QNAP (Quality Network Appliance Provider) are a Taiwanese-based company focused on creating the “World’s best solutions in the areas of Network Attached Storage (NAS) and Network Video Recorders (NVR)”. They caught our eye by offering simple video surveillance solutions in complete, easy to use devices.
We are going to look at the VioStor VS-201 which is a compact NVR, ideally suited for security surveillance for small-office/home-office (SOHO) or small-medium sized businesses (SMEs).
QNAP VioStor 201
The first thing we noticed about the unit is that it comes in a compact, attractive looking box. It looks modern with a glossy front panel, secured with rugged looking stainless steel screws and bright LEDs. It’s also very sturdy and weighs a substantial 3.5kg. We like the design.
With the unit you get a CDROM containing setup software, an Ethernet cable, power supply and a Quick Installation Guide. It’s everything you need.
The unit has 2 drive bays which can accommodate 2x SATA drives up to a capacity of 2TB. Our demo unit came with 1x 500GB drive.
This particular model is an 8-channel unit suitable for the recording of up to 8 camera devices simultaneously.
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Lighting is incredibly important in video surveillance as no camera can ever capture an image without some form light. The light can be natural, artificial and if the camera supports it, we can also use infrared.
You will find that you may pay a premium for a true day/night camera over a regular color camera. This is due to the fact that a day/night camera will not only provide vibrant color images throughout the day but is also sensitive to infrared illumination at night. They will normally auto-detect and switch between the two without user intervention too.
Some cameras have infrared illumination built into the camera or housing but you can also purchase infrared lamps separately. Raytec are a company which offer quality infrared (and white light) products for a wide range of applications. Recently they have launched a new range of lamps which can be powered using Power over Ethernet IEEE802.3af. The RAYMAX 25 IP series is ideal for IP video surveillance installations where there is a high chance you will already be using Power over Ethernet during the installation of the cameras.
What we thought we would do is show the difference that an external, stand-alone IR lamp would give compared to built-in infrared illumination that you find in a camera. For our example we used a Y-cam Knight to illustrate this difference (although we appreciate that most people wouldn’t purchase a stand-alone IR lamp for a Y-cam).
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