Changing my Y-Cam System

[bensbabble]

Hi guys, I'm a relative newbie to the CCTV world, so I'm looking for some technical advice.
I currently have 3 Homemonitor 720p cameras which operate wirelessly and upload to the Y-Cam website. I understand these cameras can also operate as PoE.
Can I use these cameras to plug and play with a PoE NVR, or are they not compatible?
Thanks,

 

[Phil]

Hi, If they accept POE and conform to the IEEE802.3af standard for POE, then you should be able to power them from any standard POE source e.g. a single-port POE injector / POE switch or NVR.
You are unlikely to do any damage in testing this; POE sources and powered devices do a kind of 'handshake' to confirm compatibility before sending power.

If the cameras also conform to the ONVIF standards, then most standard NVRs should be able to manage and record them.
The HikVision 7604 would be a good start point for up to four cameras, the 7608-K or 7608-I for up to eight cameras.
The Milesight 100NVR-P will be a good bet soon - in their next firmware release they will enable the NVR to provide POE power to any brand of camera (oddly, in the current firmware, it will only provide POE power to their own cameras).

 

[bensbabble]

Hi Phil,

Thanks for the speedy response, I'll dig out the specs to check for ONVIF standards.

 

[Phil]

Happy to help.
I guess a lot of people may now be looking at alternatives - I noticed recent changes announced to Y-Cam's free cloud offer.

 

[bensbabble]

Indeed this is the reason I am looking into it, it seems NVR is the best way to go if the cameras are compatible.

 

[Phil]

We offer a 'Buy & Try' as a standard offer, so you can test risk-free.
Buy & Try with Our 14 Day Trial Period! ¦ use-IP Ltd

We used to sell Y-cams years ago.
The Synology NAS and using Surveillance Station was a popular solution with Y-cams at that time.
They still show that Synology is compatible with 22 Y-cam models:
Surveillance Station IP Camera Support List | Synology Inc.

Of course, a Synology NAS-based solution will not provide POE power, so that's potentially an additional cost for a POE switch.
And every Synology box ships with just 2x free camera licences - extras cost approx. £40 each.
Horses for courses ...