Soundy

Vaporware. They're probably discovering that all the "obstacles" they were hoping to overcome from IP are obstacles to them as well.

Well, Vigil systems fit all your criteria (including the customer-support bit), except probably the price. Not $15000, but you're probably looking in the $4500-$5000 range for a starter DVR - talking an Embedded XP system, supporting 16 cameras, 4CIF at up to 60fps total across all of them. I believe the base systems start with a 500GB hard drive, but being PC-based, it's easy to upgrade with larger internal drive(s), or external drive(s). For data safety, you can even attach external RAID 0/1/5/6/10 systems. Export is to just about any device you can plug in and assign a drive letter - USB hard drive, flash drive, CD, DVD, etc. And no, that doesn't include cameras... bundle packages that do are, IMHO, cheap consumer crap. When security matters, you're better off choosing each camera based on its specific need and purpose, rather than trying to make a bunch of generic one-size-fits-none cameras fit a variety of different situations.

A number of cameras have manual adjustment of the iris drive level, but it's usually achieved through a small adjustment pot on the back or side of the camera... and it won't stop the iris from changing with the lighting conditions, it just sets the "base level" that the auto iris works from; the iris will still adjust according to the light levels. I can't tell from your post if that's what you want or not... if you want it to NOT change on its own, then manual iris is the only way to go. Most CCTV cameras these days that have user-controllable exposure settings do it through on-screen menus... if you're wanting to change settings DURING filming, that might not be desirable. Most of those also require you to do it from buttons ON the camera - that might not be convenient either. A few do have RS-485 serial connections that allow you to access the menus via Pelco D/P protocols, but again, those will display the menus on-screen. The only camera that comes immediately to mind that will let you set shutter speed and exposure via hard switches is the National Electronics NLC-5700. It's an older model, probably not readily available anymore, but if you can find one, it should give you excellent picture. I'm sure there are others that fit the criteria, but they won't be in the majority. The problem you're having finding anything is probably because you're shopping for cheap online sources, and the features you're after aren't normally those of cheap cameras. The other option, if you're not hard-set on analog cameras, is to look at IP cameras. Most will let you adjust and lock exposure and almost all other settings through web-based configuration menus, without those menus being displayed on-screen. Most also don't support auto-iris, but from the sounds of it, you don't want auto-iris anyway. IP cameras also give you the ability to go to megapixel resolutions, handy if you're producing with an eye to HDTV content at the end. With IP, the video format - PAL or NTSC - also becomes irrelevant.

Try any larger auto-parts store or a place that specializes in campers, trailers and RVs.

Field of view is dependent on the lens. More pixels just buy you more detail within that same view. If I had a 4CIF (704x480) capture with the same FOV as that megapixel cam, that center rack of wine bottles would just look like a big black blob in the middle of the frame (keep in mind, BTW, that this shot is taken with a substandard lens on the camera - the proper lens for this job would be even clearer and sharper). Cost. For one, there are situations where the increased quality doesn't offset the increased cost, as the cameras are still more expensive at a relative quality level. Yes, there are $250 megapixel cameras... and there are $25 analog dome cameras. There are also $2500 megapixel cameras and $600 analog cameras. You get what you pay for, in quality, features and performance. Point is, you can't just say "why would I use a $250 analog camera when I can get a $250 MP camera?" because there are other factors than just the resolution to take into account. The above shot, for example, is using an $800 (at the time; that model has come down in price) camera. And while one MP camera CAN replace two or more analog cameras for some purposes, sometimes you simply need more angles, and thus more cameras. This is why it's hard to give specific advice without knowing more about the installation. In the example picture above, the single MP camera would be of more limited usefulness if, say, the wine racks were 8' tall, like some store shelves. In that case, rather than one camera to give you lots of detail for the whole store, you might be better off with individual cheaper cameras peering down each aisle. And finally, more pixels also means more storage - 1.2MP is four times the resolution of 4CIF... and accordingly, the footage can take up to four times the space (and remember, cameras are getting into the 3, 5, 8, even up to 16MP range now). Yes, drives are cheap these days ($120 for 1.5TB, are you kidding me?), but when you start needing a lot of them, the support structure can get pricey. Case in point: we have one client that demands 90 days' retention on all their sites. The first site we did for them, we have 23 analog cameras recording at 4CIF at an average of 4fps, and five 1.3MP cameras at 4fps. The system itself was at its max with 3TB internal, and was holding just barely three weeks(!!!). So we added an external 8-bay network-attached RAID: 8x1TB, RAID5, for about 6.5TB available. Now, with 9.5TB total, they're just barely getting 90 days. The drives were about $110 each at the time... the RAID rack ran around $3000. Bottom line, there is no one perfect camera or DVR for every situation.

I've seen an IQEye IQ753 in use on one site, it works great in night mode. 3MP, too. I think they sell for around $1500... not the BEST, I'm sure, but right up there...

jets: true, but from what little info I found on this unit, I don't think it does FTP. It looks pretty limited.

Little off-topic, but most newer DSLRs (Canon 5D mkII, Rebel XSi 450D, as well as various Nikon offerings and some other less-visible brands) are now including video recording - 1080p and of course, full support for each manufacturer's full line of lenses. BTW, a lot existing semi-pro video gear has interchangeable lenses as well - even 6-7 years ago, the Canon XL-1 MiniDV cameras we were using at the digital-arts school had interchangeable lenses. If you really want modularity, take a look here: http://www.red.com/

Welcome!

