bpzle

Just to be clear, those DIN connectors for Lorex's proprietary cameras are not in addition to the BNC connections or available ports for cameras. What's the model number of the DVR? You should make sure that you really do have available channels remaining. For example, DIN port 1 and BNC port 1 are actually the same channel and you cannot have 2 cameras plugged into this simultaneously.

Edit? Best cameras for the money YOU'VE tested, right? We've had better luck with our company's top secret Korean off brands. CNB doesn't make a bad products, we have lots of sites with them. But they aren't an end all be all. Just seem to be real popular on this forum. Mostly thanks to you, Soundy.

Best bet would to do a conference call when your IT department and March's tech support.

well I'm no international business man... but I can speak from my own personal experience that the vast majority of off brand Chinese CCTV products I've tested are total junk. Products from other countries I've tested (again a generality) are much better quality.

I've got one for him I think he'll be happy with. Already PMed him. Can't do 100ft IR, but will come close.

AVerMedia DVR cards support IP without separate license. Number of IP cams is limited depending on card used. The 16 camera cards also allow for configuration of which cameras get placed on the monitor out feed, e.g. watch cams in grids of 4, 9, or 16 cameras, a single camera, 1 largish image and 7 small ones etc. (see below for the TV OUT set-up page of this function on a NV6240 16 camera card). This card will support up to 16 cameras in total of which up to 16 may be IP cameras without the need to pay for a separate license. NJD The spot out on Avermedia cards is ONLY for analog cams. Will not output IP cameras.

Stay away from Chinese electronics for sure.

$3k for a hdmi cable?! Was it made of solid gold?! My $50, 50' one works pretty damn good.

There's a lot opinions out there, but what works best for us is to use CAT5E with good quality baluns for the video. We've got installs using a mix of both RG59 siamese (most common) and Cat5e w/ baluns... I can't tell the difference in video quality and I've been doing this a long time. There's a LOT of advantages to using CAT5e, plenty of threads discussing why.

I doubt 2 fixed cams could replace what he wants to cover with 2 ptzs he originally had in mind. That's why I assumed the min 8 fixed cam requirement. But even at 6 cams, I'd still be impressed if you could pull off 75-100' IR range, low power requirements, PLUS all the other equip for that budget. Maybe you know something I don't? My point was, the ideal way to accomplish all his original goals just aren't possible with the budget. Compromises will have to be made and I think the OP gets that. So what are we arguing about again? lol

Ok, so you're saying you could get him 8 decent TDN cameras, 8 external IR illuminators, 8 outdoor long range PIRs, and 8 relays (needed since IRs will no doubt be rated higher than PIR can switch), cable, DVR, power supply, and HDD all at or under his budget? I'm very impressed! I think I found my new supplier.

The bigger question is: will it fit? Most dome cameras have very little wiggle room. Some manufacturers use the same chasis for both the models with IR and without... but there's still no garuntee an aftermarket IR board would fit. I would be inclined to just buy a cheap external illumintor. A lot less headaches that way... you know it would work.

1 external IR is probably do-able budget wise. Still cutting it close though... Now the next big question is a DVR. There's little I could personally recommend for that price range UNLESS you had a spare Intel based PC laying around with a 2.0 Ghz or higher processor. Then you could build a decent PC based system using NV3000 cards from Avermedia. Very good cards for the price, and even get 1 free IP camera license for the future.

Ideally, he would use PIRs to activate IRs when motion is detected to conserve power. But again, out of his budget. IRs to throw those distances would easily be more than the cost of each camera. But here's a more important point: what do you expect to capture at 100' away? Chances are you're wanting wide shots of the general area, not close ups needed for facial recognition/ identification. So in that case, who cares there's an ant (or is it an intruder?) walking 100' away from the camera? That's useless for police,and you're probably not going to be watching live 24/7 like a security gaurd, so what's the point of capturing anything that far away?

Oh... and definetley loose the PTZ idea. Just one worth buying would take up most of your budget for the entire system.

I think for that budget you're going to have to forget about IR. To throw at those distances on that many cameras, just isn't going to happen on your budget. Not to mention that much IR would drain the hell out of batteries. Think about how much power would be required to cover the same amount of area with normal flood lights... You could probably do cheap IR bullet cams, but don't expect more than 35' useable throw, regardless of specs (except for bullet cams bundled with external IRs like some pricey CNBs). Experience has taught me that with advertised specs of IR throw, you can expect to at least cut it in half. Sometimes even a 1/3 if they're really full of BS. This is especially true of wide open outdoor enviornments, where there is little for the IR light to reflect and bounce off.

Sounds like you have RG6 quad- I hate that stuff too. RG6 siamese is not very common. I'm sure someone out there makes it, but RG59 siamese is the common standard for CCTV. It will probably be easier for you to just buy RG59 siamese and RG59 compression connectors. OR just buy plain RG6 and 18/2 wire seperately.

Wow! Haven't heard that name in a while! I'm impressed, old timer. We actually still used that crap until about 5-6 years ago when we switched to DVRs. Micromoles and NIUs... what a PITA to get to work and keep working.

like I said, the cheapest most effecient way to record what happens on the PC would not include hooking the PC up to record on the DVR. Just use a spyware tool. Make sure the time is in sync with the DVR, and the footage frorm the cameras and the archived info on the computer would tell you everything you'd need to know, without being tied together. Simpler, cleaner, less stuff to go wrong.

There are much cheaper and effecient ways of recording what happens on a computer. Lots of spyware software out there... But, I suppose a way to accomplish what you originally had in mind would be with scan converters. These plug in between your VGA monitor and the PC. They convert the VGA signal to a composite one and allow you to connect to a TV or in your case a DVR.

Of course! They want you to buy their $12,000 NVR!

Actually I've run into that with more than one brand of IP camera. I'm not defending Pelco though... As with most Pelco products I see the price tag and quickly loose interest.

The 3004net is no longer being sold in the US either. Avermedia currently does not have any 4ch standalone DVRs availible in this market. Only a 4ch NVR.

You don't need 30fps on each channel at full res. 30fps divided by 4 channels (7.5fps per ch) is plenty. The other popular marketing hype right now is h.264 compression. Be more concerned about image quality vs needing h.264. Avermedia made a good 4ch standalone, but its already discontinued with no ETA for a replacement.

You're wrong, about a lot. You've projected an assumed attitude/ intent that I simply don't have. But, we've gotten extreamly off topic on this thread. If you care to continue the conversation, let's open a new thread under "Test Bench" OR send me a PM and I'd be happy to pick back up where we left off.