Zyra Tech

I am getting horrible local picture on the vendoma cards right now. It's getting frustrating. So far the answer they gave me is to use cheap cameras. I know, doesn't make sense to me. If I can't get a better pic, I'm going to be forced to change manufacturers which is a shame because I love the company and everything else about the product. On local view, I can't get a good enough picture to make out facial details and anything that is a horizontal line in the camera view is horribly jagged. I've got compression turned all the way off and the highest resolution. I know it's remote view, but show me ANY vendoma demo compared to even a Geo demo where the picture is even close to the same quality.

Any digi-flower demos out there?

Seems like just about every demo i view, they all have the same problem. It this a common problem. Is their any "fix"?

Can't get their demo software do install without error.

Thanks Rory. I'll look into the Kelatel unit and check out features. It's funny but I'm coming at this from the oppossite direction. I came from high-end custom home low voltage installations. We did home theater (dedicated and "great room"), security systems, cctv, phone, phone systems, satellite, audio video distribution, home automation, etc. All the homes are in the $800K to $1.8 million range. Never wanted to touch anything above that as you really get into some interesting characters. It's a great niche to form a referral based business. I got sick of constantly being behind a learning curve doing to many things. Everything is constantly changing. I was tired of hitting multiple vendors for all the different equipment. Another thing you really need to watch out for is service calls. Make sure you have the manpower to handle all the "I can't do this, or I can't do that anymore". If you want to talk sometime to get some ideas I would be glad to do so.

That's exactly where most of my jobs hover around so I've got some room to get the equipment I want specified. I rarely go up against other bidders at this point. I'm just to the point where I want to settle on a product that will work very well.

Thanks so much for the info. I'll look into them. I appreciate the reply.

update?

You know what, what difference does it really make? What's the major pros and cons of dedicated vs. cpu-based? All I really need is a good product that I can stand behind. Please keep the info coming.

Any feedback on what you liked and didn't like?

Anybody have a link to a demo?

I know, from my other post, you can tell I'm having a frustrating time finding a cpu based dvr that does what I want it to do. Some of the demos I'm looking at, I would be embarrassed to be the company 'showing them off". Yeah, the compression may be jacked up, but still.

I guess the next question is who sells the best product that you can purchase the boards and make your own system? We've found you lose too much margin when you can't configure your own system. Maybe I'm just greedy! Thanks for the reply, I'm checking out thier website right now. Looks like the demo is down while they are redoing the website.

Talk about crappy video quality! How can anybody pass that stuff off?

I've quite enjoyed the info i've gathered out of the discussion.

Again, well said. I haven't used the vendoma embedded DVR's. I have bought some of thier cards and built my own system with good luck. There were some other facts stated about Vendoma product that was also wrong as far as features. It's easier to go to thier website and check out the individual product. I have used different manufacturers of DVR products. I'm open to trying new stuff if time and money allow. As of now, my company is exclusively installing vendoma product. It's a quality product and the support is unbelievable. As far as how they market and position themselves, its of little concern to me. They could tell me Mickey Mouse made the card and it wouldn't bother me. I have used Geovision in the past and have to say it does a decent job. It fills a market in a very good way. They market (or don't ) their product to a defined market and vendoma does the same, it's just a different market with some overlap.

Well said. Don't worry DVR expert, it's all good. I get pretty passionate about what I do for a living. I think the important thing to remember is that at some level ALL vendors do some level of "marketing" of thier product that can get into a gray area. I try to focus on support and the product. It helps me to keep out of all the crap. Go into business with eyes wide open in all areas. That's about the best you can do. Carry on! By the way, I appreciate your input DVR expert.

Vendoma is a great company from what I can tell. You will have a hard time finding a company with thier level of support, anywhere. Their system is very solid although I still have some video quality issues I would like to see addressed.

Yup, you are correct. I did a system in a high end residential application where I used a MUX for the RS232 control to integrate with a Crestron control system (which also ran to modulation equipment for viewing over all televisions). I then ran the video out on the MUX to the DVR system. Very little signal degration over the entire system.

Hey, great site. Glad I found it. What is the best and most cost effective way to split video signal so that I can run camera signal to the DVR and then to the modulation equipment for local viewing on all TV's? Right now I'm using a multiplexor with outputs to the DVR and then running the multiplexor video out to the modulation equipment and then using IR devices to control video changing, but there has got to be a better way.

Look up corning camlock on your search engine. They are prefabbed ends. No polishing, cooking, etc, etc. I can terminate an end in less than two minutes. You'll never go back. I like to use velcro wrap to bundle cable together instead of tie wraps. Looks better, lower profile (ie, nothing sticking out), and allows addition of other cable.

If you really like the "old school" stuff, windows 98 SE will blow ME out of the water and will actually run for longer than a day without crashing.

My question is this..... Why do all dummy cameras have that "Look, I have a flashing LED so that you can tell I am a dummy camera!!!!" ???

1. RG-59 siamese cable with power lead. 2. I strip the outer coating back about three feet so it's the same on all cams. I put the red and black power leads into a drill, make the line taught and then spin the two lead together for better looks. I use velcro cable wrap instead of "zip ties". 3. With the siamese cable, it usually looks pretty good using bare cable. I have use a single gang surface mounted box and then flex conduit into bottom of housing for exterior locations. 4. Depends, loose if possible 5. If you have to use cat5 use baluns. I also wouldn't recommend using a patch panel. Just another place for signal to degrade. Video is picky. 6. I use corning system for all my fiber and love it. 7. Tons of tricks and tips. Will have to think about them and start a list.