How do I choose a surveillance system?

Selecting the right security system, deciding how many cameras you need, and where to place those takes consideration. The LaView Team has created the following guidelines to help you choose the best setup for your home or business.

How many cameras do I need?

The number of cameras you need depends on multiple factors like your building size and layout, community environment, and budget. Following these tips will ensure that you prioritize the most important areas to cover.

Entrances and Exits Equipping your external doors is important because that is where people drop off packages and enter/leave your property. To best capture faces, LaView recommends cameras with high resolution and narrow viewing angle.

High Traffic Areas High traffic areas are rooms, hallways, or staircases that serve as a connector to other rooms. Hiding cameras in high traffic areas increases your chances of capturing important facial details because people must pass through these areas to get anywhere else.

Bedrooms Burglars usually go for master bedrooms first as people often keep valuables there. If you have children, you may also want to put cameras in their rooms for peace of mind.

Backyards Intruders may approach from the back to reduce their chances of being seen. Use a weather-proof, wide-angle camera to provide full coverage for large outdoor expanses.

PRO TIP: Overlapping Cameras Overlapping camera angles ensures there are no blind spots in critical locations. Also, if you set up cameras within the field of view of other cameras, intruders won’t be able to tamper with or disable a camera without getting recorded by another one.

How many channels do I need?

The number of channels you need on your NVR depends on whether or not you plan on expanding in the future. Say you buy eight cameras and will never need to add more to the setup, you should go with an 8-channel system. If you need eight at the moment but see yourself possibly expanding your recording area within the next couple months or a year, consider buying a 16-channel system. Thinking ahead with surveillance is important, because you cannot add extra channels to an NVR that is designed to accommodate a certain number.

What’s the difference between different types of cameras?

Bullet Cameras are a surveillance staple. From an installer’s perspective, the bullet is favored simply because it is the easiest one to install. Its prominent design attracts attention, which can help to deter troublemakers. If you’re looking for outdoor cameras, bullets also tend to have the best weatherproofing.

Dome Cameras are a popular choice as they are aesthetically appealing and discreet, blending in with ceiling lights and complementary with many interiors. The protective dome makes the camera vandal-proof, also obscuring the direction of the camera so that people are not sure if they are being watched.

Wireless Cameras are a great alternative option if you want fast, easy installation and do not wish to run cables through your house. Simply connect the cameras to your wireless router and place them wherever you like.

PTZ Cameras (or Pan-Tilt-Zoom Cameras) allow you to rotate your camera over a full 360° field of view. This can be done remotely, set on a pre-programmed path, or set to follow moving objects. Laview’s PTZ cameras are equipped with 30x Optical Zoom, making them ideal for monitoring large busy areas like supermarkets, hotel lobbies, warehouses, intersections, and parking lots..

What resolution do I need?

The more details you capture in your footage, the more information you have in urgent situations. Higher resolution does consume more hard drive space – something to be aware of if you are recording continuously. If you can add extra hard drives or set your system to motion-triggered recording, you can prioritize your resolution without burning through your storage.

LaView’s customization tool allows you to mix and match cameras of differing resolution capabilities. For example, you can use a 3MP camera for priority locations and a 1080P camera for areas with lower traffic.

What kind of hard drive do I need?

Surveillance Grade Hard Drive is devised to have lower power consumption and start up current and optimized for 24/7 surveillance. Using a regularly desktop grade hard drive which is only used for 8Hour/ 5Day will shorten the life span for the hard drive tremendously and lost all the footage. Laview IP Systems all come with the surveillance grade hard drive from the world biggest hard drive manufacture: Seagate or Western Digital.

2TB: A 2TB hard drive can keep about 35 days of footage for one IP camera recording continuously at 1080p, at 15 fps. Setting your camera to motion-triggered recording will largely increase this number. If you are buying a surveillance system for a home or smaller store, a 2TB hard drive should be adequate.

Up to 32TB: LV-N9916C6E comes with four hard drive slots and can accommodate up to 8TB per drive. If you plan on monitoring a large, busy area and recording continuously, you should invest in more storage space.

What are other details to consider?

Audio capabilities: Cameras with built-in mics will allow you to record sound.

Night vision: LaView IP cameras are equipped with IR LED lights to produce high quality nighttime images.

Viewing angle: The viewing angle determines how much area you can cover. Placing a wide angle camera (>90°) at the corner of a standard room will cover the entire room.

Weatherproof rating: Cameras with IP66 weatherproof rate will be able to resist heavy rain and snow.

PoE: Power Over Ethernet allows a camera to be powered by the NVR through the network cable – no other power adapters, cables, or outlets required.

Onboard Storage: Cameras with a built-in SD card slot can hold up to 64GB of footage. If you set recording on both the camera SD and the NVR at the same time, you will have backup footage recorded on the camera in case an intruder steals or tampers with your NVR.

Remote viewing: LaView has a free downloadable app for easy remote viewing on all its IP systems.

 Frequently Asked Questions

Cameras

Q: Can I use a different brand camera with the system?

A: The NVR will support any IP camera that is ONVIF-compliant. Please note: we can only guarantee Plug & Play installation with our own cameras, and third party cameras may require additional setting adjustments to connect to your system.

Q: Can I set some cameras to motion-triggered recording and others on continuous recording?

A: Yes, each camera can have its own recording mode and schedule.

Q: Can the dome camera zoom or rotate?

