groovyman

Sorry for the quality. Best I could do with my phone and lighting conditions.

First thing I would check is the date in the DVR. Last month a client of mine replaced a DVR on his own then called me when he thought it wasn't recording. Turned out the year was set to 2011, not 2012.

I sent an email and it was Mark who responded.

I stepped up to the plate I sent a request to ask if the camera can be added to the Nano. I received a response within a day saying that it should work if the camera is ONVIF v1.02 compliant because that's what the Nano uses and that my request for integration was sent to the Product Manager. I'll follow up within the next week or two.

Oh man - I'm dyin' over here. That's hilarious

I'm always learning something new from you Soundy That's pretty cool.

Yeah, right. I'll believe it when I see it.

One of my clients has those installed in the bathrooms of all his retail locations. It was done to save on electric due to the bathrrom lights and fans being on for days, weeks or months at a time. They work great.

Are you opposed to a software solution? Check out iTALC. http://italc.sourceforge.net/home.php

Yeah, their prices are very high. Seems like double what you can get them for elsewhere - and not just the camera in question. All the prices there are very high.

Is there a checkbox (or drop down box) that says something like static or dynamic? The DVR may have come from the factory set with an IP address that's not right for your network. For example: my router uses 10.1.10.xxx, but my DVR came configured with 192.168.1.xxx. I needed to change the addressing on my DVR to match my network. Do you know what address range your router uses? What IP address is used to access the router? Is it 192.168.0.1? If so, that would be used for the gateway address in the DVR and the IP address would be 192.168.0.xxx where xxx = anything from .2 to .254*. I typically like to assign .200 or above - just a personal preference. Subnet mask should be 255.255.255.0. DNS can also be 192.168.0.1. *Note about the IP address - don't assign the DVR the same address as another device on the network, such as computers, phones, tablets, game consoles, etc. I typically find that if I use .200 or above I don't have issues.

Basically all you need to do is 1 - connect the DVR to your router with a network cable 2 - give the DVR a static IP address for your network (along with subnet mask & gateway) 3 - configure the appropriate port forwarding in the router The link I posted are instructions for the router. For the DVR there should be step by step instructions in the manual to assign the DVR an IP address.

http://portforward.com/english/routers/port_forwarding/Netgear/DGND3300v2/CnM_Secure_4_Channel_H.264_DVR.htm

Here's something to consider - it could possibly be the monitor and/or screen resolution. Right now I'm using a PC with two 19" standard Sony LCD monitors that I've used for years. With any DVR I connect to the video doesn't look that great whether I'm viewing live, playback or locally downloaded clips. Video doesn't look that great on my 15" widescreen laptop either. Now, I have a PC in my office with a 22" widescreen and video looks great. Also looks great on my 13.3" widescreen laptop as well as when I connect with a tablet.

Just wanted to post an example of the CNB Mona Lisa camera so you can see the difference in a real world environment. This is in a Subway restaurant with just outside lighting on the walkway. Top is the old camera, bottom is the CNB Mona Lisa.

When you see a 'hard disk failed' message the hard drive needs to be replaced. Right now it's probably not recording anything. If it's still under warranty you can contact the place from where it was purchased. However, this might involve sending the unit out for repair and significant downtime. A hard drive is not difficult to replace and is something you can do yourself. If you're not comfortable with that then maybe call a local cctv or computer professional who can replace the drive for you. Because of the downtime that may be involved with sending the system out for repair I would spend the money to get the hard drive replaced locally.

I don't use anything specific. When I have an installation I'll usually go to a local CompUSA and pick one up. I haven't used the one you've referenced. I like the enclosed type. But as long as the fans spin I don't see a problem. I first received one several years ago as a gift and was surprised that the thing really kept my laptop cool. When I started using the small footprint DVRs I thought I'd give it a try. They work pretty good.

Yes. I have installations where we put the DVR in a cabinet, drilled out a hole and added a fan to draw the heat out. Also, depending on the size of the DVR, I like to place laptop chill pads underneath the DVR. Works very well to keep the unit cool and can be powered by one of the DVR's USB ports or via a power adapter with a USB charger port.

Ditto the sentiment. Although the hard drive appears to be spinning, it could be a hard drive issue nonetheless. Do you have a hard drive that you can install temporarily to see if that's possibly the issue? Just want to mention that you may have voided the warranty by replacing the fan with a slower one (which you can always change back) and cutting "the fan grill out of the DVR case so the air will not be pushed through that grill." I'm just wondering if you need to RMA the DVR if they'll do anything once they see that modification.

All depends on the environment, layout, where cables can be run, etc. I can tell you that I've personally never put any type of networking equipment in an attic. Heat & accessibility being the main concerns.

Yes, you could go wireless and some other members might recommend that. When it comes to networking I always like to go wired over wireless though. In my opinion it's more stable. If running a network cable isn't possible then you could go wireless or also consider using powerline network adapters. You'll need 2 of them - one to plug in near the router and the other near the switch. They essentially use the power lines to extend your network. They have their own problems, the main one being distance. The further the data has to travel over the power line, the slower the network speed will be. However when connecting via the Internet the bottleneck is usually the Internet connection, not the local connection. Also, having used them for several years I find they need to be replaced every 3 years or so.

Calvin, I don't mean to be insulting, so please don't take this the wrong way. I think you should find a professional in your area to help with this. Just doing a quick calculation in my head on what you must have spent for that equipment I think a little more for an experienced professional CCTV installer would be a good way to go. Having said that, to answer the question directly, my first response would be to run a network cable from the switch to the router. In this case, from the attic to the basement.

Great. Thanks for posting that you got it working and what the resolution was.

Yep. I ran into this the first time I bought some IR domes and never bought one again. As I mentioned in a post a couple weeks ago (viewtopic.php?p=189706#p189706) I ended up with a peephole view in order to eliminate the reflection. Had to slide the gasket over the lens and carefully mount the cover back on so it created the proper seal. It was a real pain. I have a client with 4 outdoor IR bullet cams in one location. These were installed around 2004/2005 and two of them recently started to exhibit the IR reflection issue. At first I thought it was spider webs, but it's not. I'm guessing the gaskets have started to deteriorate. I'll take them down in the near future and have a look.

NASA’s New Satellite Captures Amazing Hi-Res Image of Earth Ok, so "The image is a composite, created using a number of swaths of the Earth’s surface taken on Jan. 4, 2012." See here for story: http://mashable.com/2012/01/26/hi-res-image-earth/ Download the 8000x8000 image here (320x320 linked): https://secure.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/6760135001/sizes/n/in/photostream/