Birdman Adam

That is a very good point Chris! Cameras viewing the parking entrance, greenhouse, and garage red-line areas could be viewed by a box camera with varifocal lens. This may help you out with that: BBM-24F with this lens GL0550AV Then use an enclosure like this, with a bracket to mount it to the wall.. I think I'll update a picture in a sec... EDIT: 3 BBM-24F's in enclosures with 5~50mm lens have overviews on the garage, the parking entrance, and the greenhouse (did you need to watch this?). All entrances can be watched by VBM-24VF's, some will be set to their widest to catch 2 doors at once. This setup is a lot more "whats-up" oriented. I would mount all cameras to walls, and I think your going to need to drill *small* holes to get your cat5 into the attic, then down into a room with the DVR.

Is there somewhere you can upload the ORIGINAL image so we can download and zoom in for ourselves? Also, how much does this megapixel camera cost?

So far I like the Effio w/IR Cut & CNB camera best. The Effio's seem to have some sort of color problem - look at the color of the truck compared to all the other cameras. The lower TVL is obvious with the Ultrak, all the others are high enough that they are similar...

I have heard of people putting some sort of shield in the lamp just on the side where it shines out to the camera. A WDR camera would handle this much better. Dome vs Bullet doesn't really change anything.

Wow - that is probably the most awesome layout I've seen - the picture makes it very easy for me to think about this!! Here is my suggested layout. Its definitely not perfect, but just my first thoughts... My setup requires 13 CNB's and one license-plate camera. So it would require a 16-ch DVR. The whole thing is overkill, but you could 'trim' cameras/angles you don't want to get it down to 8. This setup would provide good identification at all the red-line areas, as well as license plates. Cables: cat5 w/baluns for sure. One pair for video, I use 2 pairs for power to minimize voltage drop. Extra pair for anything. PTZ camera should be powered by separate cable, 18/2. The video down one pair, data through one pair. What do you mean by wall-mount? Those pendant things? Honestly I don't think that would look good on your house. It would be more discreet if you could flush-mount the VBM-24VF's under eaves or something? If not that, then just put them right on the wall. (The camera inside can be swiveled, rotated, etc to still have a perfect picture while the camera case is sideways.)

Yea, I can't zoom in to the IP cam picture and get details as good as the analog picture.\ No doubt, one analog camera for a large parking lot will only be good for seeing "whats-up". If you need identification, go with multiple cameras...

Try to get cameras with CCD sensors, as well as with 1/3" sensors. One thing you may not realize with both the cameras you suggested is that they have fixed lenses. This may be OK depending on what you need to monitor with the camera but arifocal lenses are nice because they allow you to zoom in or out to set up the scene the camera sees perfectly. You really are way under for a basic 4-ch DVR, and one camera. It is always better to save, and then buy the better stuff. (I think every DIYer here can agree to that.) If you need something NOW, this is what I'd do. It doesn't fit under $250, but it is a solid setup that you can add on to over time, and not be disappointed with your original purchase: DVR: Samsung SRD-450 w/500GB HDD Camera: CNB VBM-24VF Wiring: cat5 network cable with baluns Power supply: Any old 12VDC more than 300mA wall-wart you have This should come in near $450. The DVR is a solid unit that will do 7.5FPS per channel at D1 resolution. You can save a bit on the camera and get one from Empire (the ebay seller), but make sure you get a varifocal model so you can adjust the viewing scene!

Here video from one of my cameras: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdEtUh-7zbg Don't laugh at my crappy cameras! I will do the big upgrade some time or another... Watch for the camera moving, I have sped it up 8x so you can see the movement better as I am only recording at 3FPS right now...

Would it be possible for you to take some pictures? That would help a lot! My current best-guess: yellow = composite video output black = ground, for power and video (indicative of cheaper cameras) red = 12VDC input green = control for motorized zoom This may not be right - because I don't know what that other cable looks like.

They don't sell them with antennas any more?? Thats odd! I've had my WRT54GS for like forever, its has been a great performer!

Yea, just get the VCM-24VFH - same thing as the VCM/VBM-24VF, just with a couple heating elements.

Rory, just thought of this - but you ought to hide anything valuable. I'm sure all of those criminals will jump on the opportunity to get free stuff!

