Soundy

There are a number of different ways to do this, depending mainly on what you want to spend and whether you're set on a standalone or a PC-based DVR. What's your budget for the DVR?

Sounds like you're trying to view the VCR output directly... make sure it's properly connected to the VCR jacks on the MUX. If it's been recording while improperly hooked up, you likely won't be able to view that footage. Some MUXs also have a setting for the specific VCR you're using; if memory serves, this should include ROBOTs. Check the settings for something like that.

Yeah, I'd expect a lot lower power consumption for flash-based storage vs. HDD-based storage...

Might be a silly question, but are you sure the dome works properly? I don't suppose you have a joystick controller or something to test it with? Have you tried another protocol, like Pelco P? Ummm.... what else? Hmmm... have you tried foregoing the 232/485 converter and just wired a straight RS-232 connection to the dome? Get a female DB-9 connector (or hack the end off a serial cable), and connect pin 5 to ground and pin 3 (TX on the sending end) to the RX connector at the camera. Oh yeah, and that's the other thing... you probably already know this, but it's one of those silly little things that we sometimes just don't think of: you don't connect TX-to-TX, you have to connect the TX at the DVR to the RX on the camera (even I've done it a couple times, just working in brain-fart mode and not really thinking about it).

Polarity of the wiring is correct, I assume? Same address set on both camera and DVR? Sure the proper serial port is selected? If it's one of the PC's onboard ports, is it enabled in the BIOS?

How do you have the camera connected? What serial communication protocol are you using (RS-232/422/485)? What command protocol are you using (Pelco P/D/etc.)?

Oooh yeah, manuals in Engrish, my favorite!

There are a number of sites that will tell your your "outside" IP, but the one I always use - mostly because it's easy to remember - is www.ipchicken.com

Once again, support of guest accounts would depend on your specific DVR and whether it provides that feature. I don't think most routers support that sort of access (some provide limited access to their own configuration pages for user accounts, but that's all I've ever seen).

Wow. Um... yeah... wow. I don't get that - does that mean I can't use a multi-channel 100+VA Altronix or Pelco or something? That's really weird. I wonder why they say that? I think most of them I've put in are sharing a 24/40 wall wart with another camera (we usually have them spec'd for things like ID shots aimed at bad backlighting situations). I should see if I can find out why they specify that... now I'm curious!

I've never seen a camera spec state NOT to use a power supply over a certain power rating (then again, of all the CP-484s I've installed, I don't know that I've ever read the manual other than for setup menu info). You sure it doesn't say that the camera doesn't REQUIRE over 10VA, or something else to that effect? That said, all my 484 installs have been indoor, so I've never had to put one in an environmental housing, for all the many cameras I've had installed in heater/blower housings, I just run a single power pair into the housing, then usually into the heater/blower connectors, and run a set of jumper wires from there to the camera. Hasn't failed me yet. Check the specs on the heater/blower, but I'd think a 40VA would be more than sufficient to run both the housing accouterments, and the camera.

It's still an RCA jack. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCA_connector

When I was in my audio engineer training, one instructor has a favorite phrase: "There are no rules, only guidelines". To paraphrase, never count on absolutes - you can't say that one is "ALWAYS" better or worse than the other. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses that you need to take into account when determining which is best for YOUR OWN needs.

Doesn't matter where you are you can view and export recorded footage from any computer in the world using IE, Firefox or Safari. Your client can be at the site or on the other side on the planet doesn't matter That's fine if they only want a short bit of video... what happens when the cops come in and want 12 hours of footage from each of a half-dozen cameras? And before you go there, yes, I have had this happen - the police were into one of our fuel sites asking for a full 12 hours of all the cameras in their store, trying to track the movements of a missing person. Since we service two of the four largest oil companies in BC, we get requests like this, oh, probably every 2-3 months. It takes literally hours just to export to a USB drive, I don't want to think about how many days it would take to suck it back over a broadband connection. Well, let us know when it actually IS Until then, the argument is moot.

Many (most?) IP cameras can also email and/or ftp images based on a variety of triggers (motion detect, external alarm input, etc.)

Ah, but there's the catch: no matter how grand your software, it can't get around the bandwidth bottleneck... which is perhaps why having a DVR on each site is still desirable. Depending on the use, it's also often desirable for the people AT each site to actually have the video for that site available - for most of our clients, when the police need video of an incident, or if a manager needs to review an incident, they're usually AT the site... having no video stored locally and needing to send them off to some distant head office for it is not really feasible. I would hazard a guess that this is why toughman's customer wants a DVR for each site, in addition to the central monitoring. And again, as you said, your software isn't ready for prime time, so... yeah. I'll be happy to beta test it for you though

This is true, BUT... I don't think you want to try recording 40 cameras to a single location over broadband, unless you're recording CIF at ultra-high compression and about a frame per minute. Plus, Vigil is a solid system that's currently at version 5... your solution is still in beta *nudge nudge* BTW, you can also do something like this with the VideoInsight systems, which I've also dealt with... but personally, I think the Vigil system is a lot cleaner. That's my three cents (fuel surcharge included).

