hardwired

Unless you have a EXTREMELY fast internet connection (I mean, something like DS3, several thousand dollars a month), recording megapixel cameras remotely is going to be almost impossible at full resolution, or any kind of decent frame rate. You'd do better to look into something like Mobotix, where recording is done at the camera, and you can view down-sampled, compressed video remotely, and then download full res video if there is a incident.

Guess it was the older versions of Basis that only allowed one archiving per day, good that they changed it. Maybe the 2 hour archiving is too often, and the previous archiving is not complete by that point. BTW, the logging is only set for one day by default, you may want to set it for longer to be able to check. Maybe more motion or noise in the images, triggering more recording, is what changed? I will say that I have had this problem intermittently on one system, and nobody has figured it out yet...Pretty annoying.

I know Computar makes one (it's on the Acti ACM-7411) but it is not listed in their regular website, it is probably an OEM-type item, you might try contacting them about it. It does appear to have a small DC motor to control the filter, you would have to design a circuit to control it.

We use the dome more often, because around here, people turn bullets into pinata's.... Other than that, the 1231's are fine.

I've had this problem occasionally, most often due to running out of space in the first day archive location, if you are running MJPEG on the cams, or a high frame rate, you might exceed that first day space. Xprotect Basis is limited in that regard to only allowing one archiving per day, Professional and Enterprise allow multiple archivings per day. Also, the first day storage goes from a folder with the camera MAC, then a folder called archives in the first day path, and then the final archiving location, you might have seen it in the middle of that process. Also, look at the logfile "RecordingServer(date).log in C:\Program Files\Milestone\Milestone Surveillance, that can give some troubleshooting hints. Make use of Milestone's tech support, too, for as much as they charge, they ought to help!

From your posting, it's hard to tell if you mean that the configuration you are describing works, or is that the way you want it to work? Telephone cable is simply not designed to carry Ethernet communication directly, unless it is rated CAT5 or better. In like situations with phone cable available, I've used point to point DSL extenders, like this, http://netsys-direct.com/proddetail.php?prod=NV-600EKIT Depending on the distance, these can carry up to full speed 100 Meg connections. With 14 MJPEG only cams, if you are running at their full frame rate each (7.5 FPS), you are looking at a ~50 Meg stream. Depending on the server you are using, that could be getting into a danger zone, please tell us more about the setup.

At that distance, yes, that will give you the best image quality. Passive might work at that distance, but you will not know how much signal you've lost unless you can compare it with an active receiver.

Don't see why it would be a problem, but that enclosure is a pain in the a$$ to work with to adjust lens settings, and one of our installers cut part of his finger loose when the back bracket spun around while trying to re-drill it for a standard conduit fitting, it is only threaded for the compression fitting from the factory.

Active would be best, over 750 feet or so. You tend to lose some Chroma (color) information, and detail, on longer distances. Amplified baluns help equalize and regenerate some of that information. DVR's, especially ones with the BT878 type chipsets, will have lower color signal sensitivity than analog monitors/ recorders will. I've had good luck with Nitek and NVT, and both of them have passive and active receivers of the type you are looking for.

It's under the firmware tab on the 7411 page, http://www.acti.com/product/detail/Megapixel_IP_Fixed_Dome_Camera/ACM-7411

If you want to still use PoE through to the camera, there is a unit from Nitek, http://nitek.net/networkextenders/IPT148.htm that will allow the camera to still be powered PoE, and split off a port for the laptop. Veracity's Pinpoint is also a similar unit.

have 8 x 2mp cameras recording 24hr its been like that for 15 months never had a H/D problem Same here Have a install with (9)5MP cams, and (4)standard res cams running 24/7 with speedup on motion, running for almost two years now, with no drive failures. BTW, even with motion recording on, information is still being written to the disc continually, it's just discarded if not used.

To expand a little on what Survtech said: The braid shield on a unbalanced cable (like coax) is what helps keep the good stuff in on the center conductor (your video signal, about 1 volt or less), and the bad stuff out (interference from AC power, RF signals, Etc.)... 95% is a (common) norm for quality cable. Anything less is asking for trouble.

And, just to confuse things, the Micron /Aptina CMOS imager that most megapixel cam manufacturers use is a 1/2.5"... halfway between a half and third inch imager. I DO believe in using a somewhat larger format lens, to allow using only the "sweet spot" in the center of the lens, which has a higher MTF (now there's a spec that should be listed for all lenses that claim Megapixel resolution), and less edge field distortion. BTW, I've been using the Fujinon machine vision lenses, which are really built like a tank, but the price...Ouch! The Kowa's are looking pretty good, too.

If you take a look at my night sample, it does have that vertical banding, but not quite as much as your sample. There are some firmware updates, according to a Panasonic engineer I talked to recently, but I haven't followed up with him to get them (they aren't on the web), maybe I'll try to get them soon.

Yes, I know about them because my DVR card manufacturer/ Software vendor uses their encoders for their hybrid systems. I know shipping would be a bear for warranty, but I've spent time in Seoul with a few different vendors, and their honesty and integrity beats anything we've got here in the U.S., or, God forbid, from Chinese vendors.

Kind of figured something like that.... Still might be cheaper, though!

Looks like this company might be the actual manufacturer of the Terra cam... Or it might be the other way around. Anyway, another possible source.. http://www.cryptotelecom.com/english/product/product_i-1002.htm

I did not see any test controls, either. You might contact Panasonic, and see if there is anything we are missing.... As far as the lens, that's slippage built into the lens to allow you to get the levers into a position to reach easily, it's normal.

Phihong makes the high power ones, too. I think Cisco house labels those from Phihong.

Not so - at least, not directly. There is one measurement that indicates the amount of light allowed: the f-stop, or aperture size. This is a direct ratio of the opening size to the focal length - f/4 on a 20mm lens will be a larger opening than f/4 on an 8mm lens, but it both cases, the same amount of light is passed. If you have then 8mm lens, rated f/1.4, and one is designed for 1/2" sensors, one for 1/3" and one for 1/4", all will allow the same amount of light. Wouldn't the effective aperture be higher when using a 1/2" lens on a 1/3" imager, due to a portion of the light gathered by the lens being projected beyond the edges of the imager?

+1. +2.... Look for the Phihong PSA16U-480 for single channel 802.11af compliant PoE injection, you can find it cheap enough to not need to bother with what you are describing. I found those on eBay for $100... this by you is "cheap"??? I can get a switch with eight 10/100 PoE ports and two gigabit ports for $300! Mouser electronics... http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Phihong/PSA16U-480POE-R/?qs=UTEM2PllgJ9NAv0bAP4OnQ%3d%3d $20, or less in quantity... Gotta buy the cord separately, though, about another $3.00 or so, unless you're like me, with a bucketload of them already...

+1. +2.... Look for the Phihong PSA16U-480 for single channel 802.11af compliant PoE injection, you can find it cheap enough to not need to bother with what you are describing.

For reference, you might want to look at these.. http://www.protechusa.com/Products/PIRAMIDXL2.htm I've used them in areas with blowing branches, etc. with no false alarms (combo microwave / PIR dual tech)

Yes, I'll post more after the install is complete, but the construction is top end and the indoor images on the test bench look great. The auto back focus is also a welcome addition. Next project is to build and paint a simple support frame to mount under the eves. The newly installed SIP-100 long range PIR is working great. The long-range narrow beam mirror can detect a cat at 330' in total darkness with virtually no false alarms. Have not yet tested the camera motion detection, but the plan is to use the PIR to augment the camera's detection. Best, Christopher Not trying to be difficult, but I think most people would think detecting a cat IS a false alarm...