Soundy

Problem is, we don't know what pan/tilt range you actually need, or zoom level, compared to what the camera is actually capable of. Most "real" PTZs will have a full 360/180 pan/tilt range, but if it's stuck in a corner, then you probably don't actually need more than 90-100 degrees of pan or 70-80 degrees of tilt, for example. We also don't know what level of detail you need. Do you need to see fine details of what people are working on, or just that they ARE working? All these factors are crucial in coming up with some suitable recommendations. Remember, "virtual PTZ" is achieved simply with a super-wide-angle view capturing a large area, then cropping a smaller area in software and zooming that to a larger view. Any high-megapixel PTZ camera with a wide lens will give you the same base image, even if it doesn't have the built-in ability to zoom on smaller areas of the picture. If you don't need "movable" zoom but need to always focus on set areas (say, specific workstations), take a look at the IQEye Alliance-series domes, with their "Cameo" function, that lets you pre-define a number of "zoom" regions that you can then view full-screen or in various split-screen grids - think of it as a PTZ with a number of simultaneous presets. If you need a camera in the middle of the room with a 360 degree view, take a look at the Capture Omniscape, which can also give you multiple simultaneous "preset" views. Arecont also has a couple of "panoramic" domes that put four cameras inside a single dome, both 180 degree and 360 degree versions.

Alright, keep up posted! Is this what I'm looking for? "Jerry Hofmann is one of the most respected FCP experts in the world..." I don't have occasion to do a lot of video editing, but if I did, I would probably buy a Mac just so I could use FCP. When I was doing IT/tech support at a digital-arts school, I decided to take advantage of all the toys at my disposal to try making a video for a friend's band. I started playing with Premiere (I think it was v3 at the time) and with no training got absolutely nowhere. So I sparked up FCP 1.0 instead and grasped it immediately, and even got a video about 70% done before the project got sidetracked and the project files lost. C'est la vie. Indeed

Is there an "FCC ID" number silkscreened on the board?

Actually, it's fairly common for DVRs to export video in their own format (usually whatever format they're recording in, to eliminate the need for transcoding), and include a small player if it's something that slightly non-standard. I've worked with both Vigil and Capture DVRs that do this; the Vigil uses an Aztech variant of Motion-JPEG, and Capture uses their own "Minibank" format. The Vigil includes its player and an AUTORUN on the CD; if the player isn't installed, it will install it and its codec and launch it to play the video, or if it is already installed, it will simply launch the player. The Capture does something similar, if memory serves (I haven't played with their exported video in a long time). Both CAN export to other formats like AVI, but that takes time as the video has to be converted to the chosen format first. Others like VideoInsight record to common codecs like WMV (Windows Media), DivX and MPEG-4, and exporting simply copies the selected video file(s) to the disc. Either way, simply placing the files on the disc is the standard way of doing it. The other benefit to this practice is that it doesn't limit you to burning a video disc... you can export to hard disk (internal or external/USB), network drives, flash drives, even a floppy drive if necessary. You'll find few if any DVRs that will actually produce an "authored" video disc, like a DVD that you can simply plug into your home DVD player. The main problem would be the time required to transcode the video to the proper MPEG-2 format. The frame size itself matches 4CIF/D1 (704x480), but for DVD it's very strict, so anything smaller or larger than that would have to be resized. With CIF video, that would be a waste of the time it would require; with megapixel video, you'd lose most of your resolution and quality and that would defeat the whole purpose of going megapixel. In any case, if you've ever authored a DVD on your home computer, you know how much time can be consumed just in converting all the video to the proper format. Also, MPEG-2 is a much more inefficient type of compression for this sort of video, so it would take a lot more space than the video's existing native format (DVRs are generally optimized to balance quality and space requirements). And naturally, there's the quality loss that's inherent in converting from one compression scheme to another.

.EXE is an extension for an "executable" file on PC operating systems like DOS and Windows. The .INF file, I'm guessing, is named AUTORUN.INF - that's a file Windows looks for when you insert a CD, and if it finds it, it will follow the instructions contained therein, usually to run an installer or some sort of demo program.

Well, if you have an auto-iris lens and you haven't enabled the control on the camera, then yeah, that could be part of the problem. If you enable it and the scene just goes dark, it probably means the camera is just closing the iris because of its sensitivity settings... so again, you need to find the DC level control and adjust it for proper brightness.

I wouldn't worry too much about BLC/WDR... backlighting should not be a problem in an elevator (unless you're mounting the camera in the floor, or on the back wall looking at the door). WDR *might* be briefly helpful while the doors are open (depending on the ambient light outside the car) but it's such a short instance, it really shouldn't be a problem. If you're looking to capture any potential issues (vandalism, etc.), those are going to happen once the doors close anyway.

Scorpion, I did a decade or so of IT support before getting into CCTV - first for a small digital recording studio (my actual schooling is in audio engineering), then some phone support for IBM OS/2, then a stint with the same digital arts school I took my audio training at (oh, the irony), a couple years with our local government-run auto insurance company (did a bunch of new server/desktop rollouts all over BC), and finally another term back at the digital arts school. CCTV happened for me almost by accident

Yeah, but now you're comparing to Arecont, so you're really not in the same price range anymore.

Yeah, until it gets dark, or the sun moves around and gives you nasty backlighting.

