Kawboy12R

Sean got hit with the banhammer and is one of the sites that gets censored on here. Kind of foolish actually. I can see banning the PERSON for crossing a line, but the whole changing names into periods, substituting one brand name for another, etc really undermines the credibility of this site. Who knows what to trust if posters' words are twisted and changed invisibly with no tagline announcing that some words in the post are lies through no fault of the poster? It's disgusting. I can understand automatically changing swear words into asterisks but when that happens everybody knows what is going on. Changing one brand into another? Deceitful and unworthy. As far as the money spent on used "inventory", I think I'd consider it an investment that decreases your short term liquidity. It's only a loss if you sell it for less than you paid for it. Well, except for interest costs and potential lost investment opportunities due to shortage of funds. Ya gotta love playing with money.

If CPU bang for the buck is an issue here's an interesting chart. I'm not an AMD fanboy by any means (mostly for high heat and motherboard/chipset reasons) but the AMD 8 core CPUs give a lot of bang for the buck. Not sure how effectively Dahua software uses AMD CPUs though. Lots of stuff is optimized for Intel so real-world results might not match CPU charts from synthetic benchmarks.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/100067432?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=18+bit+3%2F8&storeId=10051&N=5yc1v&R=100067432#.UWxgIeVZ6v4 http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/100067432?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=18+bit+3%2F8&storeId=10051&N=5yc1v&R=100067432#.UWxgIeVZ6v4 http://nebulousmooch.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/hanger.jpg http://www.homedepot.com/Electrical-Electrical-Tools-Accessories-Electrical-Tape-Wire-Connectors-Electrical-Tape/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbm4u/h_d2/Navigation?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&searchNav=true

Wish I had thought about their CCTV systems when I heard they were selling "everything". I'm from CanuckEASTan as well.

I was kinda wondering what happened to Soundy and Rory. They both seemed to disappear right around the same time.

Free tools and returnables? Annoying but still a win.

Well, after re-reading my answer, the first "yes" might be a "no" (you can't turn the VCM into a VBM by removing the box), but basically they're the same except for the bump on the VCM for "flush"er mounting that gets covered by the surface mount enclosure "box". No bump on the VBM.

Yes No. Neither _require_ it, but you CAN use the VCM without the removable surface mount extension for flush mounting if you want. http://www.cnbusa.com/en/html/product/product.php?inc=dra&seqx_prod=1073#p_v1 http://www.cnbusa.com/en/html/product/product.php?inc=dra&seqx_prod=1077#p_v1

No troubles. Good luck.

Apples to oranges with a varifocal vs fixed lens on the Dahua. Of course it is hard to compare brand reputation between Costco and Empire.

So an actual REAL "$199 no-dicker-sticker" rather than "$199 but call us and we'll cut a deal"?

Just to confuse the matter- http://site.surveillance-video.com/pdf/VBN24VF-Specsheet.pdf http://site.surveillance-video.com/pdf/VBM-24VF-2G-Specsheet.pdf vbM is shown as having RS-485 optional but the vbN isn't. No mention of vbN on CNB's site for some reason, even in their discontinued product list. The vbN is shown in that spec sheet as having DSS and 3D-DNR though. Looks like a phone call or email to any site selling either to positively verify yes/no is in order if the RS-485 is important. CNB has even decided in their infinite wisdom to make the terms "Pelco" and "485" unsearchable in the vcM manual (they're embedded in pictures rather than text).

How much was the ESC-1 anyway? Seems to me that I saw $199 on their site but in the same format showing that Dahuas are $999.

I can't see why not, but then it's not my DVR. I had a look and didn't see a list of recommended HDs for Aliens. If it were mine, I'd prefer to pop it open and get a larger version of the same make/model that's in it. After that, without a recommendation list to go by, then probably the 7200rpm Seagate SV35 (NVR drive), except that it maxes out at 3tb. If you think you're stressing the current drive with only 12 4CIF channels, well, it's only running at 3/4 capacity because it's a 16ch DVR, right? You could probably stick some slowpoke in there and still have it work fine. The only drive I've heard people consistently complain about on here is the WD Green even though it's supposed to be rated for 12 HiDef CCTV video streams. Any of the Seagate 7200rpm drives should be fine and an extra terabyte for a 4tb model over the 3tb SV35 would be a good reason to pick it instead if I was hurting for storage space.