We actually have a few customers doing exactly this, using Vigil systems by Camacc/3xlogic. One of the main ones is a series of pubs and liquor stores - three of them, each with a Vigil DVR and a mix of analog and IP cameras, and the owner sits with the Vigil Client on his laptop and checks in on his stores The other big one is a major restaurant chain that used to do this with GeoVision DVRs; we recently took over the account and sold them on the Vigil systems when we did their new flagship store, we've since replaced a few of the GeoVisions with Vigils, and will be putting a few more in some new installations. They, too, are running a mix of IP and analog cameras. The Vigil Client allows you to configure multiple sites and create "groups" of cameras to view selected cameras from different sites on one screen. It also allows full search/playback, and supports remote PTZ control. This is the Client on my machine here, with multiple different clients' servers configured: This is a "Group" I set up for the pub/liquor store client; for those familiar with the geography in the Vancouver, BC area, the first site is in Surrey, the second is in Maple Ridge, and the third is in Downtown Vancouver: Internet on these sites is mostly via cable-modem, although a few run DSL. Haven't noticed a significant difference between the two, except that the local telco's DSL service has a tendency to change IPs regularly unless you pay extra for a static IP. Speed is good enough that PTZ cameras can be controlled near-realtime with relatively little lag.

Auto-iris is generally a function of the lens, not the camera itself (I suppose if the lens and camera are one integrated unit, it sort of becomes a function of the camera). Almost all analog cameras have the required driver circuit for it (IP cameras seem to be lagging in this regard).

Welcome! Well, to answer your questions in order: 4, not really, probably, and yes. How's that? Take a look at the diagram here for an example: http://gemelec.com/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=7&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1 Also take a look at the offerings from www.nvt.com There are other manufacturers, but these are the two I've used. Actually, to expound on the second question, I haven't seen a general move from coax to Cat-5, but I know *in some instances* we've been going that way, mainly because it provides an easy upgrade path to IP. If we know there's a chance a particular site will want to go to IP in the future, we'll use UTP and baluns so the needed wiring is already in place. When you start getting multiple cameras over longer distances, the ability to send four feeds on one wire gets VERY cost-effective; however, the cost of the baluns themselves makes coax more cost-effective (for us at least) for shorter runs (like, up to a couple hundred feet).

Actually, passive baluns are claimed to be good for anywhere from 1,300 up to at least 2,000 feet over Cat-5e. I've seen active baluns claim upwards of 8,000ft(!!!). Reference links: http://gemelec.com/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=7&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1 http://www.enforcer.com.tw/EnforcerVideo/balun.htm

^That's a good idea... and if you're using IP cameras, there are IP-over-power devices available as well (I think the ones I've seen at Staples are made by LinkSys).

^All good advice. Alternately, could you get away with temporary surface-wire runs to the cameras? A piece of four-conductor station wire will suffice - one pair for power, one for video using baluns. Wire can be tucked around baseboards, slipped under area rugs, tacked up with staples or even pushpins (yeah, I've seen this done... not done it myself, but I've seen it work)...

Yikes, what a nightmare! I feel for ya man - if I ran my own company I'd be looking for a way to come up and finish the job for ya. I'd be worried at this point that it's gonna take these clowns even longer than they're billing you for to finish it up, and they'll want to bill you even more... and it probably still won't be working right. Seriously, they're trying to bill you for TWO parts trips... to the SAME store... how is it your fault if they can't figure out everything they need BEFORE they make ONE trip? And RADIO SHACK? Great, they're paying twice what they should for that stuff. What a gong show! -40... ouch, where are you located?

Is having the tech support really worth it? I'm pretty computer saavy and have worked with another DVR in the past. Computer savvy isn't terribly useful with most standalone/embedded machines, because there's typically "no user serviceable parts inside". Everything is built onto one or two proprietary boards, the operating system is embedded, and it's generally not user-accessible at all. Especially with the off-shore brands, the setup and options can be poorly laid out, and the manuals can be dreadfully brief (IF you can understand them)... so yeah, tech support is definitely a desirable thing. If the thing uses any standard PATA (IDE) or SATA drives, the price differences are almost negligible. I'm looking at Western Digital IDE offerings from my regular supplier: 80GB - $50 160GB - $60 250GB - $75 320GB - $85-$90 (depending on 8MB/16MB cache) 500GB - $100 Over six times the space for only double the price is a pretty good price curve. 1TB IDE drives are pretty hard to find (relatively), but if the thing uses SATA, 1TB drives can be had starting at around $120. (Disclaimer: these are retail prices from my regular supplier in Vancouver, BC... specific prices may - and probably will - vary in your area, and depending on where you shop, but the differential will likely be similar).