Napoleonbc

Bergen County NJ. Professional installation and sales. Please visit our website or give us a call. I have PM'ed my personal info to you. 201-310-1425

Contact me, I have sent you a PM, I think I have a product that would work for you. Simple standalone with internet viewing. 80 GB with built in motion detection.

I haven't dealt with any of the recording devices. I've dealt with the cameras. They are like the stuff you find at home depot. In fact, one particular model is the exact same make. This stuff is like x10 sutff. Amatuer home CCTV equipment. You will always have people selling crap...they make money and then get sued when it fails. I wouldn't recommend it. I doubt the recorders are any better.

Well, As I stated earlier, Linksys is probably the best, Netgear is second, Belkin is 3rd and Dlink comes up the rear in all aspects!! If you are doing wireless I would go with linksys for one reason, and one reason only. Best support for external antennas. A good 15 or 24 dBi patch antenna will work great for linking just about anything with minimal to moderate interference (such as elevator shafts, walls, metal structures, etc. Not trying to step on toes...here in the US there is the FCC regulating frequencies and all wireless broadcasts. But, by adding a high gain antenna, in regards to wifi equipment, isn't altering the GHZ range the wireless equipment is working on. It all works on a specific portion of the 2.4 GHZ range. You can add a 20,000 foot antenna with powered amps and lightening grounders on it...it is still only broadcasting on 2.4 GHZ and within its dedicated range. If you really are doing wireless installs, contact me, we have great connections to antenna manufacturers, and can at least point you in the right direction. Aside from CCTV, I have hooked up buildings in the city to share an internal network 5 miles away. Tsunami antennas can be as big as a small RV, and can link wifi up to 10 miles without signal degradation. Hopefully you will find what you are looking for. Remember, it isn't what the best and most expensive is...it is what you are using it for. If you are linking together a room with perfect line of sight...go to CompUSA and get the linksys on sale. If you are linking together an RV park, you will obviously need some research, pricing around, and serious design.

Netgear actually makes a very good product. I'm not sure what else is hooking up to the router, but you may want to get a wireless router so you can add other computers to it later on. Linksys is famous for great products. They are very simple to use as well as very versitile. They are actually owned by cisco. Recently their routers have become a little harder to setup, but have many features and have a track record that is untouchable. Either products are great. If you are looking for something super simple and cheap, Belkin makes damn good routers too. I would NOT recommend dlink, SMC, or any of the others you'll see in CompUSA or Staples. They are harder to setup, aren't as reliable, and dispite what you will read elsewhere, just aren't as well made and designed. Dlink is famous for being referred to as EXCELLENT, they are probably the worst products I've used in reference to useability. Good luck!

I don't know of a way to do what you are saying cheaply. Maybe look into PC-Based DVR with some nice software...I've used one by 123CCTV.com they have a house brand of PC-based DVR card...thier software is nice though. Allows for remote viewing, playback...AND...you can record locally what you are seeing remotely. But then from that DVR it is Standard CCTV stuff. Nothing fancy. Try it...I've used it and like it. Not ultra quality...but it works for what you are describing.

Great response. I've worked with IP cameras by Panasonic, Toshiba, Sony, Axis, D-link, Veo, StarDOT, MatCo, Vivotek, and JVC. D-link are the worst things out on the market. They are over-the-counter at Bestbuy and CompUSA and they suck bandwidth like you wouldn't believe!! Vivotek are GREAT servers and their cameras are nice too...bad quality picture in my opinion but EXCELLENT refresh rate and remote access. Panasonic is the best of both worlds. They have pretty good refresh rate and nice quality...plus they have many different flavors of wireless and wired type cameras with and without P/T/Z. Best Interface too. Axis is probably what everyone hears about. They are really nice cameras, and do have good quality and speed...but they are VERY....VERY proprietary and don't have great support. They need special software, they are slow at times and they are expensive as all hell. They are a good product...but again...like I've said and agree with...they just aren't there yet. In reference to IP based recording software...there is one choice and one choice only...I've used them all from Axis to custom Java applets...if you aren't using this your using a loser... NetCam watcher Pro. New version 1.6. It has all the features you need, want, and has support like you wouldn't believe. This way you can mix and match cameras for a nice custom system and still have a central place to watch, record, and play from. Problem...full screen isn't there yet. So your constantly in a windows environment...doesn't output to external monitors well is what I'm saying. Like I said...not there yet...but promising.

Hey man, long time no talk you never got back to me on the system you were installing. I am also interested in knowing what others charge here in the states. I charge labor usually by project, not by hour. I obviously add my 15 or 20% to the parts, but this is nothing. Labor is dependant on whether or not it is drop ceiling, I need to be on a fork life or ladder, whether or not the place has roaches, etc. Each job is individual. You wouldn't charge the same price for everything so I play it by ear...but I'm interested in other's takes.

