bigglebowski

Any time you use adapters you do have a little bit of signal loss but probably not enough to be very obvious. Blurry is the kind of description that can mean different things for different people, are you sure camera is in focus? Is this a flat panel TV, obviously SD does not look as sharp as an HD signal would be and often would look better on a CRT type monitor than and LCD/Plasma.

My advice would be to keep researching, it will pay off in the end. There is a forum for computer based DVR and there are 2 subforums of the 2 most popular DVR cards Geovision and Avermedia. Check here: viewforum.php?f=2

Your first and last sentence in this post is NOT describing a complete all in one box kit that costs under $500. These systems can be fine with limited use and NO expectation of reliability or quality. Analog CCTV systems can be reliable and quality surveillance solutions and most importantly for budget sake be LOW COST. However a decent brand name analog system will probably cost you just as much if not more for than what these new Costco IP megapixel systems are selling for. Do your homework and also don't let things like cable length determine what system you buy. The tools to terminate coax or network wiring are cheap enough to buy for limited or one time use and you can make cables to the appropriate length. You could also get a local shop to do this fairly cheaply for you if you are unsure of making them.

I wouldnt even be thinking of how to run this wireless without doing a proper site survey and analysis of all the noise that is being generated within and around this place. Most of the residents probably have their own wifi operating on all possible conflicting channels. Depending on the layout you could probably do it it by setting up a point to multipoint setup if you had good line of sight access on the roofs of the buildings. But I would have to say if you had to ask HOW TO on this one I would be "no bidding". Look into a company called Ubiquiti, they make some nice wireless products for many different spectrums.

Most modern CCTV cameras can either run on 24 volt AC, or 12 volt DC. Depending on the total number of cameras you can buy a separate power supply that has multiple outputs for running 4, 9, 16 etc. You could also use a single power supply for each one, its your choice. So if you have an older 12vdc wall wart laying around you could use it to power the camera. The current draw is fairly low so something like a half amp would suffice to power it. The cameras will output composite video, not sure if your average TV would have a composite input where you are, guessing UK? In the US a yellow colored RCA connector is a composite input, which is on pretty much every TV now. You will be able to at least see if they work at all and if they produce a good image. The best thing to record with would be a DVR, which usually does not have a power supply built in to run cameras. I would verify the cameras work first before you worry about a DVR.

It really is a waste of hard drive to record over 15fps, there are many samples on youtube on this, here is one example: Full disclosure: I'm a novice when it comes to video surveillance. I would have expected more blurring and I was thought with 15fps the likelihood of having a good still (visible face/etc) wasn't as likely (hence less fps.) I'd be interested to see that comparison but with a person walking and running. I thought it was a 'bigger deal' as I'd read quite a few comments in various threads that people wanted 30fps. If 15fps is entirely sufficient why bother with 30fps? I imagine it'd also save a considerable amount of HD space. There are many FPS comparisons on the youtube relating to surveillance cameras that one was the first one listed when searching 15fps vs 30fps. To answer your last question there are quite a few cams that wont do more than 15fps at their max resolution, but will at a lesser resolution setting.

It really is a waste of hard drive to record over 15fps, there are many samples on youtube on this, here is one example: m0xyY5SRUgI

Making your own cat5 connections can be easy once you have done a few, if done right there will be no compromise in quality. Drilling a smaller hole in masonry is always ideal especially when its a dense tough wall. You may even be able to just drill through the mortar lines depending on the makeup of the wall.

Yes technically you can splice and extend a coax but of course its not always ideal. Sounds like regular TV coax was used previously as the RG6, is the coax you plan on using CCTV type all copper RG59? Will you be using an RG59 F connector? If not using cctv grade RG59, then just splice in more RG6. Obviously weatherproof the splice if it ends up being outside.

I assume the currently installed cameras have a similar pigtail to the new one you have their on the rug. You will not going to be able to get a reliable connection on that with a BNC type crimp connector. You could chop of the cables from both sides and put RCA solder type connectors on each side, one male the other female. Finding RCA males will be no problem but finding RCA female end connectors are a lot less common. Truth is since this isnt really a proper coax pigtail you probably could get away with just stripping the jackets back and splicing them together with solder that way.

