kensplace

Is there a possibility there could still be a ground loop, maybe the camera is earthed or something else at fault, if you have a active balun try that at the receiving end to rule out a ground loop.

Up to you really, if its still operational (the zoom) then it would be a good camera to use for zoom only static, as it would make people think there is a functional dome camera watching. You could always keep an eye out on ebay for replacement bits, they pop up from time to time, and you already have everything else you need. If you sell it, you may not get that much, as its a broken dome, but still people do buy them, as some people like to use them as dummies, or for parts/repair purposes. 800 dollars is a lot for a repair, you could certainly pick up a second hand dome for a lot less than that. Out of interest, are the domes gearing mechs made out of plastic or something, 4 years does not seem very long for expensive kit to last (no idea how long domes last, never had one... But they are just stepper motors moving around a small camera now and again, so no reason they could not be built to last decades.....)

Is the siamese cable same as normal twisted pair on the video and is it unshielded (should be unshielded, overall shield is ok, but no shield on each pair). Is it correctly terminated with 75 ohms at the dvr, probably this is switchable.

I meant, I have never set up a video wall..

Does the dvr keep an event log? If it does, check it see if there are any reported problems (like hard drive problems, power, system failure etc)

Never set up a video wall, but one thing to be wary of with plasma sets is that they can be susceptible to image burn if they display static images (which is what a lot of cctv images are most of the time). So if you do look into plasma, looks for ones that offer a guarentee against image burn, or are specifically designed for cctv, and the manu will state they wont suffer from image burn. Apparently, from what I heard plasma sets are more likely to get image burn in the first couple of hundred hours of use, so maybe just display normal tv images for a couple of hundred hours to be on the safe side..... Certainly worth checking with the manufacturer and making it clear to them that static images will be displayed (unless of course your images are not static)

If theres nothing executable on the dvd, like a viewer then I guess the software must be elsewhere... Double check there are no files that could be a viewer, if not then did you get a cd with the dvr? If you did, then check that (and in the manual) there could well be a player/viewer for copied content/backups in that software. Failing that, it may be available as a download from the manu, but I would check the above first. Also, a long shot, but see if there is a newer version of the firmware available, it may have better handling of the dvd writing to include a viewer.

I could believe 98 percent accuracy for a controlled situtation, like the for example the department of defence wanting to restrict access to a secure area to only a few individuals. The lighting, camera positioning etc would be set up perfectly, people could stand in the perfect place to be scanned, and the system only has to recognise a few matches, which means it could be very strict. But find it hard to imagine 98 percent in a uncontrolled situation like a crowded shopping center or stadium, with thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of criminals that are on police file that could be possible matches...

Sounds like a problem with the cable or connectors. Do you get the same problem if you use the field monitor plugged in at the dvr end of the camera lead instead of at the camera?

Cheers, with just one view its hard to know how the cam is performing, as there is nothing to compare it to, or any reference levels (ie just how dark it is etc). But with the two, its possible to see what the megapix is like compared to a analogue at night.

Would be nice to see two shots, one with megapixel,and another analogue shot taken at the same time from a cam next to the megapixel one. Both set up to give best possible pictures.

Never used either, so cant comment on which is better. Would not worry about the pelco being small, it just means they have done a good job utilising the space available, instead of just putting a circuit board in a box and leaving lots of fresh air. There should be no problem fitting either camera (as long as the sony + lens is not to long for the case) into the housing, but you will need to be able to control both the lens, and the pan/tilt. This will mean either hardwiring switches to a power source (is the pan/tilt mains, if so be careful.....) to control the pan/tilt and the zoom / focus for the lens. Ideally you would want a proper controller with buttons /joystick which sends the telemetry down one cable (either rs485 or similar, or up the coax) to a decoder at the camera end that controls the pan/tilt/zoom. If the lens or pan/tilt has presets (ie feedback potentiometers) so they can report back their position, then you will need a telemetry controller to control them in order to make use of those presets.

Dont know the electrical codes in your area, but often if the cable is outside and exposed to potential lightning strikes then you may need to ensure the cable is connected to a proper earth ground point for safety (and to comply with the law, if applicable). Just a thought, it may not apply where you are, but no harm in checking.

Got a link to more details, not sure what they are... Sound like a digital camera though, how do they differ from a standard digital camera?

NVT recommends not running ptz signals through active NVT transcievers. [edit - was thinking of coax telemetry, didnt notice the rs485 bit] Whats a NTZ?

Just to clarify, what Im thinking of, is where you can upload the images automatically, all the time to a remote server - say via ftp. Viewing the images is a seperate matter, another pc with any software needed can be used. I would love a solution that uploads footage live to say a hosting account for viewing later via the net.

whats hotline? Is that where it phones you up when a alarm occurs?

