CCTV Analog to IP

Curious Geroge

Hi, I recently had 2 cameras installed and both have BNC connectors. Since I have the house setup on the network, I wondered how do I connect the BNC connector to the network. I've read that I could buy a DVR and plug that into the network or I could get an Analog to IP Video Encoder but both cost alot and I'm not sure they will work. Has anyone done this ?

KoolKid

What exactly are you trying to achieve?

Curious Geroge

KoolKid wrote: »

What exactly are you trying to achieve?

I want to be able to view the live feed of the cameras on any device connected to the network in the house. The plan is to connect the cameras to a Synology NAS and use its surveillance station setup to do this. The obstacle is that its all IP based so I need to convert it. I see alot about Axis video encoders but these are 00's of € and I hoped there may be an easier home solution. Thx

KoolKid

The viewing across the network is easy..the recorder should connect to your network like any other device.
For recording to a network or remote device you will need to use encoders to IP. I don't know of any cheap ways to do that I'm afraid.

glynf

Curious Geroge wrote: »

I want to be able to view the live feed of the cameras on any device connected to the network in the house. The plan is to connect the cameras to a Synology NAS and use its surveillance station setup to do this. The obstacle is that its all IP based so I need to convert it. I see alot about Axis video encoders but these are 00's of € and I hoped there may be an easier home solution. Thx

George , you have three options:

1) Keep you analogue cameras and buy a DVR (smallest ones are 4 channel, from 500 Gb up), most basic DVR's come with half decent networking capabilities-DDNS, Port Forwarding, etc. This can easily be set up for remote access and most brands have a bog standard Android/apple app as well.

Pros: most straightforward and possibly cost effective method. Cons: Image quality poorer than IP, limited functionality with cameras (no alarm outs or SMTP), if required.

2) Use the Synology NAS & surveillance station with the existing analogue cameras. To connect your cameras, as mentioned above you will need an encoder with a channel for each camera you plan to use. Connect the encoder to your router/switch and add to surveillance station.
Pros: Re-using the cameras-if they are usable...

Cons: encoders can be costly, more things to possibly go wrong. If the cameras are not be good enough quality, its pointless spending cash on the encoders.

3) Use the Synology NAS & surveillance station but replace the analogue cameras with IP cameras. Probably a better solution to use if the existing cameras are poor quality. Bear in mind if they are wired in coax, you will also have to rewire with Cat5. You will also require a PoE switch to power the cameras unless they have 12V DC power in. Also allow for a spare port on your router/switch for each camera.

Pros: Best quality images, new cameras Cons: Cost; A basic 720p IP camera (use IR’s if external, reduces noise at low light levels-less bandwidth chewed) is still about 200 plus a cam, plus the PoE if needed and licences for the Synology. Also bear in mind if you have 3-4 cameras recording on your on your NAS it can slow down read/write times.

Curious Geroge

glynf wrote: »

George , you have three options:

1) Keep you analogue cameras and buy a DVR (smallest ones are 4 channel, from 500 Gb up), most basic DVR's come with half decent networking capabilities-DDNS, Port Forwarding, etc. This can easily be set up for remote access and most brands have a bog standard Android/apple app as well.

Pros: most straightforward and possibly cost effective method. Cons: Image quality poorer than IP, limited functionality with cameras (no alarm outs or SMTP), if required.

2) Use the Synology NAS & surveillance station with the existing analogue cameras. To connect your cameras, as mentioned above you will need an encoder with a channel for each camera you plan to use. Connect the encoder to your router/switch and add to surveillance station.
Pros: Re-using the cameras-if they are usable...

Cons: encoders can be costly, more things to possibly go wrong. If the cameras are not be good enough quality, its pointless spending cash on the encoders.

3) Use the Synology NAS & surveillance station but replace the analogue cameras with IP cameras. Probably a better solution to use if the existing cameras are poor quality. Bear in mind if they are wired in coax, you will also have to rewire with Cat5. You will also require a PoE switch to power the cameras unless they have 12V DC power in. Also allow for a spare port on your router/switch for each camera.

Pros: Best quality images, new cameras Cons: Cost; A basic 720p IP camera (use IR’s if external, reduces noise at low light levels-less bandwidth chewed) is still about 200 plus a cam, plus the PoE if needed and licences for the Synology. Also bear in mind if you have 3-4 cameras recording on your on your NAS it can slow down read/write times.

Thanks;

The cameras are all new (installed by the security firm). The wiring is all cat6 wiring to each camera. If I was to remove the camera and replace with an IP camera, I only have the cat 6 cable so the camera needs to be POE - does that mean I need to buy a POE device(s) for inside the house and then connect to a Synology NAS or would the NAS power be sufficent for POE. Only 2 cameras so I think that the Synology NAS has 2 free licences. I emailed them a week ago but still no response.

glynf

Curious Geroge wrote: »

Thanks;

The cameras are all new (installed by the security firm). The wiring is all cat6 wiring to each camera. If I was to remove the camera and replace with an IP camera, I only have the cat 6 cable so the camera needs to be POE - does that mean I need to buy a POE device(s) for inside the house and then connect to a Synology NAS or would the NAS power be sufficent for POE. Only 2 cameras so I think that the Synology NAS has 2 free licences. I emailed them a week ago but still no response.

You can easily re-use the Cat6 cables for IP's as you said-just make off Cat 6 cables with RJ plugs (make sure you get the correct ones, as they are different to Cat 5/5e jacks).

I’m fairly certain most NAS’ do not have PoE ports on the back, so you will have to buy injectors or a small 4 port PoE switch like this to hang off your router or the second port on your NAS.

Another option is to get an IP camera with a 12V DC input as well as PoE and re-use the power supply for the existing analogue cams-chances are they use. 12 V DC 1A PSU’s.
Surveillance Station comes with two camera licenses since version 7.0, and is ONVIF compliant so there are a lot more options for compatible cameras.