the lemming

I've just bought myself a 4 camera CCTV kit with a network DVR, from CPC. The instructions say that the cameras are waterproof and I've checked out their spec, IP65, on Wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_Code Even though the cameras are waterproof, the cable connections are not, which is a bit of a bugger, to say the least. Here is a similar camera to mine http://cpc.farnell.com/defender-security/lice24ns/camera-20m-ir-led-420tvl/dp/SR07753 And a link to the cable with attachments http://cpc.farnell.com/watchguard/rca4chloom20m/cable-bnc-power-lead-20m/dp/SR07444?crosssellid=SR07... I don't particularly want to drill big holes through my wall just so that I can feed the camera cable back into the house as the hole would have to be 15mm by 35mm at the very least. I would then have to fish two connectors through the cavity wall which is wider than the cable. Anybody got any ideas, products or suggestions on how I can seal the cable to the camera? Cheers

I've got one analogue video CCTV camera and one dedicated PC with a 1Tb hard drive to capture anything. I would appreciate any suggestions for software that: Stamps time and date on footage Motion detection of people You get what you pay for and the free stuff that I have tried does not suit my puropses. However I bought a licence for Vitamin D, which is excellent, but sadly does not stamp a time or date onto the footage. Cheers

Well its been a few months, and I'm hoping that this bump will help with some more suggestions. Not a fan of Vitamin D, even though I am still using it because I still have not found anything useful. However today I am trying Blue Iris. Cheers

I've just bought a Cnm Secure H.264 4 Channel Digital Video Recorder with 4 cameras from a local store in Preston. http://cpc.farnell.com/cnm-secure/cnm4camh-264/dvr-h264-500gb-2-cameras/dp/SR07775 http://www.cnmlifestyle.com/ My problem is the format that the DVR records footage. The box and sales rep explained how good H.264 was and having converted many a DVD to H.264 and AVI I was happy to choose this setup. My problem is that the DVR setup records footage in a propriety .264 format which can only be viewed on the DVR player. As you can agree this isn't exactly a good idea especially if I want to backup footage and give it to the police. I have tried unsuccessfully to hunt the internet to find a way to convert the .264 data to MP4, H.264, AVI or even WMP formats but no joy. The software that comes with the Security system will not not work on my PC. When I install the software I get an error message stating that it can not find a hard drive of the DVR setup and promptly shuts down the viewing feature of the software. What's the point of providing software for your data if it won't allow the feature to work on a PC. I would very much appreciate help or advice on converting .264 files into something more productive. Cheers

Hi My SWANN USB device has died and as such I can't use the SWANN CCTV software with another USB capture device. So I'm stuffed. I've got a new USB device that will work with my Analogue CCTV camera but I don't have any software so I would very much appreciate some recommendations for software that has motion detection. Cheers

I've got a computer dedicated to recording CCTV footage. It does nothing else but this task. It does not have a keyboard, mouse or monitor connected to it. At the moment the only way I can control it is with some remote software called Team Viewer. The software on this computer captures motion detected moments and has the facility to save the footage to an FTP doo-ja which can be viewed on the tinterweb. I'm concerned that if the house is burgled then the thieves can simply walk away with the evidence of their existence by half hinching the computer attached to the camera. What options do I have to back up the potential evidence and is FTP the way to do it?

If I had to part with hard earned cash, what should I go for? Is Vitamin D worth a punt?

I would appreciate recomendations for an IP Camera that will live outside in a British climate. The camera also needs to be able to work up to 15 meters in the dark. I'd rather have a wired option than wireless as I've read wireless can be flakey. Budget range would be the cheapest that allows a waterproof IP camera to work in the dark. The old saying goes, buy cheap, pay twice so I don't want to buy too cheap but I don't want to buy a professional camera either. Cheers

I'm trying to find ways to improve on my home CCTV setup. A year ago I bought a cheap DVR which was as useful as a chocolate teapot. It would record footage but used a propriety format which meant that I could only view footage on the DVR. This wasn't exactly a good setup if I wanted to pass on any evidence to the police. Now that a year has moved on, I'd like to know what DVR options are out there and if any can connect to a home network via my router with a budget of around £200 or a bit more if I get a better product? At the moment I have an analogue CCTV camera attached to a laptop via a USB connection. http://www.swann.com/s/products/view/?product=497

