoeKok]

You should check out those CCTV that can link up to the cloud. In that case, you are able to view your footage from anywhere.

[The Theory]

On 9/29/2022 at 9:07 PM, jack71 said:

or am I being taken to the cleaners?

Do you really need 5mp cameras ? 
How many ? Wired or WiFi

(wireless) ? 
Using 5mp cameras requires a larger space (hard drive that is located inside the DVR). Perhaps a new DVR will be needed with a large hard drive for 5mp cameras. 
I won't do if I were you. I would replace the cameras with newer ones, maybe 3mp. But still perhaps there will be need for a new recorder. 
 

[jack71]

On 9/30/2022 at 1:51 PM, tjo o tjim said:

My CCTV system has cameras that range in price from 2,500B to over 50,000B; it all comes down to what they are being used for.  You need to understand the requirements for field of view, distance of interest from the camera, low-light performance, and then what you need out of the DVR.  I mostly like my system for my personal needs, but those needs are a lot more extensive than most people might have.

 

There is a big financial difference between knowing there is a car at your driveway and being able to identify who it is when it is coming down the road as an example.

so whats the difference between 3MP and 5? All cameras are just looking at small distances inside our business. 

[sometimewoodworker]

46 minutes ago, jack71 said:

so whats the difference between 3MP and 5? All cameras are just looking at small distances inside our business. 

The difference will be in the resolution available, pretty obviously, however you may have a need to distinguish fine detail in a small part of the image, in which case the 5 is better. So the benefits will be absolutely dependent on exactly what you want to see.
 

If you just want to see if a person is in the building 2Mp cameras may be good enough, if you want to see if he has shaved then 5 or 8 may be needed.

[tjo o tjim]

On 10/1/2022 at 4:28 AM, jack71 said:

so whats the difference between 3MP and 5? All cameras are just looking at small distances inside our business. 

I take the horizontal pixel count and divide by field of view (typically 90-110 degrees), so a 3MP camera gives you 18 pixels per degree and a 5MP camera gives you 30.  At 4m, each pixel represents 2.3mm with the 5MP camera or 4mm with the 3MP.  So, the image for a face might be 50x30 pixels with the 3MP camera and 85x50 for the 5MP.  A hand grabbing something off the shelf might be half that in each direction.

 

If you just care about seeing that someone came in the door 3MP is fine.  If you want to be able to identify their face 5MP would be better.  If you want to be able to post the person's picture for stealing 8MP might be needed.  Really comes down to your expectations.

 

Formula is d*tan(FOV/(.67*MP)) = pixel spacing, with d = distance in mm.

 

(My biggest camera can read ship names about 20km away with good light.)

[bluejets]

On 9/30/2022 at 12:07 AM, jack71 said:

First he says he has to come and check the DVR support for the new cameras... whatever that means. 

At a guess I'd say he has to determine if the existing are PAL or NTSC system.

One will not work on the other............