What drive is in it now? I bet the Seagate will work but it never hurts to use the same kind of drive. Have you looked for a list of recommended drives for that DVR?

If you really mean DVR (analog cams with BNC connectors), you can get by with two cat5e (or preferably cat 6) cables if you use video baluns and have local power for the cameras, otherwise you'll need a third cable from near the DVR and use power/video baluns. One pair of wires per camera for video, 4 pairs/cable. Use the rest of the unused pairs for power if needed.

Good, wireless, camera, and cheap generally aren't mentioned together in sentences that don't also include the word impossible. 10 wireless cameras on a budget running in a home where I'll bet you also run laptops, iPads, smartphones, microwaves, cordless phones, etc? I wouldn't even try. Some of the others have mentioned Dahuas which are nice and cheap if you get them from China or in a package system from Costco (QSee rebrands them). You'd need two systems for enough channels though- an 8ch (with 4 outdoor bullets) for indoors and a 4ch with 4 outdoor bullets for the outdoor cameras. If you wanted indoor domes in some locations, they make a 2mp QSee day-only minidome for $200. That gives you NVRs with HDs, a bunch of cams, and wiring for a good price but limited by giving you a whole bunch of 6mm (not wideangle) lensed outdoor bullets when you probably only want 4. Now, if you don't mind having TWO different systems, the Costco QSee 4ch might do you for outdoors for $699. Can't beat that price for 4 cams, NVR with HD, wires, and a no-hassle Costco warranty. The major drawback is you've got 4 6mm cameras when you might really want one 6mm and three 3.6mm (or whatever) for broader coverage up close. Hard to say precisely without knowing the layout. Maybe skip Dahua for inside and use ACTi 1mp D51 indoor domes at under $160 each shipped from a place like bhphotovideo.com. ACTi cams come with free NVR software that don't use much in the way of CPU power (unlike Blue Iris), so you could run a bunch from an old desktop computer with a big HD in it. Add a switch with enough PoE ports to handle your cameras, a box of Cat5e for $80 or so, crimpers for $40, rj45 tester for under $20, and you're golden. You might even have the computer laying around already. Allow a bit more money for things like looong drillbits, wiring snake, possibly some conduit or junction boxes outside, maybe a gigabit router upgrade or second network card, and maybe some extra cash to throw in the swear jar trying to run the wires just right. Given a two week timeframe and "nesting" energy, if it were me I'd get the Costco QSee system up and running outside first (priorities), and then add ACTi cams inside as time permits. You'll probably want one in the baby's room first (awesome to have good video with the baby monitor), then add more cams when you can. You might want a D54 (1mp with IR) in the baby's room. The D51/E51 cams don't have IR so you'll have to leave white lights on at night. You crappy modem won't hurt recording or viewing your system from inside, just when trying to access it when you're not home. For another option, if you think that 8 cams might be enough, the 8ch Swann system with 4 cams might be a better all around choice with 4 more cams added indoors if you don't mind bullets inside ($350 for two outdoor IR bullets), or even use their 4 cam system for outdoor duties because their 4mm lenses give a 75 degree field of view. Nice and wide for covering ground and still give good detail for anybody actually up close the house. Presumably other Hikvision cameras will work with the Swann NVR if you could find some domes for indoor duties but I haven't heard of anybody using other cameras with the Swann (rebranded Hikvision according to some posters on here) NVR yet. Options options options...

The short answer to the IR bug question is that some can see it, some can't. Those that just see in the visible spectrum can see the red glow of 850nm LEDs the same as you and I. From what I can tell, some spiders can see at least some of the invisible IR, but even if they can't then they can certainly sense the bugs that fly around in front of the cams. Try putting some smelly citrus cleaners around the cameras.

