rory

I cant remember if you said you did or not, but did you connect the cameras direct into a monitor or TV at the end of line, and leave it to see if the image is ok like that? I had a DVR with a bent BNC board, bad from the factory, had lines coming and going, had to just replace the DVR.

Ill take a look. What abour Dedicated Micros, they have a simple enough remote feature? Kalatel's is even better then DM though, more advanced features remotely. Im going to test Appro'sand post a review of that as soon as I can, its a much cheaper product, but looks good enough. Like Thomas said, use a router, and port forwarding. But cant you just connect the Modem direct to the DVR using a cat5 cable? Then program the static Ip and other info from the ISP, into the DVRs programming. One thing I have noticed, companies such as GE, provide you with more manuals than you will ever need, tons of info, such as protocols like how to make your own integrated hardware or software for the DVRs, eg. Cor Access, Custom Keypads, etc. Compared to the 1 basic manual I got for the Provideo DVR, and the non existent manual I got for Crow, and the basic ones i got for some PC cards I tested.

every distributor i know of carries hunt cctv. Systems depot os very professional though, I dealt with them before, great service, too far north for me though so I had to go back to Miami distributors.

Another interesting one I found: http://www.fastechinc.com/dvr1612.asp this is a 16 channel DVR, has both CCTV and VGA monitor outputs, and has a LAN, Flash backup. Its a neat device. Havent got a price on it yet, they sell direct to dealers only. Waiting for a reply. I also found the manufacturers web site, but best just to buy it from these guys who are the USA distributors. Rory

my dealer has some very low prices on these, any one got any reviews: http://www.approtech.com/product/dvr/DVR-3014.htm

Yep, they look nice though, and are cheap. Id like to give the wirless network one a try sometime. Only thing is, I downloaded the client software, and cant login, i emailed them for a user and pass to just open the program, and havent heard back yet. Im going to search the software program and see if the info is anywhere in there. Want to see that before I buy one.

Which stand alones, I find the remote video for the stand alones i use very simple, in fact too simple sometimes. I have seen and used some though, that were awful.

If you are going to run cat5, at that distance, you would need an amplified UTP tX and Reciever, as over 700 feet, passive apparently does not work well with DVRs. From NVT tech Support: "Passive to passive video transmission over UTP will have image loss similar to RG59 at same distance. This is because the signal is attenuated by the resistance of the cable. If you intend to use a DVR or DVMR at the monitoring end, you should limit passive to passive transmission distances to 750' or less. (Digital recorders will reject or muddle video signals after 6-8dB of loss) From our experience, passive to passive transmission within distance spec (750' or less to most dvrs, 1000' or less to analog equipment) is quality video. However, if you were to do a side by side comparison of passive to passive video at maximum spec distance versus video from an amplified hub at the same distance, you would notice crisper video from the amplified receiver because the amplified receiver gives you the ability to boost the signal back to the same level it was at when it left the camera."

As for the hard drive, all Kalatel DVRs use Maxtor hard drives, have never had one crash on me yet. I imagine they use them because of the large disk sizes they have. Ofcourse a hard drive crash is always possible with any hard drive.

GE Kalatel Press Releases: http://www.brighamscully.com/pr/pgecv.html

what happened to paris hilton!? PS. you forgot the embedded RTOS DVR, not to be mixed up with the Stand Alone DVR which can be embedded or PC. I guess I should have voted analogue, as they are the real slim shady! But Britney looked more inviting!

CyberDome is a very popular PTZ; http://www.geindustrial.com/ge-interlogix/kalatel/prd_dome_cam.html Phillips also has some good ones, in particular has motion tracking option.

Only way i can think is solar.

Hunt is like Provideo, they buy from other manufacturers and label them with their name.

1-Always best to run everything back to one central location. You could run cat5 with Active UTP receivers and tx's, will cost much more than splitting them up though, but there will be no interference and video signals up to 3000 feet with twisted pair or 1.5 miles with cat5. If you power them seperate, use multi channel power supplies, 1 in each building. This would allow Pure Crisp Images from each camera, higest quality. 2-Ofcourse, you could split them up, tie into a network, and just use your one PC in your main location to view all of them, so no extra wires run between the buildings. But thats 24/7 on the network, lower quality than direct into the system. 3-Another way, still more costly than a PC based DVR, but this is the traditional CCTV way, would be to use 3 seperate DVRs, link them using a single cable, and have a DVR keypad (not a PC keypad) in your main location, so you can use one CCTV monitor to view each DVR, and still can connect over the network if you connect them to it. As you can see, there are various ways, depends on how much your budget is also, what kind of image quality you want, and how you want the system designed. For 480pps though you are stuck with a PC based, which does not do #3 of the above, or unless you go with a PC based Enterprise solution.

How far away are the buildings from each other?

Peter, have you used any of those embedded DVRs on this page? If so, any good for low end? And which software do they use, the Optiview Client software? or another? http://www.discount-security-cameras.net/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=228 Thanks Rory

yeah i know what you mean. Same thing around here, they wont pay for that service either, at least not pre paid. Can you sequence the bottom right window, like on the standard DVRs/Muxes, do these have that feature? Or maybe a second monitor out for another 9 or 10 cameras? Rory

http://www.blazepoint.co.uk/defence_rugged_mobile_compc.html

The cameras look neatly installed, very nice Poor guys in the attic, I feel for them, summer now must be hot up there also. One thing, how you gonna clean them? Outdoor cameras require very frequent cleaning, just wondering since you mentioned the machine you used to install them. Also, how big is the monitor, as with 32 camera display the camera windows get much smaller. A plasma would be sweet though Nice job though. Rory

http://www.cctvtoolbox.co.za/display_product_2452.htm

http://www.securitysa.com/news.asp?pklNewsID=14517&pklIssueID=412&pklCategoryID=3 http://www.cctvtoolbox.co.za/display_product_2452.htm

"In surveillance the main priority should be reliability. Embedded technology has the edge over PC-based DVRs when it comes to reliability. The core reason, is the embedded operating software is dedicated to managing video, where PC-based operating systems handle multiple processes simultaneously, potentially causing a higher level of failure. " "With PC-based systems an operator may be required to operate a system that is beyond his IT expertise. However, embedded technology allows for much easier operation and is more user-friendly, leaving more time for the operator to fulfil his job description with greater ease and functionality. Management on the other hand have the full flexibility of a graphical user interface."

http://www.securitysa.com/article.asp?pklArticleID=1992&pklIssueID=273&pklCategoryID=3 In surveillance the main priority should be reliability. Embedded technology has the edge over PC-based DVRs when it comes to reliability. The core reason, is the embedded operating software is dedicated to managing video, where PC-based operating systems handle multiple processes simultaneously, potentially causing a higher level of failure. With PC-based systems an operator may be required to operate a system that is beyond his IT expertise. However, embedded technology allows for much easier operation and is more user-friendly, leaving more time for the operator to fulfil his job description with greater ease and functionality. Management on the other hand have the full flexibility of a graphical user interface.

http://www.securitysa.com/article.asp?pklArticleID=1992&pklIssueID=273&pklCategoryID=3 In surveillance the main priority should be reliability. Embedded technology has the edge over PC-based DVRs when it comes to reliability. The core reason, is the embedded operating software is dedicated to managing video, where PC-based operating systems handle multiple processes simultaneously, potentially causing a higher level of failure. With PC-based systems an operator may be required to operate a system that is beyond his IT expertise. However, embedded technology allows for much easier operation and is more user-friendly, leaving more time for the operator to fulfil his job description with greater ease and functionality. Management on the other hand have the full flexibility of a graphical user interface.