Hello,
1st to everyone, I've read alot of posts on this forum, most very helpful. So thanks to all those.
2nd:
I set up a 8 channel PC based dvr system about 4-5 years ago, based on a pentium 4 3.0 winXP w/ a CHEAP generic BT based card. Using the fantastic WDM Video Capture Driver at sourceforge and btspy and a little time, I got it all working and has been running pretty much 24/7/365 for years and very reliable. This is in a small retail setting and has helped catch a few shoplifters over the years. I use pysoft's Active WebCam and for those needs, it was perfect!!!!!!!
FYI: I am good at tinkering with computers and electronics of all sorts, so short of writing the drivers myself, I don't mind putting some work into this.
Now, it's time to add a second, more capable system. So what I'm trying to figure out is:
what is the cheapest card that:
1) does 16 channel video w/ at least 240 or preferably 480 fps
2) has open drivers for it or can be used with a lot of different freeware
3) pci-e preferred
or for lack of an answer to the above
what is the best CHEAP BT chip based DVR card that I can use the WDM Video Capture Driver for again?
Ideally I'd like to find something in the $150-$350 range. Yes, the budget restraints me from spending $1,000-$2,000 it would take from a high end name brand line.
I know very few people here are fans of the "cheap" chinese cards. I don't care who made the card but I would prefer to not buy stolen work.
Because of the good return policy at an online retailer, I tried a Conexant CX25821/CX25823 Chipset based card and found the card to be ok, but the included software sucked. It was like $200. Could not find any open source drivers for that chipset....I thinks it's too new still.
Also: the computer is a core 2 duo, winXP pro, e7500, 2 gb ram, 2 @ 1 TB + 250gb drives, geforce 9800gt video card, upgraded power supply and upgraded cooling. Have about $700 into this part of it w/ a 22" monitor.
PS: For those that are going to reply, "you're too damn cheap", or it'll never work or whatever, just keep that to yourself. I know this can be done with some work and I know there are lots of people who come on this board looking for something similar themselves. Let's try to keep it to positive info. Thanks.
