rory

They dont make them, Dahua is the real manufacturer. Yes, I already downloaded all the watchnet software, thats why I said it is an older version software of the same Dahua software I have here. Specs on the DVR are identical also.

http://www.licenseplaterecognition.com/ http://www.photocop.com/recognition.htm http://visl.technion.ac.il/projects/2003w24/

Sounds like the software on the PC that does that, at least how most are. Or you talking about cameras that have the software built in to do this? Automatic number plate recognition can use ANY camera though. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automatic_number_plate_recognition

It was one of the few that I found that had the HDMI video output. Yes thats what first led me to say its Dahua ... Intellicam also had them for a while now. Mace as well. Even Q-see had one of their units but without HDMI. In fact they come with 1080P HDMI now, at least on Dahua's website, and MACE has the 1080P also - the ones I currently use are still 720p.

I hope not. I paid $650 for it new this past summer. I was told it was a good unit. But you know how that is. Everyone you talk to sells the best DVR's. They seem to have a couple customized versions of software for their DVRs, but specs and everything else including the old Dahua software leads it to being a Dahua DVR - Dahua OEM for many US brands. Here is a thread on tweaking the PSS software .. or use the links in my sig to view the new one: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=23702 I used another version of that PSS multisite manager that does connect and play video from my DVR ... old version also .. this one doesnt .. maybe they customized the ports also even though I changed that manually. Anyway ... Dahua's software might still work with your DVR as they give a few extra options in setup of a device.

Also on their site is a very old version of the PSS network software .. 3.8. .. you can download 4.4 from the manufacturer's website, IMO it is much better. Maybe this is an older DVR?

This is the DVR I'm using: http://www.watchnetdvr.com/embeded_es_rt_kit.asp The 16 camera model. Its a Dahua DVR as far as I can tell. Slight Jagged edges seem to be common with it. But increase the encoding to D1 if you havent already. Even better if you can download a short video clip and convert to avi then post here. Just to verify, it backs up in .DAV format right?

make sure the user account you are logging in with is not already connected or is a local network account? Make sure the ports are all forwarded properly.

The AvTechs Ive used use Java but they are older units so that might have changed. But in those cases I initially had to update Java on my computer, dont know if thats worth a try. Never tried quicktime to connect to a DVR, I dont install any Apple stuff on my PC.

Does a name come up for the activeX? Normally can also tell the brand by the ActiveX.

As long as the OS is not on the hard drive you should simply be able to replace the internal drive with a larger one.

use the real software not the browser app. ... What DVR is it? Why you trying to connect with quicktime?

Please post the original image, hard to tell with the scanned image. You can upload them to tinypic.com then post the forum link it gives you. Thanks.

You can do it over the network but if that is the AVtech then I have to tell you the quality wont be much to work with. Otherwise you will need their software and have it on the network, connect to it as admin and then can download video by events.

the distributer in the US sells it for around $184 Seems like you are paying too much! http://www.ngsystems.co.uk/fm1.html I dont see them at any retailers which is why I posted the link

Thats too easy, the best way is for a single installer is to climb the ladder to the camera and adjust the lens, then get down the ladder and walk all the way back to the monitor and check the focus, if its not good yet, walk back and climb the ladder and adjust it just a tiny bit more, go back to the monitor and check it again, so on so forth

Yeah Thats what I mentioned in my previous post. Though I havent used it and was wondering how well it works if there is alot of motion in the video? Do you guys use it outside as well? Its not a bad price, can even pick it up right in the US and for alot less than the Camera Master.

11. Documents The skin folder contains at least 3 document files: PSS_User's Manual.pdf PSS_help.chm PSS_help_EN.chm Deleting these files will save you 18MB. If you followed this article from Part 3, deleting these 3 files will now reduce your skin folder from an original size of 60MB to just 35MB. However, doing this will not help to speed up PSS. ____________________________________ 1. INTRODUCTION 2. GENERAL SETTINGS 3. SKIN FILES 4. EXIT WINDOW 5. DEVICE INFO 6. TITLE BAR 7. LOGIN WINDOW 8. PROGRESS WINDOW 9. BOTTOM SKIN 10. STATUS PROMPT 11. DOCUMENTS

10. Status Prompt I am going to remove that annoying prompt that pops up every time I make a change. There is no skin file for it. The image file is: tasknoticbg.bmp Simply delete that image file and there will no more popup! ____________________________________ 1. INTRODUCTION 2. GENERAL SETTINGS 3. SKIN FILES 4. EXIT WINDOW 5. DEVICE INFO 6. TITLE BAR 7. LOGIN WINDOW 8. PROGRESS WINDOW 9. BOTTOM SKIN 10. STATUS PROMPT 11. DOCUMENTS

