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Thanks for the video footage, I'm going to look it over. I'm on the unit for a good IR or non IR dome camera for my application! Does anyone else have any suggestions or recommendations? I think it might help other people in the same boat.

From those pics, they don't look bad at all. Are they dome cameras? I'm looking for a dome camera.

Why don't you get the exact model number from the bottom of the unit (grey sticker). I don't know where to find the firmware updates, as I'm also looking for one on my machine! The dahua site is a bit unless, as it doesn't give me any links to download them.

Anyone know how to setup Raid 1 for the Dahua DVRs? I have the 3204HF-S and I see you can setup HDD groups and assign channels to the group but I don't see any options on how to setup Raid 1 with it? I want to mirror one hard drive, so if one dies, the other one will still work and record, so it gives me time to replace the defective hard drive and the DVR will automatically resync the data from the good hard drive into the new freshly installed on (just like a PC, NAS, server, etc). The technical specs say it does RAID and I'm hoping it's not just a simple RAID 5 (dahua website doesn't specify what type of raid it supports exactly). Right now, I just have 4 hard drives setup as one HDD group and all the storage is aggregated.

Thanks so much, let me review this file and check it out.

Hi. dahua are regional. if you have a PAL then you cant use NTSC firmware. dvr needs to be flashed for region but you can set between PAL and NTSC in options in setup I tried in the settings but the drop down only says PAL. Is there any way to reflash the flash to NTSC? I don't see any tools or guides to do so. The VGA connection works fine with the DVR and I can see the picture but the feeds coming from the cameras are all rolling, which I know is a sign that the sign is incorrect (pal opposed to ntsc). Thanks!

Do you happen to know where I can download the manual for this DVR? Dahua's site really lacks it and doesn't have specific manuals, maybe I'm getting the wrong one. The manual is pretty hard to understand. Can you send me a copy? Thanks.

It should only run slowly the first time you open it. I have it running on two macs, both are the late 2011 models with OS 10.7.4. When I click the PSS icon, it loads up Xquartz, then after maybe 20 seconds, it will open up the PSS program, so I don't know if that's considered slow or not but it's longer than other MAC programs that come from Apple.

I'm helping my co-workers uncle, who just bought a large house that's about 42,000 square feet. I know a great knowledge with doing networking and servers but I'm not too great with doing CCTV cameras. I have been on the forums reading and researching on different types of cameras that people recommend. I've installed a basic analog CCTV for my home but that's about it. I'm at a crossroads on what I should use for this place. It's so much bigger than my house that I wired up. I know that I will need to use twisted pair/cat5e/cat6 to wire the cameras (either being IP, analog or both). My friends uncle wants both indoor and outdoor cameras to survey the home when he's overseas for work, so it would have to work with the PC/MAC and with iOS/android. Most of the surveillance places would be hallways, bedrooms, outdoor perimeter (garage, tennis court, pool) and the front drive way, basically everywhere around the house. The house is two stories high and I don't think there is much light or any light outside the surrounding house. I was thinking of going a combination of Analog and IP cameras. The two brands that I'm really leaning towards is the CNBs for analog (good bang for the buck) and Mobotix for IP. If I go this route, that means I would need to get a hybrid DVR (which I have no idea which brand is good for this). The budget for the entire system with equipment and parts would be around $5,000 to $7,000. He doesn't have a specific amount of cameras and left it up to me on what he should buy and install. The issue that I'm having is that I'm not sure what is a good performer for outdoor IP cameras that work day & night? I want to use the Mobotix because it doesn't have a moving parts and the picture quality is quite pretty good but I'm only concerned is that many of the IP cameras don't work too well in pure darkness or in low-light environments. I was thinking of using the M12 series with the L22 lenses (90 degree) to cover the pool, tennis court and front drive. I would be getting the Q24M for indoors to cover 3 hallways (180 degree panoramic). As for the Analog cameras, I was going to get the CNB DSL-20SA (smoke alarm) and the CNB LBM-20VF to cover the hallways and bedrooms. What do you guys think? I'm up for any suggestion that provides a reasonable price (I know these things cost money but he wants a mix of good quality with reasonable price). I will have the contractor on the site that's doing the remodeling run the wire for the cameras and I will crimp the ends and configure the switches, IPs ,DVR, and mount the cameras for him.

I managed to get it to work on my macbook pro (Fall 2011 model, version 10.7.4). I removed/deleted the old PSS program and PSS folder in the applications folder, then I installed the latest Xquartz from here: http://xquartz.macosforge.org/downloads/SL/XQuartz-2.7.0.dmg Then I installed PSS v4.04 from here: http://www.dahuasecurity.com/File/201202/20120222183223864.rar If you need a program to unrar it, use UnRarX (http://www.unrarx.com/files/UnRarX_2.2.zip). Install the program and run the PSS icon (looks like a webcam). For some reason, it's a little slow when it runs, doesn't show the bouncing app icon when it's load, but eventually the Xquartz will load, then the username/password PSS window will pop up and you can login to view the cameras.

I'm looking for a recommendation for some cameras. This will be used outdoors for a house that has 3 floors. I was looking into the VBM-24VF cameras, as I've used them before and they work really great in low light areas but my question is, what do you guys recommend if there is no available light in the area? I'm basically using these to see if anyone is entering the home via door or windows. The budget for the cameras will be around the same price as the VBM-24VF and obviously I need them to be analog. I know that most likely if it's completely darkness, then I would have to go with either a camera with built-in IRs or get a camera that doesn't have IR but install one separately but I feel that might be too bulky if I go that route, since it is for a home and not a business. I'm not really sure if there is any available light around the house and I can't go there to visit because it's under renovations right now but I wanted to look for cameras now as I need to help a friend install them soon. I'm just looking for a good budget camera that has pretty good quality and reasonably priced (under 200 for each one). Any suggestions would be appreciated, thanks!

Thank you! I'll look at those videos as well.

Great, thanks!

Has anyone used IP Video Market for camera reviews? I don't want to include the URL just in case linking is not allowed. I see that they charge $99 per quarter for an individual or $200 for a year's worth of subscription (for individuals). I was wondering if it was really worth it to sign up? They seem to have an extensive database of cameras to search/compare and they also have some basics and reviews for some IP cameras (but not too many).

Sweet, so you think it's worth it for personal use? I want to get some IP cams for my parent's house and I want to read some reviews on some cameras before buying them, since they are a lot more pricey than the analog cams.

How is the picture quality on the CNB DFL20S? I'm thinking of getting it because of the price but I'm leaning towards more for with the VCM24VF. I've been satisfied with them. I posted a night screenshot here: viewtopic.php?f=53&t=30651&p=191907#p191907 Daytime is great, except for that rainbow effect in some environments. Since posting that question I've gone back to play around with rotating the lens which has helped. I guess it's the way the light reflects off some surfaces. It's worse in areas that have different fluorescent bulbs in different fixtures. Thanks for the link, it looks pretty good the price. Have you ever tried the VCM24VF domes? I really like the VBM24VF I got, it's way better than those cheap chinese cameras that lots of the dealers around here sell and you can feel the build quality with it too.

How is the picture quality on the CNB DFL20S? I'm thinking of getting it because of the price but I'm leaning towards more for with the VCM24VF.

Any you guys have an issue using IP Cam Viewer Pro 1.6.1 to view Dahua DVRs? I forwarded the port 37777 to my machine, it works fine with iDMSS but the IP Cam Pro just won't load any picture. I tried both TCP/UDP ports but I assume it only needs to forward the TCP port 37777 and nothing else. When I try to view the picture, it just keeps trying to load. I tried Dahua and Apollo as the DVR type.

Thanks, I'm going to try out that Blue Iris 3 software. I have a spare i5 computer that I'm not using. How do you like the Vivotek cameras? I was thinking of getting the IP8332 for outdoor use and from what the forums say, it's the best bang for the buck for outdoor use. I see it around $350 and the pictures look pretty good at night with the IRs. Can you change the lens on that thing? I might want it to zoom a little closer than the 3.6mm but I wasn't sure if you can swap it out with something closer.

Did you ever get a chance to try this camera out? I was thinking of getting a license plate camera but don't know too much about them.

I don't see this working with Dahua/Qvis/Apollo DVRs, am I missing something here?

Depending on your settings you could run into bandwidth issues with the Mini. The 4 channel can handle a maximum of 20MB total for all for cameras. Which you could easily exceed with the two 2MP Arecont cameras. I can't speak for the QNAP because have haven't used one, but the one thing I do know about the QNAP which I don't care for is for remote viewing you have to change the ports on your cameras and open each one up on your router. With the Mini you only have to open up 2 or 3 ports on your router for remote viewing. I'm thinking of getting of the Nuuo Nvrmini as a machine for my house. I'm pretty new the IP cameras scene and not sure if it's a good buy. The Nuuo seems reasonable and supports a ton of manufactures. I'm just upgrading from these cheap chinese analog cameras I have to maybe a 1.3 MP camera setup with 4 to 6? From what I read, the bandwidth might be limited on how much it can process and record? If the Nuuo NVRmini isn't that great, what would you suggest for 4 to 6 camera setup with 1.3 MP cameras? I just want to upgrade my current setup at the house from analog to the world of IP.

If it's SATA, then it should probably work. I believe the Dahua DVRs take SATA hard drives. I ordered my first Dahua and it's coming but all the other DVRs I've installed used SATA. I don't think any machines now use EIDE anymore unless it's really old or a PC.

Thanks so much for the responses guys. I think I'm going to try to move them closer to what I want to see and probably get some IRs to aim it. There are only 2 cameras (existing) that are aimed at some loading dock and bay doors. They just want to record if anyone tries to break into the warehouse, as they had a previous break-in a few weeks ago. For the remaining ones, it will be viewed during the day to keep track of the merchandise and the employees and I don't they need to see anything happening during the night, but I'll have to double check with them. What do you guys recommend of IR illuminators that can reach possibly 50' or less? I wasn't too sure how well the BBM-24F would work in this environment but with the answers you guys gave, now I do know! I thought they worked in completely dark environments but I was mistaken, they work well in extremely low-light situations. I just bought one to test out to see how much light would be required to view a good image. I got the BBM-24F with the Fujinon YV5x.2.7R4B-SA2L lens (1/3" 2.7-13.5mm) F1.3 CS with the camera. The dealer was offering it as an accessory I could get, so I figured might as well give it a try. What do you guys think of the Fujinon lens in terms of image quality? I never tried it out but heard from other posts that it's decent quality of images. I've only used those generic chinese knockoff cameras and this is a first I've used an actual "brand name" camera with a "brand name" lens.

I'm looking into buying the budget box cameras from CNB, especially the BBM-24F. I know the camera has a low lux already (.005) but I wanted to know if I still needed to get IRs for it? I'm going to be using this for a warehouse, which will be on 24 hours and it will be completely dark with no lights inside. I want to be able to see something around 60 to 75 feet away and the cameras will be around 12 to 15 feet up on the wall. I know that getting the lens will also make a difference, setting up the right settings on the camera itself, but I wanted to know what you guys recommend for a lens? The box takes 1/3" CS mounted lens and from what I read from searching, it looks like you can just get standard lens like from Tamaron and such and just install it on these camera? I'm debating between that BBM-24F or just using the CNB domes (DBM-24VF). Any input would be great, thanks.