Neu-Fusion network ip cctv camera wireless cam server

Network IP Camera Blog

July '06

You don't need to be a network guru to install IP cameras. Many of our customers have little knowledge of networking when they buy their first camera. After a couple of days playing around (with perhaps a little telephone help from us) they end up being something of an expert. It beats going on a networking course!

Although most of our cameras are supplied with their own software packages, it's well worth trying out some of the other applications out there. Today we played with go1984. This excellent application supports most of the Neu-Fusion and Cellvision cameras including the NCS-370W, NCS-700W and CAS-790. We'll have the 700 series products in stock soon.

Just got the new Phihong PSA16U PoE single port injector in stock. So what was the first thing we did with it? Plug it into a non-PoE camera of course! And did the camera like having 48 volts shoved into its ethernet socket? Well, it didn't get any volts, because the Phihong injector is intelligent enough to check that the device on the other end of the cable is PoE compatible. But hey, kids, don't try this at home.

June '06

We're working on a project to secure a building site and we've decided to use power over ethernet to link the camera back to the broadband connection. The image below shows the CAS-390 PoE network camera inside a weatherproof enclosure, 85 metres of cat5 cable and a Phihong 802.3af single port injector (we'll be adding this to our shop soon). Simple - isn't it!

We're putting together a live demo of the PRO wireless network camera. Click here for a sneak preview. Time and date information is superimposed over the image, and a motion detect alert message appears every time movement is detected in our motion detect area (the road surface).

The PRO Wireless Network Camera (CAS-861W) is now in stock. We're just waiting for the printed quick install guides and the CD containing software and PDF manuals. Once we get these, we'll put it on the shop page. The price will be £249 (includes VAT and postage and packing). If you want to get hold of one right now, just drop us an email and we'll give you all the details.

May '06

The CAS-861 really does have a long feature list. Here are some of its more interesting ones: On screen text and graphics - you can upload text and a little JPEG and put it anywhere within the live image. Advanced video controls - you can adjust white balance, maximum exposure, backlight compensation, noise reduction, sharpness and microphone gain. GPIO - you can connect sensors and alarms to the camera's rear panel connector.

Most of the equipment needed to set up a networked security system is standard off-the-shelf IT kit. You need a network (Cat5 cable, hubs and switches, wireless access points) - you need an internet connection (broadband ADSL or cable) and you need a monitoring and recording system (a reasonably powerful PC with good size monitor and hard disk). The only specialised items are the network cameras and the software - and for those two things, you've come to the right place!

We're looking forward to the arrival of our new PRO wireless network camera. The CAS-861W delivers a professional quality image courtesy of its Sony CCD image sensor and interchangable CS lens. There's a professional feature list too - including MPEG4 compression, and built in motion detection. Best of all, it's compatible with IPView Pro so you can use both SOHO and PRO cameras within the same system.

Royal Mail's postage rates have gone up again, Special Delivery is now £7.40 for 1-2kg. At the same time we've decided to introduce some low cost accessories including camera mounting brackets. So it made sense to do away with our postage charge altogether (but this will mean raising some prices). However, our prices are now fully inclusive of VAT and postage & packing, so the price you see is all-inclusive - there are no hidden extras.

April '06

There are some in the CCTV industry who believe the digital revolution has already taken place. Certainly the DVR (digital video recorder) offers many of the benefits of an all-digital system including hard disk recording and remote control & monitoring over the internet. But the DVR has an analogue front-end so it suffers the same fundamental restriction that all analogue video systems suffer from - PAL resolution. PAL (and NTSC) are fixed resolution video formats roughly equivalent to VGA (640x480). High resolution analogue simply won't happen, so when megapixel network cameras appear, analogue won't have much to offer.

If you don't want to fill up your web space with security images, you can set up your own on-site FTP server. Our NSS-202U can take a variety of flash cards including Compact Flash, SD, MMC, Smart Media or Memory Stick in the slots on the front panel. Or you can use a USB flash drive in one of the two USB2.0 sockets on the back. Completely solid-state with no moving parts, it's a compact and reliable way to store your camera images - and you don't have to leave your PC switched on.

Having failed miserably to appear anywhere near the top of Google's web search results for 'network camera', I've discovered that we do have a first page ranking for the same search on Google images. We fare better on the UK MSN search, with a first page ranking and we also appear near the top on Ask UK.

Just been playing with WPA encryption. The 300 series cameras support WPA-PSK (pre-shared key), so if your router has a choice of PSK or RADIUS, use PSK. Also, the cameras use TKIP (temporal key integrity protocol) so, if faced with a choice between TKIP or AES, use TKIP. Finally, when thinking up a passphrase, use jibberish words that don't appear in any dictionary, they're much harder to crack.

March '06

Not all network cameras have Java, but it's an essential feature if you want to put a live image on your website. ActiveX can be used, but a one-time download and installation of the ActiveX control is needed and for most casual visitors this is simply too much trouble and they'll go elsewhere.

I'm finally getting round to updating the technical pages which I've renamed 'tech'. We first wrote these pages when the site was originally set up, so they're getting a bit out of date. I've introduced a simple 5-step technical introduction page which will have links within the text to more detailed technical descriptions. For the moment, links to the original technical articles have been moved to the bottom of the new tech page.

One of the benefits of Power over Ethernet is the distance over which you can send both data and power - the 802.3af standard specifies a maximum of 100 metres. This means you can locate the PoE switched hub with all your other networking equipment, and if you've got a UPS, all your PoE cameras will benefit from a protected power source. That's something you simply couldn't do with cameras that have plug-in power adapters. An excellent resource for information on Power-over-Ethernet can be found at www.poweroverethernet.com.

