bpzle

easy google king...

only nerds know the true definition!

how about an upgrade to Aver? lol

It used to be this: http://cctvco.com/MAX-PLEX4-Security-DVR.html Now it's this: http://www.averusa.com/surveillance/productdetail.aspx?id=73

tom, aver cameras are a little hard to come by in the US... looks like UK only thing?

Also, check out StarTech.com and search "utp vga" for some neat VGA distribution options to all the (HD)TVs in your house or even to multiple dedicated LCDs like for the kitchen or bedroom. Plus you'll get a much better picture than the S Video...

Thanks for the review! Hard to beat this unit for even twice the price... Coolest thing IMO is it's a hybrid... Are you using any IP cameras? If so, which ones?

I never had the patience to use Aver's ddns service... I've been using dyndns.org and just using a software update client on a regularly used PC somewhere on the network.

very true.

That depends on how far away the camera is mounted from the target. For example, If the camera is mounted 50' away from the target area, you would capture a 67' wide area. 30' away, a 40' wide area. 15' away, a 20' wide area 8' away, 11' wide area and so on. Generally speaking, a lens that wide is used for just general coverage. For just capturing what happened, when... Not for necessarily facial recognition or detailed descriptions of items in the frame. Unless the camera is mounted fairly close, you'd want to get a lens with a tighter shot that would allow you to see greater details in areas like cash registers, entrance to changing rooms (to see what's in peoples hands before and after they leave), and entrances to the store for facial recognition. The mistake most people make is buying those off the shelf camera systems, that all come with fixed wide angle (3.6mm) lenses. That's great for just general coverage, but when something happens you need more than just a time stamp of when it happened.

+1. Only for high end jobs though

Don't make fun of my country! That's all I can get!

I've got a client that has existing siamese in some iffy conduit underground going to a single camera. The goal is to add another camera. There's no pull string there (who does that?!?) and a snake would probably be too difficult...There's some bends in the conduit and don't want to risk using the old wire as a pull string in fear of breaking the cable. There's a 120v power at the target area so I was thinking we could power the cameras locally and utilize that 18/2 pair somehow... Anyone ever have luck using 18/2 with baluns? Seems risky but it would be a real cheap and easy solution if it worked... The distance is between 100 and 150 feet.

YA! in your face nay sayers!

It works! Looks pretty good too... Client is happy. I never would have thunk it... Thanks!

I buy all my quality cameras from Sam's, Costco, and Ebay.

It's not that it doesn't have an IP address... it's that it's changed and you don't know what it is. I ran into the same problem on my first ACTi... Download the ACTi IP Utility off this page to help you find it: http://www.acti.com/product/support/ACTi_Utility_Suite You'll need to make a log in to their site to download, stupid I know. This utility should come on the discs in the box but it doesn't...

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=19973

Hit or miss with Arm. Mostly miss... We have a few sites still running time lapse VCRs (I know) and the only ones we can still find are Arm Electronics. We replace them frequently. My rep for one of the largest CCTV suppliers in North America tells me they get a LOT of RMAs for Arm. I do know that I buy some of the same products Arm slaps their logo on and resells for 4 times the price. This isn't uncommon in the CCTV world though... Just to give you an example: Arm's dealer price on a video balun is $25. I get the EXACT same one through another supplier, different logo for $4.50. A while back I went through and tested all the "consumer" cctv brands so I could say from personal experience why NOT to buy them. Clover was one of the poorest performers, Swann and SecurityMan being the lowest.

And the "Bolide"? I've never heard of that brand, but it doesn't matter. It's rebranded. I know because I've got exact same one sitting in my garage with a different brand on it. I bought it brand new for testing and evaluation and it did nothing but crash 2-3 times a day. Honestly, if cheap is the game then AV Tech is your name. OK, so some of the Swann DVRs are rebranded AVTechs... couldn't tell you which ones though. Swann rebrands too much junk to keep up with... I wouldn't be too "wowed" by a built in DVD RW. If it's connected to your LAN, then it's really not needed. Most people find that after their DVR is on the network, they rarely walk over to it and physically mash buttons. Only time a built in DVD RW is actually worth the added expense is if you have a true standalone DVR, not connected to a LAN.

Everfocus? no! Lorex? NO! Swann? HELL NO! I'm an authorized Digmerge (AKA Lorex) dealer too. But there's a reason it's not in my signature...

I'm not sure what part he's in, but PM tomcctv

Better or worse than Sam's Club systems? Ones crap and one's crappier. lol Who cares... Either way, you install crap you'll have too many nightmares supporting crap. If they want cheap, make them install it themselves. Trust us, you don't want anything to do with it. They need to realize their budget is not realistic, even at your COST. So they can't they afford cameras, can they afford NOT to have them?? Maybe this will put things into perspective for them... A lot of small businesses don't want to fork out the cash until they realize the ROI. If you just can't walk away from these guys... offer to put some dummy dome cameras in. Eclipse makes realistic ones... Another option would be to get a DVR, hard drive, a single real camera, and some dummy cameras to stay within their budget. Later down the road swap the dummies out with real ones. Look at the 4 channel Avermedia Eb1304 DVR. Then the Eclipse ECL-599 for a single camera.

tom's right. there's no way... there's no way you could stay in that budget at dealer prices, much less be able to mark something up and resell. rediculous... tell them to go to Sam's Club and walk away.

Also, my rep sent me this... It's a model # scheme to help make sense of the nearly endless array if CNB cameras. Mona Lisa Product: Beginning letters: DBM: D(ome) B M(ona Lisa): Mona Lisa Indoor Dome, clear dome size in 100mm diameter VCM: V(andal proof) C M(ona Lisa): Mona Lisa Vandal-proof Dome, clear dome size in 100mm diameter, surface mount + Flush Mount VBM: V(andal proof) B M(ona Lisa): Mona Lisa Vandal-proof Dome, clear dome size in 100mm diameter, surface mount only BBM: B(ox) B M(ona Lisa): Mona Lisa Box camera DFL: D(ome) F L(Mona Lisa without OSD): Mona Lisa Indoor Dome, clear dome size in 85mm diameter Ending letters: VD: Vari-focal without removable Cut-filter VF: Vari-focal with removable Cut-filter Non Mona Lisa Product: Beginning Letters: V : V(andal proof) D: D(ome) G: Box A: zoom Camera Ending letters: NVR: NTSC, Vari-focal, IR NIR: NTSC, fixed Lens, IR NVD: NTSC, Vari-focal without removable Cut-filter NVF: NTSC, Vari-focal with removable Cut-filter The vandal proof series (VCx, VBx, V1xxx, V2xxx, etc.) are IP65 or equivalent