bpzle

Of course the whole rain loop thing only applies for bullet/ box cams. If your using a dome camera and mounting it to a verticle wall, the wire shouldn't be exposed. In this case, just use clear silicone to seal around the top and sides of the camera. Don't seal the bottom as that would potentially trap water behind the camera.

There's nothing that I'm aware of specifically designed for attaching cameras to vinyl siding. I would put a wood block or small piece of plywood behind the siding to fill in the gap between the siding and OSB. This will act as a washer or a riser of sorts and add some stability behind the siding. Use long wood screws or lag bolts to attach that to the OSB. Then flush mount the camera to the front of the siding. Use lots of clear silicone around screw holes/ wire entry points. Don't make the wire taught and go straight into the building. It's always a good idea to make a "J" shaped rain loop with the wire to make gravity force the rain to drip at the bottom of that loop instead of into the structure. Does that make sense?

So I've seen the YouTube videos and seen the manufacturers info on it... but I was hoping to get to "play before I buy." Just emailed my account rep at Northern to get access to a remote Q24 that I could play with... No luck. I was hoping someone on this forum would be willing to let me remote in and play for a day or 2. I've got a client that I think this may be suitable for but wanted to play around it first before I recomended it.... Anybody wanna help a brotha out?

It's going to be real hard to throw out numbers... Too many variables. The biggest question is how good is "good enough?" I'm going to steal from VST man and say: " You can use a $75 camera in place of a $750 one as long as the importance level of the target area is low." oh and don't forget "You get what you pay for." The next biggest question is the labor rate. That varies from region to region and can be highly controversial. But again, generally speaking... you get what you pay for. As far as viewing remotley, there's a lot of really good info already on this site. Search "port forwarding"

I don't have experience with that make/ model but 99 percent of DVRs I've seen DO NOT support Mac. The only option I've heard is to have a dual OS.

I've done a few. What's underneath the siding? A lot of older houses that have vinyl siding have wood or brick underneath. If it's wood, you can just use long screws to anchor the camera. If it's masonry of some sort, you'll need some anchors and screws. As far as hiding the cable, usually you can just lift up a flap of the siding and run the cable horizontally until you can find a good entry point into the attic and/ or house.

haha... my bad Ya that just further confirms my disinterest in Geo. I looked into offering them almost 2 years ago. I never could get a sales rep to call me back. I figured, if I can't even get ahold of a sales rep, tech support definetley wouldn't answer my calls. Forget these donkies

Soundy, With Avermedia,I haven't experienced any of the issues with multiple cameras dropping out or the recording shutting off. Maybe I've just been lucky? I partially agree with you about the menu systems and layout... I say partially because to an installer such as you or myself that has worked with a dozen or more types of systems, there are countless things unique to Aver that make you go "what the?!?" It can be very confusing and frustrating to someone who knows too much. lol To give an example: I've installed well over a hundred systems in may day. I know what I'm doing, I don't need manuals! Just hardware requirements. I usually figure things out pretty quick. Or so I thought... My first install with Aver it took me over 3 hours to figure out why none of my properly forwarded ports could be seen outside of the LAN. I was ready to kick the thing to the curb... I finally called tech support and they said "Is the network button at the bottom clicked? Click it and try again." Are you kidding me?!? I felt so stupid. Another quirky thing is the recording schedule. So I set the schedule for every camera but the stupid thing wouldn't record anything. Turns out there is a "master" on/ off record scheduler in addition to the individual cameras and it defaults to off all the time. Stupid... That first install was a PITA. But, now I can fly through in less than 30 minutes. The interface is powerful and very easy to train and use for end users. It can just be frustrating for people that "know too much" and think they don't need manuals.

I don't know anything about Geo... Did you ever end up deciding on anything?

