Birdman Adam

I haven't used one personally, but many members here love them. And I haven't heard any that dislike them. Just from my speculation, they look like good solid DVRs at a cool pricepoint!

Yes sir - same illuminator, just with a tighter focus. Same thing as a camera with a tighter lens, say 50mm - you can cast that IR further.

i am a little confused, i was under the understanding, that PRICES, couldn't be discussed, how are people suppose to know who to trust when it comes to buying equipment, if we can't ask for help from other members as to who they recommend... I think the idea is we discuss the equipment, etc. Then you can PM people about where they bought their stuff.

Cool, that will be great to see!

Here is there list. Looks like they've been adding on! http://www.cnbusa.com/en/html/partner/unauthorizedreseller.php Are the phone numbers on 123 the same as surveillance-video? Seems like people have better luck with surveillance-video, although they are technically the same. When I order, I put in the notes that I need exact model numbers, and to contact me if they can't do that. Worked great so far.

Even Dell has make the inside of their PCs standard now.

If your DVR has a 'quality' setting, I would turn it up, if not to the max. As others said, refocus maybe? If you are unsure about settings in the camera or on the DVR, just go ahead and set them to default. Much easier to figure out whats wrong. IR LEDs glowing red is completely normal - your eyes can only pick up the very bottom end of the spectrum they LEDs are putting out, as IR is above red. If you can't see the dim red on your other cameras, either the IR is broken, the output is dim, or (most likely) - they are using covert IR (completely invisible to humans). You said this is an Effio-E? Funny, in that other thread we were comparing an Effio-P to a Monalisa - by this example, the CNBs blow these away! This doesn't appear to be TDN - colors are washed out during the day (shows that no IR filter is put in place during the day).

Thing you gotta remember is, boot-up time may be seen as "slow", but that doesn't really matter - this is a PC DVR! Once its booted up, running one open program will be totally fine!

Wow! That's a tiny computer!! BTW guys, I did the calculations and your $18.45 a month is spot on. (I doubted it at first). Here is me speculating based on what I know (Having not used Exacq before): What OS will you be using? No matter what, I don't think you need 4GB. The tasks that are involved in recording video just don't require it. 2GB would be fine. If your using Win-7, just turn off Aero. How many cameras will you be recording from? No way an dual-core Atom will do as well as a dual-core Pentium! But, I don't think this will be a big deal. Maybe it will only be able to handle like 16 cams instead of 32? The hard drive is something I would invest in more. Enterprise drives fail less, and are basically designed around full-time duty. I would go for 7200RPM, and probably get like a 2TB or maybe 3TB... By the way...What are the specs on your computer that pulls 285W?? Maybe you are running at 100% load with a big graphics card? I've got a P4 recording 4 cameras that pulls ~140, and the SRD-870DC w/4HDDs pulls ~100.

Yea, honestly I wouldn't even bother trying to integrate CCTV viewing into a channel anymore unless it is simple analog or digital free over-the-air channels. Plus, you can get away with better quality this way: For example, take the HDMI-out from your DVR, run it up to a 42" LCD TV. It will look awesome. The high resolution (say 1080i) allows more cameras to be viewed without shrinking them down so much. Then run a cat5 to the room with the TV and control your PTZ's from your bed.

First off, I think this is a rather cheap camera. That is why its performance is sub-standard. Online, they are selling it above $130, which is surprising, as it should be selling for $40-80. It only has a very small ring of IR LEDs. Bottom line is you need more light. So either put up some motion-flood-lights, or install a bigger, separate IR array.

I like it!! " title="Applause" /> Especially, for an inexpensive install, it is great. You are also a very good explainer and reviewer! As Rory has mentioned, it does become an unstoppable hobby... Pretty soon you will have 30 cameras too.

I think you have it right. I would doubt that they didn't shape it it correctly, and it can't fit into the guides.

What output on the DVR are you feeding into the balun? Just a BNC spot output? Are your connections on the baluns the same on each end? For example, white/blue on the left terminal, blue on the right at the DVR, and same at the TV. If you mix them up it works, but the picture is crap, like what you are describing. What inputs are you putting this signal into on the TV? It should be a composite input.

I see! Well I do enjoy a cup of tea every once in a while... One time I had some asian sort of tea with ginseng and something else in it.. Let me tell ya, it was crazy!

Mmkay... The manual says yours has one alarm output, and 8 inputs. They have made this more way confusing than it needs to be... There is a NO, COM, and GND. Seems like maybe there is a small relay already inside. COM is the center of the relay (the part that flips), also called the pole. Then there is a NO contact that the pole, by default, does NOT touch. Now I don't know how big the relay is in there, so I would use it to drive a second relay we know can handle the load. So I would buy a 12VDC SPDT relay. Connect 12V terminal to COM terminal. Connect the coil connections of our second relay to NO and GND. Then connect a separate 12V supply (that can handle the siren, so probably 1A supply) to the center pole of our second relay. Connect the positive terminal of your siren to NO on our second relay, and connect the negative to the bigger 12V power supplies' GND. This is all a bit funkier than they had to make it... Before you do anything, take a digital multimeter, and set it to resistance measuring: -Measure between NO and COM with the alarm output OFF. It should read infinity, or at least a megaohm... -Measure between NO and COM with the alarm output ON. It should read less than 1 ohm. You may hear a small *click* when it turns on/off. Let me know what you find.

