johnnyviper

I also have had many quality issues with Arecont. Every once in a while I install one just to remind myself how junky they are. Last week I put up a 12mp 180 degree cam in a parking lot. The picture isnt bad, but the physical quality leaves much to be desired. One issue I encountered was the side conduit entry is unuseable because the pcb is so close to the threads. I also find the web interface to be very slow and lacking in useablity. Lastly the motion grid squares are far to large to be useful. Anyway, after this one I should be good for about another year before the next arecont.

A Vivotek dealer showed me a demo of the IP8330 "Supreme" mounted on the back of an industrial building. The picture quality was terrible and the night performance was no scream either. Unless the camera wasn't setup properly, I would put up a better analog camera instead. I'm just testing the IP8332 and it's miles ahead of the 8330. John

bpzle: That Gator moving in the shot was probably going about 12 - 15 mph Sawbones: Have you tested the ACTI TCM series, or just the ACMs? A distributor I deal with told me the TCM is a significant upgrade, so I thought it would be worth a try. rory: Unfortunately I don't have any handy on the NVR. I did test it though with the lights out. Wasn't too bad. I'll try get you a couple shots in the next day or two. I just took the camera down last night and put up a Vivotek FD8361. So far it's a huge disappointment. Last night it was a huge blizzard, so there's a chance I didnt' get it focused quite right yet! But at twice the price of the 8332 its looking like the loser. Also, if I remember correctly the "Maximum Exposure Time" was set to 1/15 second. I'll confirm when I get the camera hooked up again. Oh, and the mounting bracket Vivotek sends is a throw away. It's a joke. John

Here's some screens off a Vivotek 8332. We've been looking for some cheaper cams for certain applications, and so far I'm not too disappointed. I just quickly set it up, so you'll have to ignore the crooked image and the cardboard flapping! These screens were pulled from a Nuuo 2040 NVR. The camera is mounted about 14' high on the face of a shop at the corner of the building. At the center of the building there is a 250 Watt Metal Halide wall pack. Other than the wall pack there is no other lighting and it was a fairly dark night. Night Shot Moving Face Night Shot Moving Night (Unfortunately no license plate) Moving Day Shot Day Face BTW I will have a Acti TCM-1231 next week to compare to also John

I am actually trying to make the same decision; between QNAP and NUUO. Just for a smaller system (4 Cam)! In general what have people found regarding each of these units? Better quality or functionality? We've used the QNAP NAS units and had good success, but never the NVRs. John

Another note, usually Loose Tube fiber would be used in applications like yours. If your interested, here's a link to a fairly good explanation of why: http://ccswebapps.corning.com/web/library/AENOTES.NSF/$ALL/AEN026/$FILE/AEN026.pdf Depending on how your terminating, it can be a bit of an art. You should easily be able to handle it. Stripping the fiber is probably the hardest part. It just takes some practice. A few test strips and you should have it down no problem. The best way would be fusion splicing, but that cost is huge. We use the Corning Unicam kits with great success. From what I remember the kits weren't cheap though, and SC or LC ends are $30+ here in Canada. I would say the best solution is if you know someone who has the equipment that would work for rum. I'm not sure where your located, but around here there aren't any suppliers I know of that ship pre-terminated cable. Depending on how many fibers your going with, it could be difficult and risky to pull the cable and ends. Could probably be done with the right preparation of the ends, but its a situation you would want to avoid.

That's a good question! I asked the same thing, and didn't get clear answers. At that point he may have noticed that WTF look on my face. He just claimed it was for the reliability aspect. Now that you mention the life cycle or slowdown of these drives it really makes no sense at all....

Excellent choice on the fiber! It's usually the best solution. For most fiber applications, other than rack to rack type cabling and other short runs, Single mode is often the best choice. With SM you can run longer distances and higher bandwidth. The drawback to SM is usually a equipment cost. The fiber cost may varies, certain suppliers may deal in a particular product and be able to price accordingly. We deal with a local cable distributor, and they sell mostly SM and are able to offer excellent pricing. How are you planning on terminating the fiber? Are you looking for a supplier that can ship it pre-terminated?

I wouldn't recommend using anything less than a "Continuous" or "Server" grade drive. We prefer Segate drives. Although a hard drive can't be expected to last forever, a better drive will definitely pay off in terms of lifespan in a CCTV application. With that being said, I know of an installer who refuses to install any DVR without a Solid State Drive. Yes, it's a good idea, but for many jobs it can add a huge expense. A cheap home grade drive could also be fine for certain applications also. If reliability isn't a huge concern, and a new drive is readily available, you could definitely save some coin!

Well I have to say I've always used the BNC method, and a barrel adapter to connect. Then, plenty of high grade electrical tape or heatshrink depending on the location. But, after just realizing that the F connector will do the same thing I'm quite intrigued. To me, the advantage of using an F connector is that there are 2 less points of failure. Think of it this way: Copper Wire > Center Pin of BNC > Contact in Barrel < Center Pin of BNC < Copper Wire Using an F Connector: Copper Wire > Contact in Barrel < Copper Wire In the past I've seen situations with BNC connectors where that extra connection has been the culprit. Granted extremely seldom. In my opinion, a proper F conn terminated with the proper tool is just as good as a BNC. Possibly not suited for as many re connections though. Something like the TNB Snap N Seals, or the Gilbert connectors should be ideal. The last perk would definitely be the $ savings of 2 less BNCs needed for a splice!! John

As a phone-dummy myself I a fan of the bean connectors. Easy to terminate, and easy to re-terminate. Personally I always use grease filled.

Well it sounds like your more interested in the actual logic of RS485. Here's a really cool tool that I came across a while ago. One of these day's I'm going to have to order one to try. For $149 I don't think you could find a better logic analyzer! http://www.saleae.com/logic/

I've had good success with the Speco cameras. Can't speak for their DVRs though. Personally I really like the focus free cameras! Saves time on installs, and nobody complains about about unfocused images. In saying that, I do think that the Speco cameras can be slightly overpriced depending on where you shop. John

I'm just looking, and found that a handful of Dell monitors have composite inputs. They are the digital LCDs, about the 5 year vintage. I wonder if any of the new models have composite inputs. Would sure beat spend the extra coin on special CCTV monitors... John

Well I'm wondering what other installer's experiences have been with installing regular cameras in cold weather! Where I'm located, we get -40 regularly throughout the winter. In any sort of critical installation, I've always used cameras rated to this extreme or proper enclosures. Lately, I've seen lots of other installs that have just cheap cams obviously not rated for these temperatures. Has anyone had success with cheap cams in cold weather? I was just looking at some Everfocus ECZ330 IR Bullet cams that are rated to -10C.....Would they be worth a try??