rory

thats pretty much it, Bullet cameras dont get any better than that, most you will get for more $$ is a longer zoom lens and perhaps some more IR .. but narrower. Otherwise all the True Day/Night IR bullets are about the same. Step up from that would be a Day/Night Box camera from GE, panasonic, Bosch, or Sanyo, etc, in a housing with separate IR from Extreme CCTV, like starting with the UF100. You could still try the WZ18's, but they will not be any better than the Nuvico's. We actually compared them with the Eclipse True Day/Night IR camera which is similar though cheaper than the Nuvico, and the Eclipse was much better. And like i said, my friend never could sell those WZ18's, they ended up in the trash. Also it was told to Extreme, but not sure if they listened or not. Maybe the ones you get will be a total upgrade ..

Maybe they will unveil new replacements for them also .. my colleague wasted alot of money on cameras that he could not sell .. A client of mine wasted alot of money on several WZ30s also that were the worst domes ive ever used, picture wise.

thanks ..

Yep forget my DVR card suggestion .. totally forgot this is for a laptop

dey all ova the web now Ps. them cheap cameras only last a year .. why i dont have any "new" images LOLL ...

For certain, I have posted before regarding the issues I had with this and their other "new" Bullet cameras. Basically they are just OEM cameras relabeled, and at a higher cost. I've used much better at a much lower cost. The Extreme gear on the other hand is typically very good .. I think they made a big mistake trying to target the budget market, especially with an expensive price tag. Also, most of the WZ gear including the WZ30's are rubbish as well. I was beginning to think I had imagined all the problems with those cameras .. but finally someone else has spoken out

Umm yeah ... i had terrible results .. search the forum for WZ18 or WZ-18 .. and you should find some posts.

also, if you do have a light, or motion light, you can simply get one of those cheap color bullets also, the basic OEM 380TVL ones, they come with a fixed IR Cut filter (so no washed out colors), and are sold under multitudes of different brand names across the globe. They do need alot of light though. And like any budget camera their light handling capabilities arent that great. Otherwise the image can be really great at such a low price tag .. Here they are in action: along with a BW bullet also as that area is dark http://bahamassecurity.com/video/day_quad.Avi http://bahamassecurity.com/video/night_quad.Avi Here is a simple color and BW comparison: top left= budget color bullet, top right=high res color dome, bottom left=BW exview bullet, bottom right=BW bullet

Just dont try to power anything like an EX82 with Cat5, even if it is trippled up .. at least not with 12VDC - been there done that.

If it really is hardware compression, sure. About DivX, not certain, ive used it a couple times for other things and it was huge though. Maybe it was just the version I was using, or the video I was capturing. I just feel a DVR card would make life so much easier ..

Which one is that, the CM2?

Shutter speed is automatic - not sure I can change it. I haven't touched the gain. On the back of the camera there is a switch for Normal/BLC mode and there's a 'screw' for "Level" (is this the gain?) I was hoping the IR filter would block out more of the headlights - and it does block out enough that the license plate is visible during the day, and at night (with illuminator) regardless of headlights/highbeams. The problem is just that during the twilight period of about 30 minutes the illuminator is turning on after the the point at which there is enough ambient light for the camera to read the plate. If I adjust the gain upward then maybe the camera will be able to 'see' until the illuminator turns on. I wish the illuminator had a setting to adjust it's light sensitivity. I'm just about ready to take it apart and cover the light sensor with a piece of electrical tape. Get an ND filter instead, a dark one (get several for testing). Also a camera with a Dynamic range would help as well. Example would be a Panasonic Wide Dynamic Day/Night. GE has a new model also, the GEC-HDR1-DN. Others already mentioned the Bosch as well. As for Infrared, if you can, get rid of that cheap one and get your hands on an Extreme CCTV UF100. The UF100 doesnt have a level adjustment so to speak, but when you order it you would order the right filter and lens (UF100 lens), and you can also tap the PSU to drop it down some if needed (20%+-). Speak to a pro that knows the UF100 for more info there. Also, post a day image, as its hard to tell, but it looks like it may just be a little out of focus as well. Was it focused under Infrared, Low Light, or full Light? Your best bet would be to set the iris in the daytime, and the focus under full infrared at night (without any filters on) - in this case - I would imagine. Looks like you need just a tad more IR also .. too much though and you wont see the plate at all, just one big white rectangle..

