Advice for optimizing network for multiple IP cams?

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kathayes

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I currently use a Dropcam as a doggy cam and it uploads video to the cloud in real-time 24/7 and I want to get a 2nd one for a baby.

The cameras are WiFi only, and my home is not wired in a way where I could get other ethernet based cams plugged in instead of using the WiFi cams. I think I currently have something like 6-8mbps upload with Time Warner and 20mbps download.

1. Does this mean that if each cam uploads around 1.5-2mbps compressed video (I have no idea if that is right I just made it up) and I have 2 cameras then it might be using 4 of my 6mbps and if I got a 3rd camera it would use up all of my upload bandwidth? Is this how it works?

2. If I am correct with #1, then how do you setup whole home IP cam WiFi based systems with 4-5 cams? Costco has one on sale now with 5 cams (I think), and I am pretty sure they are all WiFi based with a DVR. Do you just have to have a really fast upload and download speed? OR is there some other way of doing this?

Thanks in advance.

 
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1)IF the cameras have a good wifi connection and IF your router is a good router and can pump out a strong signal to the cameras then you could do wireless to a local machine. I use a software called Blue Iris ($50) that records to a local computer, a desktop is best but a laptop (that is always on and always in the home) will work as well.
If doing IP cameras I highly suggest the blue iris software, it is easy to setup but has tons of advanced features that can be configured as well, and works flawlessly, they also make an android/iOS app that integrates well and even gives you notifications of motion triggers or outages.

2) Yes my cameras use what is called a POE (Power Over Ethernet) to send power directly to the camera, I have a...
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indyitguy

indyitguy

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According to the dropcam support site each camera typically only uses .2 Mbps and peaks out at .5 Mbps. Go to Speedtest.net from your computer and run their test. It will tell you what your actual upload and download speeds are. You should be fine with multiple dropcams though. Does the system on sale at Costco have the cloud upload ability too or does it just save to a DVR?
 
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kathayes

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I was wrong about my speeds — I pay for up to 20Mbps download and up to 2Mbps upload. I ran the speedtest.net and my download speed was 22.55Mbps and my upload was 2.06Mbps. I ran the test again about 30 minutes later with about the same results.

After taking another look at the Costco camera bundle, it appears it is not WiFi, but each camera needs to be wired into the main DVR. If that is the case, then I would not be able to use it anyways.
http://www.costco.com/.product.100113069.html?
 
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boosted1g

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That system is a CCTV system and thus you have to run power and a bnc type cable to it (in which case you might as well use ethernet)

The dropcam sends the live feed direcetly to the web.
Most systems have either a dvr box like the cctv system at cosco or a computer that stores the video. The software on the said device then uploads a saved compressed video to the web if configured to do so.

I have 3 IP cameras (power and data via ethernet) in my home and then use a software called BlueIris on a pc in my home and it is set to only record on motion. Once a recording is made, my software then uploads the saved compressed file to an ftp site on a website domain I have as a backup in case my pc got stolen. The big difference between a pc/dvr setup and yours is that a pc/dvr setup is the primary source of the storage/live feed and then uploads to the web if desired, while in your case the dropcam has to upload everything to the web.
 
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kathayes

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1. Do you have any idea if there is a system, or if it is realistic to have multiple IP cams (4-5) that wirelessly transmit video to a computer or DVR device so they do not have to be connected via ethernet or bnc cable? OR is that too much bandwidth and not realistic? Before investing in more drop cams or other cams with built in SD card readers I'm trying to determine if there might even be something out there where I can buy a kit of wireless IP cams that record locally to a drive instead of having to pay the monthly subscription fee, though I do not want to run ethernet/bnc cables throughout my home.

2.) Are you saying that with your system the ethernet also powers the cams so you do not need a separate power supply for each cam?

Thanks.
 
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boosted1g

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Jun 12, 2013
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1)IF the cameras have a good wifi connection and IF your router is a good router and can pump out a strong signal to the cameras then you could do wireless to a local machine. I use a software called Blue Iris ($50) that records to a local computer, a desktop is best but a laptop (that is always on and always in the home) will work as well.
If doing IP cameras I highly suggest the blue iris software, it is easy to setup but has tons of advanced features that can be configured as well, and works flawlessly, they also make an android/iOS app that integrates well and even gives you notifications of motion triggers or outages.

2) Yes my cameras use what is called a POE (Power Over Ethernet) to send power directly to the camera, I have a POE switch (only $40-45) that gives me 4 special POE ports (and 4 regular ones) and will power all of my cameras. Not all cameras support POE but any that is worth a crap do. An ethernet cable has 8 wires in it and 10/100 mbps speed only needs 4 out of the 8 wires thus allowing the use of the other 4 wires for power/ground, now giagbit (1000mbps) speed on the other hand requires all 8 wires. FYI 4 IP cameras doing 25fps at 1080p resolution only uses total around 20-25mbps bandwidth.

One thing that some people dont think about when getting wireless outdoor cameras is that the data is wireless but they still need a power source. If running wiring internally in the house is not doable, you can always run external conduit up by the roof of your house (or bury it if you want to go that route) , and then just combine all the wires and drill through into one room of your house to where that POE switch is, and then you will need to either hook the switch directly to your router via Ethernet or if necessary you can use a power-line network adapter (another $40) that sends data over your power-lines.
 
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