gunthonungo2

using a very old setup of analog cameras and am about to update everything. Should I reuse the coax and go for hdtvi and cvi cameras or just start over and go IP everywhere? Also would a hybrid recorder such as the Hikvision DS7216-HUHI-K2 be a good idea or what do you all recommend in terms of recorders? What cameras would you all recommend? This is for a hotel so it is decently lit up outside at night don't want pictures getting washed out and want to go 2MP or better. Thanks

Replacing an analog system. Have coax run to about 13 cameras and was looking at this unit since it can do all the formats. I plan on adding more cameras as well. Should I use existing wiring and go with a hybrid recorder like this? Or, should I scrap everything and just go completely IP all around? Any feedback on this dvr as well as any other suggestions would be appreciated. I'm ok with either approach I just want the best quality recording I can get. Am planning on replacing all cameras as well so any recommendations there would be appreciated also. Thanks

The building has been framed and electricians are running wiring...I need help with the entire system design but the most important thing is... do I use cat5e wiring or should I run traditional Siamese to everything? I want to get this part done before the sheet rock is done. The building is long and it's a "U" shaped exterior corridor property.... some of my runs could easily be up to 550 or 600 feet..... but that will only be 2 or 3 of the cams. I'm thinking I need somewhere between 16 and 32 cameras to cover all the blind spots, parking lot, reception, etc... Also should I go IP cameras? or traditional cameras and what would be a good DVR or hybrid DVR to go with. I am fine with splitting the recording into two 16 channel DVR's if needed.... If you need me to answer any other questions about it please let me know. Thanks Any and all help is appreciated. So thanks to everyone in advance.

I would have used cat6, but the price I got on cat5e (solid, bare copper not CCA) was 40 dollars a roll and the best I could get on cat6 was 110 dollars a roll so I went with cat5e because the cost savings could be put into the DVR or a few of the cameras. I think we ended up running something like 8 to 10 thousand feet of wire but none should be longer than 100m as far as I know. I don't have to get it certified or anything like that so things should be ok. Is there any brand of poe switches that are recommended? I broke the setup into two zones so half the cameras will run to one poe switch which will then connect via shielded cat6 to another switch and then to the router/recorder. Like I said earlier the entire thing will be on its own subnet so nothing else will be eating up bandwidth and it won't be eating up bandwidth either. So I was wondering: 1. what poe switch should I look at? 2. any camera brands you guys recommend? I used CNB in the past but then found a brand that was way better in low light conditions for the same price.... Do you guys have anything you like? 3. same as question 2 but with some IP megapixel cams? 4. what brand of baluns work best? 5. what other brands of DVR's are recommended and should I split up the recordings into two 16 channel DVR's? By the way, are Avigilon systems expensive? Thanks again

forgot to ask...any recommendations on good POE injector switches?

i want to thank everyone for their advice....here is what i have planned out so far.... used cat5e for all the runs and have split them into two sections so that hopefully all runs are 100m or less..i will have my entire camera network running on its own seperate from my computer network so that it doesnt eat up bandwidth...and then, 700 or so tvl analog cameras and possibly a few ip cams... I am looking at 28 to 32 cameras....what would be a good dvr to get? a hybrid that does 16 each IP and analog? or two 16 channel dvr's or what? Full D1 is preferred.. and thank you to everyone once again.

Could you please recommend a good automatic voltage regulator?

I'm looking for an 8 channel dvr system for a doctor's office that is easy to use and records good quality pics. The one I have now doesn't seem to record at a very high resolution and it's very annoying to use.... hanging up,,, crashing etc..... Can anyone please point me to what brand of dvrs will record in higher resolution and be easy to use at the same time? I need it to be able to be monitored remotely over the internet as well. Thanks

How does one order any of the cameras listed on the site? I didn't see how to get pricing or add anything to any sort of cart. And how good is the picture quality of these cams? Does anyone here have real world experience with them?

Hi everyone, I have a family friend who would like to set up some hidden cameras and in plain site cameras for their office (like above the cash register, etc). For the in plain sight cams I was gonna tell them to look into CNB, but what are good solutions/brands for hidden cams? From what I can tell,, most hidden cams have a pretty cheesy pic. Are there any high resolution cams avaiable that would suit her purpose? I think they've got employee theft going on and maybe something worse than that,,, but it's all speculation on my part.... I am not a security guy at all. It's just that she knows I did my own work at my family's business and she was wanting my opinion on stuff,,, and cuz she's a good friend (and pretty hot too) I didn't wanna look like a dumbass.... so please if you can help me out, I'd appreciate it.

