Roger Smith

I have worked with Chance-i exclusively in the past, but I am having problems with LIVE video, and video playback. I just bought a DiViS 24008H capture board directly from DiViS and am having all kinds of trouble with it. I first installed the card on the computer I use as my main DVR. Hardware specs are as follows Intel Motherboard DG43NB 1.66Ghz Core 2 Duo Processor 1GB of RAM 320GB SATA WD Hard Drive for the OS 1 TB SATA WD Hard Drive for Storage ( Sorry, don't know the specs off hand, but it isn't one of the "green" drives. It is a drive designed specifically for surveillance video.) Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3, 32-bit And I was using the onboard Intel Graphics adapter. The card worked in THIS configuration, but I was getting distortion with fast moving objects, and when I used my PTZ. If you look closely at the tail lights on this second one, you can see the blur.

On the low res DiViS card I was using, I would be able to read this plate, i kid you not (res 640*480) Either my settings are not right, or this card is absolute junk.

Those horizontal lines also appear in the live video. I am running all the latest drivers for the capture board, ATI card, chipset drivers, and Direct X. I even updated my system BIOS. I tweaked all the settings in the catalyst control center and nothing. This card is useless with this kind of distortion. By the way the recording resolution is 704*480 and the codec is H.264. I tried tweaking the compression settings n the DVR setup, nothing works. The camera being used is a Pelco DD53CBW Spectra III. I must say that I am really disappointed with DiViS and am probably going to move away from their products

The card is now running on a computer I use all the time. Hardware specs Asus motherboard P5KPL-CM (G31) 2.40 GHz Intel Celeron Processor (also on the compatible/recommended list) 2 GB of Ram Windows 7 64-bit ATI Radeon HD5670 Same Storage drive No difference in video quality. The reason I am running it on the Asus is that I tried to get the card to work with Windows 7 64-bit on the Intel and for some odd reason the driver for the capture board would not load. I tried everything, ordered a new processor INTEL Core 2 Duo 2.66 GHz , ordered the ATI card which wouldn't work at all with the capture board no matter what I tried. I tried Windows 7 32 bit and had the same exact problems with the 64 bit version, it only works with windows xp 32 on the Intel. I finally got both the capture board and ATI card to work on the Asus motherboard, and here we are. Very frustrating, would appreciate any help I can get!

Had this problem with a GeoVision GV-600 before. I tried everything to fix it. Changed BNC connectors, installed a newer version of Direct X, added an aftermarket video card instead of using onboard, updated GeoVision drivers and installed latest DVR software, couldn't fix it. I am guessing it was in the DVR card itself, or the card was getting old

I seem to be having trouble finding a good DVR lock box. I know about the standard boxes you can put indoors, but I am looking for the environmental DVR lock boxes with the plexiglass windows. I googled, I seached this forum, no success. Long time ago I saw some that had their own air conditioning built in to them but I can't find them anymore

Is that a space ship?

I see a lot of requests from homeowners on the proper equipment on home installs, I figure I would just give my input. Just some basic stuff to make it a little easier for a DIY'er 1st - Do not skimp on the money when designing a CCTV system. If you want a good quality system, you are going to spend money, simple as that. Your system is only as good as your weakest link. Don't get crappy cameras and a good DVR, or vise versa. Choosing cameras - Select where your cameras are going to be. Take EVERYTHING into consideration when choosing a camera after choosing the locations. What are you trying to capture? Is color a necessity, or the ability to see better in darkness? B/W cameras can usually see better in low light levels, check the cameras LUX rating. Is the camera going to be exposed to the elements? Is the camera going to be mounted in a location where it could be vandalized? Is there ambient light at night, or do you need an IR camera? All of this will also play into selecting the other components to your system. If you have the money, spend it and get the right camera for the job. When running your cables, stay away from any high-voltage lines, fluorescent lights, and high-voltage breaker panels. If you are running a wire to a location that has limited space, or is difficult to access, I would go with cat-5 and baluns, in case you ever want to add cameras to your system. Do not cut corners when terminating the wire, or you will have problems. I use twist on BNC's a lot (if using Siamese wire), but I recommend compression BNC's if you know how to do it, especially if the DVR is going to be in a confined area. Always make sure there is NO copper braid touching the center conductor. Choosing power supplies - Choosing a power supply can be tricky at times. Always check all of your cameras power consumption ratings, and voltages, to be sure that the power supply you get can handle the load, especially if you have a lot of IR cameras. I have been an installer for about four years, and there is still a lot that I can learn. There are so many ins and outs in the field of CCTV. Hope I have helped someone with this. If anyone can add to this, please do.

Chance-I ! Woow did not hear this name for while used to sell lots of cards years ago ( even had custom GUI done for us) still have in my garage probably about 15 cards collecting dust I am not in the business any more. But I still tinker with my own system daily, and do some things on the side to keep my skills sharp. All I know is Chance-i and GeoVision. What are some good DVR systems today?

