rory

also have them check the connections. But since Coax is stronger than Cat5 less likely to have actual breaks in that .. cat5 .. cant say.

Each builder will have their own preferences, best to do a search on google and see what others are using. AS for myself .. GigaByte Motherboards with: (depending on the System/Card) 3.2Ghz Intel P4 (800 FSB, 1MB), 512MB DDR2 PC-4200 533Mhz Memory, 128MB DDR PCI EX Video, Sata-300 HDD, CD-RW 3.4Ghz Intel P4 (800 FSB, 4MB), 1GB DDR2 PC-4200 533Mhz Memory, 256MB GDDR2 PCI EX Video, Sata-300 HDD, DVD-RW Using Centon memory myself .. X300 128MB DDR Video card or the X1300 256MB GDDR2 Video Card. I like the Western Digital HDDs also.

Make sure it is not using a VIA chipset on the motherboard .. need Intel, or even SIS will work sometimes. Whats the other PC specs?

The manufacturer is "Veo" and the model is called "Observer" Seen that online, looks like it uses its own software .. Might want to check with the retailer and see if they can provide more info ..

Kodicom Makes Cards .. they also created software for these cards, but it is only legal to use with their cards .. the Clones out there are not Kodicom cards ... they are copies of lesser quality and prone to errors as with all Cloned DVR Cards .. the pirates have simply cracked older versions of the software to work with these cards, most of the time using unstable hardware drivers and unprofessional software organisation. At least this is the case with most of the Illegal cards out there. Obviously Kodicom and their distributors wont give support for something that is not their product .. I have to suggest ditching the clone and getting a legit card .. whichever brand .. then you would also get support when required. Also, we generally do not discuss illegal cards on the forum .. hence you would see most of them either locked or deleted ... Rory

It's in the SDK area. http://www.video-insight.com/Products/SDK.aspx Bottom of the page. Thats a really coopl feature if it works that way. Sounds familiar ... with Geo .. you connect to an IP Address and then a Camera Number .. to create a multiview you need to do the hard work yourself .. connect to which IP numbers and Which Cameras to those IPs .. then create your image sizes and layouts ... in other words each camera view is a seperate connection.

If you are plugging the Camera directly into the TV, that is analogue and it is always going to be a better image than the PC Monitor, the best image will be on a CCTV CRT but then that depends on the camera as to how crisp it will be.

Any ideas on the best type of VGA Extender to use with a DVR card.. This is in a case where we dont want the cables to go back to the DVR, but rather install the connection in an enclosure. I used a regular VGA extender cable before but had all kinds of missing video and lines in the video that were not missing .. so I imagine it has to be specific. Thanks Rory

most DVRs will have relays that you can setup ... just triger that using the remote software manually by clicking on a button, or most also have scheduling for relays ...

Should get a response from the one im thinking of .. they stock them also. If you have skype you can set your country to the US and call an 800 number ... actually 866 same as 800 .. I just realised I could do that from here myself .. Rory

LOL .. small AC units. . As for Ground loop gear .. Pelco has one of those. http://www.pelco.com/products/default.aspx?id=230

Oh, well never used a Heater/Blower .. but most fixed domes dont need more than 500ma. I cant speak for the Heater/Blower part though.

Ok so its a PTZ? I would power that and especially due to the Amps they use and the distance, near the camera. You can normally get a weatherproof power supply from the manufacturer for the PTZ. AVR = Automatic Voltage Regulation A Must for all electronics, so that during low voltage and brownouts, your equipment does not get fried. If you dont get much of that where you are located, not so much of a worry. I wouldnt warranty anything without it though.

Power it local, if then you have issues with ground loops, get a ground loop isolator. Look at what it costs to just plug it in local at the camera, as to running 400' of cable (any trenching, conduit, etc?) .. if you have a few cameras in the same location then power them all at a central point to those cameras .. add a UPS with AVR and you are good to go. Ive done a couple hundred feet before, didnt notice any serious power drops .. but never powered anything that far before. Ones I had that were over 200' I powered with other cameras at that distance in the same location.

LOL .. my outer walls in my appt are at least that or more .. (old old house)

The IP cam part is totally different though .. its a network that is the issue there. Flimsy cat5 cable as well ...

Sounds good .. let us know (or see) how they compare please ..

For the Cops ... I make a folder with the Players and Video .. Players are the Geo RPB software, and my Custom Media Viewer which also registers and loads the Mpeg4 and Mpeg2 codecs from the folder . . Video is Original in 1 folder, and then there is another folder with the converted and compressed versions in AVI, WMV, and EXE. I Have a Read me, burn it to CD and give it to the owner to hand to the cops. They seem to be able to take it from there. We have no special requirments for the courts except they dont have PC's in them ... so they would also need to create a VCR Tape if they want the video in court ...

You guys get alot of Drywall over there .. mostly brick down here .. internal walls also.

