SEANHAWG

Yes, he'll thank you for it.

Those first 2 you linked I have tried. They werent very good. You would be much better buying a cheap VGA IP camera with built in SD storage. or like I said, 4 ch DVR. Or Soundy's favorite, A Flip.

Its tough to find one that is cheaper than a 4 channel DVR. There isnt a huge market for them.

Good question, I am glad you asked. There are many different ways you can do it. I have confirmed that it works on the following softwares: NUUO, Milestone, Vigil, Axxon. I have been told that it works with genetec as well but havent confirmed this myself. These are the only ones that I have tried or someone else has tried. Havent tried much anything else yet but will be testing as many softwares that I can and will provide an ever updating list as soon as I confirm that they work. I am sure that the manufacturer will continue to offer even more firmware upgrades that will offer even more compatibility with other softwares in the future. Of course you can also use #1) Our standalone NVR's and soon to be Standalone Hybrids. Granted these only allow 1080p max rez recording but allows for easy plug and play compatibility with our cameras and you dont have to dedicate a computer to record an IP camera. I would say this is probably the easiest way. #2) You can record directly to the onboard SD card as well, which basically makes the camera an all in one surveillance system. The maximum SD card size is 32GB which isnt a whole lot of space for a MegaPixel camera but you can always just set the camera to record on motion only. Or better yet, just have one of our NVR's or Hybrids record 1080p regular video and have the camera record motion events at 3MP #3) You can use PSS, the free CMS software, and use it to record directly to your PC. The cool thing about PSS is that it will also manage our DVR's, and NVR's/Hybrids as well. So this means, if you have bought DVR's from us before, you will be able to see your DVR's as well as the MegaPixel camera all managed from one software. Also, there is no resolution limitation with PSS, you can record full rez 3MP directly to your PC. This option is great for folks who dont want to buy a seperate NVR or software to run their cameras. I'll have alot more information about these different recording methods and the advantages and disadvantages to each on our website in the upcoming 2 weeks as we continue to write our guides and materials. I am just reiterating a major gripe among other people who have expressed the same concern. Totally agree. Thats why I said "if you see it, like it, and can afford it, I say go for it" On the flip side, just because its a low price, doesn't always mean its a bad product either. As I have said something similar before, A mercedes has more features than a ford, but a ford can also get the job done. Thanks Captain Literal. Yes I knew it was a 1/2.8" sensor, its posted on the description on my site. I was just speaking in generalities. Most 1/2" MegaPixel lenses will work just fine with the camera.

The Dahua MP cam actually has a 1/2" sensor so keep that in mind. We have some nice 3.8-13mm Fujinon 1/2" 3MP rated auto iris lenses to go with the camera as well if you need them for about $100 which is pretty decent for a name brand MP lens. Highly recommended over the typical 1/3" analog lenses. At certain zoom levels, the 1/3" lenses will cut off edges of the pictures, also noticed that the analog lenses will make the edges blurry as well as having a fish-eye effect on the wide shots. very tempting to put an analog lens on a megapixel camera due to costs, but I have found out that you will be much more satisfied with a MP lens for a MP camera.

We normally put the final releases on our site. But the 4.06 is still somewhat of a "beta". I PM'ed you something.

The 4.06 PSS wont be much different than what you have seen in 4.05. There is some type of monitor out config that I still havent quite delved into yet. But other than that, pretty much the same. It wouldnt hurt to upgrade though.

Not if you have wireless power: http://www.thinkgeek.com/stuff/41/wec.shtml

Nice?

The DVR's do have an RTSP string for each channel, but just like Soundy said, make sure you have some good upload bandwidth at work and some good download bandwidth at home

Yeah, its kind of a real real real general question. Its like asking, what is better, a car or a truck? There are so many different cars and trucks out there with so many different features. Same goes with box cams and dome cams.

can zoneminder take an rtsp stream?

Some DVR's allow you to record continually while still searching motion events. This is what I recommend.

I know they have some already, but standalone NVR's with built in switches always sounded like a great idea for the small systems. And an NVR with a built in POE switch would be even better, heck that would be easier than analog. I think this would make things alot less complicated for newbies as it removes one or 2 less pieces of equipment needed to get setup. Obviously this wouldnt work for huge installs, but for the small installer and DIY market, this would be a nice bridge from analog to IP. If I were a manufacturer trying to get IP into the low end market, this is what I would create. I think the only chance SDI would have is to hit the low end market, but if IP systems with low cost built in switch NVR's came on the scene, SDI would never stand a chance at all. But even if we are talking a 1080p camera compared to an SDI 1080p camera, IP is still better as it has more options. Cool thing about IP cameras is that they are like a camera and DVR all in one, especially when you use SD storage. this is something you couldnt do with an SDI camera. Heck with SD cards getting cheaper and having more space, an NVR may not even be needed for smaller installs in a few years.

Are you sure? I was told If you have an HDCCTV SDI camera hooked up to an HDCCTV SDI DVR, it is supposed to work, atleast that is the theory, regardless of where it was made. This assumes you have the quality cable and connectors that it requires to run this equipment. Correct me if I am wrong.

Thats the good thing about it, as least that is what they advertise. As long as you have an SDI DVR, any SDI camera should work. Its not like IP cameras where it has protocols from different manufacturers and such. I havent worked with any of them so I cant confirm this, but that is how its supposed to work.

Yeah it has huge problems with RG59 from what I hear and even a little bit with RG6. You couldnt/shouldnt use RG59. But I did see some beautiful video from them as well. Agreed the live view looks excellent, but the recorded view looks like a typical 1080p IP camera. The major stumbling block on these is the recorders are so expensive and you dont see many that are more than a 4 channel recorder. The DSP's that are in them are so expensive and to add 4 more channels effectively doubles the price. But with so many manufacturers and distributors trying to push them, I see the prices of the recorders coming down very soon. Some of the bigger chinese manufacturers already have plans of making small 1U units. So much to my surprise, I do see this making its way on the scene.

Hi, Which company in China do you work for?

I Seen this nasty mess today............. Oh wait a minute, this is my system

I was a real bore this year, pretty much went to the show, ate, came back to my crappy hotel and worked for a little bit and went to bed. And was reeling from a sinus infection and felt like general crap (insert debbie downer face here) Will hit you up next near now that I know what to expect.

Yeah but that replaces 10 billion analog cameras so it pays for itself.

Sounds good. I am sending you a PM message that will save you a little money.

I am atleast a month out. Dont know too much about those PTZ's that you got, but I did test my fair share of PTZ's and I quickly found out that the cheap ones are cheap for a reason. Much like DVR's, this is one thing you dont want to scrimp on, paying an extra 100-200 will go a long ways.

The problem with finding a good affordable PTZ is the same type of problem that you have a finding a good affordable DVR, you have to wade through the junk before you find a good one. Luckily, I have worked with one of my suppliers on some good models. They definetely wont be the cheapest but the wont be the most expensive either. I will also have an IR PTZ that has so much IR throw on it it will blow your mind. I will have a video of it up soon after I get back from Vegas. I put one up in my back yard and it lights up the whole back 1/2 acre back yard yard easily and well into my neighbors yard. 700 TVL 1/3" Effio S processor to boot, which is not commonly found on PTZ's.