Well, I have not actually implemented my schematic with the alarm outputs on my friend's DVR, but I would speculate that the lag between the button-press, and switching would be around 1-5 seconds. This includes network lag, computer lag, lag for the DVR to comprehend and turn on/off the output, etc, etc. So really, not a big deal. Basically, we need the model of your DVR, or a manual for your DVR, so that we can tell how to hook it up. as Soundy mentioned, each DVR may do switching a little different... I'm sure we'll be able to help you figure it out! BTW, here is an example of a relay you could use in my schematic: http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Song-Chuan/833H-1C-C-24VDC/?qs=sGAEpiMZZMtSzCF3XBhmW4FnUX%252bQIJUKjw8ell6ZwZI%3d Datasheet: http://www.songchuanusa.com/system/pdfs/20/original/833h.pdf?1254413815 Scroll to the third page, look at 1C schematic. The two points between that coil is what you would connect to the DVR output, and GND. Now there is a switched point, as well as two other points the switch touches. The switched point (one that can flip up or down), would be connected to the positive terminal of the siren. Then, the NO (normally open) point, (the one the switch is not touching by default), would be connected to 12VDC. Then you just connect the negative terminal of the siren to GND, and you're good to go. Hey, its my 500'th post!

Yea, that could be the easy way out for you. Run your wires inside the eaves until you can pop in at a convenient place. Then go down to wherever your recording/power equipment is!

Ha, well yea, it kind of is. Think of Zoneminder as a Linux DVR software that was never finished... You always have some tweaking to get it right. I have come to the conclusion that it is for tinkerers who can save money by tweaking this software. If you want to connect the cameras and be done with it, go with a standalone DVR!!

All this digital over-the-air stuff in the UK sounds complicated... Here, you get mixed cable - (digital, analog, and/or digital encrypted), satellite, or free HD OTA. OTA antenna as well as cable can be injected into.

Of course, if you were to pay for the plane ticket, afitzwater would gladly come out and finish it up for ya!

That progressive stuff (above 320x240 NTSC) At those prices, it would be best to go with IP, which is progressive anyways! I would say no aytons. Honestly, I think your best bet with ZM is to use IP cameras. I am not sure why you are having problems still - with those options on my system, I get no combing, but interlacing is noticeable when a fast car goes by. If these images were needed for evidence, I would deinterlace them.

The standard for over-the-air signals is now digital (at least in the US?). However, I thought digital mods were expensive? Good thing is, most TVs that have a digital tuner, also receive analog. Is your modulator digital or analog? Analog: Digital: Typically your RF signal from the antenna would feed right through the modulator. No splitters required...

So you get the "comb-edge" effect images? Looks like horrible interlacing? I know exactly what your talking about... You just need to play with some settings... I was in the same bind with my 4-camera ZM setup. BTW I have a PV-143 from Bluecherry. Set all cameras to 640x480. Go into your settings (In Config tab), and set CAPTURES_PER_FRAME to 2. It was probably at 1 before? This allows it to "settle down" and produce better images. You will no longer have crappy, extremely interlacing/combing. Your frame rate will be effectively cut in half if you don't have headroom - because it is capturing twice per frame, and choosing the right one. Also, play with the option V4L_MULTI_BUFFER. Mine is ON, and it allows the computer to keep the frame rate up (work on one image while capturing another). This may make it mix up your cams. Give it some time to settle down... Restart ZM after settings these. BTW, are you using Record, Mocord, Modect, or another? What are your system specs? Are you using a card from Bluecherry? You may need to increase your shared memory allocation to have enough space for the bigger size of 640x480. BTW, all analog stuff above CIF quality has interlacing. Its just not that obvious with good DVRs. Also, with your cheap IP camera, there should be settings for the shutter. Set them higher, and you will have less blur! Soundy, would it be fair to assume I am the forums' resident expert member on Zoneminder?

For example, the Samsung I installed, it has 4 outputs. They put out 30VDC, with a maximum of 1.5A total. Get a nice big siren. So I would get a 30V normally open relay, hook it up to output 1. Then connect one side of the relay to a 12VDC source, and the other side to the positive connection of the siren. Negative connection of the siren goes to GND on the 12VDC source. IMPORTANT: Depending on your DVR, you may want to place a reverse-biased diode between the relay connections that the DVR will turn on. If your DVR uses transistors to switch these outputs, they may not like the high voltage spikes the coil in a relay puts out when it is switched off. I say that because I have fried some transistors before. That is a common practice when you are driving an inductive load from transistors. Now, I can open up my viewing software, connect from anywhere, and click on alarm output 1, and turn it ON. Freak out the loiterers, then shut it off. Maybe I will make a schematic to visualize this... EDIT: