fedup

Hey all I have a 3500 sq ft commercial building in lets call it a challenged neighborhood. Currently I have a rather high incident rate and am currently using vhs systems (stop laughing).OK so it's time now to update to digital and I really only want or need the actual dvr at the moment. Problem is I'm rather inept at knowing or understanding all the tek talk about these things (I'm old like the VHS stuff so also computer challenged to a degree). I can wire virtually anything and worked in the analog electronics field when younger (long ago), the digital stuff is always a struggle for me to absorb. I have seen a lot of these units on ebay and various sites all with magical claims and then read various message board horror stories where Merlin failed to perform. So basically I need something that can handle up to 16 cameras ,lets say a terrabite for starters and dvd burner so I can make party favors for the boys in blue--- post problems. I need something dependable but not outrageous in cost. Probably would be nice to have simple net monitoring remotely but no I phone or that sort of frills is needed. Just the basic relive their moments with kodack and me being able to check up from afar on occasion would be peachy. What is a reasonable/realistic cost investment and dependable brand and model? I'd like to keep the dvr alone cost under 1500 if that's realistic. Probably a system that can later have memory expanded or additional drives added. I notice many of these systems say "x" amount of hours recording time but they aren't exactly clear on if that means with one or all camera's .Is the time rating for one camera and then you divide the time proportionate for each additional or do they usually mean for all 16 camera images you get the full hour rating? From what I am reading I should also be looking for D1 resolution? Tried an 8 channel q-see piece of garbage from Costco and sent it right back,one of their unusual functions was if you used the remote to power off the image you had to unplug the dvr to get it to restore image (no power switch at all except the remote which was designed to not restore image according to tek support ) , not to mention the quality was not far from tape...well new tape. Plus it had warning stickers all over it not to depower it without going though the correct shut down procedure (guess they never have power outages where q-see land is. So guys help a damsel in distress please from the proverbial street urchins of the world.and please give me some solid advise here as to what to buy,hopefully not a home owner piece of doo doo,perhaps some not too crazy cost commercial unit??? I'll probably upgrade some cameras later but for now I just need better recording quality with a longer time span. These days my local constabularies are having trouble finding vintage gear to play my tapes on. I run 12 time lapse vcr's all dedicated per camera outputs also run to a multiplexer for monitoring on large screen, I did the original install. OK who wants to buy property on my block.

First off I want to thank all you guys for lending assistance and opinions. It is becoming a true education and I can see I'm going to have to immerse myself in this quite a bit even after purchasing the dvr. Thus far my gut instinct leans towards the digitalwatchdog type Craig recommends. They have a distributor in my area so I plan a trip there and see what sort of sales demo or info they might be able to provide. I'm a bit uneasy with dahau being made overseas and the delivery time and warranty potentials of shipping it back overseas .My regular business involved quantity purchase from overseas and I have had some rather nasty experiences dealing with certain countries.Not to say this company is disreputable but I am gunshy at this point with it's source. Perhaps that's unreasonable logic but I'm afraid to test those waters again. I want to research this 13international Gary recommends so I'll do some reading on it's specifics. I've sort of set myself on needing loop outputs,reason being is I can send it to the old tape machines for back ,plus locate the tape units in a more visual spot so if someone gets in and trashes the tape decks they'll assume they trashed any video. Maybe that's stupid??? It's unfortunate that I haven't thus far found a store that sells several brands in my area like a stereo store would sell selections of amplifiers. Perhaps the watchdog distributor in my area sells more then one brand.I'm going to see if I can set something up monday to wander there. My thinking on these calculators is maybe an arcane method sort of akin to how we use to build old tube gear, double the tolerances and one shouldn't have problems.So the number I come upwith I'll double and keep fingers crossed for the best,so again thanks for the link to the calculator and everyone's input. As for cameras and motion, all my cameras are outside units,the building is fairly secure for an actual penetration but the damage externally is persistent and really annoying.Breaking a 1000 window is just as bad as someone getting in and stealing 1000 dollars of merchandise. product I have has little if any proverbial street value,but again idiots often don't know what's insode until they are floundering around saying man is this what we broke in for,still what's broken getting in costs me. I've found many of the cameras that are day night with infrared led emission if put behind glass reflect back the led image exuding them from internally mounted for outside viewing with my existent gear. So basically everything is outside. Not sure what sort of glass is used on the dome cameras that are like a mirror but perhaps identifying that material might make it feasible to change a couple of glass panels to act the same and allow the infrared to function better. I have also contemplated mounting an infared high output flood to cover the yard area.there are some on ebay like 400.00 that claim up to 1000 ft illumination with a 150ftwide spread that can be softened in for closer range.If that works then it might solve motion lights. Some of the technical info in Soundy's response I'mgoing to have to spend time deciphering.The terminology is a little off my radar so Ineed look upa few terms there.Again I'm an old broad and somewhat out of my element with digital. Lot of bruhaha about windows based systems and linux embedded,is there really that much hack isk difference? My many thanks again for all your efforts to help me, I appreciate it more then you know.maybe when allis said and done and I get this blasted thing up and running I'll do a bar-b-que and send open invite. best wishes Ava

