Soundy

Our supplier tells me Panasonic will be using SD5 tech in a new line of megapixel IP cameras as well... if true that will be a significant dent in the "IP-cams-don't-handle-bad-lighting" beef.

Theory aside, it SHOULD actually work to power both cameras off the Cat5, especially if they're 24VAC cameras so the current requirement and voltage drop are lower. With 12VDC cameras, if you're not using a regulated power supply, it's probably actually putting out around 16.5-17VDC at the adapter, so line losses shouldn't cause a problem there either. I once had to add a camera at a gas pump where the existing conduits to the pump canopies were all sealed... fortunately we'd used 22/4 station wire to power each of the existing cameras, so I took one pair from the nearest camera for the video (using baluns), and the other pair (22ga. mind you) split out to power both cameras. It's been running fine for about three years now, too. The "rules" may say it won't work... but if you learn and understand what and WHY the rules are, you'll know where you can bend them as well

This doesn't take an expert! That said, what are your real concerns here? Keep in mind that CCTV itself won't stop someone from breaking in, it will only allow you to see what happened after the fact. Making it visible (obvious cameras, signs, etc.) may be something of a deterrent, but it's not a barricade. In this case, one of these cheap package systems will probably suffice, but don't expect miracles from it like you see on CSI. Most will give you a good overview of what's going on, but be of little use for making out faces and identifying marks unless the person is very close to the camera. If you list a specific model or models of what you're looking at, those with more experience may be able to give you a better idea of what kind of quality and features to expect from them.

Fans, I can see this...drives, not so much. Problem is, if a drive crashes, you lose your data... if you swap a drive, well... you still have the data, but functionally, you're in the same place (it's not readily available), unless you take the time to clone the old drive to the new one. I don't know that swapping a drive just for the sake of swapping it is that "effective" a plan.

I can think of several uses for either of those... unfortunately I don't know if I can justify it. But I'll run it past the powers that be, see if we might be interested in picking up a few. Question about this SMS device, I assume it requires some sort of basic cell plan? Are they limited to one technology (GSM or CDMA)? What would actually be more useful would be a networked version of this, something I could VNC or even just telnet into to give a reset command. Most places don't have a "spare" line available for dial-in access, and adding another phone line is a lot more cost-prohibitive in most cases than simply plugging into an existing network.

What if you take the bus to the jobsite???

Umm, well, I'm in BC, so the laws are probably a little different, but even so... that doesn't make sense. I don't know how any kind of auto insurance has anything at all to do with your install, especially if it's IN the office. I'd definitely be getting some clarification from this outfit - like, ask them for a specific reason why auto insurance has ANYTHING to do with an office surveillance system...??

Well, what I've been doing, for our sites that we're actually contracted to do PM on, is blowing the dust out, checking the cables are all connected solidly, then run manufacturers' HDD diagnostics as well as MEMTEST86+ to check for potential problems. At least, that what I did up until their corporate people decided no more PM was to be done on the DVRs until we had an "official" procedure from the DVR manufacturer... that was a year and a half ago, still no procedure forthcoming, so the only sites that get any PM to their video systems are the four or five that still have VCRs.

Might help us to know just what sort of business you're running (we can assume "CCTV-related", but that doesn't tell us what you're trying to do here), and what sort of contract you're trying to strike here (camera coverage? full security? remote monitoring?). "Requirements" will probably depend a lot on your location and local laws, as well.

Kinda depends on the equipment. Ultimately, you could drive over it with a truck, that would make for a pretty permanent deletion.

Of course it CAN be split... just a question of whether you'll be able to find a ready-made solution, or need to put something together yourself... or take something apart yourself! You might need to source the necessary DIN connectors and wire up your own splitter, or worst case, you can snip the wires, determine which pair are the video signal, splice a "tap" into that, and reconnect the others to get the power and audio through.

We're doing it, on the largest site with 22 analog cameras and five 1.3MP IP cameras, all running at an average of 4-5fps. We're using a Linksys SPE-1000P switch - eight 10/100 ports with PoE for the cameras, two GbE ports for the DVR and the NAS. Whole thing runs like a charm; the switch isn't even breaking a sweat, even with all cameras recording.

what is BTInstall? Sounds like the chips on that card are a version of the BrookTree 848, a very common chip used in a wide variety of video-capture devices. Neat thing with the BT848 chips, a generic BT driver will usually work with almost anything that uses them, even if the card's manufacturer didn't provide specific drivers (for example, an old card may have only Win98 drivers, but generic BT848 drivers for XP will usually work with XP).

