rory

IMO Putting Windows 7 on that was not a good idea. Perhaps they are just slow when it comes to working with software? Those programs do not take that long to install. Setting up the main component drivers, and tweaking the system, CAN take some more time, but not just installing apps. ofcourse if one is using a slow OS like Win Vista or Win 7 then sure it could take longer.

Thanks, but I wont even get out of bed for less then $100! Oh wait, you were installing it for a client out on location, well you didnt say that either. And using cracked Office is a big no no. Tell them buy the legit Office or stick with word pad. And tell them it will never be the same, in fact it will be worse now they have Win7, not even any email client worth mentioning. Tell them be smart, and stick with XP. If all they want is a new flashy OS with cool things, then try Ubuntu, its free. Dont worry .. i know clients rarely ever listen anyway!

it is quite possible that Windows 7 was trying to do updates even without the network connected, causing a longer install, but then why take 1 hour just to copy files? As mentioned the Hard drive was fast enough, as the OS ran fine otherwise (and I am a speed freak). Ofcourse a slow DVD can make it take longer also, but then most newer computers have slow DVDs, and pretty much all the same specs this laptop had. So thats what I am basing it off. I wouldnt like to try install it on this P4 3.2Ghz computer I use!! XP takes about 30 minutes on this BTW.

Well you are using what is known as Super computers, most people are not using components like that. Raptors, old or not, are much faster then the average hard drive. XP formats in a few seconds also BTW. If you are installing Windows 7 in 20 minutes, then XP should be doing it in 1-5 minutes, if not, then you might have a problem with XP. I wish I had a PC like that though

Not all DVRs have completed software, that might be a feature they didnt finish, at least not 100%. Can you check it over the network, then backup from there? That is a very common method.

That would only take me 10-20 minutes max. I think you guys really should time it next time, at least part of it ... because your times seem way off. Dont you think it is feasable that it would take much longer to install than XP seeing as it is much much larger (3800 mb Win 7 compared to 640 mb XP), hence many many more files to extract and copy, and a much slower setup GUI with a heavier footprint? It does make sense that it could take 4 times as long. Ofcourse if you have a supercomputer then we should not even be talking about it, as most dont have that.

13 or 19 minutes?? It was already installed then, or you were installing a drive image? Full XP takes around 30-60 minutes on a fast system, and thats 1/5th the size of Windows 7 as far as the amount of files to copy. So unless your SSD is 1000mbs write and you have a 16Ghz 8 Core CPU with 24GB of DDR3 RAM .. i dont buy it. BTW I didnt time the entire install either, but it was definitely around 2 hours, hence the 3 hour install with drivers etc. It took about 1 hour+ just to copy files, and yes the hard drive is fine. Could the latptop DVD Drive be slower, sure, but it took XP only 30 minutes on the same computer. Could you have a smaller version of Windows 7 then i did, perhaps? Mine was a legit win7 DVD from Dell. Regardless, it was someone elses Brand new dell, so im not going to bother looking into it again, as even without the much longer install time, the OS has too many other problems to warrant ever using it. Maybe I will check back in a couple years when they have ironed out all the issues, and made it as fast and user friendly as XP.

Good idea, but they dont always work Ive had many times, using some of the best APC and Triplite units, called to the job as the UPS never came back on .. then again we were getting ALOT of outages! Christopher, are you sure there is no way to run a script to hack the time zone? I mean on any of the software you already spent money for.

Yeah what are the PC specs? 8.3 is much much slower then previous versions and needs alot faster hardware. If you are trying to do this on a Celeron, Atom, or non Intel chipset you may run into problems. Even a P4 3.2ghz is not recommended, it is just that slow. Check harddrives as well, and as mentioned, check memory specs as Geo has always used more memory then anything.

depends how close, if it is too close to the video cables then perhaps, but unlikely, just keep the power cable away from the video. Also make sure the cables dont run over high voltage, keep them at least 1' away from lights, etc. Check how the cameras are mounted also, and are they all the same cameras? If mounted onto metal take off and see if it goes away. Power them separately one at a time, incase there is an isolation issue with any of them, some cameras dont have built in Power isolation - you can use separate AC adapters or buy an Altronix Isolated Power Supply. Simplest thing is disconnect all video and then connect one at a time to see if there is still interference. Also check the video on something other then the DVR, incase that is the problem. Baluns and Cat5 cable dont make the troubleshooting any easier. If you are running the power with the video in the cat5, try it using 18AWG or power them locally to the cameras. Check the distance of the runs also. Anything close to the DVR other then the PSU that could be causing an issue, any electrical tools being used nearby?