Quoted for greater agreement - some DVRs will allow you to simply connect a printer, others use common file formats that you can view and print from any basic video player/editor, still others provide a standalone player app that can print to your PC's printer, and some use highly proprietary formats that will require a lot more hacking around. Rather that go into detail on ways to hack around, it would be helpful to first know what we're dealing with, to (hopefully) come up with the simplest solution possible.

Those 484s are definitely in the top-end of the analog CCTV spectrum - ultra-wide dynamic range, auto-backfocus, user-adjustable white balance, maskable light-level detection areas for iris drive... they cost a pretty penny, but you really get what you pay for.

Umm... okay, big WTF to crirvine's first response there... Jerry... I really doubt .ps stands for PostScript in this case... PostScript is NOT a video format and would make for very inefficient video files if you could convert it somehow. It's very likely that it's a more common format (M-JPG, MPEG, H.264, MPEG-4, etc.) and just has a different extension, probably to prevent what you're trying to do (ie. view it without their proprietary software). So, there are a few options. Some player software like this will include an option to export to another format - if you can play it on a PC that has QuickTime installed, you may even be able to re-export it directly to QT format. If not, it can probably be exported to some other standard format that QuickTime will play. I've also seen, with some systems, that the player installation also installs a codec (compressor/decompressor) that allows other media players and editing software to read the files. If there's no PC available, you could try using a different media player, like VLC, which can play a LOT of different file formats. There's an OSX version of VLC available at http://www.videolan.org. And worst case, you could use any of a number of file-upload sites to put the video and player online so I can download them, convert them, and send them back to you One thing to keep in mind: any editing of the video may make it inadmissible as forensic evidence. Most proprietary or semi-proprietary formats like this, along with their bundled player, have embedded authentication data that the player can verify in realtime, to prove that the video hasn't been edited; converting to another format will likely destroy that data, meaning the video can be edited with no proof of authenticity. Depending on your needs, it might be necessary to keep the video in its original format; to play it for the court, you may need to simply buck up for a PC laptop. Or, use something like Parallels or Fusion for the Mac, to allow you to run Windows within your OSX environment.

It will depend on the specific forum software and how the admin has it configured, but with this particular installation of phpBB2, you can only delete your own posts, if they're the last post in the thread. You cannot delete an entire thread. Also, if you're worried about your post count, keep in mind that deleted posts will also be subtracted from your total.

The only "comprehensive guide" you'll find will be a local law library - as Scott points out, the laws vary from one region to the next. In Canada and the US, these sorts of laws are usually set on a state or provincial basis. Rather than asking lawyers about the exact law surrounding the issue, you might be better asking them about past cases and rulings... especially since future rulings may depend as much on precedent as they do the letter of the law.

If the lens is a DC-iris type, the iris (aperture) of the lens is controlled by the camera - as the scene gets brighter, the iris closes down to the restrict the light; when the scene gets darker, the iris opens to allow more light. Most cameras with DC-iris control will have an adjustment, either in the OSD menus (on cameras that have that), or a small potentiometer that's accessible through a hole in the camera body (it will usually look like small screw-head), that allows you to adjust the reference level for the lens drive. It may be necessary to adjust that level.

Look for an adjustment (possibly a small screw) labeled "DC DRIVE" or "LENS LEVEL" or something similar...

Even if you have the right protocol, you still need to match the baud rate and the camera ID before it will work... it's good to have that info or you could be hacking about with different combinations forever Some cameras will display that info when they power up. One thing you could try, is look at the various circuit boards for a silkscreened FCC ID number... if it's made with the US market in mind, it will have one that you can look up at www.fcc.gov and find at least the manufacturer, and likely the model as well.

Missed this post initially. No, I don't thing you're missing anything... they just don't have any audio in their demos. Can't really tell you why, but I know it's supported.

Uh, what city?

From http://www.dvrsecurityforum.com/showthread.php?tid=30&pid=30: So yes, D1/4IF will be substantially better than CIF for picking out facial details. Standard TV/DVD video is 30fps; 7.5fps will be a little "stuttery" but unless you need to catch fast-moving action, it should be plenty smooth and worth it to gain the extra resolution.

Welcome! Coffee's on, but you need to bring your own sugar.

It SHOULD be as simple as setting up port forwarding on your router - just tell it in the proper section (sometimes called port forwarding, sometimes called "virtual server", sometimes something else) that the designated port routes to the DVR's IP. Then from the outside world, you just connect to your router's real-world IP - you can look this up on a site like www.showmyip.com or www.ipchicken.com. Dynamic DNS isn't generally NECESSARY if you can always remember that IP... it just makes it easier to remember. And it's a lot more convenient if your ISP changes your IP regularly, since cable and DSL IPs are usually dynamic and can change periodically (although most will assign you a static IP, usually for a small additional monthly fee).

Almost anywhere... building supply store, electronic store, department store, surplus store, dollar store... I'm talking about these things: Use whichever style suits your needs and space requirements. The top one would work fine with the power supply style pictured further up.

As far as outside viewing, yes, they essentially are. All the DVR is doing is providing a buffer - it's still connected to the outside world through the same pipe, and assuming it's not recompressing or in some other way changing the video, the video it spits out will require the same bandwidth.