Soundy

They misspoke - 1000m would be more accurate. *ALL* PCs are capable of this - it's a BIOS option, independent of the OS.

Looking at one site right now, it has 20 analog cameras, three Arecont AV3155DNs (currently in B&W), and one 3xLogic VSX-2MP-VD... it's in a busy restaurant and it's dinner time right now, so it's probably seeing maximum activity... I'm showing an average of around 15Mbps from the DVR to the array, with a few peaks at 25Mbps. Just checking another site, with 28 analog cameras and three VSX-2MP-VDs, I'm showing a fairly steady 18-19Mbps, DVR-to-RAID (it's a smoother graph because the VSX cams *I think* are CBR, while the Areconts are VBR).

None - we're using iSCSI. VessRAID 1840i, specifically. The QNAPs and Enhance arrays were all using iSCSI as well. Dustmop: not using any hotspares? I find it so handy, if a drive fails, the unit just automatically removes the bad drive, adds the spare into the array, starts rebuilding, and then shoots me a warning email, so I can come out when it's next convenient to replace the failed drive and then designate the new one as the hotspare.

True, but there are plenty of ways around that.

Isn't part of your problem already that you have cheap gear? They've already wasted money on stuff that isn't doing the job... there's no point wasting more on something else that's going to be marginal at best. Tell them to spend a little extra to plan ahead - you can get a really good 3MP dual-stream camera for around $400 that also has built-in recording, so you can give them something that will fit their needs now, and be ready to give them more when the rest of the technology allows. It even lets you set a different resolution, framerate and bitrate for the main stream so that the HD feed can be gradually increased as more bandwidth becomes available.

We started off using Enhance Technology RAIDs with 1TB drives in RAID5 (because we needed as much of that space as possible)... then we switched to QNAP arrays because the customer needed lower cost, and started using RAID6 when 2TB drives became more cost-effective... then back to Enhance when their price dropped and we had some issues with crappy support from QNAP... and now the last site we used a Promise array - 16-bay, 3U unit, initially loaded with only eight disks but leaving room for expansion. All of them now are running RAID6 + hotspare.

Haven't seen one, but that would seem to be a natural progression, wouldn't it?

That bandwidth (or lack thereof) will be your biggest issue no matter what kind of cameras you use. However, even if you want to start with analog cameras, I'd suggest using Cat5 cable and baluns for them, as that will leave you wired for easy upgrade to IP cameras later. Similarly, you could look into basic VGA-resolution IP cameras to start, or you could use megapixel cameras that support a low-bandwidth substream, and use that for your feed until the bandwidth becomes available to switch to the higher feed. That would also give you the option to, say, update a website with a single high-res still at a time interval (once a minute, perhaps) while providing the separate low-res live stream. The other problem with your upstream speed is that no matter what resolution you use, the more users you get on it, the more choked it's going to get. If one stream take 128kbit, then six viewers is going to saturate your upstream, so you'll definitely want to look into some kind of re-streaming or re-broadcasting service. Using decent name-brand IP cameras would also give you the option of adding an NVR later should they decide they want to record them - just plug it into the network and configure it for the cameras.

Yes.

Offhand, I don't recall... not that much, really, considering it's an integrated power supply as well. Not so. Baluns are bi-directional devices. There's no difference between transmitter and receiver. The VPS unit can work as either, too. Potentially... you can always split off a pair to use for PTZ or audio, although at that point you have only two pairs left for power, and given how power-hungry PTZs are, it would only work for a very short run. In 8.5 years doing this professionally, and thousands of cameras, I've never installed a camera with audio, and haven't installed a new PTZ in about four years. Both are neat to play with around home, but in the commercial world, just aren't necessary most of the time (especially since audio recording is illegal in many jurisdictions). They have kind of the opposite ends of the spectrum in functional issues: a PTZ will still only record whatever it's looking at at any given moment, and really isn't that effective without a live operator; and a microphone will pick up EVERYTHING in the area - EVERY bit of background noise, echoes, rumbling, wind, insects, traffic... you can't "zoom in" with a mic to isolate a specific area (at least not without getting into a very specialized, very bulky, and very expensive option like a parabolic or shotgun mic). All depends on the camera design... using the CNB domes, I find the little GEM baluns fit inside the back-box quite nicely. A balun is a ridiculously simple passive device: it's a small transformer and maybe a couple of capacitors. They really aren't affected by temperature extremes. Plus, I don't put them out in open weather anyway. ANY connection will corrode and degrade over time if you do that, including a BNC on the end of siamese cable.

