Soundy

Two DVRs will also draw nearly twice as much power as one, regardless of the number of channels. Get over the two-DVR fixation already - in 8+ years in the business, I've NEVER seen a site that used multiple small-capacity DVRs where a single unit would suffice. It's more expensive, takes up more room, and is a logistical pain in the arse to deal with. OP, have you considered something based on game or trail cameras? These are typically battery-powered, self-contained camera/recorder units. They're not small, but you may be able to disassemble them and fit them into other enclosures that will suit your needs. They typically record onto flash media, such as an SD card, that you can then take to your computer for playback. Keep in mind a "pinhole" camera is typically just a standard board camera with a specific type of lens, so if an actual "pinhole" installation is required, such cameras could have their lenses replaced (there are even pinhole lenses available for larger C/CS-lensmount cameras). I've done a number of covert installs that didn't require a pinhole lens, though - just takes some creativity. Cameras can be hidden inside PIR sensors, smoke detectors, clocks, light fixtures, radios, all manner of common objects.

It is glare, from the IR LEDs reflecting on the inside of the glass, and apparently from dirt, smudges, and/or fingerprints on the glass. There's normally a foam or rubber gasket around the lens that needs to be snug against the glass to prevent this. This is a common problem with cheap "night vision" cameras. Looks like there's enough ambient light there, *decent* day/night cameras would work well without the cheap IR.

Maybe most of here are just happy with how the CNB cameras work already and haven't felt the need to hack them, or haven't needed tech support for them? I've had to call support for issues on almost every brand of camera out there at one time or another... except CNB. They just work.

That's when it's time to start looking at cameras with multicast support

Yeah, unfortunately, the smaller they get, generally, the flimsier they get... This one tends to be one of the sturdiest I've found in its size range - hollow so you can run wires inside, and plastic so it can be easily painted to another color: I've used a lot with this style of clamp, but on a long (10") J-mount - they're pretty solid, too, and easily painted:

Like these?

It's hard to say for sure without knowing exactly what DVR you have (come on people, MORE INFORMATION is always a good thing!), but if all your BNCs are used up, that probably means the DVR doesn't have a composite video output, so you won't be able to use BNCs or RCAs, or coax cable at all. Which probably leaves you with VGA and/or HDMI output. Use whichever both DVR and TV support.

Never used a 66 block for cameras, but I've used BIX and 110 blocks to terminate and/or extend runs... no reason a 66 wouldn't work just as well (just not as compact).

Or just get Mr. Fusion...

PowerQuest Drive Image, Norton Ghost... now there are a lot of others that do it... Acronis, Paragon... even Windows Vista and 7 come with imaging backup apps that you can use to create a restore image after install. Store the image on a separate drive in case the system drive dies and needs to be replaced... some will create their own bootable partition for easy recovery.

Yeah, the HDcctv Alliance has been promising this for three+ years. So far, the equipment is MORE expensive than equivalent-resolution IP gear. Do they sell you a bridge with that too? Seems like a good idea... however, dealing with IQEye cameras that have both ActiveX and Java options, I have to say, the Java is great for compatibility, but lags in performance. BTW, HDcctv is currently limited to 2MP, too.

Welcome, also from Canada

Rangers won't get past the second round, so it's all good Anyway, if you're splitting off two pairs to power the IR, it's probably more efficient to just power it directly with 12V rather than feed a separate high-power PoE injector and splitter over it. If the camera and IR run with three power pairs now, you SHOULD be fine running just the IR off two pairs. Worst case, use an adjustable power supply, measure the voltage at the camera end, and bump it up a bit so you get 12V at the camera.

Ooooooh, okay, I guess either you weren't clear about that before, or I just missed it.

It's all an educated guess Honestly, if you use a calculator, spec for the worst-case scenario, and you'll have lots of overhead. You don't have to spec CBR cameras, but if your ASSUME CBR cameras in your calculations, you should be fine. Again, most VBR cameras I've used also have the ability to set a maximum bandwidth that they won't exceed. Nobody ever got fired for over-engineering a network

You still need analog video from the analog camera, and that requires its own pair, period, end of story. You can't run power on that pair.

Never seen this capability in a standalone system. Most name-brand PC-based systems will do it.

