bpzle

That's a fairly old version... I would be interested to see how well the latest works (7.7 I believe). For just 4 cameras... the NV3000 is a pretty good card. As I mentioned, you're not currently using it's full potential. Any upgrade in the card would really only be needed if you needed more FPS.

What software version are you running of Avermedia? You should be able to get 7fps at 720x240 on each channel. 3fps at 720x480. Also, I'm a little confused at why your streaming through external adapters.... Aver has this functionality built into the software. You can stream to a web browser client via ActiveX in Internet Explorer OR through a free remote client called CM3000. This would definitely save on CPU usage.

What are your "touchscreens" connected to? Like a kvm/ usb distributor and multiple monitor drops from a central PC somewhere? If so, what OS is this PC running? How do you switch between different tasks like lighting, HVAC, music, cameras? Is there some sort of touch screen GUI that brings up each task? I think Tom is right... The CMS3000 (free) is a better tool rather than the browser app. But is it compatible with what you're trying to use it on is the question...

A quick Google search for "CCTV software Mac" pulled up a product called EvoCam. It's an advanced webcam recording software designed for Mac that also advertises compatability with a handful of IP cameras including Vivotek and Axis. Looks like most of the cameras it supports are "indoor" cameras but outdoor CCTV camera housings can be found for pretty cheap. EvoCam is cheap (red flag) but it may be worth looking into...

There are a handful of CCTV products that support viewing on a Mac (client), but I couldn't even name one that supports recording on a Mac (server). Much less one that supports directly attached USB/ firewire cameras. Maybe fleebay has a crappy USB capture stick for Macs? Don't expect good results... will be choppy, unstable, poor video quality, and horrible user interface. The only thing I can think is to get a cheap webcam that comes with time-lapse recording software. Don't expect very good images or low light capability with webcams though... LuxRiot is CCTV software that can record from a huge variety of cheap USB webcams. but again it requires Windows. Maybe you can run a dual OS? Really not a lot of options bud... Plus I think most of the solutions that would work for this wouldn't save you any money, which is obviosuly what you're tring to do.

+1 Fios/ Uverse works much different than standard CATV.

No support from the supplier or manufacture?? Big red flag and a sign of things to come. Their problems shouldn't be yours. That's basic customer service. Too late to return it??

I have an install using identical cameras, similar fovs. 1 is using RG59, 1 cat5e and baluns. I do this for a living and can't tell the difference. I'm sure there's some crappy baluns out there that could mislead people to believing it's a bad solution... But it's all I use now. Low budget or big budget. Future proof is the biggest perk.

Use an rs484/485 to rs232 adapter and use some sort of COM tool on a computer that understands HEX codes. Compare this to known protocols.

Either way, that Ganz puts him over his original budget... Remember he didn't want to spend more than $500 for a single camera and I recomended to use that same $500 to buy 2 cameras or more to better cover the area. To further make the point: that large of a lens is really not required for something 60 feet away. Unless you were wanting to get fancey with an LPR setup, but that Ganz isn't designed for something like that anyway.

Atta boy scorpi... I mean soundy!

I don't have any direct experience with something like that... There's other guys on here that do. However, if I were in your position... I'd listen to their advice first and then buy a handful of point to point radios and do my own real world testing to make sure the distances and bandwidth abilities are satisfactory. Although cheaper than running fiber... this job sounds like a big money maker. No offense to anyone, but there's only so far I'm willing to trust guys on the internet when it comes to a big potential job. Nothing beats real world experience. You don't want to quote your client something that doesn't work. You don't want to be embarrassed. And most of all, you don't want to loose the bid. Just my 2 cents.

What's a "security cameras directect kit"? Also, 232 and 484/485 are not protocols. They're types of serial connections. The protocol you are looking for is named "Sensormatic" or "American Dynamics". I hear a rumor "Pelco D" will also work, but haven't confirmed that. Your cheapo AVTech should have Pelco D...but the other 2 I highly doubt it. Not really a market for people who slap a $2k PTZ on a $200 DVR. You'll have to scroll through the PTZ setup menus on the DVR to see. In my opinion, if you have them and they're free... PTZs can be a lot of fun just to play with and impress your friends. I say go for it and try to hook em up. However, in a practical sense... PTZs don't come in real handy for most residential jobs.

