Soundy

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Er, what do you mean exactly by "broadcast on webcam"? Are you simply trying to get your Geovision system visible from the internet?

Does it actually have a "720P" preset?? That seems kind of odd, since "720P" is an HDTV designation and really not relevant to IP CCTV. That's still only 1.2MP. Sorry, but I get annoyed by improper or mis-used specs and marketing jargon. Toss that at customers, they start getting improper or unrealistic ideas and expectations, and then you have to make them feel stupid when you have to straighten them out. Terms like "720P" and "1080P" don't belong in CCTV unless you're talking about feeding video to an HDTV set using an HDTV spec. Megapixel IP video is capable of resolutions far beyond HDTV (5MP is 2560x2048), and yet can be limited in framerate - "720P/1080P" is only correct if you're producing a full 30fps or better, which many cameras won't do at those resolutions. Yeah, saw that... we were out biking all day. Family day and all.

Why would you do that, anyway? What's the purpose of wasting an extra 300 lines of video data?

If the software is displaying "NO VIDEO" in the camera window, then that generally means there's no signal coming into that channel. It's remotely possible that it's a hardware problem with the card itself, but far more likely that the camera or its wiring aren't working.

Better in the long run, yes, but not nearly as satisfying! So yeah, first thing I'd suggest is hit symantec.com and find the removal utility for whatever suite of theirs you have installed... see if that helps. If not, a reinstall may be necessary. And if all else fails.... follow these example: (NWS lyrics)

First thing I do on any machine having troubles, if it has Norton anything on it, is remove Norton. Not just with the Add/Remove Programs method, but using the "removal tool" that Symantec has for just about all of their products - something that will (should) remove all traces of the application. Norton's "consumer security" products are, in my experience, worse than the problems they purport to protect against. Unfortunately, between that and PC Tools messing things up already, you may be at the point of needing to simply reinstall Windows clean, without these hindrances. Either one may have blocked the Swann install from making some change it needed to make, while the install still thinks that change was made. That can lead to a repair or reinstall of the app not working because it thinks that original change is still in place.

How do you get that?? 1280x720 = .92MP. 1.3MP is 1280x1024. Anyway, seems to play fine for me using VLC and K-Lite. It's too short to tell for sure though, because VLC reverts to its mini-player window once the video is done. Trying it in WMP 11 as well, but I can't find the F*@^#ING menu to tell it to play at 100%. F#*$ing Microsloth and their f*&$ed up idea of making things pretty by hiding all the menus! Hmm, seems to be a wee bit of motion blur when you move the object a little faster... slow shutter speed perhaps?

Doesn't sound like UPnP... that DOES configure the router. The link above claims that the camera does NOT. This actually sounds very similar to how programs like TeamViewer work. TeamViewer, specifically, is built on UltraVNC, but what it does when you run it as a host service, or ask it to connect up, is log in to their central server, and give you a nine-digit code and random password (unless you set one yourself). A remote user then fires up TeamViewer, which connects to the central server, and enters that same code and password to connect to your machine. UVNC provides a similar service that we and some others use for remote technical support - you customize a version of the VNC server that runs as a standalone, then run VNC Client in listen mode on your desktop machine (with the appropriate port forwarding if needed). The customer downloads and runs your little tweaked server, and if necessary, selects one of a number of support destinations (I have ours set for our office, and for my home PC). The server then creates the outgoing connection from their system, so no configuration of their router or firewall is necessary. The server never actually installs anything, so once you close it, it unloads from memory, and it's gone. The reason TeamViewer and its ilk are not hampered by routers, NATs, and most firewalls, is, as noted above, because it never needs to initiate an incoming connection. It creates an outgoing connect, in this case to a central "directory server", where support personnel can connect in as well, and establish a two-way link. From the description give, it sounds like these cameras operate on a very similar concept - they bypass the need for port forwarding and router configuration by simply making an outgoing connection to a dedicated Speco server; anyone wishing to access the camere then connects to the server as well with the appropriate access code and password. The beauty of this, with the TeamViewer model at least, is that you never need to know the IP or a DDNS name for the remote system; its IP could change daily, it could even change locations, and all you ever need is the access code, because once the system has an internet connection, it connects back to the server and you access it via that. If these cameras work the same way, they share the same benefits. I would suspect that once you connect to the camera, it actually creates a direct, secure (VPN-like) tunnel to the camera, so all the data isn't flowing through Speco's server.