If it's a Windows-base DVR, you can install the UPS software that will monitor the UPS status and initiate a proper shutdown automatically when the power gets low. The idea was a standalone Linux based DVR, running without monitor. There will be power outages, and they will drain the battery completely and there will be noone around to reset it. So .. I'll be wanting somehting with BIOS wake ... wake-on-lan or something. I'm fairly handy with Linux, so as long as it will wake up and connect to the internet I am happy entering the system myself by SSH and fixing anything by hand. So either wake-on-lan or some BIOS setting. Though maybe I might have to build a system myself rather than buy a standalone (later I'll maybe ask you all for opinions on the models available here to see if you have experiences) Cheers All the standalones I've worked with fire up right away when power is applied, so that shouldn't be an issue. The difference is in whether they can do a clean shutdown under control of the UPS. Not sure about other brands, but APC UPSes have a Java-based control utility so they should be able to trigger a clean shutdown with any system that supports Java. A DIY Linux box should be workable... don't know about a standalone, though. Edit: on the other hand, I've rarely come across a DVR, standalone or not, that had serious issues with a simple hard-power-down. Power surges are another matter, but shutting down from a basic power outage shouldn't be a problem.

Well, not a function of the card, technically... most UPSes can be connected to a PC that can be loaded with software that will monitor the UPS health and remaining run time, and among other things, can trigger a soft shutdown (same as clicking Start -> Shutdown) when the UPS capacity falls below a pre-defined level (for example, when there's less than 5 minutes' power left). Most such software can also alert you when the battery is close to failing, or if there are any other potential problems with the UPS.

As jxk says, this appears to be regional - the ones we get here in North America don't have it, and while the CNB USA website lists it as an option, our supplier has yet to find out how we can get them with that option (it would be exceedingly convenient in some cases).

That is interesting indeed... Do you have a hypothesis as to why? There's no reason 12VDC should cause a ground-loop issue on a dual-voltage camera. I'd be willing to bet that the cameras with the issue were 12V-only cameras that have a shared power and video ground internally.

Yes indeed! Bit of a barnburner going on right now with the Ducks in town - 4-3 Ducks in the 2nd. (Edit: make that 4-4 at the second intermission) 700mA @ 12V is still 8.4W, for 22.9W total (keep in mind too, that the spec is measured at the supply end - it has to allow for losses over a longer run, included losses in the power splitter itself). If you can use a 30W injector, you might be okay... BUT... you'll want to make sure that's still only using two pairs, because you'll still have to separate out one pair to be dedicated to the analog run. If the higher power is achieved by using all four pairs for power, you're hooped - the only option then would be a switch and an IP encoder, and those would have to run off the same power as well, which would definitely put you WAY over the limit.

If it's a Windows-base DVR, you can install the UPS software that will monitor the UPS status and initiate a proper shutdown automatically when the power gets low.

Taking the 12V, boosting it up to 120V, only to step it back down to 12V for the cameras is extremely wasteful. I'd use a central power supply for the cameras that has its own 12V backup batteries, so when the power is out the cameras just run directly off the batteries. Then you can use a smaller UPS for the DVR (be sure not to run unnecessary things, like the monitor, off the battery side). Something like this: http://www.enforcer.com.tw/EnforcerVideo/MODEL1_2.htm

Analog-over-baluns and IP cameras are two different beasts. 10/100 ethernet normally uses two pairs. Mode A PoE runs power over those same pairs; Mode B puts power on the two unused pairs. PoE power is nominally 44VDC at up to 15.4W. So at the very least, your IP camera will require two pairs *to itself*. PTZ control would be via network so separate data pairs are irrelevant. That leaves two pairs for the analog camera. Analog baluns use one pair for video, period; yours are probably using the other three for power. If you steal two pairs for network, that leaves only one for power. Quick math, assuming the IR camera requires a nominal 750mA, at 200' you're looking at a loss of 3.5V, meaning the camera will only see 9.5V. With three pairs, there's only 0.8V loss. All the PoE splitters I've seen use mode B; all they do is take that power off and regulate it down to 5 or 12V. With mode B power, you don't have an available pair for analog video. Otherwise, you COULD theoretically take that 12V and power both cameras, but again, you have to look at the maximum power requirements for both. Assuming the IR camera is 750mA, that's 9W right there, leaving only 6W to power your PTZ. IP cameras tend to have higher power requirements than analog cameras to begin with, and PTZs tend to be power-hungry as well, and I suspect there won't be enough to run both cameras. Of course, I can only guess at the numbers, because you haven't provided any details on either camera, but I would be really surprised if the two together take anything under 17-18W.