You only get those error messages if its not set up properly, and then i turn those messages off alltogether anyway. WatchDog will ultimately restart software if there is an error, which there wont be as you will get any errors at the initial setup of the software and hardware, and then they would have already been addressed. Personally I prefer a DVR that never requires having to deal with anyone else for Tech Support ... PS. I can easily rank a PC DVR Built by myself as reliable or moreso than any of those mentioned ... they just have different applications is all. Im not defending PC DVRs now .. or going against my favourite GE machines .. I just know i can set up a quality PC DVR now, and when there are hardware issues I dont have to wait several weeks for a replacement. ..

I set the XP Dvrs to Reboot every 7 days, had one now in a closet at a location since last year August, Ive never been back and its still recording and online (and thats with a 2.9 celeron and 256DDR!) So yes, the OS requires a reboot every now and then, not even as much as 7 days, though it doesnt hurt. Other than that I've never had any of the XP DVRs crash or lock up, in fact I've never seen a Blue Screen of Death since Windows 98. Ofcourse the Default XP OS is a disaster, unless it is tweaked then I would not even trust it to just browse the web. Ive also had many Embedded Units lock up and require reboot. Not as common on the more expensive units like the GE, but yes Ive seen it on at least 1 DM and have had issues with at least 1 GE, but still most problems occur on the lower end units, with Embedded Linux. Most times this is hardware related though. So basically it depends how the XP OS is setup, what programs are installed and running, and how stable those are together. So far had no issues with GeoVision on an XP Tweaked machine so thats one reason I have stuck with them. Most if not all of the issues people have with PC DVRs these days are the OS they are running, the way it is setup (default installs mostly), and the DVR Card and Software Stability (dont forget PC Hardware Compatibility). The biggest selling point to a Windows XP DVR over an Embedded RTOS DVR, is being able to change any hardware the same day it goes down, and the higher quality of recorded video for evidence sharing, not to mention the added features (but features can be matched on higher end RTOS DVRs) .. then there is the lower cost. The biggest selling point on the Standalone Embedded units these days are, there is no mouse and keyboard; not everyone can still use a PC yet. Dont get me wrong, i still see the Stand Alone Embedded units as useful and they have their place, and love the GE's to a degree still (not a DM fan as they dont use a RTOS embedded OS). But i'd sell one of my Tweaked PC DVRs now over those, if only for the fact that I can change parts myself without having to send it back to the manufacturer. Ofcourse with all that said, I dont just install windows, slap in the card, and place it in the clients location; I spend at least 2 days building, setting up, tweaking, and testing the PC DVR. So it does take longer in that regard, but It is best to take the time and do it right. The shortest amount of time Ive setup a PC DVR in was 6 hours, but it was a DVR before that and all I had to do was setup, tweak, and do a short test - but thats rare and generally it is 2 days, or longer.

Pixim has a WDR Technology being used in many cameras now, but i wasnt tha impressed with the GE Ultraview ... mostly as it required full lighting. http://www.pixim.com/html/prod_cameras_dome.htm Im wary of these other ones also, which is why Id look at the Pano if they can afford it.

Well the best way is to just take a camera that is pluggd into the current PC DVR and put it into a TV .. a 13" TV would be much better than say a 19" TV for example, and a decent brand CCTV Monitor will blow all of them away .. ive used Samsung and GE (Kalatel) Monitors in the past. I dont know the tech behind it, but a PC CRT cant touch a CCTV CRT BUT that is for composite. .. As to the nv5000 card, Im not familiar with it but I believe it is an Avermedia Card, either way the DVR and the cameras are really not related as far as initial setup goes.. the cameras should be focused and set up seperately, preferably at your location and only installed/adjusted at the clients location. But that can differ from job to job. But cameras "should" be focused with a CCTV CRT for optimum quality. If it is a PC DVR then an LCD is nice, and thats all we sell for those, its not the best quality .. but its that or the PC CRT ... and well the size of a CRT, and then who wants to buy a PC CRT these days ... well actually who wants to buy ANY CRT these days .. however if the card has a DSP output then you can also use a CCTV CRT Monitor for better quality .. Example:

Hi osity, Depends, if it is a TV CRT that is much lower res, like 250-350TVL, while CCTV CRTs can be anywhere from 500TVL to 1000TVL .. much more crisp image overall. There are low res ones also, but mostly those are the OEM ones. I cant give you any tech reasons why, just from using all of them they are much higher quality for live video. As to PC CRT's and CCTV CRT's, I cant give you the technical on that either, but it really depends if the DVR has VGA or Composite Outputs. The CCTV CRT is much better quality (Crisp) than the PC CRT, but only when using a Composite Input (Eg. DSP) from the DVR. Actually anyone installing CCTV should have at least one CCTV Monitor, this being a CRT CCTV Monitor .. even if it is only a 9" BW Monitor .. the 9" BW Monitors are typically 1000TVL and provide great quality for focusing of cameras, in fact I would not trust the focusing of cameras to anything but a CCTV Monitor (unless one is using something like FMSystems Camera Master). Overall though, analogue, even on a simple TV, will be higher quality (to our eyes) from a composite input, than that on a PC CRT or LCD from a PC based DVR system ... if composite is put on a PC (VGA) Monitor though .. the quality is normally horrible.

Ive used a couple of them ... http://www.cctvforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=1640