Kawboy12R

Make sure you're not watching a lo-res CIF stream live (when the speed is good) and switching to watching D1 when you watch recorded history (when the speed is bad). Transferring 4x the data might be the problem.

I'd bet you adjusted the focus when you spun the lens 180 degrees. Either that or the dome got covered in fingerprints or something, but most likely it needs the focus readjusted. There are two knurled screws you need to find after you take off the dome for lens length and focus adjustment. They're on the lens body (side of the black cylinder that holds the glass lens). You'll need someone watching the camera output while you're doing the adjusting- either someone inside with a phone/radio at the DVR monitor or just you with a tv plugged into the little remote RCA plug at the camera (the best method). If the little RCA dongle isn't installed then you'll need a BNC to RCA adapter plus monitor at the camera for good one-person adjustment or another person at the DVR and a radio for precise adjustment because it's possible that it got moved to a totally different zoom level from what it was set to before. There'll be a LOT of running back and forth to the DVR if you have to do it all yourself without a monitor at the camera. You can take down the camera, bring it into the DVR, get it close, and then reinstall and do the fine tuning if you want.

I've got nothing against Audis. I know a few people who have 'em and love 'em. The reference I tossed out was from the 80s. Small part of jealousy on my part at the time (I was a poor student) to enjoy the "nervous" part. I've got a Cobalt, wifey drives an Escape. When I want fun I want to mainline it, thus the ZX-12R Ninja in the garage.

I think it was a Canadian iceberg that sunk the Titanic. We grow 'em big up here.

Don't listen to buellwinkle about Beemers. He drives an Audi. As a bit of a side story, a local dealership used to sell both Volkswagens and Audis. A fellow who worked there told me that he could ID the folks who droves Audis when they walked in the door. Nervous types. He figured their cars made them that way. They might be more reliable and cheaper to fix now though...

Download the Pelco camera tool and plug in the specs of the cameras you want to try out. At the very least, get the field of view specs right so you know what the cameras will cover before you buy and install them. Sensor size and lens length will give you that and then you can stick 'em on your property to see what you can cover. Just remember that while you can see lots (wide FOV) with, say, 2.8mm or 3.6mm lenses, you can't identify someone from far away with them. Recognition (if you already know them) yes, but identification of a stranger is a different story. They're best for entranceways because you can identify strangers up close coming through the door while still giving you wide situational awareness. For distance ID (folks touching a car parked more than 10 or maybe 20 or so feet from the camera at night) you'll need a longer lens. Personally, I like one wideangle cam per entrance plus additional cams to cover all sides of my house plus specialty cams for other jobs like license plates of cars entering my driveway, parked cars, outbuildings/garages with valuables, spots where my kids play, etc if the doorway and other cams covering the house won't do those jobs. Play with the Pelco tool with common lens sizes (2.8, 3,6, 4mm with 1/3 sensors), decide on a budget (sure on the $1400?), then pick cameras and recorder (standalone DVR/NVR/computer with software) based on your budget. Make sure you've got room for expansion afterwards too in case $1400 doesn't cut it. Hard to decide whether to skimp on quality or the number of cameras when starting out. If you skimp on quality you may end up redoing the whole thing.

Tom's right, they say 3mp LENS, so my money is on Lorex knocking down the 3mp Hik cams to 2mp (1080P) just like Swann. The LENS is "3mp" because it's the same one on Hik's 3mp cameras. Shady exaggeration but technically true. Sort of.

I guess I'm missing something here. Does it matter if Blue Iris can only address 4gb? It doesn't need more, does it? Seems to me that any system based on BI tends to run into a lack of CPU power, not RAM. Is there any point in having enough memory to run a kabillion cams if the CPU is the limiting factor with "just" 4gb?

Depending on what the problem is and whether catching them on video stops it, simply running above-ground power for a while might work fine for a short term, depending on traffic and location I guess. Given that you've already got the wireless camera, an extension cord in conduit over the lawn with the ends of the conduit anchored might do. Maybe even run covert power, show them some video to prove the cam works, and if they stop what they're doing then remove the power but leave the cam. Problem solved and a cam is in place that they think works. Still not as good as full-time underground power. Even if underground cables cost a bit more than doing it wirelessly with an oversized panel/battery, it'll be a lot cheaper in the long run because of maintenance such as weather damaged panels, replacement batteries, etc. I wouldn't suggest just running power if you're going to do it wired either, run cat6 w/baluns or put a network cam there. That way you'll get a MUUUUUCH better picture than some old cheapo wireless analog cam. Wired analog is way better than wireless analog, and network cams beat analog in most situations as well, usually by a large margin.

