bpzle

I consider myself a pretty helpful guy on here with little personal gain. Just check my 800 hundred something posts. I get a whole lot from here, but I also give a whole lot back. So I don't appreciate being vaugley accused of greed. It's not parnoia, it's not greed, it's not selfish, it's not personal. It's smart business. There are certain things about my business that I will not discuss in a public forum for the world to read. Product test results are one such topic. The quality products I use I've spent a considerable amount time and money researching and testing. I've earned the right to make money for my work. I'm not going to give this away to just anyone looking to save a buck. If you notice, the majority of the people upset by this are NOT business owners. That's OK. I don't expect them to understand. They are not the ones who have spent the valuable time away from their families that they cannot get back. They have invested nothing in the information I have. OF COURSE they want something for nothing; they don't recognize the true value of the products and services I represent. For you I have no sympathy when you fall victim to cheap HongKong crap and Sleezebay. Or when your "bargain" supplier won't provide even the simpilest of support to help you just make the stuff work. I've wasted countless hours in my day prodviding detailed quotes and design recomendations only to have the potential clients use this as an internet shopping list and leave me high and dry. No more. At the end of the day, I can only make MY customers happy. Not everyone else's. That's literally my business HOW I do it, not yours.

Now that's pimpin, Pimpin!

We have hundreds of sites with LCDs running 24/7 365. It's not an issue for us.

LOL My point is, you've already gone this far with your own testing. How hard is it to turn off the lights? No one said you should install anything. I would be interested to see the results too. You went through the trouble of builing the RC plane. She's gased up and ready to go. What's stopping you from putting the batteries in the remote control???

Why assume? Why not see for yourself and compare?

Do you think there's anyway the camera casing could have been screwed into a common "ground"?

Welcome! I also started out in the alarm industry! My experience is that camera PSU's with built in backup are over priced. We used standard PSUs coupled with a big bad UPS. Afterall, what's the point of extended camera power if your DVR/ NVR does down?

We did use the 2760 a while back... and it served it's purpose for what we intended it. Close range entry ways. BUT, I do partially agree with you... No comparison to our Korean off brands or even the Monalisas. Unfortunately, our favorites were out of stock at the time and we needed something ASAP.

I have $300 cameras sitting on my shelf I wouldn't sell to an enemy. Price doesn't make them better. The picture is what it is: crappy. It's unfortunate, but at least others can be warned of that junk.

Can you blame him? 6 months ago end users had not heard of CNB. Today there's thread after thread of them looking for free help, trying to make them work. I'm one of the friendliest guys you'll meet. I love to talk about new technology and share ideas or information. But why should I help a competitor out??? That's essentially what I am doing if I help a customer out who needs answers, can't get it from their supplier, and comes here. Am I greedy? No. Professionals spend a lot of time researching, buying, testing products that work (and lots more that don't). It's only fair to be compensated for our efforts. We are on the front lines, but for what? For someone else to steal our time and sell at below cost on the internet? I get the fact that we all help each other out. But let's face it: in this day and age, chances are most of our potential customers will surf here from a Google search. A lot of blood sweat and tears goes into product recommendation. Things would be different if this was a private forum, with only professional eyes. I don't risk my reputation by suggesting or installing something I can't be proud of. But what's the point if my reputation isn't worth something?

Once again, no one cares to answer my question. Lol I'll try again the next time I see a DM thread.

Actually I had a camera in mind where that's all you need. It's made by KT&C and we use them at all our retail locations. All you drill is a 3/4- 1" hole and pop the camera in. In mounts flush with whatever surface. Looks like a peephole for a front door.

Well that's what you and I must assume... but what about someone who's actually used their gear? What am I missing from the spec sheets?

SO I've asked this question before with no response... What is the appeal to DM? Why are people paying ridiculous prices for their stuff? Dealer prices on 4 channel units are $1,000 plus. Is it really worth it??? Especially with them having a monopoly on hard drives? That's the first I've heard of ANY company storing system files on the HDD and demanding that you send the entire unit into the factory for HDD upgrades/ replacements. No cool IMO. So seriously, why are you guys buying their stuff?

master reset fixed it... go figure.

I've got the unpleasent task of trying to make this POS talk over the LAN and WAN: www2.cop-usa.com/images/product/pdf/DVRMPEG416LAN.pdf Maily just need remote connection. Local connection not important. Can't get it to do either. I've tried both the client software and IE. I can ping it just fine. Tried 2 different PCs. Disabled firewall/ virus protection on both. Checked and double checked IE security/ Active X settings. Active X downloads in IE but when I try to connect to live view, it fails. According to EZ Watch "Pro" (the people they bought this from) it can only be viewed remotely, not on the same LAN. Never heard of such nonsense, but OK. I forwarded all the ports and the only one that will talk is the web (80). I'm done with this stupid thing. I should have never comitted...Anyone have any clue?

I think you'll find most installers stick with what they know works. Unfortunately, I haven't seen a good unbiased review of more than just a small handful of CCTV products at a time. Definitely not what you're looking for.

My first thought is they're just crappy cameras. BUT there's a couple things you can check. Check to make sure you didn't smudge the lenses with some finger print grease. Also make sure all plastic shipping protective covers off. Most cameras are shipping with some kind of plastic on the glass. Camera 4 especially looks like it may still be on... However, like I said... they just look like crappy cameras with poor quality lenses.

I wasn't saying that it couldn't be done, just that it would be a bigger PITA compared to 1 simple hole in the brick. In most brick homes I've pulled wire there is a 2 inch or so void between the brick and that exterior insulation board (can't remember official name). This is a perfect place for wire to run, if it's a straight shot up to an attic/ crawl space. And it just hit me, if this is a house up north the OP could be lucky and have a basement. No one has those here down south, but it would be a lot easier to run wire down there than running wire all the way up to the roof line.

Of course, the other alternative is to convince the wife that EMT is a popular new trend in home decor.

Believe it or not, drilling through the brick would be easier than the door frame/ jam. First, you'd have to carefully remove the trim and caulk, trying not to break the trim. You'll probably break it in which case you'll have to not only finding replacement matching trim but also the paint to go with it. Not to mention there would be plenty of shims around the frame that may or may not allow for easy wire routing. I wouldn't want to mess with these, as they are what keep your door in square/ plum. Overall, total PITA. The brick however can be pretty easily penetrated with a big masonry bit. Hammer drill would be best, but a typical drill would probably work too. Obviously every house is different and no single approach works for every home. I think the real problem here is that this is a 2 story house. We'd need a lot more info in order to determine the best places to mount and route the wire. 1. Is there a bedroom above the front door or just a really high ceiling? 2. Is there an attic or crawl space up near the roof line? 3. Most importantly, what's in the walls? If there isn't a straight shot up to a crawl space or ceiling, it may be necessary to break Sheetrock to a place that has one. What you're looking at is probably THE most difficult and challenging place to mount a camera on any residential install. I would HIGHLY recommend shelling out the extra cash for a professional. Not only will it be done right, but they have all the tools and experience to do it in a reasonable amount of time with minimal destruction of your home.

thanks Tom. already have it though. it's actually not from cops but EZ Watch Pro

What housing are you using? Cheap Chinese or something special? Full size or compact?

You know symbol means DC aka direct current, right?

Thanks! I'll give it a try. Man I didn't see this coming... I added some cameras for these people and they asked if I'd put their existing DVR on the network so they could watch from home. I said "sure, I'll do that for you for free." Never doing that again... From here on out I'm billing by the hour on existing equipment!!