No prob .. well all the cameras in that price range will be around the same image, only typical difference will be the amount of IR and the lens. Make sure it is a CCD. Get at least a 4mm lens, get a 1/3" if you can afford it (eg. 1/3" 4mm would be wider than a 1/4" 4mm).

Hi, the truth is, no high quality name brand makes OR sells a camera like that. The IR bullets are ALL OEMs made in Asia. Other companies simply stick their names on them. An example of a High quality IR camera would be starting price of around $1500+ retail .. eg. Extreme CCTV (EX versions). Everything else is basically budget, lower quality. Also, equipment from China are typically much lower quality, and these are found alot with DIY gear sold in stores such as Sams Club, etc. Even so, in the OEM IR Camera area, you would need to spend $350+ for a moderately decent Day/Night IR camera (with a mechanical IR Cut Filter). Even that does not compare to a professional box camera with separate Infrared. See the Sticky on Day Night threads for more info on that. Cameras in the $100-150 retail price range with IR would be basic budget cameras, they will work, but don't expect much if any Infrared distance beyond 10-15' if you are lucky. Also their light handling capabilities are very limited. They will typically not have an IR Cut filter, to keep the cost down, and hence the colors are washed out in the day time. Anyway, you would probably want to take a look at KT&C or Nuvico. They rebadge OEM cameras with their name on them, but they are typically a better selection. Actually in the case of KT&C i believe they are the manufacturers in Asia, never used them so cant comment, but they are a little less than Nuvico. There are ofcourse a million other names floating around, and unlimited variations of Asian Manufacturers out there doing OEM gear for Western Companies. Reason alot of them look the same is that they normally are based off the same engineering design. Some add their own little changes into the mixture such as housing, etc. Ofcourse the different versions would start at CMOS with Infrared, goto Sharp and then Sony CCDs, and go up in price from there. There are also many variations of Sony CCDs even if they are the same type (eg. Exview), and price denotes features and capabilities. Simply, "you get what you pay for" is an understatement in this industry. There are many unscrupulous online stores out there advertising Sony Cameras falsely, while the cameras they sell only have Sony CCDs, and are the cheapest chips in most cases, built by OEM manufacturers (not Sony). Also many of them jump into the resale of CCTV equipment with little to no knowledge or experience in the industry. So buyer beware is also very true when searching to purchase CCTV gear. Follow the links in that sticky though, should give even more detailed information, comments, questions, ideas. Rory PS. just for a note, quality level of Asian Manufactured CCTV products from highest to lowest: (note that most Western companies also have manufacturing plants scattered across Asia) 1-Japan 2-Korea 3-Taiwan 4-China

Yep, dont remove the components unless you have tons of time and cases of CDs .. well you could do the virtual thing also .. That 200MB thing I never did finish (only error i got was a registry error) as I dont really make money of DVRs anymore, my main concern turned to Regular PC installs ...so basically I just tweak it in Nlite, services and tweaks etc ... installing XP with SP2 automated only 30 minutes now .. then I made another CD that installs all the common free programs like Skype, AVG, Firefox etc .. as well as some extra tweaks. could have integrated into the Nlite CD (and do have that also actually) but sometimes I just want to install XP only .. I posted another program on here under the DVR card forum that tweaks XP only .. for DVRs. Basically I can install XP and all other software for a home PC now fully tweaked in under 1 hour .. mostly automated If i had more time or was getting paid, I would continue with the DVR NLite CD .. but I also have software to write as well now ..