I just had some cameras I bought from a trashy vendor also known as CMC TECH/ CCTV FACTORY burn out on me and they're refusing to stand behind them.... I never knew about this site til it was too late, and only bought from those jerks on the recommendation of a family friend. If anyone is thinking about buying from them PLEASE DON'T... Out of 9 cams I bought from them 6 have already gone bad within a year of use..... ok,, enough about my rant,,, let me move on to what I need them for. I'm obviously no pro....My parents own a business and need the cameras for their parking lot area. The business is a small motel so coverage at night is very important. The buldings sit north to south, so there is a good amount of sun beating on these cams during the daytime. We have decent lighting outside,, but definitely need cams with IR's to make up for the difference. Again, I am no pro so I don't know what information I should already post that might help someone point me in the right direction..... maybe some questions would help me with that. I had some 420 line cams til now. I'd rather get into the 500+ line resolutions for the replacements. Price is definitely a factor now that I'm having to spend double to do the same job. Any help would be appreciated. Oh yeah,, I see references to some brand called CNB... I'd never heard of them,,, are they good? How do I look into them? What about honeywell? Thanks in advance to everyone that's willing to help me here.

Are people allowed to recommend dealers on here? Who would be someone good to deal with for CNB cams?

What you've mentioned is what my entire concern was... I didn't think I'd have luck finding decent pinhole cameras, or cameras that would work well. I'll definitely take a look at the one you listed.

Do these need domes to be mounted underneath some kind of cover,, ie like under an overhang/canopy? Or, can they be mounted to the side of a wall where they'll be hit with direct sunlight quite a bit... not with the lense looking into the sun, but with the dome bodies getting hit by direct sunlight.

Cheapest isn't the only thing to consider when choosing a supplier. Just look around at other threads on this forum for horror stories of people burned by buying from the cheapest online stores. Easy to find... These places are usually the cheapest for a reason. 1. Do they have the items in stock? 2. What is their return policey? 3. Do they have a technical support department? 4. Can you get ahold of this company and talk to a real live person? 5. How quickly does tech support return your calls? 6. Are they selling refurb items or new? 7. Will you get exactly what you ordered? 8. How quickly will the order be processed and shipped? Look for reviews of other people who bought from the company, and not just on their website. Sorry,,, you're totally right,,,, when I said cheapest,,, I had cheap but good/reliable/dependable in mind... just didn't express myself that way... this site is awesome,,, wish I'd found all you guys before I took my friend's word for (and used his reseller acct there to get a discount) those jerks at CMC TECH/CCTV FACTORY...

Thanks for the quick feedback... I'm going to check out the cameras you guys mentioned. Any suggestions on the cheapest place to buy them from? I have to get this done for as less money as possible since business isn't so great for my parents these days....

The lighting we have is along our walls,,, so while it does fill the parking lot to some extent, it's been my experience that it isn't enough... having the IR's helps a lot in our situation,, would there be another model with IR's that you'd recommend? Oh,, and the 24vf you said to look at... is it an outdoor cam? The ones I found had great prices but they were listed as indoor cams...

Just wanna repeat what I wrote about CMC TECH/CCTV Factory on the other posting about them: Back in Dec 2008 I bought cameras from this place based on the recommendation of a friend. And I've pretty much regretted it since day one. I bought a total of 9 cameras from these guys and 6 of them turned out defective. Out of those 6, one I had to pay more money to replace and three they have refused to do anything about. The owners are pretty much crooks and are only interested in the short term grabbing of your money and aren't worried about long term relationships with customers. They don't stand behind anything they sell for very long at all, and never return phone calls. I wish I'd known about this site before doing anything because I'm not a pro of any kind. I was simply trying to replace some cameras at my parent's business that were damaged by a hail storm that the insurance company wouldn't pay for. That's a rediculously high failure rate, and the crooked manager/owner is a real jerk about doing the right thing. I wasn't trying to be cheap when I went to these guys either. Nor was I expecting free replacements,,,, I originally bought from them based on what a family friend had told me. Now I have to find some good cameras to replace the ones that have burned out on me. I'm going to end up spending double what I should have. What a sick joke. STAY AWAY from these jerks. You'll wish you had.......

Back in Dec 2008 I bought cameras from this place based on the recommendation of a friend. And I've pretty much regretted it since day one. I bought a total of 9 cameras from these guys and 6 of them turned out defective. Out of those 6, one I had to pay more money to replace and three they have refused to do anything about. The owners are pretty much crooks and are only interested in the short term grabbing of your money and aren't worried about long term relationships with customers. They don't stand behind anything they sell for very long at all, and never return phone calls. I wish I'd known about this site before doing anything because I'm not a pro of any kind. I was simply trying to replace some cameras at my parent's business that were damaged by a hail storm that the insurance company wouldn't pay for. That's a rediculously high failure rate, and the crooked manager/owner is a real jerk about doing the right thing. I wasn't trying to be cheap when I went to these guys either. Nor was I expecting free replacements,,,, I originally bought from them based on what a family friend had told me. Now I have to find some good cameras to replace the ones that have burned out on me. I'm going to end up spending double what I should have. What a sick joke. STAY AWAY from these jerks. You'll wish you had....... By the way,, can anyone recommend a few good reliable brands I should look at for outdoor bullet cams with IR's that are reasonably priced?