erkme73

Bump....

[bump] any takers?

Using Kodicom 4400 w/4.13 p8. All has been working well for the last few years. Recently I jumped for a PTZ (PELCO-D). I can manually move and zoom without any issues. However, the "Motion tracking setup" tab will not allow me to "enable" any cameras. The drop-down box is empty. After doing some digging, it appears that the software only supports NIKO cameras - and if I choose the NK-97 SD in the hardware setup tab, I can then select the camera. But, then I can't control it. I can't imagine that I'm the only one asking this question, but I couldn't find any other posts on the issue. - Is there an .ini hack that would get the software to think the camera is a NIKO but still control via PELCO-D standard? - Will an upgrade to the 5.X software fix this issue? - Are there any other workarounds that would let me use the auto tracking feature? I also have a few other PTZ related questions... 1) After setting specific 'targets' on the PTZ viewing screen, clicking on each one will move the camera to the pre-set position. It will not remember the zoom setting. This means, if you're zoomed in and then click on a preset target, the zoom level stays. Is there a way for Kodicom to 'return to default zoom'? 2) If I'm able to get the motion tracking to work, is there a way to have it zoom in on the target automatically? 3) I have not been able to get the 'Auto Pan', 'Point 1', or 'Point 2' to work. Clicking the 'Point' one will start the camera spinning 360° on the second click. It will stop spinning if I click it two more times. Can't quite figure these out. Anyone have pointers? 4) The functions buttons seem to to have different values based on the model camera chosen under hardware setup. The most limited feature set seems to be the only one that will work (PELCO-D) with my camera. Are there any other 'models' that might work with more features? 5) Are there any better, more PTZ user-friendly DVR card/PC systems out there than the Kodicom? I saw a few on-line that let you draw a box around an area of interest on the screen, and the camera zooms in on the contents of the box. That seems much easier than the clicking of cursors with a mouse. 6) Are there any keyboard shortcuts for camera controls? Sorry for the noob questions, but this PTZ stuff is really cool! The only downside is I'm seriously considering changing more of my stationary cameras to PTZ and I can't justify it $-wise.

interesting... So loss of the last 5-6 second clip happens when power is lost... I suppose that makes sense. Even in your set up with the delayed power down circuit, you'll have the same issue. Short of having a battery backup, I suppose that's the risk you take. i wonder if any other DVR would be immune to this, though. Does your HD based system not loose the file it's writing if the power gets yanked?

\ Yup... give it a go, without batteries, just on acc power. It works 100% for me.

That relay/capacitor circuit sounds awfully familiar. i built one of those about 15 years ago on my first car for my dome light... so it would stay on for an additional 15 seconds and then fade off after the last door was closed. All new cars do that automatically now, but suppose I was ahead of my time back then. Have you tried running the DVR without all that work? I don't know how much more different the motorbike power setup is, but I'm not using anything other than accessory (ignition-switched) power to run mine, and I do not have any corruption issues. I don't recall if I posted this here (or elsewhere) already, and am too lazy to re-read so I may be duplicating. Because the constant on will drain my battery after about 4 days of not driving - which happens often when i go on week-long business trips and find my truck in the parking garage with a dead battery - I installed a factory-styled toggle switch that switches between constant power and accessory power. If I'm home, and driving every day, I leave it on constant. If I go to the airport and leave the truck sit for a few days, I'll bump the switch to accessory power. There's a bright LED to indicate which position it's on so I don't forget. In either position, it will be on if the truck is running. So worst case, it will still record while driving. No matter the position, I have yet to have any corruption. I don't know if that part of the instruction set is simply a disclaimer because it might happen, but after a year with two of these, neither have had that issue. One thing that I do not like about the recording is that every 5-6 seconds it creates a new file. And while that's probably a good thing in terms of corruption - i.e. if there is corruption it will only affect a very small part of the video - it results in something less than seamless playback. You loose about 3-4 frames as it stops recording the last segment and starts recording the next. You don't notice it in the video, but you do in the audio recording. It's almost like it skips a split second at each seam. It's not enough loss to miss anything important, but it is annoying.

Arg... well, I guess I don't feel so bad. I thought you got this from a dealer who was selling these at that rate.

Wow... I got raped! Send me a link to the supplier!

I was going to ignore that post...

I just got lucky that no one challenged the accuracy or signal strength. But, technically, you could have a prosecutor or judge who will not accept it without some reference to signal strength - or something that can prove it has an unobstructed view of the sky. Even though my video showed no obstructions, there was no telling where I had the antenna... No, it breaks the video up into these segments whether it's motion activated or fully on (manual record). The OEM says 2GB is the limit, but I put a 4GB card in it, and it recognized it, and records using all of it.

If you intend on using this in court, you may want to consider having the horizontal dilution of precision included on the video. It takes up three, maybe four characters on the screen, and will validate that the signal is unobstructed and true. Simon is a good guy, and top notch on customer service. If I had more cars, he'd have more business from me. As for the settings, I have the recorder set to the highest resolution, highest frame rate, with audio turned on... 704 x 480, 12 FPS. Now, just so you know, the recordings are limited to about 2-3 MB per clip... which is about 3-6 seconds of video. I suppose it does this to allow for writing over the older clips. Unfortunately, the clips when played on a PC seem to have a single frame missing between them. On the player, you really don't notice this (except for the audio recording which seems to miss a syllable every 5 seconds or so. It's a little annoying if you were to watch a TV show or lecture, but from driving video documentation standpoint, it's hardly noticable.

Then take a good look up "portable DVR" on eBay, and look for the one that looks like the pictured unit below. It's the one I use, and it loops constantly - recording only when it sees motion (or you can set it for constant). In case that doesn't show, it's the same one listed in the components picture of my first post in this thread.

It was quite an experience to see how they run their operation down there. Did you know that Johny Canoe's and the hotel they're located in have their own diesel generators to keep off of the BEC grid? They've been self-sustained for 20+ years. And at the kWh rate that BEC is charging, I don't blame them. I was there for a safety consult for their substation crew and management. Was only for one day. I stayed at the Orange Hill Hotel(?) or something like that. Nice view, but what a dump.

Have you looked at the helmet cams for sports applications? Even Sam's Club was selling them for <$100 if I recall right. They record 640x480 @ 30FPS and are completely water proof - the demos I saw showed underwater footage. They run on SD, and for a couple of gig will probably record more than any single ride. They're battery operated, and the rider must know to start the recording each time. But for that kind of money, clarity and frame rate, it beats having nothing. I strongly considered getting one for my road bike excursions (bicycle) - but most of that is done on paved non-vehicular roads, so traffic is usually not an issue.

I was there about 2 months ago on a business trip to visit BEC... The main strip (up by Johny Canoe's) wasn't bad, but boy, you head south of there, it got pretty interesting.