Cat5 or Cat6, your choice, you can google the differences if you need to know. Since its IP you can actually run many cameras over one cat5 cable as long as you have the appropriate switch on the end of the cable. Most IP cameras are powered via the cat5 cable by using the POE (power over ethernet) protocol, so no need to run power cabling. If you are wiring an entire house having cat5 run everywhere is not a bad idea since you can adapt it to do many things like video, sound and IP.

The same brands that are selling at Costco (Swann and Lorex etc) have been around for years, at similar price points relative to the better security brands. For well over a decade you could get Chinese gear online that is so cheap they dont even bother with having a brand name. To your analogy with amateur photographer, if your potential client thinks that his buddy will suffice, either you can consult on why your service would be better or you move on to the next opportunity.

It should work, if not you could always upgrade to a bigger battery like a deep cycle marine type. Its never a bad idea to have an inline fuse with any circuit like this where the power source can supply WAY more current than your device needs. A regulator is not a bad idea but most electronic devices have their own regulator built in. A regulator would be required if your battery was a different voltage then what the camera needs like an 18v source.

This, this and this. It seems like just asking for email support once or twice would make these cameras not worth selling for a reseller. And if you had to send a call tag and pay for return postage you would be out all the money you made on the sale and then you still have to support the replacement. Also lets not compare the $130 indoor camera to outdoor cameras that are also designed to tackle all lighting variations. Not to mention other attributes that an indoor dome wouldnt have.

Nobody wants to get ripped off when they make a purchase and certainly would rather pay less for any given item they buy. There is a lot to be said for one of your major reasons for purchasing a particular product is the brand name. A brand like Panasonic has proven itself in making great products as long as anybody on here has been alive. This can not be overlooked when comparing them or other reputable brands versus a Costco budget brand IP camera. Time will tell, I hope the Costco stuff turns out to be a great bargain. It will be interesting to see what the opinions of the users are after a few seasons of owning these systems. It is great to see Swann here providing support, much nicer to get support from the manufacturer rather than relying on the reseller.

Not trying to debate here, I don't really give a care either way here. I am more curious as to which cameras (that are more expensive) were junk that cost more than the Costco ones. No offense intended.

Yea, you might be trying too hard. When it comes to building PCs you can always go overkill if you can afford it but I dont think that the OS and VMS on its own drive would offer you that much. If it comes at the expense of a more powerful CPU I would opt for the CPU.

I guess what I was saying that something other than the SSD would be more bang for the buck for this system.

While I am a big fan of SSD for the OS I really dont see a great difference with them outside of boot time with them. For a system like this I would think that it would be up 24/7, so not much benefit there. Also is 16gb and Windows ultimate really needed?

Mobotix? I am confused, you mention cheap Chinese junk but praise the Costco cams?

Right. I've never seen a 12v external power supply with the word "switching" printed on it. What I do see is "Output 12v" (and the the amperage printed next to it). So I have no idea how I would know if the power supply I had was "switching" capable or not. Why don't you just give me the camera's 12v amperage spec. Most newer wall warts supplied with equipment today are the switching, regulated adapters he is talking about. The ones that are not are more bulky as they house a large transformer and should be noticeably heavy. I cant say for sure when most stuff switched over maybe 10+ years ago. If he is saying use a 12v @ .5 Amps would mean the camera pulls less than 6 watts.

Tupac?

What do you mean by the resistor was fused? Ive heard of fusible resistors before and they are used for protection in a circuit and when they fail you would call it "open". So if its fused that seems to imply that it is working correctly. So I am conFUSED (get it) boo

Did the camera come this way new or was the original connections cut off? How many bare wires are there? Are the power wires bundled in or is it clear where to connect power? Do you even know if this camera is AC or DC power? Doubt it would make much difference if you just soldered your wiring to the camera or you soldered a female connector on the camera with a matching male connector on your wiring.