Numb-nuts

First off unless you know how to bury cables properly, DON'T. But to answer your question YES. I don't support people who import directly from China and don't support their native CCTV industry. If bad enough cutting out the installers, but when you cut out the installer and the importer distributor you are harming the industry which gives many of us a living. ANPR cameras will capture registration numbers but everything else is limited especially after dark. Well this is my understanding from study courses but I never actually installed one so honestly I can't say from experience.

Conect your TV screen by running RG59 out of the (DVR BNC out) and into the rear of the TV scart or composite inputs. There are scart to BNC convertors available and also BNC to phono convertors. Then if you want to view the DVR al you have to do is select your TV's AV channel via it's remote control. Another nice touch would be to run a USB extension to your bedroom where you could connect a wirefree USB mouse to control the DVR from your bedroom. (If the bedroom is within range you may not have to run the USB extension cable) Happy days UPDATE Of course you can use an AV video sender to the TV also

Your chances of recording vehicle registrations is probably quite low for several reasons but let us assume the vehicles will be parked, then you have at least some small chance of reading numbers in good light. Once the vehicles are moving then your chances decrease by a significant percentage and further still when the light starts to fade. There are of course special ANPR cameras but you are looking at a LOT of money for a reasonable one. Either change your budget, or your expectations.

Please don't get me wrong, I have no problem drilling holes. It's Just simply matter of personal preference of not wanting to drill unnecessary holes. Besides, If I do drill new holes to mount the new camera, I now have to patch up the existing 4" opening for the J-box. I'm pretty good at soldering on PCB, even working on SMD, but I'm completely clueless when it comes to patching up stucco wall. Well if you feel confident, do it your way. Let me just say that I patch up screw holes in brickwork all the time when fitting new cameras. I save a bit of the brick dust, and fill the old holes with anchor resin, (I use a syringe) and as it starts to harden I add a mixture 50/50 resin and brick dust mixed together. When it dries unless you know where to look you'd hardly notice it. But it has just dawned on me you probably have a wood cladding or something similar.

Those who buy cheap buy twice (or 3 times if they're really mean)

Hi again ICI do a polycarbonate cleaner that will not scratch the polycarbonate dome and even removes minor scratches. DON"T use washing up liquid, if you must use something else use plain water and a sponge to remove any debris spiders webs etc and then finish with plain water and a terry style microfiber cloth. ALSO: Never use fabric conditioner when washing a microfiber cloth UPDATE Just seen this in a motorcycle shop for cleaning and removing scratches from plastics set of 3 costs around £20 ($32)

If you're scared of drilling a few holes then you aren't going to be capable of messing with the internal electronics of a CCTV camera. My advice, Buy a drill, some wall plugs and a few screws then get a new camera and sell the old one on ebay.... In the long run you'll be happier with the results.

If a method of working works and gives a good result who is to say it's wrong? Single boxed power supply and distribution boards are popular because of their convenience but get a good one if you get one as they can develop faults. The Dantech PSU's are very affordable and have the benefit of locating all the power supply lines and fuses at one single location and they also all share a single potential to earth. This is helpful in avoiding ground loops but not the whole answer. Sometimes and it's happened to me, a cheap boxed power supply goes faulty (or is faulty out of the box) and can CREATE interference like rolling lines If you are suffering rolling lines across all channels and using a single power supply, the power supply is an item you should check first. Conversely if you are using several power supplies, a single one can be faulty and cause all the other channels to display a fault, but there's more to check out. It's not an easy fault to remove and takes trial and error, but the point is it's not always a earth loop.

If it ain't broke don't fix it! a good policy

Well of course there are always the exceptions that disproves the rule, and thats good news, but the point of doing things the 'prescribed' way is to avoid the possibility of trouble developing. With respect you did your cable run as an enthusiastic amateur once in five years whereas the professional cannot afford to take the risk, so looks at the possibilities for failure and tries to take those into account, using outdoor rated cable, installing drip loops as you say, using IP rated junction boxes etc. If you are paying someone to do such a job for you, you'd be right to expect them to do the job to their best ability. I cannot deny once having used internal Cat5 for an outside run, I haven't been called back so I am assuming it has been okay, but I only used it because obtaining external cable would have meant a delay of a couple of days and I was booked solid that week. The guilt stayed with me for about a month. I would never level any criticism at you for having internal cable outside, I just am pleased for you that it's given you no trouble, but if asked for advice I give the best advice I can and try not to lead people into the possibility of a troublesome experience. From now on I will add as a side-note that I am aware of people using indoor cable outdoors, however in my humble opinion, it's not the best option.