No, because they're used mostly in installations with one central power supply. Your average integrator/installer wouldn't want to pay extra with the camera for a single power supply when there may be more than a dozen cameras to install... not to mention then needing to find somewhere to plug them all in (since such a supply is usually a "wall-wart" style, that means a LOT of power bars). Typically the only cameras you'll find that include power supplies are the cheap-cheap 12V ones intended for hobbyist or DIY home users. Generally, yes, there are just two wires, whether it's 12VDC or 24VAC or anything else. Some cameras include a ground terminal as well, but I've never used that personally (I know there are some instances where you would).

Okay, here's a thought: if I'm reading this right, you have only one camera needed initially, to watch the front gate? Now, do all of these houses have internet access (preferably broadband)? If so, it becomes a lot easier, because all you need to do then is get the camera signal to the nearest house - the others will all be able to view it via internet. That's one of the beauties of IP cameras (wired or wireless) for this purpose - once the camera is on the network, anyone with the proper access is able to view it. Now, the camera at the back of the property will be another matter.... 600m is a LONG run for any sort of networking, especially if there are trees in the way. Wired ethernet maxes out at 100m without repeaters; wireless will be limited party by how much money you throw at high-gain directional antennas, and partly by how line-of-sight your path is - anything in the way will adversely affect the signal. What I might suggest for that, is a standard analog camera (don't forget, you have to get power to it as well), running signal over Cat5 using baluns, back to the nearest building, then using a video server box to tie it into the internet connection there. This would probably require either burying the cable (don't forget you need to get power out there as well; over that range, you'll want a pretty hefty cable, maybe 16/2 or even 14/2), or stringing it out there tree-to-tree. Not a long-term solution as the trees grow, but perhaps a serviceable one until either wireless technology improves or cable burial becomes more cost-effective. Again, though, the beauty of connecting this into the internet is, it doesn't have to go to the same place as the other camera, and anyone on the internet that you give access to, will be able to see it. This would even allow the owners to check in on their cameras when they're away from home!

Not sure if we're quite on the same page here... "IP wireless" and "WiFi" *are* the same thing. Whether you take an analog camera and plug it into a WiFi video server, or just use a wireless IP camera, you'll get the same range out of them (all else being equal). And no, all wired cameras are not analog... there are also hard-wired IP cameras. IP, or "internet protocol" (more properly, TCP/IP) is just a communication method than can be carried over a number of different media. That media can be a wired type, such as ethernet (like most workplace computers) or less common types like token-ring, fiber-optics, etc. It could also be a wireless connection, such as WiFi (short for "Wireless Fidelity", a very poorly chosen marketing name - the technical designation is IEEE 802.11a, b, g, or n). If you want to send the signal to your wireless router, then you MUST use WiFi, as that is the standard that wireless routers use. That means either using IP cameras of some sort, or a device called a "video server" that will take analog (NTSC or PAL) video in, and digitize it into a data stream for transmission via TCP/IP... and in your case, one that will then send it over WiFi (there are also models that just plug in to the network).

Looking forward to it This is actually a rather interesting dilemma... I love a good challenge, although doing it all via forum may prove to be a bit frustrating

Whole bunch of them here - clocks, pencil sharpeners, binders, smoke alarms, sprinkler heads, computer speakers... http://www.sperrywest.com/products-covert.html

Well, you could find another BNC end with a tail on it, and just splice it in... or just make one - short bit of RG59 with a BNC on it, and splice it in.

Okay, first thing to do here is determine that each part of the system is working properly. Quick primer on "typical" alarm panel inputs: Normally, most zones will want to operate as normally-closed... that is, they expect to see a connection across the terminals, and if that connection is broken, they trigger. Zone 7 on your panel by default is set as a "Panic" zone, which means it expects and open circuit, and connecting the two terminals (like with a panic button switch) will trigger the alarm. Those are the defaults for that panel, but all the zones appear to be programmable; we're just sticking with the defaults for simplicity. So first thing to do, if you haven't already, is to test that the panel is working properly. The Panic input should work even when disarmed, so simply touching a wire between terminals 8 and 10 should trigger an alarm on the panel. Assuming that's all good, you can test that the DVR's outputs are working with a multimeter or continuity tester. It's hard to tell from the diagram in the PDF manual just because the picture is so small, but output 1 SHOULD be the two R1 terminals. According to page 48 of the PDF, if you're on the "Alarm Out" tab of the setup menu, "Alarm 1~12 : It sends the alarm output to checked ports. From 1 to 4, the output is dry contact. So you can connect directly the other electronic devices using this ports. From 5 to 12, the output is TTL. So you can use this signal to control the other devices." So for each camera you want to trigger an output, you'd check the "Alarm 1" box. For the sake of testing, you can just check them all right across the top row. Connecting your continuity tester across the R1 terminals should now tell you whether that relay is being tripped. If it's set for NC (normally closed) operation, you'll see continuity when nothing is happening, and lose it when the event triggers. If it's set for NO (normally open), you'll get no response until an event triggers, and then see continuity.

