I'm shopping for IP cameras and I have questions.

RKW wrote:

SCVJeff wrote:

LittleBill wrote:
sorry buddy, a ip camera sitting idle on a network, is not using any bandwidth period. if arp requests or dhcp requests are overwhelming to the network, it was already in trouble to begin with. and its using lan bandwidth at that, not wan bandwidth, which is usually the concern

OP, get a cloud cam, you will not be able to port forward the camera any where.

this is a camera that you log into a website to check

Exactly.. If the network can't even support a few heartbeat bytes (32IIRC ?), its dead anyway.

FOSCAM does not require a static IP, and whats nice about them is if they detect a power interruption (usually when it happens) they will poll the model for it's WAN IP and email it to you incase it changed. That happened to me in Quartzsite and it was a minor fix

The d-link products use a free cloud viewing service at mydlinks.com. How do you do it with a Foscam product?

not all camera's allow that. i use foscam. the models i have don't support that feature

rwbradley wrote:
RKW
As someone who has implemented and managed enterprise security systems, I can say: take some of the comments in this thread with a grain of salt. The simple fact of the matter about bandwidth usage and connectivity depends completely on the camera, DVR or NVR you use. There are many retail and enterprise solutions and they offer such a range in features. Some do stream constantly, some only stream when there is movement, some only stream when another alarm is triggered, some will capture video clips, some will do photos when triggered and some can be easily be accessed remotely via a Cloud service. Some use huge amounts of bandwidth and some do not depending on the video codec (method of encoding and resolution).
based on what you have said and based on the fact that campground bandwidth is limited, I would consider a solution that allows alarms to be triggered followed by an email with a still picture (in the smallest resolution you can tolerate). If you absolutely need live feed, consider a something like a Dropcam (they are the current market leader in the Retail sector) using the absolute minimal resolution, but even with that scenario you will likely be unhappy with how it will work on a campground network and as others pointed out it may be unfair to others.

I'm just now trying to wrap my head around this topic, and yeah, I'm drowning in an ocean of variables/choices.

Going beyond the scope of the OP, I'm primarily trying to figure out what I need at my home to monitor what happens in my front yard and who comes and goes to my front door. I was hoping that whatever I settled on for my home would be able to go on the road with me.

RKW
As someone who has implemented and managed enterprise security systems, I can say: take some of the comments in this thread with a grain of salt. The simple fact of the matter about bandwidth usage and connectivity depends completely on the camera, DVR or NVR you use. There are many retail and enterprise solutions and they offer such a range in features. Some do stream constantly, some only stream when there is movement, some only stream when another alarm is triggered, some will capture video clips, some will do photos when triggered and some can be easily be accessed remotely via a Cloud service. Some use huge amounts of bandwidth and some do not depending on the video codec (method of encoding and resolution).
based on what you have said and based on the fact that campground bandwidth is limited, I would consider a solution that allows alarms to be triggered followed by an email with a still picture (in the smallest resolution you can tolerate). If you absolutely need live feed, consider a something like a Dropcam (they are the current market leader in the Retail sector) using the absolute minimal resolution, but even with that scenario you will likely be unhappy with how it will work on a campground network and as others pointed out it may be unfair to others.

SCVJeff wrote:

LittleBill wrote:
sorry buddy, a ip camera sitting idle on a network, is not using any bandwidth period. if arp requests or dhcp requests are overwhelming to the network, it was already in trouble to begin with. and its using lan bandwidth at that, not wan bandwidth, which is usually the concern

OP, get a cloud cam, you will not be able to port forward the camera any where.

this is a camera that you log into a website to check

Exactly.. If the network can't even support a few heartbeat bytes (32IIRC ?), its dead anyway.

FOSCAM does not require a static IP, and whats nice about them is if they detect a power interruption (usually when it happens) they will poll the model for it's WAN IP and email it to you incase it changed. That happened to me in Quartzsite and it was a minor fix

The d-link products use a free cloud viewing service at mydlinks.com. How do you do it with a Foscam product?

LittleBill wrote:
sorry buddy, a ip camera sitting idle on a network, is not using any bandwidth period. if arp requests or dhcp requests are overwhelming to the network, it was already in trouble to begin with. and its using lan bandwidth at that, not wan bandwidth, which is usually the concern

OP, get a cloud cam, you will not be able to port forward the camera any where.

this is a camera that you log into a website to check

Exactly.. If the network can't even support a few heartbeat bytes (32IIRC ?), its dead anyway.

FOSCAM does not require a static IP, and whats nice about them is if they detect a power interruption (usually when it happens) they will poll the modem for it's WAN IP and email it to you incase it changed. That happened to me in Quartzsite and it was a minor fix.

(Edit ipad autocorrection)

something like

Clicky

LittleBill wrote:
sorry buddy, a ip camera sitting idle on a network, is not using any bandwidth period. if arp requests or dhcp requests are overwhelming to the network, it was already in trouble to begin with. and its using lan bandwidth at that, not wan bandwidth, which is usually the concern

OP, get a cloud cam, you will not be able to port forward the camera any where.

this is a camera that you log into a website to check

Like a Dropcam HD Pro?

You'll likely need to redirect a port on the firewall to your cameras IP and you won't have access to do that on the campgrounds network.

sorry buddy, a ip camera sitting idle on a network, is not using any bandwidth period. if arp requests or dhcp requests are overwhelming to the network, it was already in trouble to begin with. and its using lan bandwidth at that, not wan bandwidth, which is usually the concern

OP, get a cloud cam, you will not be able to port forward the camera any where.

this is a camera that you log into a website to check

SCVJeff wrote:
Just so everyone is on the same page, an IP camera is not burning up data unless it's in use. U can also turn on movement detect and have it email pix, but that's usually 5 pix per alarm. I'll have to look at mine, but it's not overly huge pix

IP cameras just like ANY "networkable" device like a PC network card or PC WiFi card MUST "phone home" periodically in order to MAINTAIN a network connection. This is done REGARDLESS if the PC OR IP CAMERA is not "transmitting data".

IP cameras also "host" as a "server" for the camera in order for you to connect at will.

Between the IP camera periodically jabbing the network and the IP Host server running you WILL be USING SOME of the WiFi bandwidth even when not viewing or sending pix from the camera.

Try it yourself.. PING the camera and it will return the pings..

Put the camera on a personal server network using DHCP and you WILL be able to view the IP camera IP address AND MAC address.. Turn off the camera and the IP address will be released and the MAC address will no long be present. It WILL act like any PC placed on a network.. The camera uses the same networking protocols as a PC, it must if it is going to be able to connect to your network.

By needlessly using a campground free WiFi for a IP camera you ARE contributing to making the Wifi much less usable for ALL other campers..

What if EVERY camper did the same by setting up one or more IP cameras to check on their RV, Dogs, Cats or plants.. then going away for the day.. In some campgrounds I have been that is several THOUSAND campsites.. Even just a few cameras just may make the difference of crashing the Wifi or not..

Absolutely selfish usage of a LIMITED "resource"..

I personally find campground WiFi systems to be rather "dodgy" at times from no problem connecting to connecting just long enough to get one email off before the connections fails..

In other words if you are betting your animals "safety" on a campgrounds WiFi you most likely will FAIL on that mission..

If you feel the need to monitor "Fido" via Internet in your camper then perhaps it is time to place Fido in a nice Doggy "Day Spa"..

Even if something happens and you are 10 miles away in some areas that could take you 20 minutes or more to get back to your campsite..