Never used those types of baluns, I was lucky some one was selling a load of nvt baluns cheap and I picked up a few for a few quid each Now Im going to replace most of the coax in the house with cat5 as the my other half is sick of all that 'camera junk'.... Never tried a long run on a balun yet, just going by nvt specs, which must be reasonably accurate as they are so widely used.. would be interesting to see what models of cameras are empty inside, if anyone has some spare time and fancies lifting the lid and reporting back, it would be a good indicator of who makes good stuff. I opened a vista camera (big name in the uk) and it was empty inside, apart from the front ccd board and the rear board with the connectors - oh and a cable connecting the two.... Opened another vista, and it was less empty, but still a lot of fresh air. The only cams I have opened so far that were jam packed were a sony, jvc and a plettac (very packed, nice cam, shame about the lousy company behind it...) The dvr (honeywell) is mostly fresh air also, a small board, and a hard drive, the rest is just empty - If I ever needed a mobile dvr I would just stick the two bits in a case and make my own (apart from the fact the picture quality is so bad I would be ashamed to sell it)

Useful specs rory, out of interest, I remember reading you liked the evidence sharing capabilites of geo, does geo let you store footage on a remote server (where you cant install any software....) so if the pc is stolen then you have a copy (albeit at a reduced frame rate)? Come to think of it, quality wise, Geo should have a word with liteon, if geo could get the same quality as liteon has on their tv dvrs then they could take the world by storm..... Or at least do the world a favour by bankrupting all the crap dvr makers out there (yes honeywell that includes you ) Or liteon could move into cctv.... Security is one industry that always amazes me, for something that is so important, its full of scam artists and they get away with it because very few people like to say, hey I spent a fortune on this product/service and its crap, they tend to keep quiet... Or they just dont know that its not up to scratch.

Funny thing with baluns, you dont always get what you pay for... I have few NVT baluns, which work fine, and are not that expensive really (even at full retail cost). I also have a very expensive(think retail is about 1 to 1.5 thousand dollars) ademco video 16 port balun hub that I picked up second hand (but brand new) for 3 uk pounds. Out of curiousity I opened up the box, thinking there must be some major electronics in it to justify the retail price. Errr. Nope it was almost empty, just one small board taking up a few inches of the large rackmount case, with a tiny (about less than half a inch) but long strip that contained the baluns (which were obviously hidden inside the epoxy or whatever they coat them in so you cant see the fact the circuit probably only costs a dollar or so to make) The rest of the small board was just tracks leading from the bnc into the baluns and back to the terminal blocks. Space wise, there is more likely hood of a cheaper nvt having more components in it per balun than the huge rackmount kit had. Same goes for a lot of stuff in cctv, I have opened many cameras only to find they are 90 percent fresh air inside, and the impressive size of them is just marketing.

If using passive (non amplified) baluns, then NVT recommends (for their products) that the max cable length be reduced if using a digital recorder. There example for one of their baluns was to drop the max length from 1000 foot to 750 ft. Check with your balun supplier, as its really down to the baluns you use.

410ma for dc, and for transformer use (ac) its 4.7w at 24v Funnily enough, I just did a google search for that cam, and picked a supplier at random (www.polarisusa.com), they had a transformer they recommended for that cam,it was a 20 VA model - double what pano rates the camera at for safety - guess that supplier never read the manual....... I would follow pano's advice and not use anything larger than 10va, they will have a good reason for putting that warning in the manual, better to be safe than sorry.

Could be a number of reasons, less powerful transformers reduce the risk of shorts causing nasty damage or fire. Less current to give installers a nasty ground loop shock, and the most likely one would be a transformer when not under load produces a higher voltage output than one that is under load. A higher VA transformer is going to usually put out a higher no load voltage than a low rated transformer. Maybe the camera does not like the no load voltage that surges in when first powered up on a higher va transformer. Or maybe the cam is not fused internally, and relies on the transformer fuse blowing to protect it (unlikely though). Plus using a higher rated one means spending more money on a transformer that is going to waste most of its potential....

Use freeze frame/pause and single step frame by frame until the clock changes to a new second, then continue single stepping till the next second and count how many times you do this for one seconds worth of video, that will tell you how many fps its recording. What are you trying to obtain by capturing cars going by, just a count or something? If the cars are 100 foot away on a wide angle lens, even if motion detection worked you probably would not get any real detail to identifty the cars. Moving to a higher zoom with a narrower field of view would give you more detail and solve motion detection problems.

Motorised zoom lenses like that dont usually have auto-focus, they will have motorised focus though, so you can focus from the controller instead of at the lens. Auto focus is pretty rare on cctv box cameras (do good domes autofocus?). As for controllers, if its pelco equipment you should be able to get a controller, as pelco is a industry standard protocol for controlling cctv stuff, and they will give the protocol to anyone that asks nicely for it, so its not a secret, meaning there are plenty of people making compatible kit. Be aware it may cost a fair bit for the controller equipment, unless you get some second hand stuff, or get a cheaper third party unit and have it wired up properly.