cobra2411

I was thinking of playing around with Zoneminder and I found these cards; http://www.ebay.com/itm/CCTV-H-264-4CH-DVR-Card-Real-time-100-120FPS-Video-Audio-Connection-Cable-/330647829755?forcev4exp=true&forceRpt=true#ht_6259wt_1139 They are listed as working with Zoneminder on the ZM Wiki site and they're cheap... I've got an old P4 and a Core Quad that I would install Ubuntu on and run it on that. I need 8 ports but I don't know if I should get 2 4 port cards or a single 8.... Anyone have any experience with them? I was looking at the Dahua DH-VEC8008HB card but can't find any software that works with them. I know they have their own SW but I was looking for something, inexpensive, that would work with XProtect Go or something similar. Because of the cost I'm willing to spend some time with Zoneminder but my first thought was XProtect. I'd like to build a hybrid system, reusing what I have, so that when I upgrade to IP cameras I can keep my analog stuff for a grand view and use the IP for quality pictures.

My main reason for setting something up was I had some kids rifle though my car at night. So I setup two cameras in a crossfire pattern to cover my driveway. Many of my neighbor's houses are dark outside at night, so I figure if mine's well lit then any criminal types would go for easier targets. As for stealth, you could look into some IR illuminators.

I've got 5 cams up now with 2 more planned. Most are simply checking up on what's going on around the house. For the IP stuff there is one place I would definitely have one, maybe 2. Not too bad but still probably $1,000 upgrade from where I'm at now.

Just wanted to drop in and say a quick hi to everyone. Found the site doing a google search about TV line resolution and if there was any benefit to the higher 540+ cameras. I had been mired in confusion and had been putting off getting a system till someone rifled through my cars one night about a year ago. It was just kids doing stupid stuff but it got me off my rear end and I got a cheap 4 camera setup. I figure you have to start somewhere. I've since upgraded the cameras and the dvr to an 8 cam setup. I would love an 8 cam IP setup but that's not in the budget right now. Eventually I hope to get a hybrid setup. I sold my 4 cam DVR to a friend and have been helping him get setup and I'm helping another friend get into a setup. David

Yes, full D1 and the dark picture is IR only, but I do have a second camera (same model) on the other side of the garage. Just remembered that. Again, IR only, low lux isn't my main concern as I have a motion light and actually have enough light to get color pics. The motion light is a dual-bright system, so for 6hrs after dusk it runs in low power till triggered. This gives a nice soft light to the house. After 6hrs it goes off and then is motion only. If I'm up late enough I'll disconnect power to the other camera and get a pic of the single camera IR performance. Security for me is a multi-step process. You can't move around my house at night without triggering a motion light. I also have an electronic timer built into a switch I got from Home Depot that has a variable feature so lights don't go on and off at exactly the same time every day. It was around $30 or so. Very hard to tell when I'm home and not home.

That's exactly what I'd do. Metal J box with cover and tuck the cable into the box. Paint to match.

Agree, 3 axis is a nice plus to have. Some installations are fine with 2 axis but many can run into problems where the image is skewed or even sideways.

I don't have the Lorex system but I would agree in general that the basic, run of the mill, inexpensive analog dvr's out there are going to suffer from poor video quality. At $500 for the Lorex system I would look at the Aver EH1008H hybrid system. For me, with a sub $250 dvr I accept that it's just a basic, simple system with poor quality. Fits the needs and the budget for now. Here's a couple screen caps from mine. Camera is a 1/3" sony sensor dome, 420TVL

I agree with the IR lights but 0 lux wasn't a concern as I have pretty good motion lighting there. With a cheap D1 DVR I'm not expecting to get a much better picture with a 600tvl cam. It's adequate for my needs at the moment. Here's with the lights on and off. Ignore the spiderweb across it...

I have a couple of these: http://www.closeoutcctv.com/CCTV-High-Resolution-Sony-CCD-Dome-Security-Camera-p/cl-512s.htm $50 IMO qualifies as cheap. They blend in very well when installed under the eaves and unless you're really looking for them you pass right by. They're waterproof, 3 axis adjustable and have a pretty good picture. The only problem that I would see is that they are wide angle, ~70 degrees/3.6mm lenses. For someone coming up the stairs you'll get a great face shot when they get to the top, but for someone walking around the ground you'll just know someone is there. Here's the view and a view of the camera...

How much functionality do you want? I have a night owl system, which I'm told is similar to a Swann system and I use an app called ASee. I can view live feeds for all the cameras and take snapshots but I can't view saved data. I looked at the manual for the Lorex and the web interface looks identical to mine and the phone app looks similar. It's setup to use DDNS where as mine goes directly. I suspect they're similar. The VGA setup screens are similar but not the same, although I haven't connected that way since I've updated the firmware on mine so maybe it's changed. Also I believe the firmware update added DDNS functionality to my unit as well. My unit is the Night Owl Posidon DVR. I got mine for $129 on sale with no HD and bought a 2T drive for around $100. 2T is averaging about 5 weeks of video storage from 8 channels. I probably could get that down playing with the sensitivity because I have lots of video of trees swaying in the breeze... http://www.nightowlsp.com/Products/8-Channel_2/Poseidon-DVR It's a very cheap unit and not always intuitive to use but I like it and for the cost it serves it's purpose. Later I plan on upgrading to a hybrid and adding some IP cams. David