hardwired

Not sure about the DM, but you might want to look at Exacq, it's got true Mac compatibility, as well as Linux, it's a hybrid DVR/NVR, and has browser viewing with no plugins.

Nothing prevents the possibility of using a PoE switch or midspan (haven't seen many PoE routers, though, except for some really high end stuff from Adtran and 3Com). I think the idea was to build an all-in-one solution for a small system, would make it a little more plug and play for a end user, too.

Pushing would be difficult, at best. Look for a tool like Survtech mentioned. Or, if you're cheap (like me) you can try using a small corner of a plastic bag, tied to kite string, to do the same thing.

I'd suggest WDR for camera 8, as well. Camera 3 is just out of focus, refocus it at night, or use a welding filter (#4-6) in front of the lens to simulate night while you focus it (good practice for setting up any cam with an auto iris lens)

That should work, as long as you keep a reasonable radius in any turns or sweeps. You will not be able to fit very many RG6's in that, though. You may want to pull direct burial CAT5 cable, then you could run up to four analog cameras per cable with baluns, or go network based through it. Try to keep a reasonable amount of separation between the high voltage conduit and the low voltage stuff to avoid interference, for instance bury the high voltage at 18-24 inches, and the low voltage at 12 or so (check your local codes)

In a liquor store, text insertion from the POS system (along with a tight shot on the counter) is pretty much a must to prevent sweethearting and skimming, you may want to look at a DVR that has that capability built in, and find out what registers are being used and what you will need to interface with them. Plan on at least one high resolution WDR (Wide Dynamic Range) camera at the entrance for facial identification, otherwise people entering will be mostly a silhouette in bright backlight. Consider a camera inside the cooler, you'd be surprised what goes on in there.

I'd suggest looking at the IEI Emerge system, it's not fully IP all the way to the edge (reader), but it is a fully browser based architecture that needs no server (and from what I saw previously, your integrator wanted a real premium for that). They do have PoE powered Micronodes to control two points each, as well as larger controller cans to control more points, fully SQL/ODBC compliant database, embedded Red Hat Linux OS, and although not well advertised, compatibility with Exacq's interface (the IEI uses S2's base operating system).

Baluns can work as well as coax.. IF they are decent quality, the run doesn't exceed the specs for the particular balun and wire type being used, etc... What baluns are you using, what type of cable, what length of run, etc. Fill us in on specifics, provide sample images, if you can.

I've used a number of the Speco cams listed, and they are a mixed bag. I've found daylight performance to be good, and the construction is much more durable than a standard bullet (thieves and vandals use bullets for pinatas, around here). However, the nighttime performance is only good if you can deal with a significant amount of motion blur, from the frame integration. The default settings produce a nice night image, but the blur is unacceptable to me. I can live with 2X integration in most cases, though, and at that setting, the night performance is only fair. I've seen better performance from the new Samsung A1 line cameras, as well as the Panasonic 484, although it is not explicitly listed as low light (and more expensive, though).

I'd second the usage of Acti cams, their cost to performance ratio is hard to beat. The ACM-4201 or ACM-3401 indoors, and the ACM-7411 or ACM-1231 outdoors. Acti has a free NVR application for up to 16 cams, it'll work, but is a challenge to use. I'd recommend using Exacq NVR software, two channel licenses wouldn't cost too much.

I agree, that many wall warts will be an ugly mess.... But what about the likelihood (almost certainty) of ground loops with that many DC cameras? Anybody have a source for an individually isolated output DC power supply?

I don't know much about that particular PTZ, but most I've worked with run 2400 or 4800 Baud, you might want to try those..

Nah, I prefer Xersin multicore solder. Still using a spool I got from Radio Shack some 25+ years ago That Kester stuff is junk! ;o) Yeah, I really prefer regular 60/40 rosin core stuff, you just think about it and you can smell it. I'm not really sure about that no-lead stuff, I'm doing just fine after 25+ years of using it. My car keys just run away on their own, that's all...... And maybe my sunglasses.... Wait, what was the subject?