Yea, I'll check my cams, we felt it all the way down here! I was in the garage working on a gun when suddenly everything around was shimmying back and forth slightly. First time I've felt that... EDIT: Looks like that lady was pretty freaked out for a moment there!

I hope its not too bad down there! Also, I hope you have a generator - I'd expect power to be out for some time! Funny, but the news people in NC here are already freaking out - they would have a heart attack if they worked in the Bahamas! On the upside, you may get more cameras to fix?

Its tricky - you have to go on their USA site to find it! http://www.cnbusa.com Near the top there is a link called "Unauth-Resellers". On their global site, www.cnbtec.com, as well as their Chinese and Korean site, its not there!

That looks great! What kind of IR are you using to light it up?

If you don't want to deal with Active-X, then get a DVR which has free "DVR Management Software". For example, all of Samsung's DVRs come with SmartViewer3.0, a program that connects to all of your Samsung devices and shows all of the cameras. You can do everything like you are at the DVR; review recording, view live, change settings, etc.

Where-ever you buy them from, make sure its an authorized dealer so CNB will honor the warranty in case anything goes wrong. Here is their list of unauthorized dealers: http://www.cnbusa.com/en/html/partner/unauthorizedreseller.php Looks like they don't honor warranties for cameras from ebay...

From what I've read, water won't freeze if it is moving fast enough. So water rushing through those pipes should work well below 0!

My favorite: CNB's cameras with the Monalisa chip. I've used the VCM-24VF and the DBM-24VF. They have great low-light response, all at a price below most others at their quality - ~$### Pretty soon I may have a new favorite, but not sure yet... One thing you definitely want to look for is TDN cameras (true day/night). This means they remove the IR filter at night, and switch to black/white for better sight. If your price range is higher, I'm sure you could benefit more by spending in that range, but I don't have any suggestions for that. (Others will for sure.) (Unless you are including the lighting in that range?) It is best to use visible light when possible. So if you don't have cranky neighbors who hate floodlights in yards, then I'd go with motion floodlights. They work very well, and are cheap. The cameras will love them. You may not know this, but PIR motion detectors actually work to sense motion based on heat, not sight. So they can easily discern between a human or large animal, and leaves falling (which have almost no thermal signature).

Yea, I bet it looks even better in D1! Also I was wondering, does this camera have IR?

Yes, yellow is composite video. Red & white are left and right audio. Video output from cameras is always composite, BNC input/output in terms of CCTV stuff is always composite.

Looks good!! I will be able to see for my self next week, but that camera does look very nice! Very crisp for sure. Is it in B/W or color in the picture (upper-left)? Because I see some yellow from a street light? Is that zoomed all the way out? Oh, maybe this is a fixed model. Also, what are your settings like? Does this one have the WDR? What kind of IR?

Fort starters, you should manually enter an IP address for your DVR to use. right now the router/modem is telling the DVR what IP to use, but that will change. There should be settings for that in the DVR config.

Welcome! " title="Applause" /> I'm a DIY too - my current favorites are Samsung's series of DVRs for recording, web viewing, etc. For cameras, I like CNB's True Day/Night cameras with the Monalisa chip. I have used the VCM-24VF and the DBM-24VF. Both are GREAT in low light - especially for the money. The vandal dome version (VCM/VBM) can be had for $130 online. Less for the indoor version (DBM). Samsung's DVRs are kind of 'middle of the road' in terms of price - they are built very well. For 8 channels, full 30FPS on ALL channels at D1 resolution, SRD-870DC. If you only need 7.5FPS per channel at D1, the SRD-850DC is cheaper. There are also 4-channel and 16-channel solutions. For video and power transmission, I like using cat5 cable with baluns as it is cheaper and easier to run and connect. One pair for video, one or two for power. Only one pair is needed for power if you are using just one CNB camera (without IR). For power supplies, I's recommend a 4 or 8-channel PSU, basically a SMPS (similar to computer PSUs), with a fused connections for the cameras and accesories. Figure 1/3 of an amp at 12VDC per CNB cam. The main thing with identification is getting the camera views just right. The CNB's I mentioned have varifocal lenses, so you can zoom in/out to set up your picture just right.