A: Dome cameras must be unmounted to adjust the direction of the camera, so make sure you mount it to capture the field of view you want. However, you can zoom in and out digitally via your user interface. For a powerful camera that can rotate easily, consider our PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) camera with 30x optical zoom capacity.

Q: Can I control PTZ cameras from the NVR?

A: Yes, you can manage and control your LaView PTZ camera using the built-in navigation interface OR from your mobile app.

Q: Can my cameras be used outdoors?

A: All cameras except for the specifically designated indoor cameras are rated IP66 weatherproof and can withstand temperature fluctuation and precipitation.

Q: How do wireless cameras work?

A: You simply connect the LaView wireless camera to your wireless router and add the camera on your NVR. You do not need to run any cables.

Q: If these are PoE cameras, why is there another power input on the back of the camera?

A: The power plug is there in case you wish to connect your camera to a router or LAN ports on the wall. If you are connecting the cameras to the NVR directly or to a PoE switch, you will not need to use this power plug.

Recorder

Q: How is my NVR different from a DVR?

A: Both NVRs (Network Video Recorders) and DVRs (Digital Video Recorders) are central units that process, store, and manage content captured by cameras. NVRs have more advanced image processing capabilities than DVRs, including Video Content Analysis, Digital Noise Reduction, and Wide Dynamic Range. Also, the digitalized signal transmission makes an NVR’s images sharper than a DVR’s even if they are set to the same resolution. Your NVR can also add cameras remotely through the network.

Q: Can I connect my NVR to a TV?

A: Yes, the NVR has VGA and HDMI output on the back. You can connect the NVR to a TV/monitor to view your channels and manage your system. Please note: a laptop computer cannot be used as a directly connected display, but you CAN view your channels remotely from your laptop.

Q: Does my unit require an internet connection?

A: You do not need an internet connection to record footage and view it from your monitor. It does require an internet connection if you want to view your channels from mobile devices and remotely located computers.

Q: If there are only 8 PoE ports, can I connect additional cameras to my NVR from the LAN?

A: No, an 8-channel system can only accommodate 8 cameras total, whether they are connected physically or through the LAN.

Q: Does my NVR support recording at 1080P/3MP for all channels?

A: Yes, the NVR is capable of decoding 1080P/3MP recording on all channels.

Q: Do all of my Ethernet ports support PoE?

A: Yes, all the Ethernet ports on the back panel of the NVR support PoE, so you will not need any additional power adapters if you are connecting your cameras to the NVR directly.

Q: Does my NVR record audio?

A: Yes, the NVR can record audio to any of the channels if the camera for that channel has a built-in microphone.

Cable

Q: How far can I run my cables?

A: You can run the cat5e network cable up to 300ft without a repeater.

Q: Can I connect all my cameras to a PoE switch to avoid multiple cables?

A: Yes, first connect the switch to a router in order to assign an IP address to each camera.

Q: Can I add cameras through the LAN ports on the wall of my office?

A: Yes, but you will need an additional power supply for each camera as the LAN would not support PoE.

General

Q: Can I view my cameras from my phone?

A: Yes, you can use either live view or playback from your Android/Apple mobile device, PC and/or Mac.

Q: There are several LaView apps on Google Play and the Apple Store. Which app works best with my system?

A: LaView Net is our most current app designed for our IP systems and is updated regularly.

Q: Is there a monthly fee?

A: No, both mobile viewing and the DDNS service are free.

Q: How long can I record on 1080P for?

A: A 2TB hard drive can hold about 35 days of continuous 1080p recording for one IP camera recording at 15 fps. Setting your cameras to motion-triggered recording will make your hard drive space last significantly longer.

Q: What happens when I use up all my hard drive space?

A: You can set the system to either stop recording or continue recording. If you choose the latter, your system will keep recording by overwriting your previously saved footage, starting from the oldest files.

Q: Can I upgrade my storage?

A: Yes, the 8-channel NVR has two hard drive slots, and the 16-channel NVR has four. Each slot supports drives of up to 8TB. For example, a 16-channel NVR will have a maximum of 32TB of storage.

Q: What kind of hard drive does my system come with?

A: All LaView IP systems come with built-in surveillance grade hard drives from Western Digital Purple or Seagate Surveillance.

Q: What’s the recommended internet speed for my system?

A: We would recommend at least a 5mbps upload speed in order to properly use live view.

Q: Do I get notifications with images when motion is detected?

A: Yes, the system can be set up to send you emails with snapshots from the cameras that caught the movement.

Purchasing

Q: How many different types of cameras can I add to a customized kit?

A: Our website currently allows you to add up to three different types of cameras to a kit. If you need more than three types, please contact our sales department at sales@laviewusa.com.

Q: How many hard drives can I add to a customized kit?

A: For an 8-channel NVR, you can add one additional hard drive. For a 16-channel NVR, you can add up to three more hard drives. All hard drives will be pre-installed in your kit before it is shipped to you.

Q: Can I place my order over the phone?

A: Yes, you may call the sales department at 626-435-2880 to place an order. Orders placed over the phone must be paid for using a credit/debit card.

Q: How soon will my order be shipped?

A: Most orders placed before 11:59am Pacific Time will be shipped same day. However, depending on each customized system, it may take an additional day to be assembled.

Q: Can I get my order sooner?

A: An expedited shipping option is available at checkout. We offer expedited 3-day shipping as well as overnight shipping.