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In what application? If there's plenty of light then megapixel IP cams will blow ANY camera out of the water. No light or low light? Analog cameras are king. Say what? Define "hardware" DVRs and "software" DVRs. Do you mean DVR vs NVR? Do you mean NVR vs Hybrid? Do you mean standalone AKA embedded vs PC based?

how are viewing? Internet Explorer, a different browser, or a program?

ilk, what are you using? we were looking at the Sanyo VCC-HD4000, but can't figure out how to easily control and pair it with a pan/ tilt device...

... And the software is called??? Is this a home brewed setup or an off the shelf item?

we need a whooooooooooole lot more info to be of any help. the biggest part is the communication between the DVR and laptop... Is it on the same network? Or Is it over the internet at 2 separate locations?

very interesting woodyads! thanks for the post

Sanyo makes a 4MP camera with 10x optical zoom. You'd have to get a pan/ tilt device seperately. Not sure how you could pair the 2 different devices with one set of PTZ controls though...

Anyone??

Anyone know how to reset an Ultradome 2 back to defaults WITHOUT using a controller? I've got one that can't/ won't communicate.

+1 I just can't fathom spending $60 on a card when you have these specs for a PC... Hell, the power supply alone would be worth more...

Exactly. Alarm inputs are just dry contacts that you can set for normally open or normally closed. Meaning, if a device is set to normally closed it will alarm if the circuit is opened. Pretty simple. Most DVRs will also have alarm outputs as well. These can be set for normally open or normally closed as well. They can be used to control external devices like sirens or lights. So, you could have external PIRs setup to when they sense motion they will send a signal back to the DVR which begins recording, flashes a light, sounds a siren, and even email and text messages you. Pretty cool. Lots of possibilities... Some DVRs can also have advanced scheduling options so the alarms will only trigger for certain times of the day or night. One install I even wired panic push buttons to the DVR and to an existing alarm panel. Neat way to avoid reoccuring and expensive alarm company monitoring fees...

Not at all!! Who told you that? This is ONLY the case if you buy from Ebay. If you buy products from reputable companies, they will stand behind what they sell. Avermedia has excellent worldwide support. I've never used AvTechs support, although I've installed a couple of they're units. AvTech is on the extreme low end of the CCTV budget world. Guys, correct me if I'm wrong but AvTech depends on their suppliers for tech support/ warranty.

Don't buy an all in one package. There is no perfect "one size fits all" camera. Also if one item sucks, you can easily return it. Second, I highly discourage video based motion alarms for outdoor enviornments. You'll get so many false alarms you'll turn it off. Sudden light changes (car headlights), dogs and cats, tree branches swaying in the wind... too many variables. If you want true motion detection, use something that is designed for it. An outdoor PIR Also, keep in mind that cheap cheap cameras use IRs as a work around to see in low light. A good camera won't need IRs to see in low light, only no light. Real white light is always better than IR. IR light tends to wash out the picture and screw up tones. First choice in zero light apps is to add white light, like motion detector flood lights. Second choice would be to use cameras that are capable of sensing IR light but do not have IRs built in. Use an external IR illuminator. Last choice is to use a camera with on board IRs. There's a lot of drawbacks to built in IRs and a lot of pros prefer not to use them. Only for certain applications...

+1 $60 is too cheap for a card ad software... Anymore its rare I spend less than $75 on a camera. I've just been burned too many times by cheap unsupported crap. Time is money and if youu have to spend both to go back and fix inferrior gear its not worth it.

We prefer the kind with IDC connectors on the balun, rather than having to install RJ45 connectors. Sorry, I temporarily switched subjects. I was referring to Ethernet. But, to reply to that when I use "analog" cameras I usually use DC. I use these: VBP-RJ45-F. The power pigtail is built in. So no splicing. Just crimp an RJ45 and your done. Pretty clean.

Are you looking for D1 real time?? Aver's NV9000e card is their premier holy crap card with hardware compression at real time... Look at the NV3000e. Dirt cheap and it comes with NVR software. Not real time, but for 95% of CCTV applications, 30fps is overkill.

Can't remember... they're rebranded. I get them from one of my supplers. RJ45 in, BNC video, and 2.5mm for power. Pretty clean looking and they work pretty good.

With good baluns, I can't tell a difference. Maybe Rory can with his vintage CRT monitors though...

Hey when you guys use CAT6e, do you use special and complicated CAT6e RJ45s? I've got some but man they're a PITA. I've heard it only makes a difference for gigabit, but I've only had to pull for 10/100.

Compression takes a little practice. Mainly you have to be careful not to leave the center conductor too long. I usually eyeball it, but most guides say around 1/8"? It helps to have good tools. Cheap DataShark ones at Home Depot I've found to be the best. I've used others that are wayyyy more expensive like Paladin and don't care for them. Also, I've run into crappy a brand of connectors one time and hated them. Pins kept falling out. Can't remember what brand they were... I too hardly use coax anymore. UTP all the way now...

OK, been a few weeks since I've been running Nuuo... Pros -stable -SMTP, NAS, FTP options -pre and post motion record -nice admin/ user restriction features -decent playback interface -create multiple and simultaneous FOVs from one camera -can create alarms for low disk, low bandwidth, video loss, low resources, etc. -excellent browser based client -advanced search parameters of archived video. ie motion, foreign/ missing object, focus lost, etc -multple stream profiles for remote views -love the "enhancement" feature -wide IP camera support list -decent cell support Cons -NO HOTKEYS! -zooming in and out when paused in playback is a little goofy. No matter if you zoom in or out, it won't act unless you click the video source once. Weird. -no full screen controls. it's bizarre that nothing can control the video if it's in full screen... -Internet Explorer only for browser based client -only 16x play -"previous" and "next" buttons are a little goofy. I would imagine they should rewind/ fast forward to the previous/ next recorded event. "next" works, but "previous" only rewinds the same segment. will not select anything before it.

ever figure this out?

what did you end up doing?

How'd everything turn out gents?