IP Cameras and NVR trouble

[GoBuckeyes]

Hi Guys,
I have 6 sites that all have regular wired, bnc connected 2 mp cameras and traditional DVRs. I've had Lorex, Q-See and HD-View DVRs and various camera makes with equal success. My seventh site needed a new DVR which is located at the end of the building. Running multiple camera cables 150' is a real PITA so I went with a POE system. There were several benefits to this such as being able to run one network cable to my other equipment room, mounting a POE swtich and being able to run 8 cameras out of that room. Plus the system is 4k, can handle 32 cameras etc. Boy do I wish I had just bought another $200 DVR and more 2 mp cameras.

I actually surprised myself by being able to hook up and connect to the switch, the IP cameras and the like. The resolution of the 4k cameras is unbelievable. This system happens to be a Q-See NVR with 4 Q-See 4K cameras. The other 5 cameras I have hooked up thus far are Reolink 4mp ip cameras. My problem wasn't with setting the system up, its with keeping it up. It doesn't matter if I'm accessing the cameras through the app or watching them at the NVR but they constantly are going "offline". They will come back for a little bit then "offline" again. It's not all the cameras at once but they do all do it. They also will pixelate.. a lot. Either the whole image is garbled or sometimes just the bottom or top. Its really frustrating as we rely on our cameras a lot. I was so ****ed off that I actually ordered another 4k NVR, this time from HD-View. I just got it plugged in today to replace the Q-See one but it pretty much has the same issue. I havent gotten the remote access for this NVR set up yet, but at the site its the same deal..."camera 5 has gone offline". Am I missing something with these cameras or did I just buy two headaches?

Thanks for any help.

 

[mjwalsh]

GoBuckeyes,

You might want to call your ISP. I called mine on Sunday & the tech support said he could see 36 disconnects. Yesterday they sent someone down to check on noise with their cabling. It did some good possibly by the techie redoing some cable tv ends ends & told me to monitor the disconnect potential. The next step they may put in a brand new router (cable modem) within their specific equipment.

I am starting to use more of the 5 static IP addresses ... not sure if the router support is doing it correctly or not. I read somewhere where DCHP can cause whatever network items to go offline.

I still think IP with POE cameras are the way to go ... I guess time will tell!!!

 

[br549ms]

Did you run the IP cabling along side any of the 3 phase motor wires. the start and stop of motors may cause interference (also VFD can cause issues).

 

[GoBuckeyes]

Did you run the IP cabling along side any of the 3 phase motor wires. the start and stop of motors may cause interference (also VFD can cause issues).

It is not. The thing is, even cameras that are plugged directly into the NVR (either one) experience the same issue?

 

[JustaGuy]

4K cameras use a *lot* of bandwidth, and as IP cameras are going to be sensitive to network and cabling issues. What grade cabling did you run? I would think CAT5e would be a minimum, but CAT6 preferred. Also, the POE switch needs to be gigabit and a good brand (I prefer Cisco gear), and probably needs to be POE+ to provide sufficient power to the cameras. Some things to check:

If you terminated your own cables, make sure your termination hardware (plugs and jacks) are also CAT5e/CAT6.
If you terminated your own cables, and you aren't experienced at terminating ethernet cables, (and even if you are), double check any terminations you made and consider re-terminating.
If you pulled the cable, and at any time used over 25lbs of force to pull the cable, it may no longer be in spec and should be re-pulled.
Make sure you do not run the cabling inside conduit or wire troughs with other signal wires or AC wires - even low-voltage AC (like 24 volt) can cause issues.
If you have to run the cabling parallel to AC wires, stay at least 6" away from any not in conduit (at least 2" away if in conduit) and make any crossings at 90-degree angles.
Make sure you do not run the cabling near fluorescent light fixtures, VFDs, or any other electrically noisy devices. If you can't avoid it, use shielded cabling and grounded, shielded terminations and switches.
Do not tightly coil excess cable, and do not bend or "fold" the cable or zip tie / wire tie tightly.

There's probably more, but off the top of y head that should be a good start.

 

[br549ms]

It is not. The thing is, even cameras that are plugged directly into the NVR (either one) experience the same issue?

When testing with cameras plugged directly into the NVR are you unplugging the others? if so and you are sure that interference is not causing your problem.

Maybe hardware - What is size / speed of hard drive, can it handle all the 4K camera streaming (data overload).


My LOREX 4K system will blink every now and then (go dark of an instant - less than a second) but it is noticeable and shows up on the recorded video. Happens more often when we are busy and lots of motion in all the cameras view.

 

[GoBuckeyes]

Thanks guys.

I did not terminate my own cables. I bought Cat5e cables of various lengths from Amazon and the cables that came with the Q-See system are also Cat5e. I have issues with cameras using both cabling.

The Q-See system came with a 2TB drive (don't know specs but would expect them to use an adequate drive for their own system) and I added a 3TB Western Digital Purple DVR rated drive. The HD-View didn't come with a drive and I added a 6TB Western Digital Purple drive. The drives seem fine as they record and playback what ever I see on the live view. Also , when you're watching the live view the drives are inconsequential, you could remove the drives and still use the NVR.

I will have to crawl around and really make sure the cabling is no where near any other wires or lights etc. Maybe thats it? I'm going to hook up one camera in the equipment room about 4 feet from the NVR with zero chance of interference and see if that camera is good and stable or if it will have the same offline/pixelating problem like the others.

 

[pgrzes]

A guy on another page I follow recommends with the 4k and higher systems not to get bigger than 8 camera systems. He recommends multiple 8 camera systems over a single larger system due to the large bandwidth necessary with the higher resolution. I know thats not the issue you are having but just throwing it out there. I have kind of lost faith in QSee. After just ditching any options or support of my 1080p QSee system, I will not buy their items any longer. After getting a new iPhone and finding out that system can not connect on any iPhone with the newest ios. I called QSee to see how I can get on to view my cameras their response was to buy a new system!!!??? I said ok thanks I will, but it will be a Lorex not QSee.

 

[mjwalsh]

Pgrzes, GoBuckeyes & others,

Anybody besides myself use Blueiris Software (somewhat opensource?) that will also always allow connect to phones with their phone app for both Android & IOS??? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2XQGPdKt2M&app=desktop

I may stay with that approach if I have too much grief with a dedicated 16 port POE ethernet NVR that I will be setting up hopefully before too long. This time I am leaning towards using Cat 8 from the POE ethernet switch to the 24/7 super dooper computer that records the video. https://www.amazon.com/s?k=cat+8+ethernet+cable&crid=301ATUY1743JJ&sprefix=cat+8,aps,202

For the Coax cameras ... our somewhat outdated but extremely trusty over 10 years old GE Kalatel system that I believe still can be found on Ebay sometimes is still worthwhile enought ... to be kept operational.

One of my laundromat customers who recently retired from State Corrections sometimes brainstorms with me about his challenges had been being responsible for over 300 cameras & the mounting of those cameras!

I think the days of the similar FREE reliable remote accesses like LogMeIn etc are gone. The good deal or free with DA CLOUD it seems is sometimes a tease with no guarantee of the price not going out of sight later on one dependency is established. Not sure if anybody else has observed or noticed that???

 

[JustaGuy]

I will have to crawl around and really make sure the cabling is no where near any other wires or lights etc. Maybe thats it? I'm going to hook up one camera in the equipment room about 4 feet from the NVR with zero chance of interference and see if that camera is good and stable or if it will have the same offline/pixelating problem like the others.

Sounds like a good plan of attack to me.