Neither. There is alot more to a DVR then the both of those. For example, the DVR's H264 could be terrible quality. The DVR could only be real time in very low quality.

Im afraid you are typically stuck with what comes with the DVR card. When picking DVR cards we generally pick them based on the software, as most DVR Companies are Software companies, and they buy the cards from Card only manufacturers. So essentially, the software is what costs the money. Only other thing I can suggest is taking a look at this thread: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2021

With regular CCTV cameras, typically it is greater focus in the center. I doubt its the backfocus though, probably the lens as mentioned.

The most annoying thing about Facebook, is that it is designed to be Annoying!

Just to clarify, most 8-16 channels, most 4 channels dont. 4 channels are typically the brands budget DVR though hence less features. In most cases they are not PC hardware, normally its embedded hardware with slow CPUs and little onboard memory, if one looks inside them normally you will just find a small simple board with a few chips and not much else. With the basic OS they use, in many cases an RTOS, along with the embedded hardware, not much chance of them being able to do what a regular Windows PC can do. Ofcourse higher end units can do alot more and have better hardware.

I see the post, but I cant find a question in it Put it to 640x480 deinterlaced though. The camera at 420TVL for example may have 520x493 pixels, which is better then CIF 320x240. The actual file size will still be small, even though it is 640x480.

They would be wrong to think that, nobody knows what the future will bring us.

I wouldn't rely on a browser only, make sure there is also a client application.

Nope, never. I would goto Linux first. Fonts are awful, cleartype makes me blind and in many cases is difficult if not impossible to remove completely, MS has actually removed features that XP had, made it slower to access admin tools, it can use 700MB+- Memory stripped down and tweaked (eg. Compared to stripped down XP using 40mb, 80mb standard), Installs in 3 hours (30 minutes with XP), Boot times .. well never tested it but its long, Vista was longer though (XP, 10 seconds on stripped down system, 20 seconds on full System), and then dont even try it on a netbook, even the stripped down Starter Edition, oh good lord is that thing slow!!! Only pro is that it does feel a slight touch quicker then Vista ... just a tad though. They went backward with this OS, but they started going backward with Vista, must be some new developers they hired since XP. The MS logo should be .. it just keeps getting slower, and crappier .. thing is .. XP SP2 actually works great, the best thing MS made yet to date .. even the XP SP3 sucked Dont get me started on Mac, thats like using Pocket PC from 10 years ago. I mean after using XP SP2, everything else is just ... not worthy. But seriously, Win7 and Mac are not far apart, other then Win7 being able to run EXE files and still having a registry, IMO they both equally suck. Ubuntu is free ... and that is the only OS that has actually impressed me "somewhat" since XP SP2. Ofcourse this is all just my opinion, but I am sticking to it. Unless all the hardware manufacturers stop making drivers for XP ... i'm sticking with THAT, for now.

Most if not all of the config files are in the Windows folder. Many will be like Geo*.ini, lots of PTZ ini files though named after their brand. I am not 100% sure if they have moved anything in 8.3 as I have not delved into that much yet, from the looks of it everything is in the same location though. GeoMulti.ini is the main config file.

Err .. sorry I cant stand facebook!!

Almost all DVRs and IP cameras have Browser based apps these days .. just pick what you want to use, then see what it has available.

Since my last post to this thread, ive used Windows 7 (various versions) in depth and thanks to Microsoft for the worst OS they have produced to date, IMO. I wont use for a regular Computer OS let alone for a security system. Hey, perhaps Windows 2010 will be better?

Ive never seen so much outdoor lighting

What DVR cards have you tested? I havent come across this in all the time I have been using DVR cards. Well, only once when someone brought me a card from like Kmart or something to check out, poorly developed software and drivers. But if you go with a decent DVR name then you will be okay. Its important to note though, most software is buggy, either it is buggy because it is free and they dont put as much time into it, or its buggy because they make money off it and want to get it out there as quick as possible before fully testing for errors. Just that some are worse then others, some most will never know the difference.