Its going to be huge files, unless he deletes them every day, or has a ton of hard drive space .. Best bet would be something like the 2 channel Geo, it uses the same Software as the other cards, and typically even works in Via chipsets. Rory

Yes but thats not a Surveillance Capture Card. In other words (correct me if Im wrong) the software is not designed for 24/7 Surveillance Recording, and isnt that what you wanted? Basic capture cards or devices like that are a dime a dozen these days .. software is what really makes the difference though when it comes to 24/7 recording. Pinicale is a really good one for that, ATI also ofcourse. Far as I know, DIVX is on XP by default. At least I have it installed .. Been around for many years now also ..

Also download AVG Anti-Spyware and search for malware.

For the FAQ I meant the info on the cameras rather than the list. BTW what is there to stop cctv_down_under sending you a clip from a Bosch XF ? Dont know .. been waiting for one

Yes, it is all we use now, typically. It is called Siamese Cable. All distributors should have some for resale.

Thanks Freight will kill me from Australia though, but I am prepared to look at getting one to test from a US Distributor. I can't afford it myself though, I would have to ask someone else here to buy it. I must admit though I am in the middle of getting some of the new GE cameras to test as well; these were the ones mentioned on the forum before by the GECamguy in that Beta post. No, never had a bad experience with Bosch, Nor with GE cameras (except their first Ultraview model), no more than any other, nowhere near as bad an experience as WizKid (!). I have seen the cameras around town a couple times though, and used Philips in the past. I just havent seen any video clips or snapshots from these XF cameras, while I have used the GE, specifically their Exview color and Day/Night Exview cameras; which worked great. Also used the Sanyo's and Samsung Day Nighters, and their color counterparts. Havent used Panasonic yet, but seen many video clips and snapshots from them to see how good they are. Im all for making things easier also, thats for sure. As for the DVRs, well I still think the GE DVRs are great, they are still in the field pumping away, but I don't use them anymore for other reasons mentioned before. The only way I use a PC based is if I set it up properly, otherwise I wouldn't count it as stable nor secure, and even then that is still rather questionable. They are easier for me to maintain though down here, if there is a problem, cheaper to import, and have better evidence sharing; those are the main reasons, regardless of the additional features. As for Geo, well thankfully they changed their GUI I think we need to get a little bit back on topic though, have to say that since im a mod

That would be nice, but only after side by side comparisons are done. Notice how his list has GE way beneath Sanyo and Samsung, while i have used their Day Night cameras, and their leading color only cameras, and GE was much much better. I havent used the Bosch XF nor seen any worthy marketing literature, snapshots, or video, and that is one reason why I wont comment on that brand (at this time), if only to be fair. I have seen other bosch cameras at locations and they they are as good as any other high quality camera. Without side by side comparisons of all cameras, we can never say one camera is the best, nor give them a rating over another.

I know what can be done with embedded XP; the same can be done With XP pro in a Pre Install Environment. Windows XP should never be left in its default state anyway. Example, check out NLite when you get a chance. You can trim down the XP CD from 500+MB to 200MB for example .. this is by removing windows core components and others the same way embedded XP is setup. Its the same OS essentially.

Windows Update (validation Required) http://support.microsoft.com/gp/cp_dst Windows Fix (No Validation Required) (98/ME/NT/2000/XP/2003) http://www.intelliadmin.com/daylight%20saving%20fix%20download.asp Windows Manual Fix / Info (Registry) http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928388 Macintosh Update (Apple) http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/daylightsavingtimeupdatetiger.html

1x PC w/ Video Capture card Plug the DVR's monitor output into the Capture card input. Play back the video you wish to record, and as you would record TV using the capture card's software, record that video. Alternatively you could download AmCap or VidCap and use those for raw AVI capture without compression (or with if you can get that to work), they will be huge, but then you can always convert them to other formats using Windows Movie Maker or other software. You could also simply setup a VCR or other recording device and use it in the same way. I had a client that used this method all the time to create VCR tapes for the courts here. Rory