Your router issues are sounding more like work firewall issues than router ones. A first class home router will get blocked from work just as easily as a cheap one. It might not hurt to ask the IT department at work what their policy is on remote software, etc and get approval first rather than just try to get around everything they do. Possible loss of job or promotions might make a smartphone data plan seem cheap in comparison.

That's what I was wondering. Sort of the best of both worlds as long as you didn't need super WDR at night.

Don't know if I can help with tunneling through the work firewall but I use one of these for a router. Haven't tried using this Android emulator yet but there's at least a slight chance it'll work where regular methods have been blocked by the Gestapo. I wonder if remote control desktop software from work would help? Or maybe this one?

Can you toggle WDR/Lightfinder on a schedule?

Not that I can tell. I've got a couple of 3364VEs and I just looked over the specs for the 84. You might ask the pre-sales department at Axis to be sure- http://www.axis.com/request/index.php?r=Pre%20sales%20questions

Yes, you can find dvr cards for PC's. Geovision makes good ones but get from a licensed dealer. Tons of fake geovision cards out there. There are lots of cheaper ones if you don't mind taking your chances with quality. Just make sure you get one that says it RECORDS D1 resolution on all channels.

Try looking at game cameras for your remote barn/garage. They're self-contained, battery powered, give a very good picture (well, some do- read the online reviews), portable, and easily lockable to prevent casual theft. Most have an optional steel mounting bracket of some kind for this, but an hour or so with some scrap steel, maybe a welder, and a drill will get you something you could bolt to studs or rafters with hinges and a spot for a padlock if you're handy. Maybe put a shelf under it and store stuff to either side so it doesn't stick out like a sore thumb against a blank wall. Get something with a black flash (invisible flash, etc) so thieves don't notice it working at night. You'll probably want something like a GoPro Hero for offroading, although a gamecam set to record video when it detects motion might work. Home system if you're not fussy about video quality? Just about anything will work, but if you're buying local try and make sure that you don't just test drive it at the store by watching live video under fluorescent lighting. Try and view some tricky lighting (sunlight mixed with shade to see if the cam can adjust to both and still show detail) as well as darkness (running a cord into a back office and shutting the door might work) to see how the cams perform. Also watch some recorded video, because many analog systems look fine live but are horrible when playing back recorded video.

9 cams overkill? I don't see how an average home can be covered well with less, especially with three inside. One cam per entrance (3 doors average?), one cam for a simple driveway, plus two other cams for the rest of the approaches to the house gives 6 and I bet there will be some blind spots with just 6. Depending on layout, two or three cams could be placed to view the majority of "public" space in a two storey home.

There's no such thing as too many toys, just not enough time to enjoy them all as properly and thoroughly as they deserve.

Glad you like them and your deal turned out great.

Thx, I generally prefer cams without ir anyway.

F-stops no, but there'll be quite a noticeable difference in the fields of view and "zoom" of a 2.8 and 3.6mm lens.

Hate to steal thunder from thewireguys but trees are bad, regardless of detection zones. Some trees and most shrubs have branches all the way down to the ground and, even if they don't, even the higher-up branches will cast shadows on the ground that move in the wind. Simply excluding the leaves higher than 6' from motion detection isn't effective. The best security solution is to cut the trees down in a wide perimeter around the cameras for both reduced motion detection false positives and to remove hiding places. Obviously not a desirable option for many situations.

http://www.dvrkits.com/help-support/identify-fake-dvr-cards also check this thread for a possible exception- viewtopic.php?f=36&t=34551

Erik, do you have any pics out of the IP cameras for good night vision?

Thx EOppie. Dynamic range looks pretty good. Good detail on the porch while the yard isn't washed out either. Looks to be focused too close though. The top of the ladder before it is moved is nice and sharp but the yard is fuzzy. You are fuzzy but improve as you get closer.