Tailbone215

Cool! Unzip the siding where you want to come through from the inside. Drill hole and run horizontal till you hit the corner post.channel and go vertical. All wire is tucked and invisible. Vinyl siding is insanely easy while aluminium takes a bit more care as to not damage the locking bead. Man i need to see this in person . That's just it, when it is done you won't see it.

Cool! Unzip the siding where you want to come through from the inside. Drill hole and run wire horizontal till you hit the corner post/channel and go vertical. All wire is tucked and invisible. Vinyl siding is insanely easy while aluminium takes a bit more care as to not damage the locking bead.

Siding or masonry?

Unfortunately there really aren't any "How-To" videos out there as each job has its own unique challenges. You simply learn by doing on the job. Some people have a natural knack for doing while others don't. Rough-ins are gravy work while old construction takes a certain talent to get them right and leave no trace. Never learn from a CATV installer as most are hacks and butchers.

I second the recommendation of the Altronix with 28VAC tap. I'm using a 32-port Altronix and it is nice.

Back in the day RIGID tools were top shelf, I don't know if they still make their own stuff nowadays. If you want to pay the money Hilti is a great brand. Bosch is great. I still use the 'Bulldog" made by them. SDS bits are great. As for Dewalt, they are OK for throwaway tools and Ryobi are pure crap. Probably the only tool everyone overlooked to mention is common sense. I've seen installers come with a truck load of cutting edge tools, but struggle to fish a wire down a wall in a timely fashion. The mark of a good installer is to be able to improvise on a moment's notice and use whatever materials they find in their surroundings to make the job easier. And be able to leave the job without a trace of evidence they have been there.

Interesting. I've been using APC Smart-UPS in the IT field for years and haven't had that problem in such a high magnitude. Most, if not all, small consumer grade UPS units are designed simply for giving the computer user time to shut down their workstation so they don't have their work trashed. If you exceed the manufacturer's specified run-time this will happen. I know the APC units power back up, even with a totally dead battery, when power is restored. I think it comes down to realistic expectations. If you know a UPS is going to give 15-30 minutes of power, you know you have that window to take appropriate action. If your outage exceeds that and you're not around to shut off your equipment, should it need it, it will go down. Some equipment will come back up on its own when power is restored. I've opted to switch out my APC Smart-UPS 1400 to a APC Smart-UPS 700XL on the security equipment for the added run-time. The 1400 contains two 12v 18Ah batteries, so does the 700XL. As configured the 700XL give better run-time than the 1400 for the load I have. Plus, it has provisions for external battery packs, which I have for extended run-time, which is important for me. Now it is hours instead of minutes.

Hopefully, if any for the DVR and power supply. I'm presently using APC. Do you find most customers receptive to the benefit and added expense of the UPS? Do you find commercial customers more receptive than residential?

Interesting! Thanks for the comments all. I would have thought the added benefit of a UPS, besides the ones mentioned, would be the added security of keeping the cams and DVR running during a power failure. We've had a string of power meters being pulled prior to break-ins in a few of our local communities.

You might want to get a couple of megapix cams and strategically locate them to give the coverage you want. If you go with standard cams you might need a larger quantity to give you the same coverage. Both options have trade-offs so study all your options.

That would be pretty cool! Or maybe a simple note on the side of what resolution they are steaming at so people that don't know these are low res streams wouldn't have to wonder if they are poor performing cams.

Shouldn't these look better even for a low bandwidth stream? I'm not sure the images are acceptable for the picture size.

Yes, an IR cut filter is very important for the stated reasons. No, you won't get a good D/N picture without one unless you have enough light. Plus, you have no IR sensitivity. True, there are some quality cameras that claim D/N, but they do it digitally at the expense of picture quality and increased noise. The few dollars more for a true D/N camera is well worth it. The reason why so many CCTV installers sell this crap is it is a cheap and easy buck for them. Then there is the customer that is looking for "cheap as possible" without considering the results. You can use cheap cameras if you bring enough light to the show. Light up your yard like the Raven's stadium and you can use $50 Chinese cams.

What is the cost (retail)?

Agreed! And a lot of these sites are blacklisted by the manufacturer and will not honor any warranty. You're basically on your own. When you combine the little bit of savings, which isn't much, for the aggravation you have to go through it isn't worth it. Too bad a lot of these sites are deceptive and aren't forthcoming with this fact allowing the customer make the choice of whether or not this "savings" is really worth it. On the other side of the coin there are a small percentage of installers that push the customer into cutting out the "middle man" by their gouging and poor quality installs. It's a two way street and it is always best to look at it from both perspectives.

Totally agree! In fact, avoid Speco altogether. I've been having great luck with Bosch cams. True day/night when using the 495 series. For domes VDN-495 and LTC0495 for box. Great sensitivity in low light and IR corrected lenses when the need for a separate IR illuminator arises. Worth the few extra bucks you pay. Plus three year no fuss warranty.

Let me rephrase. I'm looking for NVR software that will work on a 64-bit Windows OS. This software is and should be independent of the IP cam or the legacy DVR that is putting out a stream. The DVR server is already running and is streaming output to other Win XP (32-bit) machines on the network. I want to upgrade the clients to 64-bit while leaving the 32-bit server as it is. I'm looking for compatible client software that will let me roll in analog cams with IP cams on the same network. Thanks.

I wouldn't think it that hard to code the NVR software to 64-bit for IP cams as they send out an adopted format to a web browser. I think where the problem comes in is when you want to add in legacy equipment such as a stream from a DVR. Right now I'm loading XP in Sun's Virtualbox and will be testing this. Hopefully it will work and not be too cumbersome. I just would hate to have to buy new DVR software that is 32-bit only and have to go through this when adding IP cams. Thanks.

Sorry no available drivers for 64 bit! JD Thanks! What IP/analog NVR software are you selling your clients that is 64-bit compatible? I'm wondering this as there are a lot of 64-bit machines in the field now, though most businesses have opted for the XP downgrade.

I didn't catch what brand these are? I was multitasking here and was interrupted and thought you had 4 bad cams instead of just one, my mistake. Trust me, I've been through a lot of trial and error with crap cams. I really don't want to see anyone else waste money unnecessarily. I do agree that you probably have a bad cam.

You are mostly getting IR reflection from the built-in diodes. There is no cure for this other than to shut them off by disconnecting power to the diodes and using a separate IR emitter. I'm guessing you are using some low-end Speco variant of som other Asian crap cam.

Use extreme caution when buying from Spytown and several other vendors that aren't factory authorized resellers. Always check the manufacturer's website for authorized resellers. I made the mistake of buying two CB-SD21N-Ls from Surveillent Security on eBay and these cams didn't have warranties. I had to file a PayPal complaint and threaten to call my credit card company to get a refund for two defective cams. http://www.nuvico.com/unauthorized-resellers.htm

Seems JOINDVR became suspiciously silent for some reason? Not that I would want to call him a liar.....

Yes, I would like to know as well since I could use two of them right now if they are true Day/Night cams.

Is there such a thing? Is it even practical and cost effective? If these things are even made, would there be any improvement in image quality compared to analog cams using coax or balun? Thanks.