rory

for PC systems, you can use LCD TVs 27, 32, 42" etc .. and they will do 1024x768 without any issues, no native resolution clarity issues such as with the LCD PC Monitors ... the 32" LCD TVs are as low as $600 now. The RCA A/V input is pretty decent clarity also.

I thought it was just the video server thing, not IP cams ... ?

Model is a Nuvico HW3895IR36 Specs: CCD Total Pixel: 811(H) x 508(V) 1/3" SONY SuperHAD CCD 480 TV Lines 3.8~9.5mm Vari-focal, DC Auto Iris Lens Mechanical IR Cut Filter I know I shouldn't expect too much from a low end system. But other details with less contrast than a plate seem to show up. Any cameras in the <600.00 range that would do sustantiall better than this? For a bullet camera, it has some good specs, and decent amount of pixels .. BUT, bullet cameras typically lack other features that full box cameras have, such as improved light and glare handling abilities. Basically you sacrifice features for size and ease of installation ... If you really want to get a better image, no guarentee it will work much better, but need a box camera such as Ge, Pano, Bosch, Sanyo, etc, True Day Night with Mechanical IR Cut Filter, or better yet High Res B/W, zoomed in with a 5-50mm Day Night Lens .. still need to fit it on the width of the vehicle to really get the plate, and also look for a WDR camera for the glare aspect, plus night time is going to be hard either way you cut it, and thats why Secu Monster recomended the Extreme CCTV Reg Cameras which are designed for 24/7 Licence Plate Capture. I should note, there are also some IP cameras that may help with this application, but you would need to ask about that in the IP forum

Yeah i figure he is talking about IP cams and Hybrid DVRs .. just checking .. as a typical DVR would not use that size video, but there could be something new out there im missing that said, if your client will never be able to afford a Megapixel IP camera nor be able to handle and maintain the separate network required, then Id just stick to talking about normal CCTV cameras for now .. like everything cost will only drop though if more and more people actually buy the cameras . .. so once you see the price dropping, then Ill be looking closer at them .. 501 .. you can see a mega pixel image on any $99 digital camera these days ... But I imagine, well hope, these $2000 cameras are much better .. that said stick a high res CCTV camera into a capture card, no compression, use VidCap or AmCap, and see how high quality it is .. its sweet .. even a 350TVL camera looks nice without compression ... though its still limited. PS. anyone remember Covi??

moved to a more appropriate forum ..

What he said, basically the camera has to be zoomed right in on the width of the vehicle .. plus the camera itself might not be the best .. there are other features that can be mentioned also ... and dont look at the TVL but look at the effective pixels .. what model camera is that?

did they have BNC connections?

Yes but cameras used for DVRs only go as high as 7xx pixels .. so it would not make any difference to them.

thanks, yeah this was for a home user .. actually I was thinking a GigaByte i-ram drive (4x1GB SDRAM) for the OS and 2 Raptors in Raid 0 (partitioned in 2, 1 for the Swap and the other for the data) ... or even just the single Raptor for the 2nd drive and no Raid 0 ... Anyway yeah for CCTV the OS doesnt have to be that fast but the faster the video drive the better .. but then there's the heat factor and cost .. with the raptors .. Anyways .. thanks Rory

thanks guys ... and woodyads lots of good info there Though in my case it is not for back up, just speed .. Ill see if we can make this a sticky though for future work .. thanks. Rory

if its set to motion detection, then this is normal. If it is, what are the motion settings?

neither, client was happy as it was Ill try raid 0 later on myself though, as im primarily into speed, have external drives for backup.

yep .. what they said .. also in Geo itself in Video playback you can delete files/records as well. But just use the Database Repair program and that will fix the database for you.

better yet, 720x480 ..

MAN!!!.. People over here think these camera are cheap!.. Some think a full 4 cam set up is under 1000 buck! just talking tonight, probably sell those budget dvrs for $499 retail here .. after shipping and customs and ofcourse warranty .. going for quantity of sales .. and as they offer no way of back up, will offer a backup service (using a laptop with a USB capture) still, add cable and cameras, and installation ..

from what i heard its the avtech 4 channel .. if so ive used them before .. budget and to the point .. peeps broke around here

the cheapest ones they sell .. the comet or nubix .. whichever one is the cheapest as thats what people want here right now .. no LAN either.

a colleague here just orderd 16 of the budget elcipse dvrs .. plus he just got an avermedia DVR .. will let yall know how they go.

sounds cool .. let me know how it goes .. sorry been really busy plus online offline with moving etc .. so didnt reply yet .. anyway also see my free waveVue software for GE Kalatel DVRs http://www.bahamassecurity.com/uploads/WaveVuePro(Kalatel).zip

You are still not making sense. A DVR, or lets say a Video Surveillance Recorder; is a security system - have you any experience in the security industry? You mentioned these 3rd parties dont know how to build servers properly, care to elaborate? If you are saying they dont build them how YOU want them to be, fine, but remember a surveillance system is a security device first and foremost. Also remember many of those 3rd party companies are IT as well. A CCTV recording system should however always be much more secure and stable than a standard computer server, if setup properly - not always the case though. Question: Is the clients DVD player, Satelite Box, or TV, built the same as their Servers? And thats if the client even has a computer network at all. Now, I would really like to know what the big picture is? Cause I AM IT and so are many others on this forum. Are you just saying that because it uses a DVR card and software that makes it insecure, or different? Are you saying that nobody building DVR systems know anything about Windows Security, computers, networking? Whatever job you are contracted to do, you should always consider the customers needs. But what has that got to do with the Price of tea in China? Lastly, how is a "rogue" DVR card going to take down your network? If your answer is software related, well it can be trusted just as much as 3rd party NVR software - or are you saying you develop your own NVR software? This is getting interesting Now, Im not against using NVRs and such, we are in the Surveillance industry, we use what gets the job done, many of us use Cat5 now, or other forms of transmission, other than simple coax, and many of us do extensive networking and internet based applications, many here use both DVRs and NVRs as well. But i tend to lean with what Ken said, as in this industry, the CCTV Industry, NVRs are typically not an option for the majority of the CCTV industry clients today, whether that changes in the future or not, only time will tell. NVR manufacturers can speculate all they like, but they need to actually give CCTV guys valid reasons to use their products, currently most of it is marketing hype, and in many cases myths are spread about existing CCTV gear. It has its place for sure, but dont tell us what our hardware can or cant do, they are not from our industry.

i have the code somewhere, but the java applet must be opened somewhere for it to refresh the jpeg images ... also lower quality due to the java setting .. I was going to make my own image updater .. not hard actually ;; but just went the other direction with the desktop viewer ..

Yes it was me Rory. We ended up finding 19" CCTV LCD's for $320 each so we alleviated that issue. OK ...

james, was it you that asked about the VGA convertor before? If so I just installed one this evening for my LCD .. its a ViewSonic model, does TV and more .. i can get the model number tomorrow if you like. Rory

all i get is a black screen also .. seems its an issue on the DVR side then .. maybe wait and see if anyone that has experience with these DVRs sees the thread .. sorry I cant help anymore right now. Rory