rory

You may just have a bad camera or lens, that looks worst then a low res cmos bullet.

Would you like to post some snapshots of your cameras Rory? I have over the years as i had the cameras here, but from client locations, no thanks, unless you are going to foot the legal fees when they sue me? You can see a basic 4 year old 350TVL $50 color bullet here though: http://www.cctvfootage.com/video/Color-Bullet-and-AvTech-DVR Same here: something different, while over there: http://www.cctvfootage.com/video/Day-Night-IR-Bullet-with-Extra Point is, the cameras in the post that I replied to looked out of focus, or something, just dont look like 480+ TVL cameras. It may be the DVR, yes it would differ between the IP cameras and the CCTV cameras, as they are captured differently, but I dont know a I am not there. And seeing as we were comparing, I was just pointing out that they may not have been setup correctly yet. Point and case, not related, but if you focus a camera with a 5 or 7" LCD you will never get a good focus. All that to say, he already mentioned it was not setup yet.

most manufacturers dont have that though, especially DVR manufacturers. cant blame them, they dont want direct dealings with the end user on a recurring basis such as a monthly service like a website/server, they deal with so many other levels like dealers, distributors, reps etc. But even if they did I wouldnt rely on it unless it was a long time manufacturer like panosonic or bosch, the rest could work now but not 3 months from now, from something as simple as not paying their hosting/domain fees. Even though I use Geovision, they have their own DDNS server, Digimap, I never use it, I prefer to use a service that does just that. I can see where the service could be useful for some .. though personally i wouldnt use it.

Your 484 is way out of focus or something terribly wrong with it or the DVR. I can get a better image from a $50 bullet.

How so?

A sip client needs a sip server .. thats where the issues would arise. Manufacturers probably dont want to have to setup servers for people that buy their hardware.

im tired of seeing kids getting stabbed on cctv .. but most arent using pocket knives.

I use a software called drivesnapshot. its a trial backup which expires every 3 months or something like that, but the restore always works. See some info about it here, used in USB Disk Tools I posted online: http://www.bahamassecurity.com/software/utilities/usbdisktools.asp . I also have a much simpler method of this for DVD if interested, using the same software, just not posted online. The idea is to setup a clean install of your system and get it working 100%, then image it. If there is a failure you can restore that image in 5-10 minutes. It actually works very well.

Or, search for a 2nd hand Extreme CCTV Reg L1 camera .. same thing .. Bosch bought Extreme CCTV.

sounds like a lot more things to go wrong

That really depends on your clients and where you live. Here there is alot of poor people, so the cheaper is more popular, and in that case, it would be the really low end 4 channel DVRs. Basically 4 cameras is all they can afford in many cases, actually some only 1 camera. Bear in mind, where I live we pay 45%+- Customs on Stand alone DVRs, but just 10%+- Customs on Computers. If I were to take guesstimate, I would say at least here, stand alones are more popular with Homes and Small businesses, while PC Based DVRs being used more for larger businesses, basically the cheaper places dont have the right environment for PC DVRs in most cases, such as lack of A/C or very dusty. But like I said, it will differ depending on where you live and who you target. There is one thing i know for certain, if I was to sell a DVR every day I would build my Own PC based and stock parts to fix them, but still have backup stand alones for the bad locations.

In Geo's full screen, one can still hit the windows key though, for example, and the start menu will come up over the Geo video.

640x480 and 720x480 is no real diff with Geo. Except the file size diff can be huge, I always stick to 640x480 deinterlaced and the least amount of compression the DVR supplies (Geo mpeg4 in this case), its not like you are using Megapixel cameras. Also, that indoor camera looks like it has some "issues" that are not DVR related. Also, dont forget you can press the little green hand to set the same settings for all cameras.

Edit - OSK can stay on top by itself. If you enable OSK to "Always on top" does it not stay on top? also check this out: viewtopic.php?f=12&t=7530 But everytime you open OSK it should just come to the top if it is not already.

Im looking for the member list, anyone seen it?

No problem! I also got my Windows apps working with Wine on Linux. viewtopic.php?p=116176#p116176

How is the PC setup? Is it a default XP install, or tweaked?

Is that all? I find the Bosch Divar high cost rather interesting And no .. no 99 cent menus at this locale

I stopped using UPS here alltogether, too many issues with them, even some of the best. Basically too many power outages, they just cant handle it LOL. Occasionally they just wont come back up, and thats enough to make it a problem. I do use AVRs though, without them the DVRs, specifically the PSU and hard drive, wont last a week here.

Can you upload one of the files so I can take a look at it? If the actual file is coming back as corrupt then Geo DB repair wont do anything for it. Send me a file and I will see if I can get anything from it.

