volatileacid

Guys.. just wondering if I could get a quick bit of guidance... I've had three cameras fail on me, 2x JVC, and 1 Philips, (all 12v DC/24V AC cameras) after about 4 years use. They were professionally installed, and running on a power supply that only gave out 18v AC! Anyway, the cable runs are short - the PSU's are located within 4 metres odd of the cameras, and so I've got some new cameras, and this time round, I'm going to power them using 12 volts DC - because a) I think they'll last longer as there won't be the issue of voltage fluctuations that may occur with most of those 24v PSU's out there? (I may be wrong but please tell me if I am!) Furthermore, I had banding on the output of one of the cameras before it died, and I wonder if it might have been due to distortions in the PSU (again, I may be wrong - the theories of a layman eh!) I've done some research here, and other places, and I believe switching regulated PSU's are the best for the job when we're talking about powering precision equipment such as a CCTV camera using DC volatage. I have the following PSU in mind - (good old ebay!) : http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=350158763911 I think it'll be up to the job, do you agree? I may buy a couple of them, and power each camera separately, even though, I'm sure @ 500ma per camera, I could use one PSU to power them both. Cheers for any advice.... The below is a Pic of the old PSU I am replacing! And below, is a Pic of its wire [/b]

LOL Hey Survtech - the Griffon was the old PSU!!! It was the one supplying the 18v! The second pic of the three wires was from the same psu also. The multimeter was giving me a reading of 18 odd volts AC from the red and blue wires!

Yes, it was quite low - I have no idea what who ever fitted it, thought they were doing. I'm not sure why the cameras failed - but they were definitely dead. I took a couple apart !!!!!! they had a fuse inside!! I replaced one fuse - and it blew instantly on power up. So before chucking it away, I thought I'd stick some foil on the fuse - and smoke started coming out the back of the camera !!!

Here's a close up pic of the ebay adaptor I was! thinking of buying.... As you can see from the specs, it's outputting 12v @ 1.25 amps from this switched supply, it's not a cell phone charger that's for sure. As far as I'm concerned, it's capable of the task - what I need to consider, as others have said, is individual fusing, and chances of interference. If I had used this, I would definitely have got the fluke multimeter out to ensure it was outputting what it said it would.

Just wondering if anyone knew how one could submit a feature suggestion to Samsung in relation to their DVR units? Is this something an end-user can do? Or is it only possible for distributors with a login to: http://samsungsecurity.com/support/login.asp?return_url=%2Fsupport%2Fs_fp_suggestion.asp who are able to make suggestions?! All I want is for them to add the capability to allow the end-user to mark a place in time on pre-recorded video - for easy access later. ! Cheers.

Cheers Coolie

Hello there. I take it, PTZ functionality cannot be enabled without additional wiring between a camera and a DVR? To enable PTZ, does one need to enable communication via twisted pair (?)between the camera and DVR (or other device) to the RS485 port? What if there is more than one cam - is an intermediary device then required? Cheers - and sorry if this is a stupid question.

Wow, superb response. Thankyou kindly - makes a lot more sense now

Thanks so much.

They seem very similar. What would you recommend? I have a 4 channel system? I take it they both record at D1 (i.e. 720x576) - that's what I'd ideally like - all 4 channels at D1 resolution even if that means I only get a few hours at a time? The budget is about £500. Or do you recommend an alternative solution? I've attached screen shots of the specs below. Cheers.

Hey there. I'm no expert, in fact a novice like yourself, however, I've just purchased a DVR and so had to do some research in the meanwhile - so I've got a couple of tips for you in a nutshell... The first thing I tried to understand, were what all these recording modes were all about. i.e. D1, CIF, Half CIF etc... D1 is 720x576- and the rest are lower resolutions - so in essence, I tried to find a recorder that was at least able to record in that mode. MPEG4/H.264 is the latest compression codec in widespread usage that offers the best compression/picture quality thus far. The other thing to look at is the IPS of the unit. They usually give that as a total, i.e. for a four channel system it might be 100IPS (on a PAL system), which means 25 IPS (images per second?) per channel. So ideally, a system that's MPEG4, records in D1, and at least at 25IPS should be a good basis as a benchmark. It's hard to find those features on one unit on a budget. My budget was around (£500/$700USD). I've finally plumped for a unit that records at D1, but only in one channel mode. In 4 channel mode it drops to CIF (360x288) - so I guess you need to query the suppliers of the units you're interested in - to see if those units record 4 channels simultaneously in D1, or if that only happens in 1 channel (full screen) mode. Hope that helps. ps. my other posts show the units I was considering, and the one I went for.

You've been a great help. Cheers mate. I went for the Samsung in the end (having second thoughts lol), but it's on the way now... What swung the decision for me was: a) The samsung comes with a CD-ROM drive for backup and b) As I understand it - the remote viewing software is free - whereas with the Sanyo - You've gotta pay $$$ extra!!? If it wasn't for those two points, I would have gone for the Sanyo - just due to brand presence etc - however, you did say both were similar performers and decent companies - so I guess the Samsung model can't be that much worse. I just hope it 'does what it says on the tin' without giving me too much hassle! So thanks for your help mate, you're a top man, I appreciate it. ps. I needed a replacement camera too, and went for a now discontinued Sanyo VCC-ZM400P zoom camera which I picked up for £100 ($133 USD - wow the £ has taken a hammering!) - hope I didn't get a bum deal! The ZM400P is succeeded by the VCC-ZM600P but at £467 (652USD) that was a tad too expensive to even consider!

Well thanks for the reprimand! Perhaps it would have also been nice if you could have given some advice too as to which brand I should have gone with - but better I be impatient than unhelpful!

Doesn't look like we have many experts on this part of the forum!.... What a waste of time Anyway, found the answer. After further research, they both do the same thing. Record 1 channel @ Full D1, but in quad record mode - recording occurs at CIF which is 360 x 288 (PAL). I guess quad, or 8 channel or even higher recording from a DVR at Full D1 costs a lot of money. Multiple streams at high resolution really must require some serious processing power, and fast multiple disks.