Soundy

Seen at a Wal-Mart... overlooking the electronics department, no less: Clerk wondered what I was taking a picture of... my co-worker and I told him what we do and that we were getting a chuckle over the install. Clerk said he'd done it because his manager wanted cameras put up with one of the box systems they were selling. D-oh! (BTW, the power wire drops down to a wall wart plugged into a handy outlet... about 6' off the floor... not terribly secure.) Spotted this one at a liquidation store:

A client of ours recently "inherited" an apartment building with one of these systems, and it's been showing some odd problems. I've emailed a "general contact" address on RBH's website but I can't find any actual tech-support contact info (phone number or email address).

So, looking to fiddle with some LPR stuff and wondering if there's any (preferably open-source or free-demo) software out there than can run independently of the NVR and work with a variety of IP cams or even an MJPEG or H.264 stream? If it can write to a database or output to a text file, that's even better, but mostly just wanting to play with the recognize/OCR side of things...

Just came across this one, it's got some neat features! It's a small download (Windows only) and it's FREE! http://www.cam-techsecurity.co.uk/cctv/lens-calculator

There seems to often be confusion between the VBM and VCM housings, and the pictures on CNB's site don't really show the "flush" style and the actual design of the back-box for the VCM dome... so I snapped a few!

Wow... four brand-new AV3155DNs... two of them broken all to $#!t, STRAIGHT OUT OF THE BOX. Pics coming later... just wanted to rant briefly since it's 5:16am and this throws a crimp in this whole install @#*%#^*$&!

Anyone know of one? Not a router that can be POWERED by PoE (I've found a few of those), but one that can SUPPLY PoE?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File_Transfer_Protocol In short, it's not the most effective method for backing up video unless you use a program that can clean up old remote files as it goes, otherwise your remote storage will fill up quickly. The other drawback to this is that most broadband internet services have limited upstream speed, and limited monthly bandwidth available - you can exceed both very quickly transferring video. You're better to just hide the PC away somewhere, especially if it doesn't need a keyboard, mouse or monitor.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=31620

Kinda depends on your budget. Personally, I recommend 3xLogic Vigil systems as a top-notch hybrid unit - the search functions are outstanding (see this article: http://security-today.com/Articles/2012/08/01/Peace-of-Mind.aspx), you can keep all your existing cameras and migrate them to IP as need and budget dictates, and multiple DVRs can be centrally managed and monitored from the client software. The catch is that they're not cheap (probably looking at anywhere from $3500-$6000 MSRP, depending on features, modules used, and channels), but hey, you get what you pay for.

This is exactly what's happening: because the power and video grounds are tied together inside the cameras, and the video grounds all tie together at the DVR, the other two cameras are getting a power ground via the one fully-connected camera. This COULD have something to do with your interference - does the noise go away when you properly ground all cameras to power?

Those Sony cameras aren't bad... not great, but not bad. "Electronic day/night" simply means they have no IR cut filter and compensate for the IR electronically. What resolution are these DVRs all recording at? Do they support D1? You may need to tighten some views to get better detail. In general, even with megapixel, it will be hard to get facial detail on a wide shot - the best idea is to have sufficient overview coverage, then a few tight shots on "choke points" like gates and doorways for higher detail.

Second the vote for 3xLogic - I've used their POS integration quite a bit.

It's not so much about the proximity of the source as the overall versatility. The dual-voltage models will actually run on just about anything from 10-30V, AC or DC. It's just nice to have the extra options should the need ever arise.

16-channel DVR for $99?? Are you freakin' kidding?? Oh yeah, that's why: it's not D1. CIF-only both recording AND live, according to the eBay listing.

There are several instances we've dealt with here in the forum of people using two pairs and having noise problems, and switching to a single pair cured it. Remember, the whole point of twisted pair is that the twists cause cancellation of induced noise in the "signal pair". If you go with two pairs, then your "signal pair" are no longer twisted in relation to each other. While this isn't inherently going to cause problems (it's functionally no different than using station wire or speaker wire or any other non-twisted wire, which I have done before), you lose that noise-rejection property... and you don't gain any advantage from it. I think you meant "elimination"

As far as I understand CNB model numbers... x0 = 12VDC NTSC x1 = 12VDC PAL x4 = 12VDC/24VAC NTSC x5 = 12VDC/24VAC PAL I'd stick with the x4s if possible (24, 34, etc.) - more versatile. Also (note: none of the following are authoritative; this is just what I've gathered looking at various model numbers): Vxx prefix is Vandal Dome Dxx prefix is standard (indoor) Dome Lxx prefix is IR dome xBx prefix is surface-mount only xCx prefix is flush mount, or surface mount via back-box VF suffix is Varifocal, True Day/Night VD suffix is Varifocal, Color-only S suffix is fixed-focal lens

You mean connect it directly to the monitor? Even the cheapest passive baluns should be good for at least 500-800'. 180' should not be a distance issue. Agree on doubling up, but the interference seen there doesn't look like lack of voltage - that would normally manifest as the camera dropping out entirely. WRONG. DO NOT use two pairs for one video feed. Search the forum - this comes up at least once a month, someone who's got image issues that turn out to be caused by using two pairs.

What cameras are these?

Ah. Then yes, the cable with the audio feed should work, just snip off the RCAs and wire that pair into the PTZ and the DVR's RS-485 port.

No such thing, unless you're prepared to spend big bucks.

If this is a "kit" system, doesn't it come with cables?

A $100 DVR and you could have just been done with it - sometimes a few dollars saved isn't worth all the extra screwing around.

Did you play with the level settings at all for the day/night switch? Sometimes on these cameras, they need a factory reset (use the INIT option on the main menu) before everything else works fully.

Is there internet available in the remote building? If so, you could set up a VPN link to the office and connect the two DVRs that way. Just use a DD-WRT-able router on both sides; configure the office end with the VPN server and the remote end with the VPN client connecting to it, and away you go. Or take a look at Ubiquiti wireless gear - not sure what their stuff costs, but $550 for that thing you linked seems pretty spendy. Seems to me the Ubiquiti stuff starts in the <$100 range. As long as the existing office DVR is a Dahua-made unit as well, the PSS software should make it painless to view both together.