the toss

I guess the discussion should be narrowed down a bit. Large scale installations with high end VMS ok. IP simply because all the VMS software is for IP systems. BUT if you are serious about having a SECURE cctv system then by definition it should not be on a network. ie it should be a stand alone system. So now the discussion centres on image capture & transmission. So unless you talk about 20mp images I cannot identify one advantage that IP cameras might have.

It would normally be labelled "loop out". So on the back of the DVR there will be a row of BNC inputs labelled as cam 1 cam 2 etc OR chan 1 chan 2 etc and below each of these will be the associated "loop out" for each chan. Now keep in mind that this was a fairly standard feature on Analogue (SD) DVRs and may not appear on IP or HDcvi/tvi DVRs

Well if it is only on one camera then it is unlikely to be getting in at the rack end where everything is converging. Non of that gear would normally be capable of causing interference at CCTV baseband frequencies. Have you swapped the camera with another to prove if it is cable or camera causing the problem.

good looking college girls ?

Give the BNC connectors at each end a bit of a wriggle/jiggle just to make sure they have been done properly. Next most likely cause is interference from lights / air con / freezer plant / compressors etc. Keep a log of when the interference appears and see if it matches the usage of any electrical equipment.

I totally disagree! Giving up rights for security is one of the major problems confronting the U.S. today. As Ben Franklin said "They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." He said it many times in many ways, including ”Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.” This is the legacy of the post-911 Patriot Act and it has many of us deeply concerned. Among the freedoms it illegally took away, as defined in the Bill of Rights, are: Amendment IV, Freedom from unreasonable searches: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. - (PA) The government may search and seize Americans' papers and effects without probable cause to assist terror investigation. Amendment VI, Right to a speedy and public trial: In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense. - (PA) The government may jail Americans indefinitely without a trial. Amendment I, Freedom of association: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. - (PA) To assist terror investigation, the government may monitor religious and political institutions without suspecting criminal activity. So what happens when your "rights" infringe on someone elses "rights". But I agree with you that the American Govenment today is a frightening animal that is out of control. Modern history is littered with examples of Political interference in other countries affairs only to have it come back to bite them. Not only America but Britain , France , Israel etc. I think society needs to take back control of the political process - how ? I dont know.

This will develop into a no win discussion because BOTH side have valid arguements. I will just say that to feel safe as a society you need to give up some of those "rights" and work together for the common good. At on stage you (Americans) had the "right " to drive on the left side of the road. That right was given up for the safety of the majority. It comes down to where you draw the line in your lost freedoms. A perfect example is DNA databases. I understand that it would benefit law enforcement & prevent identity theft to a huge degree but I am dead against it.

Are these pre-made cables that came with the cameras?

Well we have a similar symbolic flag here (The Eureka) flag which origianated as a flag of defiance during the Victorian goldfields riots in the 1800s. Many people still use it as a flag of civil defiance when they are not happy with government decisions. It has no official status other than historical.Probably the confederate flag should be consigned the same fate - it certainly shouldn't be flown on public buildings. @Boogieman - if the places with the most restrictive gun laws have the highest gun fatalaties then we should have bodies in the streets. So I dont think it is an issue of restrictive gun ownership laws & the only other thing I can think of is a problem of society. No one is born as an armed criminal , they turn into one from an armed law abiding citizen. I honestly understand where you are comming from - I obey the law , I am intelligent , I am sane, I am not a sociopath and I will not murder someone. But you cannot say the same thing about the guy next door or across the road or the ones you work with. The simple fact is that you cannot control the people who have guns but you can at least (try) to control their availability.

You've taken Boogieman's response the wrong way. Many people get fed up with answering the same questions over & over. I think it is reasonable (like he said) to do a bit of searching & reading & then pose a more specific question

Now there's your problem. See post #2 A few points to note. 8 characters each being one of ten digits gives how many combinations? (you can work it out) For most entry level situations (ie Swann) that would be sufficient. If you have a high security situation then you shouldn't have a Swann product and regardless it shouldn't be available for any Joe Blow to be fiddling with to try to crack the password.

I think that the use of coax is a real plus simply because of its durability so the fact that IP wont run on coax is a mark against it. ONVIF is simply a lobby group pushing their own barrow so I dont understand your comment on a "common standard" - IP cameras for the most part are not interchangeable between manufacturers.

I find it ammusing that you are so worried about security but not about quality.

I'm just saying that there is good CHEAP analogue out there if he's on a budget

Some cameras have their own motion detection built in.

I dont know where you are getting your info but this should be a pretty simple (& cheap) setup. Ironically the cheapest & easiest way to do it WILL be to use a DVR. Ensure the DVR you get has monitor outputs for each channel. 1) Cable from each camera location back to where ever your central monitor (& dvr) will be. You will also need a couple of power points here. The dvr output is fed to your central monitor & can view any or all cameras. 2) Cable from each channel monitor point to each monitor screen. ( chan 1 cable to monitor 1, chan 2 cable to monitor 2 etc) You will end up with 4 monitors each displaying one camera and a central monitor that can display any single camera or all cameras together. PLUS the capability of recording if required. The cameras dont need to be anything special assuming there is good light in the dance rooms

There are a number of things you could try to pinpoint the fault. First suspect will be the power supply but you say the 12v is ok & the mouse has power. You could open the unit up and have a look around. There isn't much in there only a circuit board for the panel controls , a motherboard & the hard drive. Look around for an internal fuse that might be blown. If you have a spare hard drive lying around try putting that in. Some DVRs test for the hard drive before they will do anything else. For a little more than the $200 upfront you could buy a new one with warranty so I wouldn't spend too much time on it. In the early days of DVRs Samsung & the other large manufacturers had the game to themselves but nowdays there are many many more manufacturers of quality gear. I am a firm believer in the length of warranty you get. Quality gear will give a good warranty. I dont know where you are but in Australia I can buy a 16 Chan DVR with a 3 yr warranty for $380 trade price.

The metal case is hot because it is used as a heatsink to draw heat off the internal electronics. You would be surprised just how hot modern electronics can run

So you have proved the DVR & camera ok which now points to the cable /connectors. Since it worked before then the cable is capable of doing the job. So now we are left with damaged cable / connectors. If it is using RJ45 crimp connectors that would be my first guess.

I can. Just sign & date at the bottom and return to me with your cheque.

There are wifi cameras that work on wifi & other wireless cameras that run on the 2.4Ghz or 5.8Ghz bands (along with all the other public access wireless stuff). This stuff may or may not work in the area of your camp & if it does it probably wont be reliable. I would suspect that you (like us in Aust) will be limited to 10mW RF power by your regulations. This will result in loss of signal if anything (and I mean ANYTHING) comes inbetween your camera transmitter & receiver. Even a bit of fog will most likely cause a signal dropout. I think you would be better putting your funds to another purpose

where are the cables running back to ?

Questions ? fire away

What is it saying on the screen?

Probably not so much a fog as a definite enlarged ,bright image of the cage wire. It will be so bright that the iris will shut down & the image beyond the cage will be just blackness