There are a couple options... you could use a wireless "video server" box to take signal from an analog camera and digitize it for IP/WiFi... or you can use the likes of a "gaming adapter" (the type designed to plug into a gaming console's network port to make it wireless) to connect a wired IP camera to. Either way, you'll still need to upgrade your antenna... an amp may not be necessary, as a high-gain directional antenna may well do the trick. The only catch with that is, your WiFi device (camera, adapter or game server) must have the ability for you to remove the included antenna and connect an external one.

Can you maybe post some pictures of these cameras? The internals, the connectors, etc. There must be some way to tell what they are... perhaps some internal markings on the circuit boards or chips. If they were ever made available for sale in the US, there should be an FCC ID number silkscreened to the circuit boards, from which we can look up some manufacturer information at the FCC website (www.fcc.gov). Google didn't find any info on that matrix... is ECTO the manufacturer?? Hmmm, you say there's Cat5 running to the cameras - are they using video baluns? Or does the Cat5 just plug straight into the camera? Do they have separate connections for the power and control signals? For the age, it's unlikely that they're IP cameras... I've seen several Pelco models with built-in balun outputs though. I'm thinking that "matrix" box may be primarily just a big mass of baluns that then just spits out video over coax, in which case it could stay in place and feed video to the DVRs instead of to the MUXes. If that's the case, you SHOULD be able to slot in new cameras with the existing setup, but it may take a little doctoring - if the old cameras do, in fact, have built-in baluns, you'll need to add baluns to the new cameras, and just split out the Cat5 for your video and control signals.

Most lenses of that type are DC-controlled, so you'll want to set the first switch to DC. That allows the camera to adjust the lens iris depending on the lighting. The iris level control lets you manually adjust a "starting point" for the iris. The other switches aren't related to the lens.

Sounds like a reasonable guess on the wiring, but it would be a good idea to be sure before hooking up power. This appears to be the manufacturer's website: http://www.checkpointsystems.com/default.aspx?page=clarityptzsys but they don't seem to have a lot of info there - you could always try contacting them directly for a manual. *Technically* to daisy-chain cameras, you would run a pair of control wires from the controller to the first camera, then parallel them from that camera to the next, and so on... but in most instances, you can just run a pair from each camera back to the controller and parallel them together there.

Yeah, Google found the camera right away, on the manufacturer's website: http://www.extremecctv.com/product_detail.php?product_id=204 From the picture on the installation diagram, looks pretty standard... I'd say my answer above is correct: "It's near impossible for anyone to say for certain from the limited info you give (ie. the photo) but I'd say 95% chances are, the yellow is video, red is +12VDC, and the bare wire (spiral-wrapped shield around both?) is a common ground."

There you go, Niguel... grab the manual there, it has everything you need. The alarm-out configuration is shown on page 48 of the PDF (section 3-3-4). In this case, it looks like the relays can be set up to operate normally-open OR normally-closed, so they'll work with any of the standard zones on the alarm panel.

There are some samples here: http://www.planetsecurityusa.com/cctv_guide.html#fieldofview http://www.vihon.com/Vihon_Calculators/Field_of_View_Examples/body_field_of_view_examples.html http://www.ezcctv.com/cctv-lens-guide.htm There are lots of calculator apps that will let you figure out the field of view for different lenses and different focal lengths on different cameras, but there's a simple web-based one you can try here: http://dvr.videotechnology.com/lense/

Bingo... now we just need Scorpion to work his magic and find us the right manual! While we're waiting, meantime... it sounds like you have four separate alarm outputs available, and you should be able to connect the panel zone to any one of the R1/R1, R2/R2, R3/R3 or R4/R4 pairs. The trick then is, you'll need to configure in the DVR, which alarm output you want to trigger on motion. For example, you can probably tell it, motion on camera 1 will trigger an alarm on output on R1; motion in a certain zone on camera 5 will trigger an alarm on output R2; and so on.

VI absolutely supports audio: http://video-insight.com/Purchase/Capture-Cards.aspx "The Video Insight VN30 is an entry level PCI card featuring four BNC inputs and one channel of audio." "The Video Insight VJ60 is a solid performer featuring sixteen inputs and four channels of audio." "The Video Insight VJ120 is a high end card featuring sixteen inputs and eight channels of audio." "The Video Insight VJ240 is a high end card featuring sixteen inputs and eight channels of audio."