Soundy

That's one way of putting it, yes. As to the others: OSD is On Screen Display, and refers to the control menus you can access to adjust camera parameters... like this: VGA - technically, Video Graphics Array - when applied to cameras or to video recording, refers to a resolution of 640x480 pixels. QVGA is Quarter-VGA, or 320x240. QQVGA, by extension, is Quarter-Quarter-VGA, or 160x120 pixels.

We normally get our CNBs from a small distributor here in Maple Ridge (far-flung burb of Vancouver). Couldn't tell you who else carries them north of the 49th - maybe contact CNB and ask them about authorized resellers. BTW, if you REALLY INSIST on the heater, you can always get that as a separate module and install it yourself. I've only ever done it once, and that was for cameras we installed in a very damp November close to the ocean, so the air was really moist and caused condensation in the domes.

It's good if an IP camera honestly states the frame rates it supports at given resolutions, but the reason this parameter tends to be overstated/exaggerated is because its importance tends to be over-emphasized. As with DVRs, everyone thinks they want 30fps, but few would be able to tell the difference between that and 15fps, yet 15fps will generally use half the bandwidth and half the storage space. Most people would be hard pressed to even see a difference between 30 and 10fps. http://www.panasonic.com/business/security/demos/PSS-recording-rates.html

And as for frame rate: that's the number of individual pictures per second recorded by the DVR. See some comparisons here: http://www.panasonic.com/business/security/demos/PSS-recording-rates.html

Wish I had pictures of it - it's not "crazy" but it sure is clean: I put a board cam in the end section of some track lighting to look down on a paypoint. Practically invisible even if you do know to look for it

Electronics in these cameras do generate heat on their own, and being sealed in a dome like that, will stay fairly warm when operating. When a camera has a heater, it's usually to keep the glass clear of condensation, not to keep the entire assembly warmer. The regular non-heated CNB's should be fine.

Four possible ways to do it: 1. Use a DVR that has a "spot" output and feed that to the other monitor. 2. Split the feed from the camera to the DVR so you're sending it to both DVR and monitor, using something like this: 3. If it's a proper CCTV monitor, it probably has "loop-through" inputs, so you could run the camera directly into an input on the monitor, then back to the DVR from the looped output. 4. Some DVRs will also have loop-through inputs, so each input channel will also have an output that you can feed directly to the other monitor.

The specs on those Lorex cameras don't come close to the CNBs. They're lower TVL, for one (I know we say that the higher TVLs aren't really important, but still...) They're IP65 vs IP66 for the CNB (lower protection against direct water) The Lorex isn't a "true day/night" camera and as such its low-light specs fall FAR short: it lists a minimum of 0.3 lux in color vs. the CNB's 0.05 lux, and 0.1 lux in B&W vs 0.005 lux for the CNB. It list 0.002 lux with SENS-UP, but that's not a useful spec, as "SENS-UP" is just a fancy name for slow shutter, which will result in motion blur with even the smallest movement. In short: its low-light performance is abysmal. Viewing angle is indicated by the lens focal length. 2.8mm on a 1/3" sensor will give you close to 90 degrees. The CNB has a 1/3" sensor; the Lorex doesn't list the sensor size at all, so it's hard to compare, but assuming a 1/3" sensor, the CNB gives you a range of about 82 to 25 degrees, while the Lorex gives you 66 to 33 degrees (handy little angle calculator here: http://www.sweeting.org/mark/lenses/cctv.php). The DVR *says* it supports D1 recording, but the specs only state "real time" at CIF resolutions; there's nothing there that says what framerate you'll get at D1, or whether all the channels do D1 or only one or two. Frankly, between the DVR and the cameras, the lack of a number of important specs would be a red flag right there. Think of it this way: if CCTV equipment runs the range between a Kia and a Ferrari, Lorex would be a rusty broken bicycle laying in a ditch.

The main "gotcha" you'll want to look out for in a card, is good x64 driver support. A lot of them don't have drivers at all, or drivers that aren't very good. Stay away from cheap cards that use generic chipset drivers.

A 40W bulb would be more than enough to get a clear color picture out of the CNBs. Some minimal lighting around stairs is good for safety/liability coverage as well.

I doubt that. Seagate's listing says nothing about Pelco having anything to do with the design, it simply lists them as enterprise drives.(http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=52cfc27bebb43110VgnVCM100000f5ee0a0aRCRD&locale=en-US) If they were Pelco-specific, you wouldn't be able to find the exact same model number listed with dozens of stores, both online and brick-and-mortar (just Google the model number, they all come up). There's nothing special about DX8100 - it's a rackmount PC with capture hardware and the appropriate software. Any SATA hard drive on the market should work with it. BTW, have you looked at Pelco's "HDD Field Replacement Program"? http://www.pelco.com/sites/global/en/sales-and-support/support-services/hdd.page

So why do I still use my $1000 DSLR when a $100 P&S is higher resolution and does HD video? Simple: performance, flexibility, durability, quality. When my DSLR was broken and I was limited to the P&S, I realized one of the biggest differences: the P&S was slow to focus, iffy to lock on, and gave me no control over focus points. It drove me nuts. I'm also not stuck with the single lens the manufacturer shipped the camera with. I can put on my big 400mm to get in close with crystal clarity. Or switch to my 50mm f/1.8 for that crisp low-DOF shot. And with the larger sensor, yes, I get FAR better low-light shots. So why aren't you using cell phones as security cameras? Heck, even my phone is almost the same resolution as my DSLR, but I'd never think that one could replace the other. They're just not suited to the same jobs.