WDR helps in conditions where there's extremely bright light and shade. If a non-WDR cam adjusts to the shade then the sunny areas are almost white and washed out. If it adjusts to the sun then the shaded area suffers. They're fine in areas where lighting is all the same, especially indoors with no windows. Pros either stick good cams everywhere or match cameras to locations where they'll perform well to save the customer some money. No sense sticking a $1000 camera with useless features in a location that would be well served with a $200 bargain. I'd have no problems buying a cam with a Super HAD II chip in it but that doesn't mean that all cams with that chip have good video quality and are reliable. It's kind of like saying that Cam X is connected with name brand cable to the DVR so the video has to be good when all it does is ensure that one link of the chain isn't bad. All it takes is one weak link. I'd spend more time looking at brand reputation and owner experiences than what chip is in the cam. For instance, if you're shopping on price and insist on a good chip (which is probably more expensive than a bad chip), then imagine what other corners may have been cut by the manufacturer to give you the more expensive chip in a cheap cam. Did they skimp by buying cheap lenses? How about shopping the discount bin for capacitors? Sourcing circuit boards from a new cheap but yet unproven factory? It's a bit of a crap shoot anyway because even name brand stuff can fail, but you're a lot more likely to get cams with much fewer performance and reliability weaknesses. If it were me and I got a smoking good deal on some Bosch cams then I'd take it and see how I liked them. If they had some weaknesses in tricky locations then upgrade those locations. I'm not a pro, but even pros will usually err on the side of overkill to make sure of good quality at a given location. If you want to save time and money, don't start at the bottom and hope for miracles. Start with midrange name brand gear which will work in many locations and upgrade the tricky locations that need it. Costs a bit more up front but you're more likely to be happy with the long-term performance and reliability. Personally, if I were to start a system from scratch for a business situation, I'd skip analog and look at lower end network cameras. If I were tempted by a VERY harsh starting budget to do analog I'd wire with Cat5 and baluns to the analog cams to make future switching to network cams easy. Even a $160 ACTi 1mp indoor dome (check D51 domes, with $210 E51 WDR 1mp domes available for tricky spots) will give way better detail (especially recorded detail) than a much more expensive analog camera. $160 for a megapixel cam from a "real" company complete with warranty? Even aliexpress pricing on Dahuas wouldn't tempt me from that deal.

No, hate us for being awesome.

I've no experience with that model (or if I do I didn't know I was watching video from that model). It's a lower end Bosch with no WDR but should be good in indoor areas with no bright sunlight. Hope you got a good deal buying used.

EOppie, I got this VimeUhOh message when clicking on your Vimeo link- Sorry, "Wedding" was deleted at 12:21:27 Wed Dec 2, 2009. ’’We have no more information about it on our mainframe or elsewhere.

My understanding is that unfortunately there are multiple levels of performance within Sony lines of the same name. This is outside of whatever else each camera manufacturer chooses to pair with the chips. I was looking into that exact thing about a week ago but couldn't manage to find the new link on Sony's site with that information. There was an older link on here with that information but it was broken. Hopefully someone else can help out?

I don't find EBay to be a great place to find deals now that there is such a high percentage of stores and Buy It Now "auctions". You can usually find things cheaper on .coms than EBay. Try pricegrabber.com or shopping.google.com. The real cheapo no-name EBay stuff is generally worth what they charge for it- not much. Sometimes you get lucky and video quality is decent but then you have to wonder about when it's going to die on you. Often installation, setup, and maintenance cost more than the cameras do, so why stick your neck out for cheap crap in a work environment? If you're stuck with analog, then for a business something like a CNB Monalisa dome with the features I wanted (I use a couple of VCM-24VFs outside but probably should've gone with the VBB-24VF WDR model) would probably be the lowest quality I'd start with (which isn't bad and performs very well in low light for a colour camera), and then probably jump to a Bosch at a bit over 2x the price of a CNB but with better quality and reliability. I guess some of the above advice depends on who owns the building/business, what's the budget, does budget realistically match the need, and who'll be doing the installation.

You make the cables or did you buy them pre-done? I've seen crimped cables test fine on a simple tester but still not work well on a switch. Not sure why but every now and then I have troubles with mine and I have to redo the ends even though my tester lights up on all wires.