So you've found an ideal location for your security camera, high up in the corner of a room. It's an excellent vantage point and the camera will be out of harm's way. Only problem is, there isn't a power point nearby. You could run an extension lead, but that would look messy, or you could get an electrician to fit another socket, but that would be expensive. Hmm... I think this is a case for Power over Ethernet!

February '06

Here are some of the new products that will be released in 2006. For more information, see the Neu-Fusion website www.neu-fusion.com

MSN Search (search.msn.co.uk) is such an excellent search engine. It just seems to bring up a more interesting selection of results. Mind you, I would say that wouldn't I. Search for 'network camera' on MSN and our website comes up first in the list!

January '05

Off topic: Search for products with IP in the name and mostly what comes up are IP cameras and IP phones. But here's something a little different - the network thermostat. Browse the thermostat's web page and you can fiddle with the times and temperature of your heating system. If you're leaving work early on a cold winter day, you can switch the heating on from your office PC so it's nice and warm when you get home.

Just been looking at the Sony SNC-RX550N which features "unattended object detection". The camera is able to "detect objects that have been left in one place for a specified duration". This kind of advanced processing built right into the camera, gives us a glimpse into the future of network camera technology. A similarly powerful camera could also perform vehicle number plate recognition, only signalling an alert when a particular vehicle came into view.

Our live demo has gone interactive courtesy of new firmware for the NCS-370W pan/tilt camera. The new firmware (version 3.15) allows public access to the live image and pan/tilt controls but not the admin pages. So now you can put a live image on your website and give visitors an all-round view. If you'd like to update your camera to V3.15, please let us know.

December '05

There are many reasons why network cameras will eventually replace analogue; existing cable infrastructure available in most buildings, seamless use of the internet between camera and monitoring equipment, use of off-the-shelf PC hardware for monitoring and recording - to name just three. But probably the most compelling reason will be migration to high definition (HD), expensive and impractical in the analogue domain.

Pan/tilt/zoom (PTZ) cameras are so much more flexible than their static counterparts, but what about PTZRT? The extra functions are Rotate and Track. Rotate turns the image sensor through 90°, switching the image from landscape to portrait which is more appropriate for monitoring people. Track works by mounting the camera on a rail. A small motor in the base of the camera drives it from one end of the rail to the other, offering alternative viewpoints not available from pan, tilt or zoom. Are PTZRT cameras available? Maybe.

You can check what IP address your PC is using by entering 'ipconfig' at the command prompt (start - run - cmd). This command also returns your network's subnet mask and default gateway address. Your PC is most likely set to 'obtain an IP address automatically' meaning that it got these 3 numbers from your DHCP server (which is most likely in your router). Log in to your router and find the DHCP server section.

The DPB-4400 is a handy little 5-volt battery pack which will run one of our network cameras for around 4 hours. It's useful for monitoring events or testing wireless range for example. It's Lithium Ion, so there are no memory effect problems and the front panel has a neat little LCD for checking the state of charge. It comes with all the cables you need, mains charger, car charger and a little carry case. Note that it can't be used with the NVS-501W because that's a 12-volt device.

I've changed the subnet mask on our LAN to 255.255.0.0 and it's made life a lot easier when adding new stuff to the network. Most network devices ship with the default IP address 192.168.x.x where the last 2 octets (the x's) can be any number. Strangely though, the subnet mask is generally set to 255.255.255.0 which causes problems with the 3rd octet. If the 3rd octet of the new device is not the same as the 3rd octet of your PC, they won't talk to eachother. If you use the subnet mask 255.255.0.0 throughout your LAN, the 3rd octet problem goes away.

The NCS-370W wireless pan/tilt cameras have just come in (they're in the shop now at £159 - postage is free). So I've put the paperwork aside for a few hours to have a bit of a play. Remotely operating the pan/tilt mechanism reminds me of the robot sentries in the film Aliens (without the machine guns of course)! I'll get this camera up in our first floor window in a day or two, overlooking the street. Then we'll put it on our live demo page and work on adding buttons to allow remote control of the pan, tilt and zoom.

The easiest way to make your camera accessible to the internet is to use your router's DMZ (De-militarized zone). Log into your router and locate the DMZ section. Enter the camera's LAN IP address (e.g. 192.168.x.x). Now locate your router's WAN IP address - your camera can be accessed from the internet using the WAN IP address.

November '05

Before installing network cameras, you should map your network. Write down the full range of usable IP addresses, the subnet mask and the default gateway address. Then make a note of which addresses are already in use, both the statics and the DHCP pool. That way, you'll be able to select suitable addresses for your new cameras.

Network camera shipments to grow at 82.8% a year in 2004-2009 by ZDNet's ZDNet Research: In 2009, network camera share will be set to surpass analog camera share in the US, IDC says. While network camera shipments will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 82.8% from 2004 to 2009, analog camera shipments will decline an average of 4.4%.

We've now got version 3.12 firmware for the 330W which adds WPA-PSK encryption and a 4x digital zoom to the feature list. At the same time, we've reduced the price below the £100 mark. This is an unbeatable deal - a quick check on Froogle reveals that no-one else is offering an 802.11g wireless ip camera at this price. If you do see a similar looking camera in this price range, check the specs - you'll probably find it's the older 802.11b model.

Adding network cameras to an existing company network is more about integration than installation. Many of the available IP addresses will already be in use, some by the DHCP server and some statically assigned. It's quite possible that these assignments haven't been very well thought out, they may even overlap. If the network is working though, it's best not to make too many changes.