Metal Shaper Man

I’m just taking a shot in the dark. I would try connecting through the LAN if you have it networked. I think you can reset the admin and password there or set it for auto login. Also, there is a little pin hole just to the left of the camera 13 button. Maybe, and I say Maybe, that is where one can push a paper clip in to reset all menus or the whole system. The reason I’ve mentioned the pin hole is, I have other units that one can reset that way. Nevertheless, I would First, call Panasonic support before trying the pin hole. Good Luck!

I’m not a pro in the cctv business. Nevertheless, I just want to say that I had a very similar experience when I began playing with cameras and DVR’s. In the day time the lines traveling up the screen were faint. At night the lines would get very dark yet, not as dark as those in the sample picture. In my hast to get everything going I, used RG 59 for CATV. When I changed, the cable to RG 59 solid copper core and 95 per cent braded shield, the problem went away. It sounds like a cable problem to me.

Ha! Ha! I get a kick out of you kids. I remember when they first marketed the hand held calculator, transistor radio, and to beat it all, when people started putting the small screen black and white TV’s in their front room. WoW, I even got the chance to see the controversial Elvis Presley perform live for the first time on the Ed Sullivan show. Thanks to punks like you , who took a great interest in a subject and ran with it, we now have some great technology, hence, toys to play with. We also have this great forum for all of us to learn an grow from. It looks like I’m getting old.

survtech, I don't have a lot of experience with a wide variety of equipment. Thanks for the valuable iformation.

I have a camera with a DC level control and/or adjustment that whites out or greatly darkens the picture. Could that be something he should look into?

How true that is! Most people I deal with are always looking for the cheapest and easiest way out and can't understand the difference between good or bad. Sometimes, I think it's a really sad world out there.

What surprises me is how well the pictures look when using that cheap Swann card. On the other hand, it’s a little disappointing to think that the cameras may not be doing the Panasonic 300 series justice. I wish I could afford to play around with some real hi end cameras. If I were in the cctv business, I could experiment with the clients money.

Rory, your pictures are a good example of what I’m talking about. The enlarged picture is distorting the detail around small areas such as that in the foliage, parking lights on the car, and so on. That distortion will have an impact on the detail of a persons face standing near or by the car.

It seems to me that one should match the size of the viewed picture to the size of the recorded picture. For example, if the picture is recorded at 320 240 then, the picture one views should be displayed at 320 x 240 for maximum clarity. I would think if one displayed the picture recorded at 320 x 240 as a larger image like 700 x 540, it would suffer in picture quality, hence, the reason for high res and mega pixel cameras. Maybe someone can clarify that better or point out something I’m misunderstanding. Anyway, the pictures below are recorded with a $100.00 Swann SW-R-PCDVR4 card installed in a Sony home computer. The cameras are $250.00 Pro Video cameras from their HEAT line of cameras. That still doesn’t mean I don’t love my Panasonic WJ-HD 300 series DVR For me it is a matter of balancing the system by matching the type and quality of the components. Like the old sayings go - something is only as good as its weakest link, and - you get what you pay for.

Check this site out. It looks like you can buy the BNC connectors that snap into a switch plate this company sells as well. Make sure you click on the wall plate tab at the top of the page. http://www.av-cables.net/Home_distribution/wall-plates-inserts-03821.html Hope this helps.

I was thinking about something more like what you will see on the link below. It is also light enough to fasten it to the metal case with that foam type two sided sticky tape and easy enough to cut to size. However, I don't know how pretty you want it. Plus, I don't know if you need a stiff screen of some sort to keep the fans from pulling the filter into the fans. There is all kinds of J molding, even for vinyl house siding. http://www.glassdistributorsinc.com/mirror_j_mold.htm

I don’t know if this will work for you or not or if this is what your looking for. There are moldings or what builders call J channel. It comes in a variety of materials and sizes. There is a plastic or vinyl that’s used to trim wall paneling. There is also metal J channel like stainless, aluminum and chrome plated products for framing mirrors and the like. You could use something like that and cut it to size your self. Then just slide something like air conditioner filter cut to fit right in. Because of the light weight, all you would need is a good double sided tape to hold the frame in place. I would look where they sell lumber and/or building supplies. Even a good hardware store might have it. Anyway, we have a place called Home Depot here. I don’t know if you have them there or not. You might also try a heating and air conditioning company they might even fabricate a frame for you.

