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Hi, will take a look at it, but straight off I am surprised that card is even working in that PC at least without errors. Geo doesnt officially support AMD or NVidia. One can get away with it somewhat on the lower cards like the 600 or at least I use to on the discontinued 250, but the Combo cards are picky. Otherwise, what are the settings in Geo? Codec and Resolution used. If using H264 drop down to Mpeg4. Switch to 640x480 Deinterlaced and see how that is, I set all mine to that. Make sure recording quality is set to highest quality. Cameras themselves might also be an issue.

scorp how do you know he paid for it? couldnt it be steve jobs? or maybe it was soundy??

i disagree, Ive used 2.5mm on non IP cameras which gave me a similar FOV if not identical as in that shot. The center was fine. The issues that would appear are on fixed lenses mostly where the edges would be blurry. On the CCTV monitor the live shot would look great and crisp, just like the image you posted, if not even better. Remember I am NOT talking about a PC image, Im talking about the quality from a composite stand alone DVR to a high resolution CCTV monitor, crisp like a movie. Ofcourse networking sucks and you cant show off the images on forums like this .. but hey .. did the job great otherwise Also in all fairness that CCTV dome you posted the image of is a poor example of a CCTV camera as it is zoomed right in, is lower than the IP camera, and has no IR Cut filter. 2.5mm i think, varifocal lens. excuse the 320x240 networked snapshot size from the old stand alone .. but you get the jist aye ... they had a 13" color TV in this case, was crisp in full screen - just like TV boss oh yeah while on the subject, what you think of this 380TVL $50 bullet? http://www.bahamassecurity.com/tmp/AMCAPlrg.bmp (i just want show not all cctv cameras are crap thats all even the cheap ones can be ok) some of the video demos i saw on the vivotek site were hardly any better than the above link. i hope acti is better, thewireguy said it is. I still appreciate the comparison images though.

i installed the exact vision server but there is no program .. strange .. just an uninstall file, core exe, and a send mail thing and eplayer .. is that normal? basically no server app.. oh well

i dont see any downloads on their website edit. found it through google http://www.exacq.com/support/downloads.html note: Reseller password required for some downloads found it on google though LOL.

only reason i was considering the vivotek is because it has the SD option for saving images (or video?). as opposed to having to setup a NVR for just a single camera. I was looking at some video from vivotek's website though and it didnt look that clear.

Suppose to run Cat5 cable at least 2 feet away from power sources while coax only requires 1 foot.

Well if its Linux then its not the GeoVision we know so I generally wouldnt even bother with it. No idea about the 1304MOB but the 1304NET is just a tiny little board, nothing more, and its RTOS (Cant find specs on the Geo DVR's OS from the manufacturer site). Cant speak for the Geo's but its much more expensive than the Avermedia and I can build a Windows based Geo system for alot less. There is alot of room in the 1304NET, i mean its literally wide open the board is that small, and the hard drive takes up very little space. The looks of the Geo it has a removable HDD bay and it looks pretty tight from the outside. Also its specified at max 122 degrees Fahrenheit. I know for a fact the 1304NET has gone higher than that, though cant say that the Geo model wont go higher also regardless of the spec. Cant speak for the MOB model. Well only way is to buy one and find out, im strapped for cash and thats a $1200 DVR time as it is landed here so wont catch me doing that any time soon

yes and no, unless there is no other choice but to use something a little less easier to be adjusted by passers by such as a camera at face height. Indoor retail stores there is typically no need, can use a standard dome, no need for vandal housing, and bullets can suffice in most cases, if they want best image then go with a box camera. It does depend on the app but I dont use vandal domes because they claim to be vandal proof. Everything is beatable, buy a cheap can of Hornet spray and you can take out that dome mounted up on the top of the roof! For outdoors I have used box cams many times in the past but the price is just too much to make them worth trying to resell down here anymore, add cost of lens, housing, and additional installation typically outside on a large ladder in the sweltering heat, additional IR for low light/pitch dark, x labour x labour etc + maintenance - YES a bullet camera is the easiest thing to install, that means less labour and lower cost for your client. Granted they have their issues, but so do $1000 box cameras. It depends on the app and what the client can afford.

The Geo is good, but I dont know anything about that particular DVR as I build them myself. Its going to be a Windows PC though, instead of a simple Embedded DVR, that means alot more heat. If you can live with the heat issue or get around it somehow, still need to look at some way to prevent hard drive failure (potholes and road conditions down here can wreck the toughest off road vehicles easily). Maybe look at the SSDs as mentioned before. Try to go with a completely fanless solution also, as they could go out of whack easily. In the end if you go PC based then you might be better off with a single IP Camera and then use a Mini PC with a 2.5" SSD. No PCI card needed and can mount it easier. (yes AK i did say that LOL)

What makes you think that camera cant be stolen? Even a small straight screw driver can loosen those things, Ive done it a million times when i dont have the alan key. And anyone can get their hands on those alan keys now, I have a bag full of every type and they even sell them at the hardware store. All they need is a cordless drill and zoom zoom zoom zoom and couple more screws and its gone. I dont buy into the whole vandal dome thing any more, its mostly hype, all they are good for is preventing people from moving their FOV. A hammer, spray can, tape, whip cream, and many other things can blind them easily. Most are simple board cameras anyway, and you pay for the housing. Takes longer to install and harder to adjust, the glass covers scratch way too easy .. for the price ... no thanks, unless there is no other choice.

