Securame

Any new DVR would do the job, I would say some Hikvision or Dahua that can do 4ch at D1 or WD1 at 25-30fps per channel. Just make sure to not get the entry level DVRs, because they will not have RS485 for PTZ cameras. If you make sure it works at 12V it will be easy to power it from a vehicle. I would also advise to use a SSD hard disk, instead of a HD. If the DVR is used on the road/moving, you will kill the HD with the bumps.

You need a "dynamic DNS", google it, or check out http://www.dyn.com Can't help there, sorry. While I have used some DVRs that support some USB dongles, I have never used with USB/3G. Keep in mind that each 3G USB dongle is different, and the same way that it would need a driver to use it on a computer, it needs a "driver" to use it on a DVR. And of course, you can not install a driver on a DVR, so you have to get a DVR that supports a given 3G dongle, and it will not work with just any dongle. So I have just used 3G routers, last one I have been using is this one. I like it because it is powered with 5V, so I just power it from a USB port on the DVR (keep in mind even this router does not work with just ANY USB dongle). http://www.tp-link.com/lk/products/details/?model=TL-MR3020

100fps or 200fps will depend on how many channers you get. If you want 4ch, it will be 100fps (25fps each channmel=, if you get 8ch, it will be 200fps. I am thinking PAL here since I do not know what country you are from, if you use NTSC, then it will be 4ch/120fps and 8ch/240fps. PAL is 25fps/channel, NTSC is 30fps/channel. If you want to see the full gate and also license plates on the other side of the street; I think you are going to have a hard time geting it right (I actually think you will not get it right, but hey, you already have the camera, so go ahead and try).

Of course you can, you can use some video distributor. But it is probably easier to use a "modulator", so you can convert the video output from the DVR into a TV channel, and just deliver it to all apartments with their TV signals (assuming there is some kind of TV antenna shared by everyone). That way they will be able to see the cameras from any TV they already have.

Pics of what the cameras see during day and night would help. You could also try disabling the leds on the camera, and installing IR a little bit away from the camera on a place where the reflection is not be a problem.

That's right, I do not monitor any equipment that is not connected to the internet, so that is enough for me. I am sure there have to be good tools to do the same installed on any computer, but I never bothered trying any. I do have many DVRs/NVRs that warn me by email when there is video loss on a given channel. They can do so if they can connect to the internet, even if they were not accessible from internet (they are configured correctly with gateway and DNS, but they do not have open ports, so they can not be accessed from outside). I guess that would not work with standalone IP cameras, which do not have a NVR taking care of them.

- It is possible. Some DVRs support given 3G USB dongles; all DVRs support 3G routers (which connect to the DVR with RJ45 cable). - You do not need static IP; in fact, at least in Spain I doubt it is possible to get a static IP for a 3G connection. - That will depend on many factors; resolution, frames per second, bitrate, compression, ... and mainly, how many time you expect to remotely use the DVR each month.

See a license plate 18 feet away recording at CIF resolution with a $30 camera? A D1 DVR would be a good start, yes. Go for 4ch D1 100fps or 8ch D1 200fps. WD Red hard drive is fine for a DVR. Hopefully with D1 and a 2.8-12mm camera at maximum zoom you can see something.

buellwinkle, Check out http://monitor.us, that is the one I use (I have enough with the free service; I think their paid service is actually way overpriced). I have everything checked I think every 60 minutes (you can't check more often with free accounts), if two checks fail in a row, then I get an email alert.

I did have a problem once with a rebranded Dahua unit which drove me crazy for a week trying to configure motion detection. It would either miss almost everything when seting the sensitivity too low; or give me way too many false positives when moving it up a little bit. When I was about to send the unit back as defective, they sent me a firmware upgrade which solved everything. So you might want to contact your supplier and make sure you are running the latest firmware, in case you have a buggy one like I did.

If the camera always works frin on the network, then it is not a defective camera; what is defective is your connection. The bandwidth is just not enough for watching it remotely. What is your upload bandwidth? You say you tried as high as 6144kbps, do you actually have 6mbps upload bandwidth?

