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Anyone here have Swann wireless security cameras ?

BillK

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Been looking at security cameras and the Swann wireless ones caught my eye. Looks like they would be a lot easier to hook up. All you need is a power source for each camera. If anyone here happens to have them I would like to hear your feedback.
 
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BillK

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like POE vs wifi and BNC

I am sure it is better and if I was working on a new building as it was being constructed that would be the way to go. However retrofitting into an existing structure seems like it would be a lot easier going the wireless route as long as there is power close to the camera locations.
 

ddawg16

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Swan makes good stuff....but I would suggest not going wireless. You are not going to get the resolution with wireless that you get with wired....such as POE.

Look at the specs. I'm betting they show the resolution as 760 x 480...not even close to HD.

Think about it....for wireless, you need to have power close to it. How much harder is it to run a Cat6 cable?

I used to have a Lorex wireless system. Now it's a Lorex HD NVR POE system.....huge difference
 

Viper98912

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I've had a Swann wired system in the past and I liked it, and I just bought another...
 

OzarkMan

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Not a Swann, but I have the Lorex HD 1080 system. After about a year, the cameras resolution is more like 480TVL. I think the chinese stuff seems to degrade over time or in my case, the arizona climate
 

rmmiller

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Look at the specs. I'm betting they show the resolution as 760 x 480...not even close to HD.

Going to have to agree, no real difference between running low voltage wire or Cat6. I was looking to go wireless as well but with the Arlo cameras, not sure I want to deal with the batteries though. Murphy's law would have one go dead when you need it the most!:beer:
 

wasfuzz

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If you have a Metal pole barn or metal sided shop stay away from wireless you will not be happy.
 

Tmart86

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If you really want a wireless solution look into arlo only because they are truly wireless and run on batteries.

Otherwise a poe based camera system is the way to go. I have an older swann 7085 nvr and 4 720p cameras. Its run for 2 years recording 24/7 at 12fps. my biggest complaint is the playback software on remote devices but that has more to do with the fact I'm recording 24/7 and not using motion triggered recording.
 

Mongo68

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Anyone know a better app than Swanview? One that actually works?

I use BlueIris but not sure if Swann cameras are supported. They are probably made by someone other than Swann and may be supported.
 

Tmart86

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Ill second Blue iris. some swann products are supported. But if you want to go that route look into another camera manufacture HIK vision etc.

I installed Axis communications cameras for a family members business a few months ago and they are really nice but the decent bump in price for the hardware. The axis camera companion software is really nice to work with.
 
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Tmart86

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milestone xprotect essential+ is free and from one of the biggest players in the video management game. but limits functionality and has a 8 camera max
 

Tmart86

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Ok, Lets hear the problems since I was really thinking about Swann. But if their remote viewing app doesn't work worth a darn then I guess I need to reconsider.

my set up is using the 7085 nvr and the swanview link platform I know they have other versions.

biggest issue with the swann view link software for my system is I cant fast forward a recording or start playback at a certain time it only starts at the top of the hour.

But if i set up a monitor and mouse on the DVR i can do both functions. but even at the dvr my 24/7 recordings are broken into 1hr chunks. I think the 1hour thing is just because they really focus on using motion recording not 24/7.
 
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BillK

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my set up is using the 7085 nvr and the swanview link platform I know they have other versions.

biggest issue with the swann view link software for my system is I cant fast forward a recording or start playback at a certain time it only starts at the top of the hour.

But if i set up a monitor and mouse on the DVR i can do both functions. but even at the dvr my 24/7 recordings are broken into 1hr chunks. I think the 1hour thing is just because they really focus on using motion recording not 24/7.

But how is it as far as just viewing the cameras remotely ? That is the main thing I care about.
 

Eslader

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Another vote for Blue Iris here.

The max framerate of that Swann bundle you posted is 15 (and note that it says "up to," which makes me suspect the NVR will choke if you put more than one or two cameras on it, and your actual FPS will be lower), which is half the framerate that would be considered full motion.
is a decent example of the difference between 15 and 30 fps. Personally I would not want anything less than 30 for my security cameras - if whoever is committing a crime against you moves fast enough at 15fps, it's possible there will be no frames in which their face is recognizable.

I also stay away from wifi cameras because interference can render them useless at the wrong time. If interference is enough to disconnect them from your router, or if your router isn't one of the expensive long range ones and the camera has a couple of walls between it and the router, you will get signal drops.

The one wifi camera I have on my setup, which is only there because it's not monitoring an area likely to be invaded and it was free, used to drop out all the time until I spent $200 getting a good router.
 
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BillK

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I also stay away from wifi cameras because interference can render them useless at the wrong time. If interference is enough to disconnect them from your router, or if your router isn't one of the expensive long range ones and the camera has a couple of walls between it and the router, you will get signal drops.

Interesting comments about the wireless. I have a fairly inexpensive ($70) D-Link wireless camera in my detached garage and I have never had a problem with it. It is 40 ft from the house, through the garage wall, the house wall with aluminum siding and it has never dropped out. I might just have to think about getting a few more of their cameras, they have worked fine so far and their app works great too. They record to a sim card at the camera.
 

Eslader

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If it works for you, great! Mine was going through 3 walls, a floor, and a metal ceiling, and my router sucked, so I got a lot of dropouts until I upgraded the router.
 

Northislander

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Dec 7, 2016
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I had a Swann 8 channel DVR on a remote cabin that was broken into in 2008. When the RCMP recovered the hard drive out of my Knack lock box that was anchored to the basement slab that the thief could not chop his way into with my own axe. The 45 minutes of images of the thief were still on the hard drive of him in the cabin up til the time he torched the place with my 5 gallons of boat gas. When the cops saw the images of my 500 dollar system they said it was better than any bank security system image they had ever seen. And that was after the hard drive went thru a devastating fire. Yes I still use Swann
 
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