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VIDEO CAPTURE

ClingpeachClingpeach Posts: 156
in Residential Forum
My AMX (prima donna) programmer has set up my video capture by way of an ftp folder on an old Windows XP computer. It means that the capture program is constantly running and when there are power failures (even though its on a UPS) it causes untold problems on the Computer.
It works well for a time then it doesnt..ie the computer shuts down.
My I.T. guy thinks that this is an antiquated method of doing things..my amx programmer doesnt really want to hear that..
So im wondering if theres another way to do things..
Hope im making myself clear..

Comments

  • mpullinmpullin Posts: 949
    Does said I.T. guy have any suggestions for improvements or alternatives? "Antiquated" by itself doesn't mean 'bad'.
  • ClingpeachClingpeach Posts: 156
    No he doesnt. He was going to come on these forums to ask as I told him computers and AMX works in a completely different manner..I thought I would save him the trouble and ask around.
  • John NagyJohn Nagy Posts: 1,742
    It kinda matters to know what you are capturing video of... and how you intend to view it on what kind of panels. Many possibilities, many differing solutions.
  • ClingpeachClingpeach Posts: 156
    Not being a programmer I will describe as best as I can.
    Based on various sensors the 4 cameras around the perimiter of the house switches to a certain feed...that works well and displays to all the FIXED AMX panels in the house with a video feed.
    In terms of the Pool Panel was an MVP 8.4 now an Ipad the camera feed shows up on that as well...by way of the program WEBCAM XP. The panel points to a computer with a fixed ip address and the cam jpg is in the ftp folder.
    It works but I dont like that the whole solution is based on a computer that needs to be up and running and is constantly sending the jpg to the ftp folder.
    I do have a very nice software solution that shows all 4 cams on my computers eliminating AMX completely and is great for when i travel but Ipad wont point to it nor will AMX the unit is made by Supercircuits.
    Hope Ive made myself understandable.
  • jjamesjjames Posts: 2,908
    Get a video server - Axis comes to mind, I know there are others out there.

    Here's what I'd suggest (and it works great on an 8400 as well!)
    http://www.axis.com/products/cam_240q/index.htm <- No audio, limited frame rate
    http://www.axis.com/products/cam_241qa/index.htm <- Audio, full frame rate

    They have many, many options.

    Good luck!

    We also use these and hook them up to a switch - create a hidden installer page that we can VNC into, and look at the various cable boxes / satellite boxes; we then hook up those cab / sat boxes to an Ethernet power switch to reboot them remotely. Totally worth it when you're 3 hours away from a jobsite - nothing like getting in and fixing your client's TV from your PJs. (Sorry - topic drift, but just showing all the different applications you could use these pieces for.)
  • ClingpeachClingpeach Posts: 156
    THANKS.. seems to be affordable...will purchase it.
    So can you explain to me? I will not need that computer on all the time and after programming the panels will point to that particular server is that correct?
  • jjamesjjames Posts: 2,908
    Right, this takes the computer out of the equation completely.

    You'll need to actually have some kind of hard wired video feed ran to it (composite with a BNC end). After that, it's just a streaming video feed that can be viewed on an iPhone, iPad, touch panel, computer, etc. The new challenge might be getting a composite feed to the video server.
  • ClingpeachClingpeach Posts: 156
    Thanks for the great info. All the camera feeds go into a central location and i will put the server right where it is.
  • John NagyJohn Nagy Posts: 1,742
    Once you have an IP stream to view on the 8400, you can also use it on any AMX panel, so you could eliminate the video switching mess for the other panels. If you wanted to.
  • ClingpeachClingpeach Posts: 156
    QUESTION??
    I hear AXIS has an app for the ipad...My ipad is now the POOL PANEL..why do i need to use AMX programming at all..? Its only being delivered tomorrow? So im not sure..but im thinking hmm?
  • jjamesjjames Posts: 2,908
    AMX for programming for what? The video portion? Or in general?
  • ClingpeachClingpeach Posts: 156
    I have all 4 cams show up on all my other panels by way of hard wire...or the mvps are for specific televisions which obviousy has the cam video feeds. I purchased this AXIS purely to shut down the older computer with the ftp folder. A few months ago I shut down the pool panel and use the Ipad in place of the pool mvp but i needed a way to log onto the cameras while i was out at the pool. So my thinking is if theres an APP for the AXIS video server on the ipad..why would i need to intergrate it with AMX ....i would merely use the APP...make sense?? i hope so
  • viningvining Posts: 4,368
    The Axis server has a built in webserver just like any camera so if Axis has an app it should works on all there cameras and servers. Regardless of an app you could always just view by going to the URL of the server with the iPad, iPhone, BBerry.......

    Is the PC with the FTP folder also acting as an archiving storage for still pics or video sort of like a DVR to record a history in the event your house is burglarized or something?

    If so and you want to keep a log of pics so you can back track events you can always switch to a dedicated server Synology or QNap come to mind that can be set to resume when power is restored. If all the PC is doing is holding the current pic for TP retrieval then that's kind of a lame set up unless it's also doing a file conversion but almost all cameras allow saving stills as jpeg so that's not likely.
  • John NagyJohn Nagy Posts: 1,742
    Yes, it's an important point customers frequently overlook when they decide against a security DVR. Live cameras are great, they let you look at the place where your stolen stuff once was. If that's enough, fine. But if you want to see what happened, you need history.
  • ClingpeachClingpeach Posts: 156
    I have a VCR constantly capturing the video feeds..can revert back if needed. The one computers sole source was to capture to an ftp file..
    I have other more robust computers doing the picture streaming etc. But that one ftp computer is on its last legs and thats why I was looking for an updated solution.
    The best thing which is not AMX and so much more user friendly really is the slingcatcher and slingboxes I have in the house all attached to my dvr's those provide camera feeds as well...especially when im travelling..
  • DHawthorneDHawthorne Posts: 4,584
    I don't know if you are really interested in going so far, but there are a lot of DVR options out there instead of hooking up a VCR to your cameras. ATV makes a very nice one, and you can easily export specific time blocks to video files. I have a client with 15 cameras, and it is recording constantly and can store about a week's worth of history. That's a fair amount of stuff.

    Another option is network cameras, but they aren't cheap ($700 or so as opposed to less than $100). The Panasonic ones will accept an SD card so each one can keep it's own history. They can also be connected to directly by any browser, portable device, or touch panel that supports dynamic images. They also have browser-based pan/tilt and audio (only in IE) on their browser page.
  • ClingpeachClingpeach Posts: 156
    Not so interested in web cams..i have those around the house its fine..I like the idea of the ATV..will look into it thanks. My cams around the perimiter of the house work well so im not looking to change those. Thanks Dave.
  • ClingpeachClingpeach Posts: 156
    Dave can you give me the model of the ATV please?
    AXIS Server is up and running..4 cams showing up crystal clear on iphone..ipad..thanks for all the help with this EVERYONE
  • John NagyJohn Nagy Posts: 1,742
    Also look at NUUO, DVR software for IP cameras. One of our dealers integrated a set of 9 IP cameras viewable with PTZ from touch panels on our software, with all the recording via NUUO, and the customer was VERY happy.

    http://www.nuuo.com/company.php?id=37
  • DHawthorneDHawthorne Posts: 4,584
    Clingpeach wrote: »
    Dave can you give me the model of the ATV please?
    AXIS Server is up and running..4 cams showing up crystal clear on iphone..ipad..thanks for all the help with this EVERYONE

    Here's a link to the product page; the primary difference between models is how many cameras you can put on them.

    http://www.atvideo.com/products/categories/digital-video-recorders-0
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