The goal of powerline networking is that you do not need to run new cabling, instead you connect your device into the buildings electrical wiring and transmit over that.
It's been around for many years but I rarely hear people use it for surveillance / IP cameras.
We are thinking about doing a test so I am curious if anyone has used it and what experiences (good or bad) they had?
Btw, we do have an existing post: Powerline Networking for Surveillance Overview
I have used it over the years for IP cameras (and other devices - TiVo) for my own testing. I have needed to put a camera in a location that does not have a network connection, and I prefer to not need to run cable and drill in to my house when not needed.
I successfully used the original HD-PLC even with its lower bandwidth for a camera. I also have used it for temporary camera locations (or temporary PC, access point, etc). I used a 1.3 Megapixel H.264 camera, and had no problem streaming the video to an NVR.
The newer versions of PLC have much higher bandwidth. I would love one to have PoE out...
Once the devices are paired (they usually come as a starter pack already paired), all you do is plug the camera (or PoE Injector) in and you are good to go.
For a commercial installation, you need to be careful with the phases. Sometimes the master will not be able to reach the slave unit.
I have found it to be extremely simple to set up and very reliable.
This is one of the very few POE powerline adapters I've come across.
Why there are so few, I have no idea...
Because powerline is mostly for consumers / residential where PoE products are uncommon, that's my guess. Same rationale I am pretty sure why so few consumer IP cameras support PoE.
...why so few consumer IP cameras support PoE.
I always thought it was because they have Wifi, so they have to support wall-wart power. Or do you mean non-wifi ip consumer cameras (however that is defined.)?
Do you (or anyone else) know of any others? May actually have occasion to use a couple of these soon...
This one sounds good, on paper at least:
Well, I've been trying for two weeks now to contact these guys with some "pre-sale" questions... no repsonse from either Sales or Support contacts.
I don't even have questions, I would just order and take my chances if there was an order button. The Asoka is possibly the only one that you can get...
Well my main question was, are these sold as a set, or is there a particular other model I need to go with it?? Not the kind of thing I want to take a flyer on...
For a commercial installation, you need to be careful with the phases. Sometimes the master will not be able to reach the slave unit.
And in homes when two-phase is split to different sub-panels.
These Powerline phase-couplers have worked well for me.
I've never used it in a commercial application, but I am using powerline networking to my garage, where I have a DVR recording a couple of cameras. I believe I'm using the new "500 mbps" models, but I'd have to double check that.
Overall, it works passably well. It regularly drops for a second or two. But since the video is recorded locally I don't mind much. Rarely do I look in on it live. There is a noticeable difference in link quality when things are running that dirty up the power in my house, like washing machines, air conditioners, etc. But considering my house is 106 years old and some of the wiring is likely still knob and tube, I'm going to say overall I'm satisfied with it. It enables me to get network to a couple of locations I wouldn't otherwise be able to, so no complaints.
But considering my house is 106 years old and some of the wiring is likely still knob and tube, I'm going to say overall I'm satisfied with it.
Respect. You may not have running water in your outhouse, log splitting barn, or coal bunker, but you have powerline networking. It must be so nice to watch Netflix while churning butter!
Like Ethan, I have a power line unit running from my DSL router to my garage so I can monitor the DVR if needed. My house is only 35 years old though. I have not used the units on an Ip cam yet. I may test it this weekend. I have 500Mbps "AV" units and streaming HD netflix thru them never takes a hit.
I even have TED energy loggers on my AC panels and they seem to play nice with the Powerline units. No interruptions in either signal.
We have connected servers to a router using powerline adapters before. Streaming 9 cameras uses a lot of bandwidth and they seem to work very well so I wouldn't think it would be a problem. Wired is always better but if it isn't mission critical than this can be an option. They have been more reliable in the long run than using wireless access points. As mentioned above though you are happy when you get a connection and also when you get the speed that you need since you have no idea what is behind the walls.
I believe the NVT-EC product line uses this technology...
That depends how loosely you define 'this technology'. If you mean both signal and power on shared conductors, then sure. But, then POE (Mode A), as well as things like Microphone Phantom Power would qualify.
Powerline technology specifically refers to the case when the power is residential AC running on a housewide media. Which is lot tougher than injecting and splitting DC power out of a dedicated shared pair.
Are you saying NVT-EC is using household power wiring as its transmission media?
I've used it a bit around home for various things (cameras, streaming video, WAP), and once for a customer to provide network to a POS station. Played with it on cameras, but the need to provide separate power makes it... annoying for that purpose. A model that provided PoE as well would be a game-changer for me. Not that I don't prefer a proper hard-wired ethernet connection wherever possible, but there are those times (especially where budget is a concern and new wiring is a major undertaking) that something more expedient would be a nice option.
Used it to connect NVR to house network/internet. Able to hide NVR and camera wiring in upstairs closet in house where network cabling did not extend to upper floor and concrete block construction made route difficult. No issues - but wouldn't trust it for camera to NVR link unless no alternative.
Update: I'm actually most likely going to replace one of my powerline drops with wireless. It's in my garage and the droppages have been at less than idea times. When I get a notification that a door is open or a motion has activity...I need the camera to work. I don't really want to wait a minute for the thing to reconnect properly.
Again, though, my house is over a hundred years old, with a crappy aerial drop (previous owner, not me) to the garage. Your mileage may vary. It's worth trying in place for sure.
For anyone in the UK, I also noticed that Solwise make a 500Mbps homeplug adaptor with POE:
Value - Solwise HomePlug 500AV with Power over Ethernet - PL-500AV-POE - 48Volts | Solwise Ltd
I've got Netgear 500mbps homeplugs around my house, and usually have to deal with injectors or sticking another switch on the end when I'm testing cameras, so I may end up picking one up and hoping it's compatible...
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