Soundy

Rio_Grande, you have two separate issues here: one, your router may be changing up the IPs it gives to the machines on your LAN (including your DVR); two, your ISP likely changes the IP it gives to your router, which is what you need to access your network from "the outside". You have control over the LAN IP assignment (as much as your router will give you anyway), but your ISP has all the control over your WAN (internet) IP, which is why you want to get them to provide a static IP. It may cost a little extra, but it will be WAY less hassle. You can go with any of a number of dynamic-DNS services, as suggested, that will automatically update a named address for you when the IP changes, but I've seen ISPs that force an IP change on an hourly basis, which makes those next to useless (I've seen others, including mine, that only force a change if they reorganize their network, which happens maybe every six months to a year). As for your DVR's LAN IP, if you have access to the router setup, you can minimize problems by increasing the "lease time" to the maximum allowable. The theory is that any machine receiving an IP from the DHCP server, "leases" that IP for a set amount of time (say, 24 hours), and the server basically reserves that address for that machine for that set amount of time. Normally, halfway through that time (12 hours, in this example), the machine will ask to renew the lease, and the count is reset. If, after the lease time has expired, no renewal request has been received, the server (built into the router, usually) returns the IP to its pool, and the next machine to request an IP gets it. Many routers have a "static IP" option (which in reality is a "reserved IP") that allows you to designate that a given IP be permanently assigned to a specific machine. If your router has such an option, you can use it to ensure your DVR's LAN IP never changes, so any port forwarding you set up will always send incoming data to the proper destination.

Yep... given the state of the technology, there's little benefit to reinventing the proverbial wheel by building something customized from the ground up. That's what we've been doing with the VideoInsight packages for several years, using the little cube-case machines from Shuttle. They work quite well, and drive space is easily expandable with external USB or Firewire drives (or even eSATA on newer machines). And we "borrowed" that idea from Camacc, who has been using similar cube cases for their Vigil DVRs for years. Or pull everything out and put it into a more powerful system... or... or... or... I started with PC-based (well, coming out of VCRs and MUXes). Every time I've had to put in a standalone DVR (usually because a customer wants to go the cheap route), I've ended up cursing it... and usually the customer has too.

A fair number of the "hardware DVRs" I've seen are just embedded PCs using a custom form-factor motherboard and some form of embedded, usually *nix-based operating system. And I've seen lots and lots of standalone units fail as well, custom hardware or otherwise. I've probably had more drive failures, percentage-wise, on standalone units, than with PCs, usually because they either have poorly-regulated power supplies, or poor cooling. More than the platform itself, I think what it comes down to is the old truism, "You get what you pay for." Buy a CHEAP system, whether it's in a PC case, or a little tabletop case, and you'll get CHEAP performance and CHEAP reliability.

Well, again, the Archos is a high-res screen (the 5 and 7 are 800x480) whereas your typical "cheap" (sub-$200) portable DVD is typically far less (my old 7" DVD's LCD was 480x234, according to its spec sheet). Four times the resolution makes for a WAY sharper picture, which makes for way easier focusing, even if the screen is a little smaller. And if you're using it for a portable movie player, remember that devices like the Archos have built-in hard drives - the 5 can be had with anything from a 60GB to a 250GB drive. 60GB will hold on the order of 80 movies in DivX format. And again, it can record the camera signal, which is something a DVD player can't do (it can be handy to have for future reference). Like I said, you have to keep in mind that an Archos isn't JUST a field monitor or media player; it's a small computer: it has WiFi and a browser, which along with a cheap WiFi router is very handy for setting up IP cameras (no need to lug a laptop). It also has PDF capability, which allows you to carry most of your manuals and other handy documentation on it as well. It does far more than your typical field monitor AND portable DVD player combined. Something to keep in mind when comparing overall prices...

wait the small computer thing here: http://www.archos.com/products/imt/archos_5/specs.html?country=ru&lang=en Does he have the Archos 5 or what version. I mean for that price you dont think I should grab a portable service monitor with bnc input? Yeah, I think it's the Archos 5. Depends... if ALL you want is a service monitor... or a loaded-to-the-tits media player with WiFi and recording capability (you could also load up AVIs of various test patterns and use it as a signal source).

Are you using masonry drills, like the type that come with Tapcon screws? They're designed for going through brick and stone. You'll probably also want to use a hammer drill, if you're not already. I strongly recommend the smaller type with a standard chuck - they tend to have faster, smaller strokes that won't cause the drill to jump around and damage the surface, rather than the bigger ones like Hilti and Bosch drills. Corded 3/8" or 1/2" hammer drills can be had for under $100, although this may be a good excuse to get that new cordless drill you've been drooling over Of course, if you can't afford a whole new drill, something like this works fairly well too: http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524443303346&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474396672926&bmUID=1238689668693

My buddy is using an Archos - 5" HD-res screen makes for really crisp video and easy focusing (standard portable DVDs are generally "half-res"). He has a wrist strap for it, and of course, it can record video clips for future reference.

Most of the cameras I use have some form of spring or screw terminals. 12VDC barrel connectors are generally relegated to cheap consumer-grade cams. If I do run into these, I'll usually snip the end off the adapter and connect it to my power-wire run, then connect the rest of the adapter at the other end, as it makes it a lot easier to swap the camera out when it needs service or replacement (which is a lot more common with these sort of cheap cameras). As long as you match up the wires at both ends, it doesn't really matter which is positive or negative.

The biggest consideration might be over-voltage. Many cheap 12V cameras don't like anything over about 12.5-13V, whereas if this is a larger boat with a car-type charging system, you may be looking at up to 14-15V depending on load and engine speed. In this case, you may want to add a 12V regulator board for the camera.