Hi Craig and Shankar and thank you both for the responses. Craig Thanks so much, I looked at digital Watchdogs site and from what I see they only offer a 2 year limited warentee, unless I am looking at the wrong thing, here's the page I accessed: http://www.dwcc.tv/product_Dvrs/product_list.asp?category=Hybrid%20PC%20Based Am I looking at the correct company and units??? They do appear to be more a pro unit but no prices are listed beside the different warentee issue. I do grasp what you are saying about what camera you select for high res and it's time used is proportionate to drive size but again I'm still scratching my head to get some approximate idea of just how many days 16 cameras can record 24/7 footage. I also understand the motion aspect,but wonder if bugs flying or leaves blowing, wind in tree branches or grass or the wind moving something is going to be interpreted as video movement. Right now I have motion lights on the place and a slight wind will rattle my gate enough sometimes to click the lights on. I could with the lights lower the sensitivity but then the field coverage seems to diminish as well. The biggest problem I have is with either mischievous kids trashing things or transients,with the kids it;s often a quick hit and run. Things like someone on a bicycle throwing a rock to brake glass or someone running past and kicking out a cement form and other idiotic stuff of that sort. The transients pose a greater problem as they look for drug money and anything to steal. With tape often the captured image is such short duration and poor quality it then becomes hard to search frames for a good captured image and why I am hoping for D1. Shankar thanks so much , I intend in the future to upgrade all the camera's etc, but at present I would leave that gear in place and upgrade it one item at a time as money permits. I'd really like to aim for D1 even if it means additional gear.It's just the initial purchase for me I want to spend what I can afford on the best DVR possible for me and probably then change critical cameras right after that in sequence as money permits until the entire system is where I would like it. This is not to say what you recommend is a bad unit but I am hoping for something a with a bit more workhorse like dependability and resolution. The DVR is the heart of the system and if I replace all 12 tape units it means that one unit then becomes critical not to fail. I would prefer if I can to buy something more in a commercial grade if possible. Thank you both so so much and as you guys point out the forum is becoming a quick education. The point made about whom one buys from effecting the warentee is invaluable information. Ava

Ok well I'm interested but again not sure about what I am reading with it's specs.What sort of hour time using all 16 cameras does a 1TB translate to in the DI resolution? Is this a commercial use machine or a home intended unit? I have no problem with popping a drive in but what sort of cost difference is there with or without a drive since drives for a tb these days are under 100$ .My main concern is having something dependable as if I go away a week and am on the road I can't just run back to fiddle with a machine easily. The DVD burner is a must for me.I also have a 40 inch TV someone gave me since they went flat screen and I would love to be able to use it for a monitor since 16 cameras on smaller screens you practically need a magnifier or a load of monitors to see what's going on. It really is depressing to see how society has changed so much since I was young. We use to never lock our doors and I'll tell ya now it's almost as if you need a body guard escort to walk to the local store. I have to do something asap to get better results then tape,it's just too much fuss and poor image capture. Biggest problem now is when single frame watching tape it deteriorates the tape itself in the process so I really need to go digital. If you deal these things how do I speak with you direct?