9. Bottom Skin 9.1 Overview This is the entire lower portion of the PSS software, including the multiviews, logo, playback, config, etc. I will be showing you 2 options here. Both are "lighter" restricted versions and are meant to give you a feel for how to do some more advanced editing of the skins. This will involve editing the existing images. We also need to edit 2 other skins and images, LeftBar_config.ini and Right_config.ini, and these will also be addressed first. These additional images are being edited to change to greyscale and also in the case of the left image to alter the shade a little darker to blend in with the new bottom image. If you have been following this article we have already removed the Device Info window so that will not show in the images below. This is what the original bottom window looks like: New Skin: Option 1 - 64 way multiview with Playback New Skin: Option 2 - Basic 16 way multiview Bottom Skin file = bottom_config.ini Here is the original file: View as text file Left Skin file = LeftBar_config.ini Here is the original file: View as text file Right Skin file = Right_config.ini Here is the original file: View as text file 9.2 Buttons I hide the buttons I dont want by using _IsVisible =0 and removing their additional fields. I am going to greyscale the _normal image and just use that for _down and _disabled also. So just 2 images will remain in the skin folder for this skin. The _normal and _over images will be the ones I edit. If you are changing the image, then you need to know how to change the layout of the Button field: Position = x1,y1,x2,y2 In this case I just used the existing positions and moved the buttons over to the left. HaveSwitchWindowButton and HaveSystemButton do not seem to do anything in this skin so ignore those fields. 9.3 Left Bar In this skin the original _normal file is actually named _nomal so I leave it like this. New Images: (same names but new files) Right click to download ... then copy these to your skin folder LeftBar_nomal_en.bmp LeftBar_over_en.bmp Here is the new skin file for the Left bar: (download) [MainSettings] MaskColor = 255,0,0 MainWindow_Size = 46,609 IsUseMask = 1 BackImage_Up = LeftBar_nomal_en.bmp BackImage_Over = LeftBar_over_en.bmp BackImage_Down = LeftBar_nomal_en.bmp BackImage_Disable = LeftBar_nomal_en.bmp It is now safe to delete the additional 2 unused image files for this skin: LeftBar_disable_en.bmp and LeftBar_down_en.bmp 9.4 Right Side None of the Main Buttons in this skin are used so we remove them from the file. New Images: (same names but new files) Right click to download ... then copy these to your skin folder right_normal_en.bmp right_over_en.bmp Here is the new skin file the Right side: (download) [MainSettings] MaskColor = 255,0,0 MainWindow_Size = 162,620 IsUseMask = 1 BackImage_Up=right_normal_en.bmp BackImage_Over=right_over_en.bmp BackImage_Down = right_normal_en.bmp BackImage_Disable = right_normal_en.bmp [MainButtons] It is now safe to delete the additional 2 unused image files for this skin: right_disable_en.bmp and right_down_en.bmp 9.5 Bottom Option 1 - 64 way multiview with Playback In this example I remove all the buttons below the multiviews, rearrange the multiview buttons and add in a new playback button. This still allows the user to view up to 64 cameras and playback video - minus the more advanced features like alarms and changing PSS settings. Even though I am hiding the 1 way button in this skin, it wont work if you remove its additional fields so those are left in this case. The playback button field is simply adjusted in the config file using the original full screen position. New Images: (same names but new files) Right click to download ... then copy these to your skin folder bottom_normal_en.bmp bottom_over_en.bmp Here is the new skin file for Option 1: (download) [MainSettings] MaskColor = 255,0,0 MainWindow_Size = 1024,115 IsUseMask = 1 BackImage_Up = bottom_normal_en.bmp BackImage_Over = bottom_over_en.bmp BackImage_Down = bottom_normal_en.bmp BackImage_Disable = bottom_normal_en.bmp HaveSwitchWindowButton = 1 HaveSystemButton = 0 [MainButtons] ViewQuality_IsVisible =0 RealSmooth_IsVisible =0 FullScreen_IsVisible =1 FullScreen_Position = 98,2,132,28 FullScreen_TipText = FullScreen 1Win_IsVisible =0 1Win_Position = 178,2,212,28 1Win_TipText = 1 Win 4Win_IsVisible =1 4Win_Position = 138,2,172,28 4Win_TipText = 4 Way 6Win_IsVisible =1 6Win_Position = 178,2,212,28 6Win_TipText = 6 Way 7Win_IsVisible =1 7Win_Position = 218,2,252,28 7Win_TipText = 7 Way 8Win_IsVisible =1 8Win_Position = 258,2,292,28 8Win_TipText = 8 Way 9Win_IsVisible =1 9Win_Position = 298,2,332,28 9Win_TipText = 9 Way 13Win_IsVisible =1 13Win_Position = 338,2,372,28 13Win_TipText = 13 Way 16Win_IsVisible =1 16Win_Position = 378,2,412,28 16Win_TipText = 16 Way 20Win_IsVisible =1 20Win_Position = 418,2,452,28 20Win_TipText = 20 Win 25Win_IsVisible =1 25Win_Position = 458,2,492,28 25Win_TipText = 25 Win 36Win_IsVisible =1 36Win_Position = 498,2,532,28 36Win_TipText = 36 Win 49Win_IsVisible =1 49Win_Position = 538,2,572,28 49Win_TipText = 49 Win 64Win_IsVisible =1 64Win_Position = 578,2,616,28 64Win_TipText = 64 Win RecManage_IsVisible = 1 RecManage_Position = 52,2,92,28 RecManage_TipText = Rec Playback About_IsVisible =0 Real_IsVisible =0 SchemeRun_IsVisible =0 Alarm_Isvisible = 0 AlarmRec_Isvisible = 0 EMap_IsVisible = 0 SysConfig_IsVisible = 0 Close_IsVisible =0 SizeSwitch_IsVisible =0 Minimize_IsVisible =0 Menu_IsVisible =0 [StaticText] TiltleInfo_Isvisible = 0 TiltleInfo_Position = 0,0,0,0 TiltleInfo_BackColor = TiltleInfo_TextColor = 255,255,255 TiltleInfo_Text = Real_IsVisible =0 Alarm_Isvisible = 0 SchemeRun_IsVisible =0 AlarmRec_Isvisible = 0 RecManage_IsVisible = 0 EMap_IsVisible = 1 SysConfig_IsVisible = 0 It is now safe to delete the additional 2 unused image files for this skin: bottom_disable_en.bmp and bottom_down_en.bmp 9.6 Bottom Option 2 - Basic 16 way multiview In this example I remove all the buttons below the multiviews, rearrange the multiview buttons and leave up to only 16 way multiview. This makes for a more basic live view only, minus the more advanced features like playback, alarms, changing PSS settings, etc. New Images: (same names but new files) Right click to download ... then copy these to your skin folder bottom_normal_en.bmp bottom_over_en.bmp Here is the new skin file for Option 2: (download) [MainSettings] MaskColor = 255,0,0 MainWindow_Size = 1024,115 IsUseMask = 0 BackImage_Up = bottom_normal_en.bmp BackImage_Over = bottom_over_en.bmp BackImage_Down = bottom_normal_en.bmp BackImage_Disable = bottom_normal_en.bmp HaveSwitchWindowButton = 1 HaveSystemButton = 0 [MainButtons] ViewQuality_IsVisible =0 RealSmooth_IsVisible =0 FullScreen_IsVisible =1 FullScreen_Position = 52,2,92,28 FullScreen_TipText = FullScreen 1Win_IsVisible =1 1Win_Position = 98,2,132,28 1Win_TipText = 1 Way 4Win_IsVisible =1 4Win_Position = 138,2,172,28 4Win_TipText = 4 Way 6Win_IsVisible =1 6Win_Position = 178,2,212,28 6Win_TipText = 6 Way 7Win_IsVisible =1 7Win_Position = 218,2,252,28 7Win_TipText = 7 Way 8Win_IsVisible =1 8Win_Position = 258,2,292,28 8Win_TipText = 8 Way 9Win_IsVisible =1 9Win_Position = 298,2,332,28 9Win_TipText = 9 Way 13Win_IsVisible =1 13Win_Position = 338,2,372,28 13Win_TipText = 13 Way 16Win_IsVisible =1 16Win_Position = 378,2,412,28 16Win_TipText = 16 Way 20Win_IsVisible =0 25Win_IsVisible =0 36Win_IsVisible =0 49Win_IsVisible =0 64Win_IsVisible =0 About_IsVisible =0 Real_IsVisible =0 SchemeRun_IsVisible =0 Alarm_Isvisible = 0 AlarmRec_Isvisible = 0 RecManage_IsVisible = 0 EMap_IsVisible = 0 SysConfig_IsVisible = 0 Close_IsVisible =1 Close_Position = 992,4,1017,30 Close_TipText = Exit SizeSwitch_IsVisible =1 SizeSwitch_Position = 973,4,991,24 SizeSwitch_TipText = SizeSwitch Minimize_IsVisible =1 Minimize_Position = 953,4,972,24 Minimize_TipText = Minimize Menu_IsVisible =1 Menu_Position = 936,4,952,24 Menu_TipText = Full Menu [StaticText] TiltleInfo_Isvisible = 0 Real_IsVisible =0 Alarm_Isvisible = 0 SchemeRun_IsVisible =0 AlarmRec_Isvisible = 0 RecManage_IsVisible = 0 EMap_IsVisible = 0 SysConfig_IsVisible = 0 It is now safe to delete the additional 2 unused image files for this skin: bottom_disable_en.bmp and bottom_down_en.bmp 9.7 Conclusion Both options above should give you a better idea of how to customize the bottom window to best fit your needs. In my case I am aiming for speed and restricting use of advanced features, but this can differ from one application to the next. You must be able to use an image editing program to change the images otherwise you will need to source that work out. I must note that I am not a graphic artist by trade nor did I spend any real time editing the images so someone else may be able to do a much better job - for example there is a slight difference in shades between the bottom and right side images and the left bar and title bar images after I edited them for these skins, but I did not find it noticeable enough to spend more time working on that right now. Below are 2 examples showing what your PSS may look like at this point in this article depending on which Bottom Option you chose to apply. Option 1 - 64 way multiview with Playback Option 2 - Basic 16 way multiview ____________________________________ 1. INTRODUCTION 2. GENERAL SETTINGS 3. SKIN FILES 4. EXIT WINDOW 5. DEVICE INFO 6. TITLE BAR 7. LOGIN WINDOW 8. PROGRESS WINDOW 9. BOTTOM SKIN 10. STATUS PROMPT 11. DOCUMENTS

