rory

as you are in Canada, you may want to check out MArch Networks 3108 8 channel economical DVR also, dont know the price though, if you find out please let us know Its a panel mounted DVR. Their software is very good also. http://www.marchnetworks.com/products/3108dvr.asp Rory

Check this out, havent tried it yet, but the price is I think $###, and has a CDR like the Kalatel Store SAfe, is Linux Embedded Standalone, 8 channels. If you get it let us know how it goes, I would like to maybe start selling it. Specs are good, if they are as good as the specs, then it is well worth it. The windows software is not great, but at that price, I could live with it A note, embedded systems are usually either linux or nucleus, or other, they can use chipsets like the ones listed on this site, or as in Kalatel's case, powerPC chips. PowerPC parts also support Linux. I dont know a whole lot about this part of it, but thats what I found out from a little online research. Rory

ok, ill email them. Its linux so at the least it should be an embedded os. They are in Compton, isnt that a really bad area?? Rory

I saw it on that web site last year sometime, i think the pricing was arounf $699! Its in your area AV, any chance of getting a hardware demo from them so you could let us know how it is? Rory

well, you cant put Everfocus in the same level of DM and Kalatel, Everfocus is simply the cheapest thing around, and with CCTV, you get what you pay for.

any links to 'inexpensive' 4 channel fiber receviers/transmitters, easy to install, plug and play. Rory

yep, except to get a high quality image on a LCD, you need to spend 3-4 times as much as a CRT, and if its a large LCD, you can expect to spend double the price of a Plasma, in most cases, in the US at least. Most computer LCDs are no good for CCTV comp video, the quality is just not there, unless you spend the extra cash and get the best out there. Dell has a very high crisp monitor, $900 though, same as a CCTV LCD monitor.

if the HD fails you have to send it back to the manufacturer, or have spare ones, though they claim that violates the warranty by opening it up, this is no different then other manufacturers (I cant speak for the Asian guys). It has wavebrowser on the HD, though the actual OS is in EPROM. None have ever failed in the past 2 years Thats why I like them. Everything is a computer these days, and Ill bet most of the embedded DVRs use the same OS, such as Phillips which used to use Kalatels DVRs, DM, etc. Check out Nucleus web site and Power PC web site, and you will see that they are primarily used in microelectronic devices. Power PC also supports Linux so there may be alot of Linux Embedded DVRs out there using the power PC parts also. I wonder why they call it Power PC, as its not a Personal Computer, the parts are geared towards embedded machines, and then also, it doesnt look all that powerful, as far as CPU speeds go! One difference here is that no OS programming/settings etc, are on the HD, it is saved in memory, only Video is kept on the HD, and in the new versions of the StoreSafe, the WaveBrowser software for browser based video.

Not a PC like what we use though, as it does not use typical computer parts, if indeed they are using Power PC parts. I cant open it as I cant afford it if I break it! :-0 Remember, PC = Personal Computer, which it is not. I imagine their Muxes are the same also, inside? Maybe they use a different OS for them since they do not require Hard Drives, etc? We can build it too, but we need some power PC parts and a full licence for Nucleus. And ofcourse about a year of learning Nucleus.. then again there is the case and production problem Do they use SCSI drives? also, can you see how the Video ports are connected to the board? Take a photo if you can

still, did you try them on another brand of camera? though it shouldnt make a difference, I had before, 2 same brand cameras, one after the other, ordered different times like a month or so above, different lenses like 3 different brands I tried, neither camera would let me adjust the iris level, it was a messed up florescent color, the iris pot would move but nothing happened to the camera, no matter what settings i changed. I got a different camera all together after these 2, and the same leses worked fine on the new one, just bad cameras maybe, in my situation...

Im serious, make it weatherproof (well like you said for the battery thing) and I can sell it down here. Maybe make the kit without the pole as that would cost a fortune to ship, but spec it to a special sized pole. Include all mounts, Solar, wireless, battery packs, Cameras (day/night) with housings, etc. Make it all in black coating color. Then we can just get our own black poles. Or have 2 options, plain and black. How good were those wireless TXs? Range wise. Im sure I can sell it here, or at least offer it and see what happens. Car Parks etc.

cool man, you should make them and sell them as a kit

did you try more than 1? maybe bad lens?

Large LCDs are double the price. I have client who has had her Plasmas for more than 6 years now, no problems, she has 11 in total, different brands. But they are old technology and the quality is bad with CCTV cameras. I am selling the 15" LCD monitor with 500TVL from Kalatel, but its not cheap like a CRT.