I can't believe I missed this thread until now. See, being in the computer and networking field before CCTV I have lots of insight into this. IP based systems do not put out video at all. An IP camera is a camera directly attached to a tiny computer. The CAT5 you hook up to it is putting out the same data and signal as a computer, laptop, or server. Once you have the CAT5 crimped and put into the back of that camera you can route it, switch it, convert it into wireless, convert it to fiber, anything. But you have to understand computer networking and the hardware infrastructure behind it. IP based cameras are a whole other field. Yes, I'll be honest, there is a lot of money in computers and systems, but it is not very easy to get in. Mostly these type systems are adopted by internal tech departments or the technology companies they use. Of course they know nothing about cameras...so usually these systems....SUCK. We've had large scale IP based systems sold a year ago...ready to go for schools and enterprise level buildings...and they fell through to internal departments. It is a really hard business to get into. On top of that it is an EXPENSIVE market. These routers, switches, etc are not cheap to implement. It isn't like a passive or active amplifier...you have technical problems like latency, security, and encapsulation to worry about. Switching to fiber for every camera costs so much it isn't worth it...I can promise you, you would lose all your business if you had to rely on computer components. In addition to all this, IP based systems have another issue. Quality and speed. If you know anything about networking or computer systems, companies spend millions and hundreds of millions of dollars a year to keep their systems up to the newest standard and gain speed out of their network. When you are talking cameras, you can't possibly expect clients to keep up. IP based systems (if you've installed them yourself) are slow as all hell and the quality just isn't there (unless you’re spending hundreds per camera). Features like Infra-Red are almost impossible to get on IP based systems. The technology isn't there yet to make these systems worth while for people who REALLY care about security. Now there are some benefits to IP based systems. Recording is easy and cheap. Using a standard computer with a larger hard drive can easily become a DVR. With no hardware to install and the use of software to capture and COMPRESS the video it is well worth it. IP based recording systems compress video much better than CCTV and have a lot more options to remotely playback, burn, backup, archive, time search, and motion activate. In addition lots of cameras have remote pan/tilt/zoom. No more matrixes, with a joystick, etc. A simple mouse click and you’re moving the cameras left, up, and zooming in 22 times. It is actually AMAZING if you've used it. ABSOLUTELY amazing. Also remote capability is far beyond anything CCTV has on a standalone. Actually, I still install and sell these systems to shops and small stores who want remote access ONLY. It works great and is much more compact. Finally, with appliances like web servers or remote dialup appliances to remotely view a CCTV system why would you need all these headaches? You get almost the same quality. With a simple T connector and a web server you can get cameras out to the internet and recorded digitally for less money and headaches. There are benefits and drawbacks to both types of systems, but for right now, the technology doesn't exist to make these systems worth it. The idea is great and in theory they are genuinely better...but right now, pick up your coax, grab your BNC tester...CCTV is here for a while.

I adore kanguru backup drives. It is a hotswapable hard drive that looks like a huge tape drive. You can get the drives in all different sizes and it works excellent. This way you have an exact replica of the info on another hard drive rather than DVD, CD or TAPE. I also, as hard as you might laugh, love Genie Backup Wizard. The name is funny, the way it works isn't. It is a sure fire way to get the info on the system to the kanguru backup drive during the night. I usually set it up to start backing up @ 9 or 10 PM and in the morning they can remove the drive, insert another, and let it fly. BTW...if they don't want to take the drives with them at night for more security and protection against fire, theft, etc...you can just leave the drives in there and the backup wizard will overwrite the data every night I recommend the software and product to everyone who uses a server or PC based DVR...it works EXCELLENT!!!

I think it is horrible. I've seen boards that are cheaper that have a better refresh rate. 25 FPS for 4 cams isn't great. It might work for someplace you don't need fluid motion or even semi choppy motion...that board will put out really choppy motion. Plus it is expensive. 199 for 4 channel isn't great. Try http://www.surveillance-video.com/hispdiviresy.html If your in the NJ/NY area, give me a ring, we do professional installs. http://www.ddtinfrastructure.net

Everyone knows all clients now want those sleek LCD monitors instead of the older box style monitors. Anyone have an easy and cheap way to get an LCD or any Flat Panel Display to hookup to a Windows based DVR. I'm thinking of using an ATI card with TV out, but then again I could always just use second VGA port over ethernet to the monitor. Anyone have a good solution. Damn REAL LCD monitors with composite in are expensive!!!

hey guys thanks a lot. I've setup domes, our company is huge on NETWORK cams...like all the new CAT5 stuff. But these bullets and CCTV in general is a little perplexing to me. I think I'm getting it down though. We have done many little small jobs...like 2 camera systems. Thanks for all the help and if you think you could get me better prices, by all means PM me! We would like to make more money on the job if you know what I mean. As far as the DNS...we use No-IP all the time. Very good free service. Works EXCELLENT with 2000 or XP pro.

Well, as far as the system in general. How do you think it looks? We are talking a sub 6,000 dollar job. Will he see what he needs to see?

Hi, I'm installing a system for a client. I have CAT5 cable to all the locations. I'm thinking of going this route...please let me know what you honestly think... SPECO H.E.A.T. bullet cams, some with IR and some without for the locations. Supposedly 470 lines resolution. Gonna use a BNC - CAT5 converter to use the cameras with the CAT. Use custom XP machine with 2 PCI DVR cards, 4 ports each rated at 60FPS each card (15 fps per cam). Gonna use an ATI video card to replicate the monitor through composite out or even use S-Video out and convert down to composite and use COAX to connect it to a second BNC monitor 25 feet away. Hooking it up to a cable modem to allow th owner to see the place at night from his house. Any suggestions or see any faults. I'm aware of all the power issues and I'm not going through the CAT5 for power. I'm trying to go the best route for him for the cost I'm limited too. Please let me know if this is a good idea.