I'll have to get back with the specs, but I have three Arecont 5MP cams running at 6FPS on a Via Epia board, 1.0GHz, 1 GB ram, and it doesn't really break a sweat, including live viewing. I am looking at even smaller embedded products to run it on for really small systems. I have a quote out right now with 96+ cameras, over half 1.3MP or higher, 10 viewing stations, with Exacq, on a single Xeon server. Their tech support did not even recommend dual processors, just Gigabit Ethernet and a very fast storage system. However they designed it, they got it figured pretty well, the only bottleneck seems to be throughput on the Ethernet and storage array. Incidentally, they are one of the few companies that REALLY designed their own capture cards, and have a lot of experience at high speed data capture. Look at http://exacqdaq.com/products.html , their original company that they grew their DVR/NVR line out of.

Their wiki has a fair number of examples, here's one to set up a wireless AP http://wiki.mikrotik.com/wiki/Making_a_simple_wireless_AP (you might need to look at the articles about DHCP server and NAT/ Masquerade, too)

BTW, I usually try out "interesting" new software or sites in a VirtualBox XP image that I can revert back to a fresh snapshot after....

You guys ever try Hiren's Boot CD? it has been pretty handy for me, a lot of times having a bootable disk to run A/V, anti-spyware, etc, makes it a lot easier than trying to run a cleaner on a live system, especially cleaning rootkits. Or do you guys have any other favorite "big stick" to beat the demons out with?

My thought is to use Exacq NVR software, with an IP encoder (Acti has worked well) to convert the analog cameras into it. The processor load of Exacq is REALLY low, I've run it on some really substandard hardware. You only need one channel license per encoder, no matter how many channels on the encoder, so that cost is low. You can get one channel free, as a demo. You have the ability to add IP cameras later, as needed, on a per-camera basis, instead of having to buy a certain number of channels up front. It runs as a service, so stability is good. All management is through the remote client, and you can access the unit through a web interface with no plug-ins, for both live and playback. And, you can view and manage multiple sites seamlessly in one window in the client software, and embed site maps with links to the cameras.

411U is a good unit, did you get any mini-PCI radio cards? After working with it for a while, you may want to get another board to test radio linking and routing between them, maybe a 433 or similar, with multiple Ethernet ports to also learn routing and firewalling techniques through. You might want to start with copying some basic configurations from the Mikrotik website using Winbox, and then move to more advanced stuff, and the command line programming.

You also need to be careful about NVR compatibility with your cameras. Axview does not show on the supported cameras list for Exacq or Milestone.. And Milestone has wider camera support than pretty much any other manufacturer. Even with well known brands, some surprises can sneak up, I'd be very leery of doing a job with the product you described, especially one of that size. It MIGHT work with generic drivers from Milestone or others... But do you really want to be the Guinea pig for it? Poking around their website didn't improve my confidence, either...... Be careful!

The WV-NP502 does have image stabilization, it's not well listed in the specs, though. Here's the manual.. http://service.us.panasonic.com/OPERMANPDF/WVNP502.PDF settings are around pages 45-47 for stabilizer..... I have one on a pole that moves in the wind slightly, and it does help.

The GE item you mention is a distribution amplifier, not a multiplexer. What multiplexers are you using?

Just reread your post, that's possibly not it. sometimes, with up-the-coax protocols, termination or other signal problems can cause skittish operation.

Can't say for sure why that is... But I "Fixed" a similar problem for the pilots at our local National Guard base who couldn't get used to moving the joystick up and down opposite of what they were used to in planes... If you can disassemble the keyboard and get to the actual joystick mechanism, odds are it has two potentiometers, one for up/down, and one for left/right, like this unsolder and reverse the two outside wires on the potentiometer for left/right, and it will reverse it's operation.

Another suggestion would be Hautespot, but honestly, you will want to be sure that you really need a mesh setup, and that a point-to-point, or multipoint setup with separate backhauls, and not mesh, might be better. Mesh networking has a history of some really overblown performance claims, and some really large scale failures. If you do use mesh, only use units with at least two, if not three or more, radios per enclosure.. and be prepared to pay well for it. Units with a single radio will lose half of their bandwidth through each hop. Plan on EXTENSIVE site surveys, and spectrum analysis. I have had good success using standard point to point or multipoint wireless gear from Ubiquiti, and Routerboards and Mini-PCI cards from Mikrotik. Alvarion gear has been used successfully in a lot of large scale municipal deployments.