Ganz ZCOH5-DN84NHA Outdoor 1/3" Super Hi-Res Color True D/N Dome, 540 TVL, 8.5-40mm Auto Iris varifocal (http://computarganz.com/product_view.cfm?product_id=192) You can get a Pelco DF5-PG-E0/E1 outdoor housing and stick a C10DN camera in it with a 5-50mm auto-iris lens. I said USUALLY and I was talking stock, without lens change outs or making something from scratch. Of course there's a very select few of exceptions... But holy crap retail for all that is well over $500-600. Just so you can get a few feet closer than a 12mm lens? He doesn't need anywhere near a 50mm lens. That's ridiculous and impractical for residential. Especially on an analog camera... I would never recommend something that expensive for such little benefit, unless I was doing a government or casino job. Where do you work again?

What kind of ammo does it use?

who knows... but check the basics. make sure the cable doesn't come near or run parallel to high voltage lines and/ or equipment. also make sure you have good cable terminations.

A grand? Not really... Idk what CCTV suppliers was talking about... but special cable is not required. Good old cheap cat5e (or any UTP) for the control wires will do. If you already have a DVR or a CCTV recorder, check if it supports the right protocols. If it does, all you need is an AC power supply ($30-50) and you're good to go. No expensive or proprietary controller/ keyboard required.

Dome cameras don't usually go outside of the range of 4mm-12mm... So a lens calculator wouldn't do you much good. I think that CNB goes up to 11mm if I'm not mistaken??? If you really had your heart set on a tight shot of the street then a box camera with lens and external housing would be required to be able to put a big enough lens on something. Kind of an eye sore of residential in my opinion... I think you'd be fine with 2 CNB domes. Certainly much better coverage that just 1 camera on the driveway/ street.

Wow! You've done your home work! Those are all very good cameras... however, if it were my house I'd put in the cheapest (CNB), to have room in the budget for multiple views of the driveway. 1 analog camera only has so many pixels it can yield, no matter the cost (despite what a Bosch rep tells you ). So, a wide shot getting your driveway and the street is not putting very many pixels on your target area. While this may provide a good scene awareness for general coverage, it won't provide very detailed footage for police. Isn't that what a CCTV system should be for?

we live in a pretty nice neighborhood... but there's nothing to steal in the ghetto so they come here. i can relate... someone try to pop open a window with a screwdriver once while my wife was home alone. they didn't know she was here, must have knocked while she was in the shower. needless to say, she was pretty shaken up for quite some time. I installed a DVR with a drop multiplex drop monitor in the kitchen. If she hears a weird sound, or there's someone at the door all she has to do is flip on the monitors and instantly puts to rest that panic feeling. I also wired up a couple panic buttons, and integrated the system to our existing alarm panel. so now myself, friends and family, neighbors... we all get a text message if something happens or she freaks out and mashes a panic button. A 4 channel dvr like the Avermedia EB3004NSP and a couple panic buttons like this: http://www.alarmsystemstore.com/product-p/usp%20hub2sa.htm would be a perfect, cheap alternative to a monitored alarm system. Plus you can catch a little video footage... Just hook up your single crappy cam for now. Add real ones later as your budget grows. This would do wonders for just your wife's comfort and feeling of safety. That should be priority one for you, or any man... All your material stuff insurance can take care of. Honestly, with out really pouring some cash into this (you probably won't), you're not going to get the proper footage you need for proper facial recognition... So unless you're ready to open your wallet, forget about catching someone with your CCTV footage. And you can forget about watching live all the time and catching them in the act... the odds are just stacked against you. You can't watch your CCTV 24/7. Just put up some cameras that send a clear message "go somewhere else."

They have lots of inputs/ outputs... but here's the basics of what you need for them to work: -24vAC for power. -2 wire to hook up to a PTZ -controller/ dvr of some kind. -a controller or a dvr. must have sensormatic, american dynamics, or I believe pelco d will work with this cam. -bnc cable for video to monitor/ dvr of course -dig through the manuals and make sure the addresses/ IDs are set properly on the camera and that they match the IDs on the controller/ dvr

I know you won't want to... but please trust me and all the other pros: loose the wireless crap. Any of that cheap ebay wireless stuff are child's toys... You have to run power anyway, might as well run video. Much better quality, far more reliable. What are you using to record?

Good luck trying to get a hold if ShoreView... His website has been down and I hear no one has been able to contact him for a while...

www.cctvforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=19962&hilit=fios

My experience with PTZs are limited... however I believe the privacy zones on a PTZ are not masked, but just preset areas that can't be zoomed in on. An application would be an ATC camera with a hotel with lots of windows near by. ATC can see what they need to, but not what they want to. That's different than a privacy mask where the image is actually blacked out in certain parts. Like the a guy's face on COPs that wouldn't sign the waver. OSD means on screen display. This is a graphic menu system on the camera that allows for advanced feature access and programming.