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For under $400, get an Avermedia 1304 NetSataPlus. I keep one "burning in" in my home office all the time. With a 500G Sata HD, will do 4 cameras, CIF, 24/7, well over 10 days. Very small DVR. Am installing one this week in a local car wash, and I can keep it, along with an additional cooling fan, inside a 12 X 8 X 4 Hoffman enclosure. Not too many DVR's would fit in this enclosure. This is just my personal opinion, so if you don't like the Avermedia line .....oh well.

I agree with you. I can buy the bullet cameras from USAG, model 102-24B and install them all around a house, and have just as good video to cover a driveway, etc . The only advantage I see to using the "PRO" cameras, and I do use them, is that I can add on a large motorized lens to them. I myself, like the JVC TK-C925U, just my opinion. A few years ago, I designed a wireless remote control system, for use with the "PRO" box cameras. I do need the large housings, though, along with a P/T unit. Just can't put that sort of system on a house, though. Belongs way out in the country.

I think I need to try one of these myself. I have never got a bad camera from USAG , so I believe their sales pitch. If someone on the Forum here has one, can they upload the video to Youtube so we can all see it? If not, I will call USAG tomorrow and order one for testing, then upload the video myself. Good luck.

Microphone test is going great. 2 inputs into the Audio Mixer, then one into the DVR actually records the same sound(s). The one mike is at the cash register, where someone walks up and says to the clerk " can I get a box of condoms, etc.?" Tell me, if you could stand there and say that to someone who you have never seen before, how can you expect privacy in your voice? Anyway, I have 3 other stores that want the same thing, I have just been too busy to install the mikes there. Thanks to all who kept their responses to what I asked, and did not proceed to tell me the laws, etc. of a State/Country that I was born in and resided for over 50 years. I really don't care what the laws are anywhere else,... really don't. One reason I have been more reluctant to ask questions here more often. Thanks again !!

Hey Scruit, you could do this easily with an "ice cube" relay that has a 12vdc coil. You could use the trunk switch (which normally turns on a light) to also activate the coil of the relay. Just have the positive (+DC) go into the "common" side of one of the contact points. Use the "normally open" set of contacts to fire the trunk cam. When the trunk opens, the relay coil would fire, then close the N.O. set, away from the N.C. set, which would then open . I do this exact same sort of setup, I just have a photocell which controls the "ice cube" relay, in order to switch between B/W and Color cams.

My personal suggestion would be the Avermedia EB1304, as mentioned before. As far as cameras go, my preference for residential/small business ( which is about all I do) , are the Bullets and Mini-domes from USAGINC.Com. Their salesmans' name is Juan G. In my tests of the "under $150" cameras, their bullets beat everything hands down. I can keep most residential projects within your budget, when I use the USAGINC.com's cameras, and the Avermedia 1304. I have this setup on my own home now. I tested over a dozen or more, of the so-called "extended view IR" cameras on my front porch from one location, and recorded all to the same model Avermedia DVR's. I went with the Bullets from USAGINC. Gave the others away. Good luck.

I have many of them installed in residential and small business settings. Excellent value DVR. The only thing you need to watch out for, is the tiny cooling fan on the Hard Drive. If it gets too much dust, debris, etc. it will go out on you. Other than that, it is an excellent choice. My personal opinion.

Need some help in order to identify certain automobiles in video footage. A customer I did an install for, recorded some video that shows a break-in with one of his neighbors. I captured the video to my laptop, then converted it to WMV, in order to email it. Just a minute or so long. My question to the forum, is there someone who is a "specialist" on auto body types, that is fairly reliable? In other words , does anyone know of a person who can identify a certain make/model/year, and be over 90% accurate? Thanks

I will let my "test" run for a few days, then decide. I have 1 microphone (Dynamic Unidirectional) at the Cash Register, on a stand. The stand/mike are in the middle of "trinkets" for sale, and not very noticeable. One of the other microphones is attached with "zip ties" very close to the camera watching the cash register itself. The store owner and I have looked back on the previous days' recordings and he is happy so far. I have the ouput of the Radio Shack Mixer going about 50 feet to the input of the DVR. I can definitely keep this to under $100 in parts, if this is the route I decide to stay on. One thing I really never realized without audio, is that the store owner can hear his employee giving back the change, after making the sale at the cash register. The store owner requires his employees to count the change going into the customers' hands. The camera I setup for him, gets a good view of the money changing hands also. Thanks again to all.

I tried the ones that Coolie mentioned. I may as well have taken the $$ and tossed it out the window. Since I am recording indoor audio, I think I will head along the lines of the Unidirectional Dynamic microphones. I have about $30 into the Radio Shack mixer ( 4 inputs), and have 3 different microphones attached right now. The intent of this, is to capture audio, lets say at a cash register, from about 6 to 10 feet away, at the closest. Since this "mixer" can take several inputs, I am doing a test , in order to hear the same conversation from different locations, but "synched" to the same video channel. One of my "quickie mart" customers has agreed to be the "guinea pig" in his store. $100 for this type of audio system , is about all my clients would we willing to pay. Most of the Lauroe systems, are just not within the budget of my sort of customers. Thanks to all.

Just wanted to ask for info about best audio devices that anyone has put in place , for recording to DVR. I have a few smaller convenience store owners that have asked me about audio recording on their DVR's. I had some older microphones, (Koss) lying around , so I took one, along with a new Microphone Mixer (Radio Shack) and have had it recording for a few days now. After looking online, it seems to me, that I could buy the best ? ( Electro-Voice) microphones and a Radio Shack microphone mixer, and use them in place of CCTV "mikes". Save the speeches on the law, I already spoke to 2 Detectives that told me they wish I would have had audio on one of the store bandits, as they had arrested him before, but they knew his voice. Just stick to the audio, please.

Locations look good to me also. Just something to think about before you make the final location decision. Make a long coax run, and power one of your cameras up. Mount this "test camera" in different locations, in order to get the best view. The output of this "test camera" will just go into an ordinary TV , resting somewhere ( garage??) you can then go see what the final video will look like. You should also try to see what the "camera view" looks like, from underneath the corner of the garage, looking towards the front door. You need to watch the entire porch if you can. If the front of your home faces South, you are going to get a lot of "backlight" from a camera looking directly outwards. Good luck.!!

One good reason to keep old VCR's ! I often take an old VCR, that I purchased at a Thrift Store, or local Flea Market, along with my Brother Label Maker and make a large label " Security Recorder" , or similiar on the front. Anyone breaking into a small business or home, very likely has no idea what a DVR looks like. If they saw cameras, I figure they would look for the "recording device" and take the $5 VCR. On the Avermedias , I have had the hard drive cooling fan fail a few times on a couple of my installs. Does get a little noisy sometimes.

The line between screens is normal for my Avermedias. Never really noticed it that much. I believe that only the 1704 model is recording during playback. My other Avermedia models stop recording also, just during playback.

I agree 100 %. Power Supplies generate a lot of heat. You need to remove this generated heat effectively. I would not install a power supply where I know that dust,dirt,debris, etc. will cause problems. I would keep your Power Supply in an area that you, yourself, feel comfortable. That is sort of my own guideline when installing them.