Bump. Any other capture card options out there? Cheers

I have a bog standard video CCTV camera bought from Maplins a year ago which they no longer sell but this is the closest spec to my camera. http://www.maplin.co.uk/pro-671-professional-all-purpose-600tvl-dome-camera-593884 I also have a SWANN USB card which I use to capture my analogue signals to a laptop via the software that came with the USB device. http://www.swann.com/s/products/view/?product=497 This all means that my laptop is running 24 hours a day constantly and its 3 years old to start with and I'm betting that this is not good for my laptop. So, my question is, are there any graphic cards or capture devices that I can put into a desktop computer that will accept 'Video In' for my CCTV camera? I've yet to decide if I want to build a computer or buy one off the shelf. The computer will only have one dedicated task and that will be to use the CCTV camera and it will do nothing else. Cheers

Thank you everybody for the suggestions. I'll see if I can get the cameras in the UK. Cheers

I would very much appreciate any help, advice or guidance on how I could monitor my car parked on the street at night. The car can be up to 15 meters away from my property. Sadly my car has been vandalised 4 times and I'm getting a bit fed up with the damage. Cheers

Thanks for the software suggestion. As I live in the UK, I'll see if the cameras can be bought over here. Cheers

I'd like to record to a 1Tb hard drive on a home built computer. As for camera, its for a domestic CCTV setup so I don't want anything professional or expensive. I'd like to keep the camera as cheap as possible while still performing at night and in the rain. So, I'm open to any suggestions on software, hardware or cameras that will be situated outside in a British climate.

Just spoke to Avermedia and they no longer stock those cards. Any other options would be most appreciated. Cheers

Just been looking at the website and I am a bit confused. Anybody able to tell me the difference between the NV3000 and the NV3000 Lite products? Also these cards are PCI aren't they?

Hello I don't mind paying somewhere between £50 to £100 for a card as long as it does the job. Are you able to give a link to a site that sells such a card? cheers

Hello I am about to set up a CCTV system outside my house to obviously protect my property and ensure that those that live close to me act responsibly. So that I don't get into any hot water with the police, are there any considerations I must take when placing my cmeras? I don't want to infringe on any Human Rights sort of stuff. Cheers

Hello I just bought a 4 camera DVR CCTV setup from a store in Preston, Lancashire. The DVR worked and recorded activity outside my home. The problem was that the footage was recorded in a propriety .264 format which could only be viewed on the DVR. The enclosed software did not work well with Windows 7. I was unfortunately unable to convert the .264 files to anything useful such as H.264, AVI, MP4, DIVX or XVID. I would very much appreciate any suggestions for DVR systems which will allow me to use software to convert footage to H.264 or AVI and can then be viewed on any computer. No point having evidence which I can't give to the police. Cheers

Hello This may be a silly question but is it possible to have a wireless camera placed in my car and then transmit the data back to my house? The car will be no more than 20-30 meters away. If this is not possible, what options do I have for a web cam in the car capturing footage outside the car? I'm not after protecting the car, just capturing activity outside. Cheers

Hello I have a Swann security camera positioned above my front door which overlooks the street in general. I also have some software which came with my Swann USB capture card. The software is supposed to do motion detection but in reality it captures just about everything, irrespective of movement or not. Anybody got any good recommendations of good software that I can use with my camera to record motion? Don't mind paying but would prefer free stuff. I use Windows 7. Cheers

I am running Windows 7 at the moment with a Swann DVR USB connected to two cameras. The only problem is that the SWANN device will only play nicely when connected to one camera. Once I connect two cameras, I get play back and recording errors. So, to eliminate this problem, I would very much appreciate suggestions of DVR cards for my computer that can handle two cameras. Bundled software would be nice. Cheers

Yes please

Is it possible to get any good free security software for a domestic CCTV setup? If the old saying is right that you only get what you pay for, then I would very much appreciate recommendations for paid-for software for a home using numpty such as myself. The software would preferably be idiot proof so I would not get confused. Cheers