In reference to my last post. This club also had me come in and pre-wire for 32 cameras, one being a PTZ, and one mic, while they were remodeling it. They changed the plans for where the office was going to be ( the place where all my wires where run to) And they re-routed all of my cabling without telling me. The next time I went into where the office was supposed to be, there was a kitchen there, and all my wires had been moved. Some of the labels had been cut off so they can fish the wires down the wall of the new office. (edit) sorry for derailing my own thread, just showing how cheap people can be

Yea I kinda figured that, it's just my opinion. You get what you pay for. Of course it also depends what you need the system for. If you just want to find out what bastard is stealing your newspapers then you can probably get away with a cheap system. If you want to protect your home 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365, then spend the money to get a good system. I can tell lots of examples about "customers" deal with them for about 10 years on retail level person lost 50-60K and he want to buy Costco system and so on... look around forum what people talk and buy Actually I notice more and more inside integrators and installers around my city Nobody want to sell or install to residential homes I turn down at least few calls per month unless person want talk about quality usually takes 2-3 min to know whom u talking to I could never quite understand when a customer asks you, the professional, on what kind of equipment to buy, then they turn around and buy the cheapest piece of junk they can find. If they are not going to heed your advice, then why ask? They used to do that to me all the time. This one club I did had it's DVR confiscated by the police and wanted me to get him a DVR , we dealed strictly with Chance-i. I told him I could get him a chance-i card and build him a machine. So what does he do? Without consulting me, he goes out and buys some piece of junk DVR I have never heard of, that I have no clue how to operate, and all the instructions are in Chinese I was so pissed

Yea I kinda figured that, it's just my opinion. You get what you pay for. Of course it also depends what you need the system for. If you just want to find out what bastard is stealing your newspapers then you can probably get away with a cheap system. If you want to protect your home 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365, then spend the money to get a good system.

Just my opinion, go to DVRMart and get http://www.dvrmart.com/mrt-asp-dvr_divis-cap120a08-pid_653-ctt-product_detail.htm# Then go to Tiger Direct for this http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1409683&CatId=119 You can build yourself a relatively cheap PROFESSIONAL DVR. The only thing you would have to do is put the capture board in, load windows and the DVR software, and you should be good to go. With this card, you shouldn't need any hi-end graphics cards or anything. I have did the same thing and my system has been running for years. The only thing I had to replace is a fan , and a storage drive. But it is a pretty reliable system.

It'll be ok. What was messed up? The onboard video was damaged and didn't display things properly, and I also had to replace the power supply for the tower. Probably due to the extra load the cpu was under running both the DVR software and whatever processes that were going on. I know when I am viewing my cameras from my laptop, it sure heats up fast and I get a warning about processor usage. Just don't want to see you burn up something on your computer.

I have enough ' computer ' to do it ok. I Am only going to use two cameras. I was only using one camera and messed up my computer. Just be warned.

hi. its always best to run a cctv system on its own dedicated PC ..... but aver NV5000 cards are a good price. +1 I learned the hard way about running DVR software AND doing a bunch of other stuff at the same time. We used to tell our customers that we do not warranty the system that has damage from using the DVR for activities other than surveillance. That is why I like Chance-i DVR systems because you can lock out users from being able to minimize the DVR software. I had a Geovision card in a computer that I used all the time and I know you can minimize the DVR software, I ended up having to change the computers power supply, and I noticed that my onboard video was also damaged.

Alarm sounds like a bunch of crickets

Thanks survtech and Horizon for the responses, it is much appreciated. I have replaced the Pelco with a cheap PTZ I bought off of Ebay , and believe it or not, the cheap camera suits my needs better than the Pelco. The spectra 3 I have is a DD53C22 and I had it out front of my house. The only problem is that it doesn't see too good at night since it is a color only camera. Good thing I had a backup!

Sorry I been away for awhile, does anyone know where I can get a replacement cap for this board and what type? I scraped the burnt cap off the PCB and powered up the camera to make sure it still works with success, is there any danger of using the camera without replacing the cap?

I have been recently been posting about a Pelco PTZ camera I have because the PCB board went bad. I was just thinking about this cool software that I found that helped me access the cameras OSD. I don't have an actual PTZ joystick, so I used this http://www.serialporttool.com/PTZ.htm It even allows you to program a tour for a cheap camera you can get off of ebay that is very limited. It cost about 60 dollars, but is well worth it. All you need is a RS485 or a converter, and you can use any computer as a PTZ joystick. I have mine on a flash drive.

A video I found of it. Can anyone tell me how to embed the video???

This is the type of camera I had

I had a 30 LED IR Bullet that I shined a red laser pointer into to see if someone could blind the camera enough to do something without being seen. Oddly enough the camera went bad. It would stay on and after awhile it would go out. If I unplugged it and let it sit for awhile, it would come back on when I plugged it in. It also developed some kind of sensitivity to light. Take it for what its worth.

How exactly do I test the camera after I knock the bad cap out? Replace the fuse and plug it in? Or do I have to solder anything? [uPDATE] Nevermind, I figured it out. I plugged it in and the camera still works! Thanks for the help

Yes, fans and heater control.