If you have a video server already then yes NVR would be best. You also might want to check out the Geovision GV-NVR as its relatively low priced.

In your case, the problem is that the area by the cars might be too dark for the camera. A basic color bullet normally sees very little to nothing in low light. I have one here, but I also have a dusk to dawn which puts out alot of light, and I use TDN with IR in the lower light area. Its taken me a while to perfect my cameras, it takes time most which we could never do for a client, and I continue to perfect and change them. Mine are all 2nd hand used cameras actually, I got them free. So what Im saying is, dont expect to get it perfect the first time, especially when using cheaper more basic cameras. Sorry I had to take out that store link, we have to protect our advertisers, but you could PM him for further info if you like. You could try a basic color bullet and see what its like, in most cases a Color IR wont do much with that view anyway other than light up the front door area, which already looks like it has light? Additionally a color IR camera can make the greens looked washed out. Dont get me wrong, I sell both, the color IR we sell is even cheaper than the color only, but the color only has a fixed glass Infrared Cut Filter for real colors in the day. Ofcourse these are all low resolution cameras. My concern with the camera in the link though would be whether or not it has an IR Cut filter for both the price and the lux level they mention. The color only bullet I use for example has a 1/4" Sony CCD with a glass IR Cut filter placed over the CCD chip, this makes it a little more expensive, but around the same price as that one. They mention theirs sees in low light, which begs the question whether it has the fixed IR cut filter, without it the camera can be more sensitive. Ofcourse there is always the option to go BW only as well, would work either way unless it was pitch dark. KT&C have basic BW mini bullet cameras. As these mini bullets are small hard for anyone to see it on the building. But if you are concerned about vandalism then you might want to look at a vandal dome, in your price range it would be a Turret Color IR Dome.

If its not IP video then check out videocomm, they have lots of wireless ranges for regular CCTV.

http://www.ngsystems.co.uk/fm1.html its also available in the US from a distributor called Beishir Lock & Security. There is also the camera master, but that costs 3 times the price of this one. Dont know how this works if there is movement in the video though, I think these meters use the largest image size as they have you go through the full range of the varifocal lens and back again, then start focusing. Not 100% sure though, havent had the chance to test it yet. Other than that, Wonwoo has the rapport 2 which has a built in DVR and long lasting battery, but screen too small to focus with, good for recording setups though and I guess if these focus meters work, good to use together.

Simple, it doesnt exist, and neither does a hand held LCD monitor which allows proper focusing.