Many many DVRs have so called VOIP where you can talk to the location and they can talk to you .. ive even seen a very cheap 4 channel DVR with that feature .. no its not typically the actual VOIP technology per say but it is still Voice Over IP.

or ... viewtopic.php?f=12&t=19615

Geo has that feature using their software, if you use specific PTZ cameras. Not sure how it works or anything, never used it, but remember seeing the feature there in the past. Edit: http://www.geovision.com.tw/demo/vid/demo21.htm How to setup object tracking for PTZ camera: Geovision http://tinyurl.com/y9ozcn7 FAQ - Hardware Q: What PTZ domes support The Object Tracking feature? A: V8.2 supports PTZ Tracking List a. Sensormatic (Ultra IV) b. MESSOA (SDS600 Series) c. MESSOA (D-700 Series) d. Pelco (SPECTRA III) e. VIDO. AT Dome http://www.geovision.com.tw/english/6_0_news.asp?stable=FAQ&sfiled=fsid&stable1=FAQG&sfiled1=fid&pno1=10&title=FAQ&gname=FAQ&pno=101

Yes, many will record as AVI format, which right away makes it easier, but either way most will save as AVI, which in a stand alone DVR is rare, it is typically only in their proprietary format and requires their player to play the video. When I say typically, that is a vast majority. There are exceptions. They could be as cheap as you want. There are many DVR cards in the lower 2 digit price range, Most cases just like the 2 digit stand alone, you will experience alot of issues or drawbacks. Ofcourse for just a few dollars more one could get a better card like Geo with full features, so if selling it to clients, buying a 2 digit DVR is not worth it, typically poorly written software. As for other prices, unless one spends over $1000 on a 4 channel DVR typically you wont even find one that does all channels in D1. Ive been looking .. found like 1. The cheapest Geovision (as example) card will do D1 on all channels easily. Most of those under $500 DVRs are only CIF and if you see many even just record in quad, not each channel separately. Computer for DVR can easily cost as low as $200, and you can add any amount of hard drives you like. As you may know, many, especially the 4 channel DVRs, have restrictions on how many or the size of hard drives you can install into them. This makes a huge difference, especially when the DVR already has poor compression and poor motion detection / mo motion masking (if using that). Nope, its the DVR. Though as it is software compression in most cases (there is also hardware compression), it does ofcourse depend on the PC, any current day PC has no issue with most frame rates, real time 16 channels for example though can require faster PC. You can buy cards with various frame rates, even the most basic PC card has faster frame rates then most $500 or less DVRs, for recording. For a couple dollars more you can upgrade to a faster card, and so on and so forth, either way, you can get it, full D1 record on all channels in real time video and can add as much storage as you like, hard to find in a 4 channel stand alone DVR, and even if you could find it, it would typically be alot more expensive, in the 4 digits. Features can be next to endless with current day PC DVR software, so unfortunetely I wont start a list here, but I would suggest visiting a PC DVR manufacturers website, such as Geo (link below). Now, the thing is, there is also a huge difference when comparing a 16 channel stand alone and a 4 channel stand alone, in most cases the manufacturer has dished out alot of their time and money into that 16 channel but to keep cost as low as possible, they put alot less into the 4 channel, leave out tons of features (less work, less coding, etc), to keep that DVR as cheap as possible, as there is a huge market for the cheapest thing. Many people can afford 2x 4 channel DVRs but cant afford an 8 or 16 channels .. for example .. im sure you have seen those 2 digit prices on Newegg. Also, if you buy a Bosch or Pano DVR you can typically find more "working" features then in some OEM ones, but at a much greater cost. Overall though the biggest limitations to stand alones is evidence sharing and repair - in the 4 channels, the biggest limitations is the quality of the recorded video, most are in CIF and the ones that claim D1 typically only do D1 in 1 channel and the rest in CIF. I use both PC and Standalone BTW, there is a place for both. If you have the kind of client you never want to talk to again or seem a little PC illiterate, throw in a stand alone and run Harsh Environment, lots of heat and dust? Stick in a standalone. Everything has its place. Im not endorsing Geo, though I do use it, im open to others as well. But this is just an example. Also check out Vigil, Video Insight, Nuuo, and others. Avermedia has cards but going by other reviews its not as feature rich as Geovision, ive used the Avermedia Standalone myself, among many others. http://www.geovision.com.tw/english/product/GV-SystemV8300_Feature.htm http://www.geovision.com.tw/english/3_1.asp?stable1=Pro&sfiled=pgid&pno=33 Im busy writing software right now, so sorry if I cant explain as much. No problem with the questions or debate, thats what we are here for

Superior Evidence Sharing over Standalone DVRs, Cheaper, Faster Frame Rates, Typically many more features due to Windows OS, and Easier to Fix (off the shelf parts).