We have literally dozens of CNBs in service now (not all these models, of course) and I don't think we've had a single in-use failure or a single DOA camera yet. Several of them have replaced toasted Extreme domes in one client's site... others were used as spares to temporarily replace Pelco IS-110s that had to go in for repair after less than a year in service. Based on experience SO FAR, the CNB domes have been among the most reliable I've ever dealt with. On top of that, they're among the nicest and most flexible to install and configure... like they actually had an installer consult on the physical design! My suppler said she can't remember ever having to give an RMA for CNB. Arm elctronics, Ever Focus (she called it Never Focus haha), even Pelco she admitted was a different story. This CNB camera really is something special. It just feels and looks solid. Just taking it out of the box I thought maybe they had goofed and sent me the wrong one. I would have expected this thing to cost 2-3 times more. Slap a Pelco sticker on the side and one easily could. I love the OSD control... A single "joystick" that even a 6' 2" 260 lbs hoss like me can easily navigate even wearing gloves if I had to. Let's not forget the most important part: the picture. This thing could see things in my pitch black backyard that I would stumble over if I didn't have a flash light. Awesome.

Go to EclipseCCTV.com and ask for an authorized dealer in your area. OR PM me and I'd be happy to provide you with any any info you'd like.

I bought the VBM-24VF for testing so this is my very first CNB product. I can't speak for the reliability yet, but overall I am very impressed. Especially for the price. The being said, these aren't the same cameras. The 577HIA has internal IRs so it can see in zero light without any assistance. It also has a neat white strobe light. I thought it was stupid at first, but it continuously blinks at night and really does make you look up and wonder "what's that??" as you look into the lens. The VBM-24VF is a true day/night camera with ICR but it does not have internal IRs. It also has advanced features on the OSD. Both cameras are very good, but not an apples to apples comparison. I can tell you this though, I will be bidding a job this week using several of the VBM-24VFs. If your using the cameras indoors, use indoor models. Typically their cheaper. Both these cameras are IP65.

Legal? I'm no lawyer but that seems ridiculous that it wouldn't be. Those cameras were setup on a portable mount for maybe 10 minutes for testing. But even if they were permanent, what's wrong with recording a street? Google Maps can do it...

Which Eclipse and CNB camera were you wanting to compare?

CNB and Eclipse make some pretty good analog cams. Especially for low light scenarios. Acti for IP megapixel cams, but they require a signifigant amount of light. Killer cameras for the price and in the right conditions though... Avermedia for a hyrbid (analog and IP) recorder. I'm fond of using CAT5 and baluns. Lots of options for the future, it's nice to only have to run cable once. If you'd like, give some more details of the your enviornment and your expectations of the system. Myself and/or others on the forum can give you more specific answers for cameras. Lighting conditions, field of view (FOV) required, level of detail you'd like, the distance of the cameras to the target, etc.

Try using just a single pair for the balun leads. Don't double them up. Just to confirm, are you running the power over the same UTP? If so, what is the distance? Also be careful of running that UTP next to or parallel to any high voltage. It's very easy to pick up noise. I did run into a bad balun the other day for the first time.... It had a horrible picture and finally stopped working all together. Took me a while to figure out it was just 1 balun that was bad. Never seen that before...

what area are you in?

YES! please do look at zmodo cameras: viewtopic.php?f=54&t=20204&start=0 see swong46's picture of his zmodo camera

how are you powering the camera?

no light within 150 ft

wow. my new favorite camera... zero light except for cheap camera with IR street lights 150 ft away

I wonder how low a credit score has to be in order for those things to be required

The zero light shots were with this: http://cctvco.com/ECL-557HIA_vandal_proof_dome.html I'm not allowed to post prices, but their considerably more than what you payed for that junk. But as you can see, you get way you pay for. Here's a neat little cam that's a lot closer to what you payed for... Pretty good for the price. http://cctvco.com/ECL-599_IR_bullet_camera.html With street light and drive way lights With no lights. Only a street light a couple hundred feet away.

Yikes! that's horrible

You need to make sure the controller is set for Pelco P and that the camera and controller are set to the same ID number. See page 12 on this link: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=4&ved=0CBQQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tycovideo.com%2FWebApps%2FgetDocument.aspx%3Ffilename%3D8200-0184-01.pdf&ei=0uamS6u_IMWVtgeV6rS7AQ&usg=AFQjCNHgLCFeZeANdi9oh7mzu1cmodeCTg&sig2=L1l3vad1SfkR3EJAVxz_5w