How/where do these need to be mounted? Will they be on a wall, suspended from the ceiling, attached to desktops, floor-standing? Do you need to do a matrix or grid layout (two or three across, two down, for example), or have several in a row for multihead cards? Lucasey makes a number of different mounts for LCDs and CRTs - http://www.lucasey.com/ I've used a number of different cheap wall mounts of varyingly complex designs and features, as well - stuff from Costco, liquidation stores, etc. And I've seen some really cool custom designs - LCD mount points should all conform to VESA spacing specs, so building something custom is usually pretty straightforward, if necessary.

I don't know this machine specifically, but in general, I'd say it's likely not possible to read the disk in Windows - most standalone machines use some form of Linux as an embedded operating system and would thus most likely use the ext3 filesystem. The ethernet port is not for network storage, it's for remote viewing... most systems support both web-based viewing and a remote client application.

It's possible, depending on the DVR. I don't know about AvTech, but Vigil will allow the level of control you want via user accounts - you could set up a "Guard" user group and disable viewing for those covert cameras, for example, yet still log in remotely with the Administrator account to view and configure all cameras.

Here's an example, BTW... This is a standard analog dome camera at CIF resolution: This is a 1.3MP (1280x1024) IQEye camera in approximately the same position (you can see the dome in the lower-left of this view):

Based on the replies to this thread, i have decided to reduce the number of cameras to 16. All of a sudden, the PC-DVR based approach starts to look a LOT more affordable. Also, this might be a stupid question, but someone on this thread mentioned that using IP Megapixel cameras would help reduce the total number of cameras required? Why is that? Is the Field-of-View wider for IP Megapixel cameras? Yeah, I mentioned it in the post immediately preceding Because they're higher resolution, megapixel cameras allow you to use a wider field of view with more detail. For example, assume you're comparing to a 640x480 resolution analog camera... 1.2MP is 1280x960 - twice the horizontal and vertical resolution, or four times the total resolution. Thus, you could cover four times the area with the same level of detail... or the same area with four times the detail... or anywhere in between.

Sure there are... but a small battery in a small recorder will only last so long. I've used a small unit with internal HDD, battery, and 4" LCD... works great, but the battery will last for MAYBE two hours' recording, if the LCD is off. It's a simple equation of battery time vs. size - the more time you want out of it, the bigger it has to be, no way around it. It doesn't take long until you hit the point of diminishing returns, where the size of the battery hampers the portability. Not at all. A car battery should run a small unit for days. If you use a separate high-capacity deep-cycle battery with an isolator, as described above, you could probably run the thing for a couple weeks and still be able to start the car.

This is something to consider - in some instances, a single 1.3MP camera can give you the same coverage as two, three, or even four analog cameras. With proper placement, it may be possible to greatly reduce your camera count.

From what I've seen of them... yes you can. They're not "junk" by any means, but they're hardly top of the heap, either. Take a look at some of 3xLogic's VIGIL offerings - www.3xlogic.com. Little pricier than GV, but once again, you get what you pay for. I FAR prefer them to GV, as does one of our major clients who we're slowly upgrading from GV systems to Vigils.

Absolutely 100% not possible. WAY too much bandwidth required, unless you have dedicated T3 or fiber lines at both ends. Never even get close with standard broadband, especially since most ISPs severely limit the upstream bandwidth. Not even close. You get what you pay for. 'Nuff said.

Well, I'm a cheap skate (or maybe just thrifty) and hate to post this (admin please remove if this violates the rules) but when buying things the thrifty buyer searches everywhere. Yeah, I dunno that I'd be trusting my jobs to "thrifty" cable... remember this thread? http://www.cctvforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=17877

The answer is right there in front of you: "the issue has ceased now that I removed the splitter altogether." Splitters CAN often work just fine, but they are never an ideal solution, because you're reducing the signal to each device by 50%. Worse, if one of the devices doesn't present the proper load to the signal, it will cause an even greater loss to both of them, as well as increasing the risk of ground loops and susceptibility to interference. What might help, is if this monitor has a looped "video out" jack on the back - most good CCTV monitors will properly load this pass-through jack, and you should be able to feed the camera into its input, then run from its output to your encoder. Of course, there's no guarantee this will be 100% either, but it should be better than what you're doing now. The best solution, of course, is an active video splitter.

I've also seen DVRs (Video Insight) that give you 320x480 as an option. Whether playback shows properly (non-stretched/squished) depends on the codec and the playback software. VI footage recorded at those 320x480 or 640x240 will be distorted if played in WMP or VLC, but playback properly within VI, for example.

Three things to remember: 1. The listed framerate is divided amongst all inputs. Sometimes the max is fixed (60fps/8 inputs = 7.5fps, for example); sometimes the max available per channel depends on the number of inputs used. 2. NTSC video is 30fps, period; PAL is 25fps... so even on a 480fps system, you still won't go over 30fps per channel. 3. The higher the framerate, the more storage you use. 15fps is virtually indistinguishable from 30fps by most people, but will use half the storage (approximately). 7.5fps will still look reasonably smooth, but will use about 1/4 the storage of 30fps... or looking at it another way, you'll get four times longer retention at 7.5fps than at 30 - a month rather than a week, for example. Summary: high framerates are *yok yok* overrated. Worry about image quality - resolution, compression, etc. Don't get hung up on massive framerates.

Go with the higher resolution. You don't need "realtime" framerates on security video - we're not making movies or TV shows here.

Where do you find 1000' of Cat6 for $60??!! I'm lucky to find Cat5e for that, wholesale! Retail on 1000' box of Cat6 is $200+!