ckinninger

Guys, I was hoping you could help me by recommending some items to build a pc based system. I want to be able to watch 16 channels at the same time but NO RECORDING is going to be done so no need for any fan$y compression. What I was wondering is if you guys could recommend me a capture card that will give good video quality for the 16 channels. Also, I know there is free software around, can you tell me if any of it would work to display the 16 (4x4) with minimum bells and whistles. Though I need it to be stable as possible, the system would probably be easiest for me to do in WinXP or Vista. The thing will run 24x7x365. I suppose the capture card website will tell me the min requirements for the pc hardware so no need to bother with that. I realize I'm begging for help on this. I just figured you guys would know how to do this. I really don't need a full blown dvr system which could be purchased for big dollars out of the box. Thanks, CK

Soundy, Thanks a lot for all the information. I'm a novice but it looks like the 480fps@D1 card would be something like a GV-1016 which seems to cost around grand. That might come out a little high on price for what I want to accomplish when you add on the cost of an inexpensive custom built pc. What I'm getting at is that it seems like a lot of the power of the GV-1016 type card is used for recording which I won't be doing. Maybe there is a cheaper card with those specs, or maybe I need the power for smooth display of all 16 channels. For the other option, I'm having a hard time finding exactly the specs on potential cards. "Basic 16 Channel Card"..."that displays using overlays". It's the part about the display using overlays that I cannot determine when examining products for sale. Does this option mean that the pc's video card will do all the work in making the flows look smooth? I'm worried the pc would be working too hard to accomplish the task and thus be a little unstable. Again, I am not sure if I am comprehending the drawback of this option. I know this is asking a lot but is there any chance you could give me an example of a 16 channel card, cpu, and video card to make this work pretty easily? Remember, no recording will be done. Rory, Thank you as well. I'm not using VGA nor HDMI out right now. The box is just a low end cctv dvr. I want to ditch that. The video will be analog (no ip). I like those two machines you linked above. They seem pretty bare boned (not too much recording punch) so they might work for me. The HDTV out (hdmi, vga) are a must for me. 720p is my minimum so no problem there. The unix OS's don't cost an arm and a leg so that's good since I don't plan on using any features beside the 4x4 display window. I guess my only question on these two boxes would be do they have enough power to show the 16 feeds with reasonable flow. I have no reason to doubt it. It looks like the price would be around $700 which is acceptable as long as it can do the job (display). Thanks Rory and Soundy.

- Soundy, I don't really have a burning desire to build a pc. It's gets old fast. Is there a way to communicate the product in another way that the link won't be required? - Rory, The reason I wanted to go the pc based route was because, from what I understand, it will output hi-def or pc resolution. Meaning... it could take 16 480i/p cameras and patch them together to form a high definition feed. We are currently using an old 16 channel dvr for this job but it outputs only 480 (total) so if I output it to a 65" plasma each of the 16 cameras show up very grainy. I guess they are shown at 1/16th of 480 resolution. Are there any out of the box solutions that can patch together all the 16 feeds to form a nice hd output? I'll checkout the intellicam and xtsvideo. Thank you!

Yes... minus whatever portion of the screen the software interface itself uses. Sound, Thanks. Perfectly clear answer.

Hello, Assume my 16 cameras have 480 resolution. If I view, for example, a 2x2 screen on the DVR, using the vga output on a computer monitor at 1280x768, will the resolution of *each* camera being viewed be pretty close to their 480 res? Or does the total resolution of the 2x2 still only add up to 480 like when I use a call monitor or monitor bnc output? Thanks, Charles

Hi Guys, I can't try it since I don't have the DVR yet. I'm trying to plan my video distribution in the meanwhile. Do you happen to know if you can open these boxes (winxp based) and add a video card (for example) to them? It would be nice to be able to install a card that would give me component video. Maybe I'm dreaming but it would make my life and system much better Thanks, CK

Hi All, I need about 10 cameras to cover various rooms inside an office building. There is a chance the lights will be off sometimes. I was hoping you guys could recommend a good valued bullet camera or something all-in-one. I don't want to break the bank nor have big housed cameras all over the place. No IP as I have everything cabled with RG-59. Wall mount. Should I go for LED cameras? Or just Day/Night. I wanted to spend about $200 each for each camera. I have dealer pricing for Speco but am not real convinced about them. Thanks for any help. CK

Hi All, Do any of you Panasonic experts know how to get the following housing that is actually pictured: Does the above housing really exist? I know the picture says "appearance may vary" but the above is much better than the actual "PIH15W wall mount" (below). Anyway, I would like to learn how to get the one pictured in the camera pack (first screen shot) rather than the older style (second screen shot). Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, CK

Soundy, Thanks a lot for the advice. I was looking for something decent but it seems like I'm headed for a $400 bullet option that do well in low light. I realize I need some light for low light (day/night) non-ir options so I will try and leave a strategic light on.

No not really. The idea was to be covered if someone broke through the ceiling or something sneaky, then I would have a way to light them up and capture them. Question: I know the higher end cameras are not usually IR LED, so what is the knock on them? Just generally lower quality image? IR LED has tendency to fail? Thanks a lot.

Hello, I've done a couple systems in my past. I'm more of a custom A/V designer installer. I have a office building wired with 16 points for cameras and motion sensors. My question is... How reliable are CCTV DVR's for detecting motion and relaying to the alarm? I could put a camera AND motion detector at each location but it seems a little repetitive. Thanks a lot. CK

Hello All, All your replies were helpful. I don't remember the last time I got a question answered so well on a forum. I guess my question was on the weak side (not very debatable). I need alarm motion detectors. I also got out of the replies that I could wire the alarm detectors to signal the DVR to step up resolution on a particular camera(s). I fully respect the quality and reliability level of a system like this. thewireguys touched on the constant light levels and since the thermal cameras don't use light you're both saying the same thing. I guess if an installer put in artificial light and wrote more than one alogarithm for the software detection of the camera it might work in a simliar way as a thermal system. But nowhere near as well. Thanks a lot for all your help. CK