I've found Noise Ninja works really well on high-ISO noise from a digital SLR.

What I don't understand is the reluctance to talk to the police about this. At least two people have suggested it, and you've tried to find every way around it right up to selling and moving away. The worst thing the police can do here is tell you there's "nothing they can do". You ASSUME that this person has no restrictions placed on his conduct, but you don't KNOW unless you ask the authorities; even neighbors won't necessarily have the whole story. I'd think if there's even the slightest chance that reporting his actions could get the threat removed, that would be the FIRST step to take. You can put in all the cameras you want... if he should actually (God forbid) attack your kids, you might have a crystal-clear recording of it, but the damage will already be done.

Don't see why not - I've set up a number of 8x1TB RAID arrays with Vigil DVRs, using iSCSI-attached Enhance Technology arrays... despite Vigil not "officially" supporting NAS, these have been working nicely. The array simply maps as another drive letter, and Vigil doesn't appear to know the difference.

The biggest problem with looking through glass is reflections, especially at night. I don't have any specific suggestions for mounting this thing, but you WILL likely need to come up with some way to "seal" the lens against the glass to prevent indoor light from hitting the glass right in front of the camera.

Forcing the supplier to fix their "error" would be my first choice as well... if they say "customs is a problem" I'd insist that they ship the correct cameras first, and that I'd only return the PAL cameras after I've received the new ones and confirmed that they ARE correct. After that, customs can screw things up all they want. Short of that, if these are 12VDC cameras, they won't care that the local power is 60Hz... if you can find a DVR or DVR card that supports PAL input, you could then use the cameras with that. Once the signal is digitized, NTSC or PAL won't matter.

Frankly, I've found that having training/degrees/certifications does not automatically mean someone knows what they're doing, either... all it proves is that they could correctly answer the questions on a test. I used to work in IT, a field in which I'm almost entirely self-trained (aside from one week-long "workshop" on Warp Server, 'way back in the day), and I've worked alongside MCSEs that I could tech under the table with all but one brain cell tied behind my back. On one site, one guy didn't even know how to swap out a floppy drive in a PC; another couldn't figure out how to set a Mac up for TCP/IP, because he didn't actually understand TCP/IP, he just knew the right places to plug in the numbers in Windows. (This is not a personal jab at anyone, BTW... just a general observation). This is one thread, I would love dearly if Scott was right. As the OP noted, manufacturers (particularly the cheap offshore ones) often misrepresent the specs of their cameras... if there was a simple way to get real numbers using some basic free software, it would be a huge boon to those of us on this end of the chain. But, so far nobody else seems to believe it IS possible, and others seem more interested in dissecting disbelieving questions than in actually proving this method. Knowledge gained has to be ACCURATE knowledge, or it's useless. Hey, I can claim to be able to start a fire using nothing more than a stick of gum and a paperclip, too...

If he has a prior record of this sort, chances are good that there are legal conditions in existence disallowing him from contact with children or possibly even limiting his proximity to them. If so, his actions may very well be breaking those conditions. Best way to know for sure is to contact your local law enforcement. If he does have such conditions imposed, they'll know (or should).

Simple fact is, it's not possible for VLC or any other simple computer-based media player to tell you an analog camera's TVL, as Scott claims, but he'll continue to do or say anything to defend his statement - including picking apart crirvine's poor English (sorry dude) - short of actually demonstrating it.

That ground should not be required. It might be useful if there's noise in the picture or other issues, but RS485 doesn't REQUIRE it.

Um, what ground wire? On the camera, or the controller? Ground should not be required - TX+ on the controller goes to RX+ on the camera; TX- goes to RX-. That should be all it takes. Only one pair of the Cat5 is used.

Unless the manufacturer provides something, I don't think there's any "standard". About all you can do with most of them is blow the dust out regularly - the schedule will depend mostly on the environment.

You know, you generally only need to post once. See reply here: http://www.cctvforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=17272&highlight=