Normally you would export the file to AVI during playback from the PC player software. The whole point of the export s that you have un-editable files for evidential purposes however, during the playback on a PC there will be an option to export a copy to AVI this can only be done on a PC. AVI format is unlikely to be accepted in a court as evidence as it can be edited so the AVI file is only useful as a copy for reference or for YouTube.

Never heard of WIMAX ???

Quite right, it's the UV light that breaks down cable insulation therefore it's nearly always black as it has a high content of carbon for UV resistance. It is not that much more expensive, but then neither is black 20mm plastic conduit. The latter being more time consuming but worth the extra effort. Of course you could use both and be ultar safe a sort of belt and braces approach.

As a cheap budget system Avalon are a good reliable unit with rather poor display performance, but don't expect after sales support. The distribution network are mostly technically untrained raiders, i.e. they have no interest in after sales support just the few £ $ they mark up to get your money, then they are not interested. You cannot approach QVIS or the UK distributor either as they aren't interested in end users technical support. The instruction manual is one of the poorest I've ever seen. I don't know who told you these were made by Dahua I know of no evidence to support that notion and suspect it was a rumor (lie) put about by the raiders. You might be lucky and find a good reseller, but the price is likely to be higher as after sales support costs money, which is why you can expect little from the raiders. Here in the UK the distributors have dropped these DVRs from their range as they are causing a lot of disdain (bad feeling) between the distributor and those of their customers that are in the industry to add value, and not just to earn a fast buck at the expense of their unsuspecting customers. If you must buy cheap end of the market make sure you will get after sales support which is why I advocate buyers od cheap and nasty systems to use Maplin at least they offer superb after sales support even if the stuff they sell are closer to toys than proper equipment. That or budget a few more dollars.

I would suggest that if there is no space on the wal ajacent to your camera to accomodate a IP reted junction box, that yu have incorrectly sited your camera. However there is a method you could use but it's a last resort. There is a product called "self amalgamating tape" You stretch wrap the connections in the same way as you might with insulation tape. The UV light makes the wrapped tape into a single waterproof boot as the tape amalgamates into one piece. I wouldn't do this with Cat5 and baluns as they too are not water resistant and are more likely to get waterlogged and ruin your setup. There is also heatshrink tubing lined with adhesive, it's placed over once end of y=the cable prior to connection, the connection establishe and tested then it is pulled over the connection and heat applied to shrink it. Both of these methods are rather amateurish but may suit your needs.

Why is it that clients always think they want covert cameras? Almost every time I approach potential clints and ask if CCTV is something they had considered for their business they very often come back with " yes I want four (typically) hidden cameras" when I ask why they think they want hidden cameras they can't answer. I go on to say that surely it's better that criminals see the CCTV and think again if they want to risk being identified or commit their crime someplace else? The whole point of CCTV as a security medium in my opinion, is to deter criminals, from crimes against the business and it's staff. Obviously it can't guarantee anything other that a considerable reduction in the risk of crime, it can't even guarantee conviction of those offenders that commit crime regardless of CCTV. I often for that reason install low voltage lights above cameras and CCTV warning signs, to highlight the visual effect, obviously I need to allow for this in the budget so if a job is vvery tight on profit then these little niceties don't get done. Not forgetting of course that CCTV is not simply a security product but also a process monitoring solution, and an analytical tool for statisticians too. There are other formats but no other uses spring immediately to mind at this time. I have only ever installed it as a security measure or a safety measure or a combination of both. With hidden cameras, I think there may be a potential for a charge of entrapment? Anyone care to venture an opinion?

It's true that covert cameras as commercially available aren't that versatile and must be used intelligently, however the clients don't know this. My question was why do they automatically think they want covert cameras. I think they feel it will give them an opportunity to catch someone the act of committing a crime. I think they haven't though this through and are impressed by the covertly obtained footage shown on TV shows such as "caught on camera". If they want covert cameras for nefarious reasons I tell them to find someone else but fortunately this has happened to me only once. I didn't feel any concern about walking away.