I agree with blowrabbit that the bells and whistles seemed to be important to Panasonic. However, when they came out with the 300 Series, compression seemed to be the big push for them as well. For me the frame rate might be a little disappointing. I also find from, reading specs, that most all of the DVR companies are doing nothing more than a trade off. What you gain in one place, you loose in the other. Simply, it just comes down to what works for you or the application and what you have to spend.

jisaacmagee, First off, I know nothing about the Comm Settings or PS Data. I never had the reason to use it. However, I noticed that Panasonic added something to the 300 Series via an update. That change is mentioned in the ADDENDUM, page #2 under FTP Port Number Setting. Just wondering if that is what you are talking about. If you don’t already have it, here is a link for the ADDENDUM for the 300 Series updates. http://rock2000.com/Company/Panasonic/WJ-HD300AOpManualAddendum.pdf

Thanks jisaacmagee. I’m for sure, not a wiz kid when it comes to computers and even DVRs for that matter. However, I do have all my units networked over LAN. If I’m understanding you correctly in regard to set up or controlling the cameras on the 300 series via the network, I’m pretty sure that I always could. For example, I could set a separate frame rate for each camera, recording time, hence, schedule each separately. I also understand the frame rate you correctly described. I just got confused or found it questionable when they spoke of frame rate and/or compared the ICRealtime and Panasonic above. Simply, I just wondered if Panasonic had changed the recording or playback frame rate to 480 FPS on the newer 300A series like that on the ICRealtime Pro. As for the price, yes it was expensive but, worth it in durability compared to other units I’ve used. Anyway, question answered and problem solved. Thanks so much.

I had an antique car restoration business for many years. Many of the cars I had in my shop were worth large sums of money. That’s one of the reasons I had and developed an interest in CCTV security systems. Plus, I was always fascinated with them in the first place. I agree with mcclendon all the way. However, I will phrase it a little different. Just remember before you start that, a business is not a job, it’s a lifestyle. You live it from the moment you get up until you go to bed which is usually later than you would prefer. It is like playing with your favorite toys. You have to love it and want to know how everything works due to your love or screaming interest in the subject. My advice is to start out simple. Only take on jobs within your skill level and jobs you are confident with while, learning about and testing products for the next project you want to sell. If you look at the many who post on this forum, you will see exactly what I’m talking about. They live and love their subject of interest, hence, become very knowledgeable, successful and well respected for their efforts. It will take a little time but you will get there faster than you may think. Good Luck

Thanks Kandcorp. I have a Pano 300 series. Based on the comments above, I thought that Panasonic might have changed the playback IPS when they started calling it the 300A series. However, after looking at the advertisements and specs, I couldn’t see the difference between the two. I’ve also downloaded all the updates from Panasonic which made some very positive changes to my 300 series. It seems as though it’s very similar if not the same as the 300A. Anyway, it sounds like the ICRealtime Pro is quite the machine. Thanks again.

I’ve never used this camera but thought it or something with the same specs might be of interest to you. Moreover, it is not extremely expensive. http://www.specotech.com/cart/products/productDetails.asp?prodID=882

Quick question Guys. Is the playback on both the ICRealtime and the Panasonic 300 series in real time on all 16 cameras or channels? I know the Pano displays real time on all 16 cameras in live view. Just wondering if both would play back any or all of the recorded 16 cameras in real time?

A multiplexer can have a verity of features. But, as I understand them in their simplest form, a quad multiplexer will display and/or allows one to record all four cameras at one time in quad view. One can also display each of the four cameras independently, one at a time, full screen. A switcher only displays and/or allows one to record one camera at a time, full screen.

I really don’t know much about it. However, I know a guy that installs alarms and maybe a few surveillance systems and he has a low voltage license. As for the test, again, I don’t know. But, I could not imagine that low voltage testing would be all that much.

After calculating the needed amps, I bought an Altronix R615DC1016, 16 camera 10 amp Rack Mount Power Supply for my 12 Volt none IR cameras. One can adjust the voltage via a trim pot from 6 to 15VDC. Right or wrong, I adjusted it to compensate for the voltage drop at the power connectors on the cameras. I’ve not had any trouble with it at all.

Don’t you have to have qualification, license, certification or something for running the low voltage wiring Involved? I think one has to in most of the U.S. anyway.

Rory, you are something else! Because of your overwhelming interest in this subject, intelligence, and something most important when combined with the fore mentioned, that being, (common sense) you are able to read between the lines. Therefore, you see that the article is nothing more than sales hype or, someone speaking before truly experiencing or investigating something that can work as well or better than what they are trying to promote. I must also say that I find others on this site with great experience and drive as well, hence, making this forum the great value it is. Unfortunately, one might find it frustrating when trying to answer forum questions for those with less experience or interest in expanding their knowledge of the subject. Sorry if I got off the subject. It’s just that I think that articles of this nature only add to the confusion of those with less experience.

Sorry, we are discussing this subject between two different threads which may add confusion. However, I think the answer is the same. If I understand correctly, you have removed the Panasonic 300 series (formatted HDD) and connected it to your computer somehow? As for the file format Panasonic uses, I don’t know. Maybe Panasonic support will tell you but, I doubt it. The way I see the copy options according to the manual are, (1) Copy the selected files via LAN or WAN. As described in the network manual. (2) Copy the selected files via the unit itself as described in the user manual. (3) Copy the selected files using a Plextor or its equal. Not explained in the manual.