may be have a look at Aver hybrid board Thanks, but I cant stand Avermedia's software. at least the DVR software. Any other ideas? What about Exact or other for even just 1 channel only?

get the EB1304NET-SATA and replace the hard drive for a SSD. the live and recorded quality is like 10 times better than the Avtech and most other 4 channel budget DVRs. As mentioned about other small 4 Channel DVRs, they can take the heat. I had one in a closet at the bottom of a stairway for the past year and a half, if you are in there for a couple minutes you poor with sweat, but that little bugger just keeps on going. Their boards are so small and there is not much else to them. Features suck compared to a 4channel PC DVR for about the same cost but the PC wont typically last due to the parts used. The Avtech and some others are going to be cheaper though, so if you are strapped for money that might be the one to get.

Hi, what card and what software version is this? Need to know the PC specs also. Motherboard and CPU, Video card. Does it do the same when you manually put the camera in full screen, and does it do it on all cameras or just one?

Mpeg4 and Geo works flawlessly I cant speak for IP cameras but in the case of Geo the H264 and ASP are more compressed and hence lower quality. Since storage is so cheap now it really doesnt matter anyway, I wish they still had Mjpeg on Geo, I can still use H264 for the Remote Video on slow connections.

Sounds like you probably just got a low quality CCTV system, it can definitely be better then that. Most of the budget 4 Channel DVRs have and I will say it as best i can - HORRIBLE RECORDING QUALITY - the avermedia is one of the best I have seen but it comes with a price, the cost plus the higher the quality setting, the slower it is over the net and actually it is very very slow for some reason. Either way they are still typically very limited and their evidence sharing features typically suck big time. If you want something of better quality and with the advantage of better evidence sharing as well as other features, you can upgrade the DVR to a PC based one, but dont use H264 as mentioned as most PC DVRs suck at their H264 codec, use MPEG4 or MJPEG if its available (eg. with Geo I use Mpeg4 for recording and H264 for remote video). As for the Cameras, I can only go by the specs on the website: CM-300 - the specs do not say if it is a True Day/Night with an Infrared Cut Filter, or just a Color IR camera, if it is the latter that would explain a poor image. As for the other specs on that camera it seems ok, though the pixel count is either incorrect or lower than the norm of 811x508. SCC-B9371 Bullet - same thing, specs do not list an ICR therefor if going by those it is just a Color IR camera, there are better. Specs are typically okay otherwise. Once again though the effective pixels are lower than the normal 811x508. Additionally to all that, you need an installer that knows what they are doing. I cant speak for whoever you have installing it as I am not there. But if it is not installed correctly then no matter what system you put in you may still be disappointed. Anybody can screw a camera up on the wall but if its not focused and adjusted properly then the video will look like crap. BTW 15 feet is high and is going to loose you alot of FOV. For license plates you will need a dedicated camera and it wont be cheap. If you want to post pics, just put a space where the / goes and I will edit it for you.

and this is why you use $50 bullet cameras

Well if you want to really consider that a moving part but the bullet cameras are not Auto Iris lenses.

Im going by these images, like i said they must be heavily compressed or resized. Just curious, how many high quality CCTV systems have you setup? Not with Megapixel that is. Typically when one calls them analog cameras they dont know anything about CCTV.

how is that a moving part??

so if I want to use this Acti ACM-4200 along with a couple other CCTV cameras such as day Night IR bullets, what do you recommend using for recording etc? Normally i would use Geo but they dont seem to support Acti. Does the camera has its own recording software thats free? Any other 1.3MP cameras in the similar price range? This would just be the color camera for indoors, the Day Night would be regular CCTV bullet and dome cameras for the low light etc. Figure it would be the 1.3MP inside and 1 IR bullet outside. Obviously only way to sell this here is to keep the price very low. (remember when it lands here it will be approx 2-3 times the cost after shipping and customs then it has to be warrantied which will be much higher also due to shipping costs, and then we have to make something)

CNB claims 600TVL Color and 650TVL BW in their new "Monalisa" models: http://www.cnbtec.com/en/html/product/product.php?seqx_prod=1143 http://www.cnbtec.com/en/html/product/product.php?seqx_prod=1137 http://www.cnbtec.com/en/html/product/product.php?seqx_prod=1188 http://www.cnbtec.com/en/html/product/product.php?seqx_prod=1126 http://www.cnbtec.com/en/html/product/product.php?seqx_prod=1166 http://www.cnbtec.com/en/html/product/product.php?seqx_prod=1175 Note, ive not tested any of the above.

First you need to decide if you want a CCTV camera or an IP camera. Then if you have a budget, post that also.

Ive had images like this with CCTV cameras for years, obviously not on a PC but on a high quality CCTV monitor - and alot cheaper though they are not that far off from the 720x480 images on PC DVRs and just enlarged, you can see these images here are heavily compressed or something or perhaps they have actually been resized?

tell them save their money and just get a Windows PC Seriously though it is 2 totally different OS. The programming code is different and takes alot more time and work, never to be the same either. Tell MAC to get onboard and support what Windows supports, thats the solution right there.