Yeah, that's the catch with anything "wireless": you still have to get power to it (unless you hook your tablet on the wall, run it on batteries through the day, then take it down and plug it in at night). Really, the best bet is a regular monitor and just run the wires inside the wall and be done with it. Oh, and I wouldn't trust 3M tape to hold something like that to the wall - besides reliability and the chance of the thing just dropping off one day, if he ever wants to move the thing, it's going to leave a mess behind.

Or, they weren't selling at all until the price was dropped to take a loss. Ryobi's Tek4 line of power tools are a good example of this: my coworker and I had long admired this line of rugged devices that all used the same 4V Lithium batteries, but found them too expensive for what they were. Home Depot in Canada discontinued them because they weren't moving, and we picked up a bunch of them at some killer prices - like the inspection scope that normally went for $170 that we each got for $50. Does that mean that all the other similar scope designs should now sell for $50, rather than the $150-$300 that most of them go for? Does that mean the more expensive ones are now a rip-off, because one vendor decided to blow out their version due to poor sales? Another recent example: HP's TouchPad tablet and webOS. Initially sold in the $300-$400 range with other similar tablets, until HP decided they didn't want to be part of that market, and people snatched them up at $99. So does that mean other Android tablets still selling for $300-$400 is a rip-off, or just good marketing? Go back and read all the reasons: durability, flexibility, etc. Run that flip 24/7 and let me know how long it lasts. Can you change lenses on it in case you need to get closer? Will it withstand living in a hot and duty ceiling space or inside a sealed housing outdoors at -30, and keep running perfectly for years on end? Get back to us when you find out. Business service typically costs more, in part because they expect it to see heavier usage. Most providers also give a higher grade of service and support to business customers. As with the difference between $20 analog cameras and $300 analog cameras, you're partially paying extra for better support. What support is there for your discontinued Flip if it fails?

You also noted that the Flip no longer exists... maybe it's actually a $400 camera that they lost money on selling it at $100? I could sell you a $500 IQEye camera for $100 too, but I wouldn't last very long doing it. Just because something sells for that price doesn't mean that's its "value".

These type of cameras and DVRs use standard analog video, same as you'd use connecting, say, your Wii to your TV (the yellow plugs, specifically), it's just a different type of connector. No idea, I'm rocking an Android phone... but there are plenty of others here that should know.

The specs are suitably vague on that page, but I wouldn't be surprised if that DVR would work with Mac and iPhone with the proper apps, even if it won't work directly through a browser. That aside, swapping in a different DVR should be easy enough - power supply is irrelevant, just disconnect the cameras from the old DVR and plug them into the new one. There are some great 8-channel units here that will fit your needs, depending on your budget.

Hope it was set up enough to record it!

^That brings your cameras in around $2000 (for only three of each)... but you still need the recorder.

That's a good point. I've run into a few of these, domes that have big thick cable bundles for analog out, network jack, alarm I/O, power, RS-485... when all I need is the network jack. Fortunately I was able to disassemble the camera and unplug all the unneeded cables from the mainboard, but not everyone is as creative/daring as I am.

Then you have to quantify "outperform". How does it work with low light? How does it work with high-contrast lighting? How highly compressed is the output stream? Does it allow you to use specialty lenses? CCTV cameras have to be capable of handing far harsher environments and wide temperature ranges... they have to operate 24/7 for years at a time... they typically provide far more control over image factors than a $99 handicam. By this same token, why are there $500 point-and-shoot cameras when you can get this $99 handicam (or a $50 webcam, for that matter)? Same answer: they tend to be more flexible, more durable, more rugged, of higher build quality, give more control, more options, more features... Go ahead and mount that Flip camera under your eaves in the middle of winter, and see how long it lasts recording constantly. Try hauling 1,000 pounds of bricks in the back of a Mini, because it costs less than a truck. Same difference.

The comments with that video describe the problem there - it's not motion blur. Motion blur looks like this:

I'd look at a cheap Android tablet along with the appropriate remote software (DMSS, etc.). I can get a 9" Android-based "e-book reader" for about $130 at a liquidation store - sure it's got a lame CPU and resistive touch-screen (not as sensitive as capacitive, doesn't allow multi-touch, etc.) but if it's just for camera display, none of that matters.

Interesting... I googled the address and got three different company listings: Jetview Electronics, Hsien Hung Intl Trading Co, and Star East Information Technology Corp. Er... and also a BBB listing for "Creative Rock & Waterscaping". Wow, these guys have their fingers in a LOT of pies.

If you mean this camera: http://www.smartwitness.com/product.php?xProd=66&xSec=28 No, it doesn't appear to be. PoE with WiFi would be pointless anyway.