bpzle

Never heard of them... but I see a lot of the same snares as most the other Chinese crap. If one of the biggest selling points is a "Sony 1/3" Sensor!" I'd look a little closer. To the trained eye, this means next to nothing.

Just thought I'd refresh this old thread.

Cool. Let us know!

Let me first say, welcome to the forum! Look, I've been in your posistion. I've been there done that. Cheap Chinese crap are not products ANYONE should buy, much less base a business on. I know you probably have your mind made up... but this stuff is cheap for a reason. Installing cheap crap will only make YOU look bad. You're not going to get referrals because when something happens on a customer's property and they review the footage, they are not going to be happy. Nothing will be there but blurry, grainy footage. I've tested equipment like that, it's all the same. They all have unbelievable spec sheets at unbelievable prices. Just buy a few samples. You'll see what I'm talking about. But don't risk your reputation by installing it for a customer.

I get them cheap before they are branded What I mean by using all availible wires... You've got got 4 pairs availible in CAT5. Obviously you're using just 1 pair for video. The other 3 need to be dedicated to power. If you're only using a single pair for power, then this is probably your problem. 24awg at any length is not suffecient for the current an IR camera would draw. That's why you double up pairs, and split the last one. Make sense?

I looked at the ones you mentioned on monoprice, they look decent. Can't vouch for them though I've never tested them. Mine look to be a little better though...Let us know how they do! Also, how many wires are you using for power? IR cameras require a lot of current. Use all availible wiring. Could also be a power supply issue. How are you powering the camera? How many amps is the PSU rated for? It could be struggling to keep up when the IRs kick on. Do you have a volt meter to test and see under a load? (IRs on)

I congratulate you for buying only one camera at a time to test! This is definitely the smartest way to do it! I always tell people the only thing worse than a crappy camera, is a box full of crappy cameras. CNB Monalisas are a very popular camera on this forum. Pretty good for the price, I've personally installed quite a few. However, I've been turned onto some off brand cameras made in Korea that are simply amazing. Much better than CNB IMO.

Well the first red flag is the QSee brand. These are largely considered child's toys in the professional CCTV market. I can say this from personal experience, as I've tested nearly all of their cameras. But, I suppose there are a couple things to check. The first question is, how the the video connected and ran. You mentioned the power, but nothing of the video. Are you using video baluns and running the video in the same jacket as the CAT5? The other thing to check is to make sure you have not run your video cable parallel to or near high voltage lines and/ or equipment.

We've used something like this one with good results. 1 input, 2 outputs. Dual voltage (24vAC or 12vDC) Or you could go with a big monster like this one, 16 inputs to 32 outputs. Of course, there's every size available in between too...

Really... Which card? I haven't installed an Aver 16ch card with IP cams in a while!

Yes. White light can also be halogen. It's almost any normal light that you can see with your own eyes. The number of LEDs has almost nothing to do with the intensity or brightness. I have a Surefire LED flashlight that has one LED bulb but its brighter than some piece of crap 50 LED thing a buddy has. What are the dementions of the area you are trying to light up?

Who wants to bet my proposition will never be answered? lol

I know it's a no-no... but it's just too cheap to resist. To do it properly you should have a distributor amp. They aren't that expensive...

ain't that the truth... I've sold countless units I didn't like, but I'm always upfront and tell people it was a sample, I don't like the product, it works but limited warranty. People buy it anyway. lol The real crap (like Gadspot) I throw in the trash or give to family members as Christmas presents. haha

Are you or someone you know struggling with sinusoidal thoughts? Tired of the constant ups and downs? Need an outlet? Soundy can help with all your current problems. Don't gauge yourself too thin. It's not too late. There's still light at the end of the line. PM now. haha, get it? I'll be here all week folks. don't forget to tip your waitress

I'm sure there are a couple Chinese products that are decent... The problem is ALL Chinese suppliers claim to have "quality product, cheap price." After 20 or so sample cameras it's not worth my time to test anymore. They were ALL junk. I'm sorry but I'm not wasting any more money on Chinese products just to be lied to. But hey, if you want to send me a 100 percent free sample camera I'll be more than happy to evaluate and post my honest findings on this site for the world to read.

Reliabilty? I'd say average. They can be a little quirky at times but overall for the price it's by no means a bad camera. Software? Most of the big names are compatible these days. Avermedia, Vigil, Exacq, Nuuo, Luxriot... I'd say download a trial of each and play around to figure out what works best for you. There's no shortage of biased opinions on this site. The best answers are always in your own real world testing.

Short answer: no. Hollywood magic is just that. If the pixels are not there, there's little to be done. Only simple Photoshop tricks can be applied. If you need more detail, buy more analog cameras or upgrade your system and go megapixel.

What is your application? What would you like to know? The software is free. You get what you pay for. Its not great, but it works... usually. Obviousy its not open platform, so if you have a site you want to use it on you have to go all Acti.

IR LEDs and LEDs are commonly thought of as 2 different things. IR LEDs project infrared light, mostly invisible to the human eye. If your camera switches to black and white at night, chances are it is capable of seeing this type of light. This is how "night vision" works. Normal LEDs like white ones are visible to the human eye. These will work with any camera. You can resize your Avatar in picture editing programs.

boy do I feel dumb! its amazing what you can forget after a couple glasses of scotch! lol

throw it in the trash. get you a dvr for a 4th of the price with 4 times the features

HA! i get it! too late?

OK, good. Just making sure. I would definitely stay away from Lorex branded cameras. They are child's toys. CNB is a popular brand among people on this forum. Particularly their Monalisa line. We've used countless of them as well, not bad for the price. However in the past year we've started carrying some off brand Korea cams that are absolutely killer. I think better than CNB. True day night, great in low light even without IR, 620tvl, vari-focal, sturdy and well made. Come with IR or without. Indoor, outdoor, bullet, box, or dome models available. PM me if interested. PTZs- in most cases a waste of money. I know, I know... it has a "neat" factor to impress your friends. But in real life, not worth it. Here's a quick run down why: moving parts break, a good one costs $800 plus, their only as good as the position they were last left on. Odds are real slim you're going to catch an intruder and have the chance to zoom around real fast and get a close up of their face and LP. IMHO PTZs are only worth it if you're going to have personnel on duty 24/7 that could watch the cams and zoom around all the time. Great for retail environments with a loss prevention department, when you have acres of space to cover and what to keep security personsel costs down, or the high tech farmer that likes to zoom in on the livestock and check out particular areas of interest. The lengths you're talking about are pretty short are no problem for quality cable. I wouldn't worry about that. I honestly have no idea what you're talking about with the "1.0v p-p" stuff... The only thing you should be worried about in regards to the "video output" type is if it's NTSC. As long as it's that and has a BNC plug you're good to go.

We use MN too and I wish I be of more help... But if downloading video is a critical function of your job, I'm sure your boss would agree that cooperation from your IT department is just as critical. Even if it requires waking up in the middle of the night to catch MN's tech support on the phone. Just a thought...