Nope, it's just a color cam with no IR cut filter.

Really depends on your budget... my own recommendation is Vigil PC-based hybrid systems, but those tend to run in the $3500-$5000 range. As far as standalones, Dahua are the way to go. There are a couple of members here who sell them, either under the manufacturer name or rebranded under their own name.

If you use cheap 12V cameras that use a common video and power ground, along with a central power supply that gives all the cameras a common ground, you can get ground loops using baluns. This is not a problem with cameras that have internal regulators, or if you use individual power supplies. There's that... or you can use something like this: http://easterncctv.com/accessories/ev16p-vps.htm Combines 16-channel power supply and 16 baluns, then you just need short RG59/BNC patch cables to your DVR, and a suitable balun on the other end. These are similar in function to the others posted, just without audio: http://www.easterncctv.com/accessories/ev01p-vp-t.htm The only real function they converting the unbalanced BNC connection to a 100 ohm balanced connection over the wire (hence the name, BALanced/UNbalanced), then back again at the other end. Other than that, power, and PTZ controls are just straight-through connections, and I suspect the audio lines are as well. In fact, you can just use something like this: http://gemelec.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=721&category_id=72&manufacturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1 Which ones? Use dynamic mics and there's no external power required. ,Not all of them. Some PTZ are also 12VDC. Your choice of power is dictated by the camera's requirement... it has nothing to do with the wire. There's NO reason not to use 24VAC over UTP; in fact, if the camera supports it, it may be preferable, as you get less voltage drop over longer runs.

You can use a 1/3" C/CS-mount lens on a 1/2" camera, you just run the risk of a little "tunnel vision" effect at shorter focal lengths.

Only thing this diagram has wrong the 100m maximum on the cable - that's a limitation for *ethernet* itself, not for analog A/V. Depending on the camera's current requirements, the maximum length may actually be a lot less, as you're using only two pairs for power with these baluns, and the voltage loss may be excessive.

As long as the PTZ is 12v DC and not 24v AC. Why not 24VAC?

The solution is a better DVR.

Not necessarily. The power supply's current rating only indicates the maximum it can provide; the cameras will draw whatever amount of current they need. The only thing that might make a difference is whether one is a transformer-and-regulator type and one is a switching type: the former will waste more energy in the conversion process, while the latter design is much more efficient. The ACTUAL cost-to-operate of either type will be minimal, anyway - you might be talking $30 vs. $35 per year. Say all four cameras are rated at 500mA@12VDC - that's 6W each, or 32W total. Electricity is generally charged per kilowatt-hour... at 0.032kW, that's 31.25 hours of operation (assuming 100% efficient energy conversion) to actually consume 1kW. Around here, the highest we pay for residential power is 10.19 cents per kWh... that would be 10.19c for every 31.25 hours of operation. For one year, that would be 280.32kWh, or $28.5646 per year.

Another tip: most browsers will assume http: unless you tell them otherwise, so with them you could just use "192.168.1.17:8080" and have it still connect... Internet Exploiter won't, so if you add a port number to the end with IE, you HAVE to give it the "http:" as well.

I didn't think 500' was that great a distance for baluns. The 4-ch unit I posted above is passive and they claim it's rated to 1,200 ft on Cat5. Of course that's probably a "theoretical" maximum (ideal conditions), but shouldn't I be able to get at least half that distance? It SHOULD be fine... just erring on the side of caution.

Liquidation-type stores, like this: http://www.shopxscargo.com/product_catalogue/cat_product_details.asp?category_id=6&product_code=31501&sub_category_1_id=22&category=TV Well technically a terabyte is 1024 * 1024 * 1024 bytes, or 1,073,741,824; 2TB would be 2,147,483,648 bytes. To a manufacturer, 2TB is 2,000,000,000 bytes. Reverse that process and 2,000,000,000 / 1024 / 1024 / 1024 = 1.862645149230957... or rounded off, 1.86TB (you do lose a wee bit to filesystem overhead).

Five to EACH LOCATION, I'm guessing that would be one composite, one RF (CATV), and one component (three cables required). Again, all those signal types can be carried on UTP.

Change the password and don't tell your coworker what it is.

I've seen 20" LCD TVs going for $100 or less... the trick is, you need something with an A/V or composite video input. Yep... in part because HDD manufacturers' definition of a "terabyte" isn't always the same as the equipment manufacturers' definition.