LunaAzul

Hello from Nicaragua. My wife and I retired to Nicaragua from Canada about 10 years ago. Nicaragua is a very intriguing country with an amazing ecological and geographical diversity and a friendly and welcoming people. However, as it grows and develops the disparity between the haves and have-nots increases, sadly, as is the case for most developing countries. With this are increasing reports of crime and robberies. Although we consider ourselves safer here than in many (if not most) North American cities and places, we want to be as proactive as we can in making our home as unattractive/impervious as possible to would-be felons. In that respect, I am looking for a video surveillance system with the following "use-ability" specs: 1) perimeter security (we want to know before anybody gets anywhere near the house); 2) motion detection (electronic fence/tripwires, customizable inclusion and exclusion zones); 3) low light/night capability-very important (sufficient low level lighting, triggered lighting, IR illumination are all possibilities); 4) alarm triggering (sirens, strobes, flood lights, recorded vocal warnings, etc.) and email notification and/or video/still uploads to off-site secure storage; and 5) remote monitoring through the internet (minimally through a web browser). A few other items of note. We are pretty well on our own here: no vendors worthwhile, no system integrators/installers, no alarm response providers, no warranty service depots. I'm open to all ideas and have found some very interesting threads already in this forum (and other video surveillance forums) that are encouraging me to think outside the box - more specifically, the insane IP-based specs race that, at best, dances around item 3 above (low light/night performance). I would prefer an IP-based system in general but, good, solid, B&W (IR sensitive) analogue cameras with a video encoder appears to offer a route worth exploring. For that matter, a good still image is worth far more than any amount of fuzzy video. Looking forward to participating in the forum. A successful and safe 2010 to all.

Panasonic has come out with a line of network cameras (bb-hcm715, 735, 701, 705) boasting a new (well, as of 2006) sensor technology - MOS (no, not CMOS). (http://panasonic.net/pcc/products/netwkcam/lineup/bb-hcm715/) Some generic tech details from a third party web site follow: The Live MOS Sensor offers image quality comparable to a Full Frame Transfer (FFT) CCD sensor with the low power requirements of a CMOS sensor, and is noteworthy for its high-quality imaging capabilities over an extended period of time. Simplified circuitry that reduces the distance from each photodiode to its corresponding on-chip microlens assures excellent sensitivity and image quality even when light strikes it at a high angle of incidence. 1. Resolution: 7.5 megapixels, with excellent low-light performance characteristics. 2. Grain: low-noise technologies assure reduced graininess. 3. Tonal range: Simplification of the transfer register and other circuitry results in a large photodiode surface area for FFT-CCD-level sensitivity and responsiveness. 4. Low power consumption: Power requirements are approximately half those of FFT-CCD sensors. 5. High speed: Simple circuit structure contributes to faster processing overall. Has anyone had some hands-on experience with this camera line or the technology used? Thanks.