Can't say I have a favourite anything, to me it's a job and I do it to the best of my capability. If you are asking which fps I use most often, it's 12fps because it's the min requirement but record resolution will determine how many fps very oftem sinxce resolution is an important element and a balance must be found.

If its for your own home you can do either. I would recommend for your own home to run the external grade cat5 using standarrd cable grips (4-5mm) and avoid staples outdoors even if it is strait into wood. T25 staples are just that little bit too small and there isa risk of nicking the outer sleeve of the cat5 which would make it somewhat vulnerable, but nick it a few times and you've wasted your time. If you use plastic conduit, we use 20 or 25mm round black conduit into a IP65 junction box adjacent to the camera. We use saddles to fix the conduit every 600mm or so into the mortar joints in brick and straight into the wood on wood cladding. We use the conduit for commercial clients and external grade for domestic clients as they prefer the lower profile visual impact of external cat5. Transition your external from internal using either jelly crimps or an IDC junction box remembering to hide it inside the building or in an external IP65 JB.

It's your public IP address thats dynamic, the DVR requires a static local address and when you look at the map of your network, the DVR's mac address is usually displayed and not the name you gave it. You have to identify the device by it's static IP that you give it by turning off DHCP (and rebooting) that Router will automatically exclude the address from it's DHCP range. You should first set up a DNS server account then the DVR to update the public IP to the DNS server of your router's current IP address because it's changing your remote settings will not know where to find your router so it refers to the DNS account you set up. Free DNS accounts are available however you have to log into them every 30 days or it will delete the account (a real pain) better to get a static IP address from your ISP I think it's a one off setup charge of £5.00 Sorry I know zilch about the plug n play functions. Don't forget to do your port forwarding and allocate the DMZ to your device. Try this guy if you need assistance I have worked with him a couple of times, he is reliable and he works hard.

According to the COP Security Website, you should be using vMEye or MEyeProV2 for iPhone here is a link to their mobile phone guide I would suggest MEyeProV2 as it sounds like it's the latest and may have some revisions that will overcome your problem. Good hunting I know these issues can be irritating.

The novelty wore off on me a long time ago, I only ever search the footage when an event is known to have happened then I just search the time-frame during which an event could have happened. I sometimes get asked by neighbours or a couple of time by police so I search their time-frame and let them have any interesting stuff. Mainly if I were to come home and find someone had vandalized my garden or porch area I would search for the event from the time I went away to the time I returned..... Thats it, .... CCTV does not take over my life but it does remove the frustration I feel at not knowing what happened. All the local kids know I have CCTV by now and they stay well away.

There's a button on your phone that magically jams ALL incoming calls so you won't have to be disturbed. That way your phone can be used Only For Fun And it's FREE! No need to spam cctv forums for products that we don't need! YOU ARE LIVING IN THE PAST

For a long time now I have wanted to drive away the youths that loiter around my house. Installing CCTV and placing the camera's overtly so they are obvious has worked to improve their behavior, but they are still a worry as you never know what they will do next. Today, I bought a "Mosquito" sound generator. It generates ultrasonic NOISE @17khz a level at which most people over 20 yo will not hear. It is a noise however after a short period of time it starts to become irritating to the point of discomfort, but does no damage to ears. So by pointing it toward the alley, any youths passing through the alley will hear it but will not be irritated by it, those that loiter however will soon start to feel irritated to the point of not being able to tolerate the noise and moving away somewhere else. My feeling about this is that the location is an alleyway, they have a right to pass through it but no good reasn to loiter and cause trouble, making me and my neighbours uncomfortable and on edge, therefore I feel justified in taking measures to make sure if they do loiter they are made to feel uncomfortable. The alley goes alongside a retirement home, most residents retire to bed about 21:45 - 23:00 and want peace and quiet. These youths often throw eggs at the retirement home's windows, mine too. These units cost about £600.00 about $980.00 after tax. Expensive? You bet but I got mine secondhand from ebay and paid just £210 about $350. My only worry is how I will know it's working, I won't be able to hear it as I am 55 yo? I will just have to find a friendly teenager to try it out on. Anyone have any Comments?

GOOD POINT!