rory

Yeah they need 5400rpm drives .. which ones did you replace them with, 5400 or 7200? Alternatively you could contact GE for a power upgrade kit.

Yeah I was looking at that .. do you need to have a raid though? They are like $400+ I guess if you want it hot swappable you do right?

Yep the cheap wireless gear you might find in say sams club, etc, will not work 1/2 the time . .. without flickering, interference, etc .. metal blocks signals, eg AC Duct, Iron Rods in the walls, etc .. Cellphones, other wireless equipment, will give you headaches as well. It's a pain, but hard wired would be much better for your indoor app.

Something like this if you are using 12VDC .. http://www.altronix.com/index.php?pid=2&model_num=ALTV615DC1016 Or for 24VAC: http://www.altronix.com/index.php?pid=2&model_num=ALTV2416300ULM total Amps required will depend on your equipment.

MOVED So you tried a completely different PC and DVR card and had the same issues? May be a problem with the connection to the DVR Card, unless that was different in the test also. Could be a camera power issue also. Analog (eg. TV) requires less signal from the cameras to produce an image, while Digital (DVR Card) will drop the video if there is not a strong enough signal. This is fairly rare but still.

That sounds way too cheap for a 240fps card, but it could just be Anykeeper.. As I dont know the actual price of anykeeper cards .. Maybe PM me the sellers link .. just to double check .. Thanks Rory

I Highly doubt you can use dial up, if its an older unit it may be MJpeg, and even if it is Mpeg4 it will still be extremely slow.

Yeah those are even worse .. i just take them out anyway, but its already too late .. the manu scratched it putting them in ,,, arghhh! Ill have to take a look at the car polish thing .. i have 2 wizkid domes here that are unused but scratched from the factory!

I doubt most here would know the difference, anykeeper isnt a well used brand around here ... but you could post a photo and maybe someone else may know .. But its easier to go by price .. what did you pay for it brand new? Rory

Yep .. let me know if you have any questions

Also note that if using 12VDC and Infrared, you will typically need to double the amp requirements when the IR comes on, so if using IR I would recommend sticking to 24VAC, at least with the more powerful units (eg. Extreme). Altronix makes very good PSUs, I would stick to them if you can. There is a very noticable difference between OEM PSUs and Altronix PSUs.

I only used 1 such USB 4 channel device .. The software was not that good, only recorded in 320x240 and had other software related issues (such as minimal or very basic features) .. otherwise it didnt crash .. But I didnt test it for any long length of time though.

What DVR card is it? Some good advice in the above post. Also could just be a faulty card, or even a bad DVR software installation. Have you tried uninstalling the software, removing any remaining DVR folders, then reinstalling?

Hey Gian ..welcome!

If there's one thing I learned in all this: avoid dome cameras unless you need vandal resistance (ie: someone swinging a bat at the camera). I should have spent the bucks on a good box camera (and possibly separate IR illuminator). Definitely separate IR with Domes, I learnt that along time ago, the hard way also .. Also if you wall mount domes, and they are exposed to weather, they will require even more frequent cleaning. Other than that, the biggest issue is the cover .. Im still looking for a manufacturer that can supply those quick and cheap .. Im going to check out GE some more again, as their Vandal domes were always very good, compared to others ive used.

Dome covers are one of the biggest culprits for low quality and other image issues when dealing with Vandal Dome Cameras. They also tend to get scratched easily, so make sure to use a distributor that can supply you with the specific dome covers sold separately; they typically differ in size/shape from one model to the next. Otherwise you will be up the creek without a paddle when there are no "clear" spots left on the dome cover.

You really need to flood the area with Infrared to get a decent image, in that case you would want something like the UF100 or UF500 from Extreme CCTV, and it costs alot. Its always best to avoid Infrared if you can, and use regular lighting. Whichever method, the more light, the better the image will be. However too much light can be bad also. Everyone uses Generators down here. You could also look at the much larger versions of the APC UPS.

Typically no, unless you go with a Windows PC based DVR and use a Removable Drive bay.

Hi, I'll let others tune in on this, but first a very quick note, 4mm is approx 70 degrees, while a 60 degree IR Bulb is typically considered a flood, the widest angle on the market for IR. You will find the majority of Cameras with IR built in, will only have a 30 degree IR width, made with LEDs. With that said, you might want to consider motion detection lighting, unless the client requires it less obvious. Rory

The main problem I see there is the via motherboard .. I actually just built a PC using the PM8PM-V .. a Micro ATX version .. But it was going to just be for home use .. also I do currently have a GeoVision Gv250 in it, but that GV250 is more like a Generic card .. works in anything; as opposed to their other cards. I dont know the one you mentioned, but maybe it is similar to the other Geo cards where they have issues with anything but an Intel chipset ... also, the onboard video on the one i have is pretty lame .. i can barely trust that with 2 cameras, let alone 16, plus it doesnt have overlay .. though mine has S3 graphics, while yours says Via Graphics .. not sure if that is the same or not .. anyway .. so your issues might just be there. I would look at getting your hands on an AGP video card and disable the onboard. Then see what happens.

also, power supply brand and size.

You can purchase them from many online distributors, including at least one of the forum's advertisers. Rory

Just using the cat5 spare pairs for standard 12vdc power right?

Thanks, so far so good .. Its a 945 chipset BTW ... so not too old .. they had the 915 as an option actually .. but I didnt want to use that in this case .. I may actually just get these for the home PCs too, instead of the 965's .. Since they are quite a difference in price .. for us down here at least. Besides if we ever upgrade to a quad core CPU, then thats going to cost anyway, and they will have a new version motherboard/chipset out by then.