Puck90a

How are you supposed to control it from the next room with that remote though? The camera is supposed to be inconspicuous. Kids are being asked if they have been molested and "where did your daddy touch you?" They don't want the kid to feel like they have a camera stuck in his face. The cop in the adjacent room then pans around and zooms, and listens to what the interviewer is saying and talks to her with an earphone in her ear. The whole thing is recorded on DVD and that is sent to the police station and court or wherever. So it's a sensitive situation, but I don't think the situation calls for a stout survellance hardware setup. It's such a short run, and it only needs to be one camera. It doesn't need to be HD, or night time capable, or do anything automatically. It doesn't need a very close zoom. I just think it's crazy that they're looking at $1000+ per room for a pretty simple process. I know it's supply and demand, but dang. My cellphone can surf the web, take HD video, pictures, hook up to a computer, remote into a PC, play movies, skype, and 100 others things, and it cost a fraction of what all this surveillance garbage costs.

Thanks for the reply. That controller looks pretty expensive and like it would be overkill for what they're trying to accomplish. This isn't meant ot be a complex surveillance system being used in a casino or bank or something with 100 cameras. It's just for one camera that is about 15 feet away (the other one a little farther, but separate). All they really need is one dome ptz camera cieling mounted and the ability to control it from the next room. And it just needs to be plugged into the composite video input of a DVD recorder. WHen you look at all the products and accessories available on the cellphone, computer, and tablet markets, it's a little surprising to see how little is available on the surveillance camera market. I know there's a lot of crap out there, but it still seems like a limited scope. Supply and demand I guess. It just seems like there are a few companies that sell a few different things that all cost a lot, and there don't appear to be many tiers of products or different interfaces. I invision having a dome camera with just a USB port on it, then perhaps a composite or BNC output, then have the usb cable running to a controller or just a simple joystick, with twist to zoom. Have the joystick plug in with a power adapter, and have the power running over the USB cable from the joystrick to the camera to power the camera's movements. If you need a longer run than 15 feet, just use a USB cable to cat5e extender. Sell it all for $250-300. I know there are USB options out there for plugging a PTZ camera into a PC, but I don't want to use a computer as a capture device because that's just asking for more problems (spyware, BSODs, data loss, etc). They also have a microphone hanging from the cieling that works fine, but sometimes when kids speak softly they can't pick them up well. One room has a second mic in the wall that I"m not sure they knew was there, but I"m thinking of possibly adding a couple more wall mics. I'll figure that out one way or another, but I'm wondering how I will set something up that will pick up one soft voices at various parts of the room (about a 12x12 room), but not cause any feedback between mics. Anyway.

I'm an IT guy at K-8 school. Servers, PCs, and some A/V stuff. A parent who is a cop asked if I would go and check out a surveillance system at a place that interviews children who have witnessed crimes. There are two interview rooms, both with mics and Pelco PTZ dome cameras cieling mounted (need to be inconspicuous). One of them has a controller that has been working intermittently. It is setup with a BNC connector, RS485, and a spliced power cable that goes to what looked like a 12V AC adapter (my guess is that is why it isn't working well). The cable run looks like it's probably around 20 ft. The controller is in a TV stand and they take it out to use it. The installer used a Cat5 cable with one pair to hook up the RS-485 connection - it looks brittle to me and like it shouldn't be handled much the way it has been. I'm just now learning about this stuff, but I don't like the looks of it. It all looks shoddy and not very durable. But the more I google, the more standard this setup is appearing. The other room isn't working at all, and it's a longer un - probably 50-60 feet, maybe not that long. Similar setup to the other room. The controller looks much older and crappier though. I'm contemplating how much I need to salvage what is there, or start fresh. I'd like a PTZ camera and controller that interface more smoothly together. I want more durable connections that don't have to be spliced, and I want an input other than tiny little RS485 wires screwed into the back of the controller. I don't have a problem with BNC connectors. This doesn't need to be used with a DVR. It's just plugging into the back of a DVD recorder with a composite cable. Same both places. Can someone help me with a solution here? THe people said they're willing to spend some money to start fresh. I've seen CCTV controllers that don't have tiny little RS485 connectors but something that resembles a Cat5 end, but not cat5 - thicker and with more solid colors, can't remember what that's called.