bpzle

I would be inclined to do some building/ rigging. I've never really seen anything off the shelf before... Can you talk more about the application or is it top secret?

Thanks for remindming me... actually these units work better if you do. Believe it or not, our units have also been proven to help fight against heart disease and gingivitus**. **possible side effects include but not limited to heart attack, tooth loss, uncontrolable and explosive bowels, pink eye, insomnia, decrease size in genitalia, a perpetual feeling of winning the lottery but then loosing the ticket, and divorce.

I believe you! Sounds perfect for your wants/ needs! However, it still sounds like something I would never want to install for a customer.

Adam, What other VMS software have you used? What would you compare ZM's ease of use and functionality to anything else out there?

Like Sean, I also sell cameras with the newest firmware of flux capacitors availible on the market today. Unlike competitor's brands... all of our analog cameras come h.264 ready! Also, we are the only company who can market their ENTIRE line of cameras as license plate capture ready*! *daytime and for parked vehicles only. 100mm lens not included. Plate must be with in 50 feet of camera and have zero backlighting. Some assembly, soldering, welding, and fire fighting skill required. Not intended for outdoor use.

Ahhh... I didn't realize you were interested in ANPR in the future.. I have not used Zoneminder, but I get the impression the majoity of the people happy with it have never used anything else? Is that the case? I always felt it was desgined for the tinkerer at heart, and not a business... I could be wrong?? I know with my paid for VMS soltutions, I couldn't run a business without having brilliant people only a phone call away to support the software... lots of variables from an install/ maintinence standpoint. I would imagine there is no dedicated support for ZM? Only forums, Wiki, and Google? I had no idea there were free SDKs for ANPR... Please keep us informed of your progress! "Good" ANPR software we've evaluated in the past ran upwards of $6,000 per lane... just for the software! My thoughts on Mobotix is that there is nothing better for a standalone (video only) solution out there... However throw a NVR (or a dedicated PC) in the loop and it's like why have Mobotix??

is it for outdoors?

What are you recording with? If you think $2k is expensive for mobotix... wait until you see the final project costs on that arecont setup you got going...

If you post a snapshot, that will help us

It looks like there is IR or some sort of artificial light directed at the plates in the night scene. What are you using, and how far is mounted from the target area?

Using that CNB model number tells me you've been lurking around this forum for a while. There's lots of ways to do this kind of job RIGHT... but I'm really not comfortable talking about it on a public site.... I've been there but have yet to do that. Mainly because it would be MY investment and only mine.... My baby... and I'd have to take care of it and make sure it didn't get stolen when she was out making money. At this point, I just can't afford that large overhead, time and risk. Hopefully one day soon.

Very cool! What about night shots?

Wow... very cool! For any that have already contributed to this thread... PM me and I'll tell you what I've used with marginal success.

Well put Lol can I make that my signature?

Wow, that's pretty slick! That's a VERY interesting group of cameras you have there... big name and no name!

LOL!!! YES! " title="Applause" /> I would do ANYTHING to be a fly on the wall and observe a conversation between YOU and any big box electronic store sale's guy! Better yet... a Monster Cable sales rep!!!! As a 25 year old might say, "THAT GUY WOULD TOTALLY GET PWNED!" PWNED definition:

You make some good points bones.....

Lol thanks for taking that all with a grain of salt and humor... Believe me, you're not the first person to look at equipment like that... Samsung's stock value is proof.

I think you're on a good start... However, what is the main purpose of the trailer? A: Archiving evidence for post event reviewing? Or B: Live monitoring for humans to decide what is an immediate threat and act upon it? Answer these 2 questions and that should drastically change your system design and equipment selection... A few of the CNB cams are OK... but don't let anyone tell you that any particular make/model is the best EVERYWHERE. That's either naieve or a salesman.

In theory... yes.... but try drawing too high an amp for too long and have one fail. OR drop voltage for whatever reason and so the load draws more power to compensate.... that all makes heat. With enough heat you have fire. No, not all wall warts and power supplies are thermally/ overload protected... and even if they are I HAVE SEEN them fail. I've seen a factory supplied wall wart for a piece of equipment work for a couple years just fine and then what seemed like out of the blue almost take out a fairly new 5000 sq ft commercial building. Yes, that was worst case scenaro, but I have personally seen many PSUs fail for many different reasons. Having fuses (glass or resttable ones) protecting each channel or circuit is a good thing.... a REALLY good thing. Just flip open your breaker panel out in the garage and take a peak. Perfect world theories are one thing... but real world experience is always best. I don't care how you slice it... hacking a computer PSU is retarded. Lol I'm sorry I can't say it in a more politcally correct way... Burn your own house, that's fine I don't care. It may work great for a couple years...maybe 15 years. In my opinion its a ticking time bomb and I tried to warn you. At the end of the day, there's no better experience than your own.

+1 tom! However, if the Samsung name is what you want.... I'd be happy to whip out the label maker for one of my budget units and mark it up 400%. Seriously... this isn't just similar spec sheets... its the EXACT same thing. Speaking of spec sheets... it takes even a "professional" years to perfect their ability to read between the BS lines on those things. Spec sheets usually don't have line items for things like ease of use, simplicity of a GUI, stability of the software, what can cause system crashes, if a bug is discovered post production: will the manufacturfer do anything about it? can availible FPS be allocated however you want accross all channels?, reliability, quality control, fit and finish, all the little stupid annoyances one learns to hate after using something for a few weeks. THAT's what spec sheets need.

Here's a picture of something similar to what we just discovered and like... That isn't it exactly... we use bridle rings and beam clamps and/ or ceiling grid wire clamps. Pretty slick looking, and it makes pulling/ removing/ rerouting easy! Much better than J hooks in my opinion...

Rory, Points taken. So, back to topic... You think homeboy should hack a computer PSU to power his 8-10 cameras?

Hello old timer! I'm bpzle, nice to meat you.

Very cool! Thanks for sharing! Care to elaborate on your gear? Is it safe to say you're a "D"? viewtopic.php?f=15&t=23923