You are paying a license to use 8 cameras instead of 4 cameras. Does it cost them more? No. Does it cost Microsoft more if I install just one copy of Windows on 3 different computers? No. Do I do it? No, I have a license on each computer, the same way that you need a license for each camera you are going to use.

ciguli, Hikvision cards are great. The card you have is not that bad, it can actually record at 4CIF (704x576) at 12 images per second on each channel. If the specs on the computers where they are installed are fine, I would at first try to update software before switching to a DVR. If there has been no maintenance on those computers, you must be running outdated software. You could easily update to Windows 7, install the latest drivers and Hikvision software, and you should have more than decent DVRs. You could even look at different software options to run on those cards. A DVR will give you a hassle free installation, that is for sure. You will not have to bother about operating system, drivers, software, updates, etc., you will just use them to replace the 2 computers, put them in place, and forget. But if I understand correctly, this is a big installation with 128 cameras (2 computers, each computer 4 cards, each card 16 channels). Before throwing everything away, I would first try to update one computer using a new hard drive. Just buy a new HD, take out one of the DVRs, remove the current hard drive/s, and use the new one to make a test install with everything updated, and see how it works. Hikvision is a great brand; it is in fact the 5th company in the security world according to Asmag's "Security top 50", and the first CCTV supplier from China.

You do not say if after you restart, the port changed is still changed. There is no magic here, on Hikvision IP cameras you change the RTSP port the same way you can change web and data port, I have done it many times with no problems.

images/imported/2013/09/230033_1.jpg The image is posted by buellwinkle on this thread: viewtopic.php?f=19&t=37432&p=230028#p230028 16 out of 46 programs detect it as a virus. I doubt it. https://www.virustotal.com/es/file/52d89d40a91a9086ca57314f82a245660cd55c9c8e8d1f0e3458f4cb880e4578/analysis/1378678999/

If you had the system for a few years, maybe it is time to update the software. What program are you running on the DVR? Hikvision software is free to use with their DVR cards. http://www.hikvision.com/en/download.asp

Buying from China is not just googling "china cctv" and buying from the first web page you can find. It takes time, it takes patience, and you need to find suppliers you can trust. You will buy junk sometimes that will end up in the garbage. You will get products that might be ok one time, but not the next time. You will make mistakes and (hopefully) learn from them. You will have to invest not just time, but money. If you want to do it from home, go ahead ant try longse, cantonk, or from any one of those that fill up our spam boxes daily. If you want to it right, you can go to CPSE 2013 to be held in Shenzhen Oct/29 to Nov/1, you will meet and get to know more suppliers that you could ever need. http://www.cpse.com.cn/index.php?lang=en

DS-2CD2032-I already has built in IRs. Why not try the cameras first, and then think if you do need extra IRs?

I like to use TP-Link's nano router to do this, since they are powered with 5V, so I can just power them from a USB port on the DVR. http://www.tp-link.com/lk/products/details/?model=TL-WR702N

If your OSD menus are like the ones on the link you supplied, tweak the following settings on your camera: DAY/NIGHT Menu This sub-menu governs how the camera handles color and how it changes between day and night mode and back. Four options are available, EXT and COLOR (no sub-menus), and B/W and AUTO modes, explained below. B/W Mode Sets black-and-white mode. The D&N B/W sub-menu appears, shown above. BURST: Alters the color burst information passed to the video monitor. Since this is B/W mode, it doesn't effect color but can effect gain. If your monitor is showing a poor image and you are using long runs of cable, changing this setting from OFF to ON may improve the situation.

It sure does, I didn't recognise the first picture as a Hikvision camera, it is one of the following: http://www.hikvision.com/en/products_show.asp?id=8723 http://www.hikvision.com/en/products_show.asp?id=8724 I see nothing on the manual about the audio/alarm interface. Maybe you are supposed to get (buy) some external cable that will supply the needed conectors for mic in, audio out, alarm inputs and outputs, ...? I find it quite strange that the cable does not come included with the camera. I would need to ask my Hik supplier to know, I have never installed that model. You can surely cut the cable and do the connections yourself, but that is something I would not do myself and would not recommend, you would lose your warranty.

Can't help there, sorry. Never converted HDMI to analog... that would actually make me want to cry

Sure, give me a sec and I will tell you your password. Wait, no I want. I am not a wizard, so if you do not even let us know what DVR you have, there is no way anyone can help you...

I have a copy of Windows 7 on the computer I am using right now. And then I have another one on my laptop, and another one on my office computer. Why did I have to pay for the three of them? They are the same "bytes", and actually, when I am using one computer I am not using the others. And hey, software is software! It's called licenses, you are not just buying hardware, but also software.