Are we talking smooth surface, rough surface, uneven surface? If it's just stone veneer, is there something solid behind it (plywood, for example) that you can screw into? If it's something solid like concrete construction blocks, Tapcon screws work great. Something softer like fire brick, probably want to stick with nylon anchors. It's hard to give a general answer to this - what I use would vary depending on the exact construction.

Some PTZs, when you start them up, will display the baud rate, protocol, and/or camera ID they're set for... watch for it when powering up. Camera ID must match as well.

You need only a single pair of wire to carry your control signal. Connect the TX+ on the DVR to the 485+ on the camera; TX- to 485-. Leave the RX connections alone. There are a few options for wiring... Cat5 will do, but it's overkill if ALL you're running over it is serial control. What I've done in situations like this, is to use Cat5, with one pair for video (with baluns), one pair for serial control, and the two remaining pairs for power. My usual color scheme is blue pair for video (blue for tip, blue/white for ring), brown for control (brown for +, white/brown for -), and the orange+orange/white pair together for one side of the power (+12V for DC) and green+green/white for the other. Aside from that, just about any single pair of wire will do - speaker wire, microphone wire, station wire, Cat3, etc. Twisted-pair is better for longer distances, but up to couple hundred feet, it's probably not necessary.

I've had YET ANOTHER post vanish overnight... This seems to be happening somewhat regularly. Yesterday I posted a reply in this thread: http://www.cctvforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=97971#97971, to destro_23's post, "does VI work with only their own cards? or with any card? are they software only?" Today, that post is gone.

The Vigil software is, IMHO, more "polished" and better-integrated. Search is more powerful, interface is cleaner, analog and IP cameras all work within the same system (last time I set up a hybrid VI system, it needed two separate "server" apps for analog and IP, and you had to run the client app locally if you wanted to view both). Plus our main customers - fuel services - insist on POS integration; Vigil has had it for years, whereas VI has only just recently added it. I've also seen a beta version of Vigil with built-in Analytics. And frankly, Vigil's tech support has always been better. VI does have some advantages, including a proper complete web-based client (Vigil gives you some web-dev stuff to roll your own, but that's it), but I generally prefer the Vigil system.

I'm installing mostly Vigil systems, but then we deal mostly with higher-end applications. For those on a tighter budget, we put together our own VideoInsight systems; they use essentially the same capture cards as the base-model Vigils. We generally try to avoid stand-alones unless the client is insistent on a really cheap solution.

Like the subject says... our work order forms have been uber-lame for ages. I need to find a better design. Anyone have anything I can rip off... er, borrow from?

Wow, really? You use ALL of those?? The Office website was the FIRST place I looked - there's nothing suitable there. I want examples of what people are ACTUALLY USING. [/b]

Well, Thomas seems to be MIA the past few months... and I still don't have access

Just a postulation on where the 10. address is coming from... 10.* and 192.168.* IPs are universally considered as "reserved" for private LANs. With our local telco (Telus), when you use their DSL internet, whatever device you connect to their modem (computer, router, etc.) will initially pull a 10.* address on their internal network. This allows you to connect to their "customer service" page, where you can register your device's MAC address with the system, after which it gets an "outside" internet IP. What may be happening, if you're plugging the DSL modem into one of the router's LAN ports, is that it will acting as a switch, rather than a router, and your DVR is probably pulling a 10.* address from your ISP, and may be intermittently getting a 192.168.* address from the router itself. First thing you want to do, is make sure your DSL modem is connected to the WAN or Internet port on the router.

I have two Capture Fastrax II cameras on a site, one somewhat older than the other. Both were originally hooked up to a Fastrax keyboard/joystick controller, and more recently we've tried to connect them to a DVR. The newer one auto-detects the protocol no problem, but the older one won't work with RS-232 no matter what I do. It wasn't easy, but I did get some docs from ADI-Burtek that actually apply to this camera (Capture's docs site at AVLogic only has the manual for the newer version); I've tried changing baud rates and control protocols (Pelco P and Fastrax supported) but had no success at all. The docs suggest (without actually stating) that RS-232 may not be supported - only 485 and 422. Before I go splurge on an adapter on the HOPE that it MAY help, though, I'm hoping someone else might be familiar with this camera and could offer some help. The ADI-Burtek tech I talked to wasn't familiar with the older model, and I've yet to reach anyone at Capture that's any more useful. Attached are the two switch-setting pages from the docs, in case it will help someone recognize the specific model of camera (firmware is ver. 1.1x).

As far as bathroom windows are concerned, I say, let'em point a camera my bathroom window! If they like what they see, well, great! If they're horrified and go blind from what they see (more likely in my case), then it serves'em right.

There are a number of threads regarding audio recording... perhaps you could check with your local authorities regarding the laws on recording audio along with your video.

Dammit, the board ate one of my posts again! Yeah, you really want to check with local authorities on something like this, as the regulations will really vary. Here in BC, for example, to my understanding, covert audio recording is legal and allowable anywhere... but it's only admissible as evidence in court if there were warning signs up.

Sorry to say, but you'll have a really hard time finding anything analog that's going to cover the WHOLE table in one shot and still allow you to *clearly* identify all the cards. All a longer lens will do is give you a tighter shot and cut out part of the table. Now, you could use a PTZ to zoom closer (tight on each table position) and then scan around the table. Or you could try a high-quality, high-res standard camera with a "megapixel" lens for some extra sharpness, it MAY provide enough detail.

^Seconded - it SHOULD work just fine, and it won't hurt anything to try it first. If it works, great; if not, then you can look at adding a converter.