Yeah I guess they will add that soon, the VDR has the USB flash, so I imagine it is coming soon on the others. Nucleus has USB capability, power PC must have it.

thats still not a PC (personal computer), its an electronic device, does not use typical PC parts. The same parts are used in many other electronics, the OS is a Real Time embedded OS, Nucleus, used in everything from cell phones to other micro electronics. Interesting though , I downloaded the SDK for Nucleus for PowerPC parts, now all I need are the parts. Maybe we should try to make our own ) The licence for the software must not be cheap though... Ok, i will settle that it is a computerised electronic machine.

Ok, checked with Kalatel, Their DVRs use PowerPC Processors, and the Nucleus OS. IBM PowerPC MicroElectronics: http://www-306.ibm.com/chips/techlib/techlib.nsf/techdocs/76DC9CC2F622BCAE87256E39005925C3 Nucleus Embedded OS: http://www.acceleratedtechnology.com/ Ok now can we make our own! I want DVDRW and USB Flash, anyone else ? )

edit.. Im not saying I love the Kalatel, if someone else had a better product, or the same for less, and even some less features as i dont use them all, I would use it, but there is nothing yet. Im not going to use a PC based, as that involves maintenance, and i may as well then just go into the PC business and make more money than we get per hour in the CCTV business. Using WaveReader you can view 16 DVRs, 64 cameras at once on one monitor, or even better a 40-60' Plasma Display: WaveReader 3.0, the newest version of our exclusive remote viewing software, offers more features and versatility for your remote surveillance monitoring. Now you can simultaneously connect to as many as 16 different recorders, and WaveReader can tile images from all those recorders to create a 64-camera display. You can drag and drop images from any recorder onto WaveReader any spot on the display screen. What’s more, you can create groups of recorders, label them and monitor by group, like “Texas” or “California.” And you can save files larger than 2 GB to store high-resolution or longrunning clips more efficiently. Kalatel's Clear Cast Product:: ---------------------------- ClearCast™ recording technology delivers what’s most important and what’s been missing from many digital recording systems: Image quality. But higher quality images are bigger—and ClearCast can deliver real-time video—30 frames per second for every camera. So ClearCast uses a new form of video compression: eTreppid™ Exclusive to GE Interlogix, eTreppid compresses files three to five times smaller than MPEG-4 and up to 20 times smaller than Wavelet files. As a result, ClearCast lets you store 30 days or more of high-resolution images. Maximum storage for largescale applications ClearCast is designed for large-scale applications that need to store highresolution images from hundreds of cameras. Casinos, financial institutions, correctional facilities, airports and other high-security environments can get the clearest, most detailed images available with ClearCast. Most security applications record multiplexed video. That’s where MPEG-4 compression falls short. MPEG-4 only compresses the changes between scenes. So it performs well for a single camera, but chokes on multiplexed video. eTreppid compresses the entire image, not just the changes. This allows ClearCast to store 30 days or more of multiplexed video at 30 frames per second—with unbeatable image quality. Simple, scalable system architecture Large-scale applications may use hundreds of cameras, so ClearCast features a simple modular architecture. The ClearCast capture station incorporates an encoder, PC and storage device. Each capture station records video and audio from up to eight cameras to onboard RAID storage. And the drives are hot swappable. So if one fails, you can simply just replace it with a fresh drive. You won’t lose any video. Another benefit of ClearCast’s architecture is expandability. You can start with only the number of capture stations you need. As you needs grow, you can easily add capture stations to accommodate more cameras. -----------------------------------

no, non pc and no linux, and its a proprietry embedded os, i visited the os site before, just cant remember where it is right now. 30pps is standard on DVRs (name brand high quality embedded DVRs at least), such as Ultrack, Dedicated, etc. Their higher end unit, the DVMRe has 60pps which is more than other brands. Or you can use a 60pps single channel DSR-2000e, for each camera Kalatel actually has a PC product, aimed at casinos, airports, etc, but it costs a fortune, can handle thousands of cameras, rack mounted stuff, Its in a PDF i downloaded of some of their new stuff. but yes, it would be nice if they got it faster. The embedded software must have its limitations as others are using the same OS with same speeds. For 16 cameras you can go with the DVMRe, with 60pps, which is great, but then the StoreSafe is nicer as it has a CDRW, and is small enough for standard sized lock boxes (i know most people who use PCs dont care about this, but in the high security world, it must be locked up) Also, it is cheaper than any other brand of embedded OS, and Im talking about the good brand names, not the cheapos.

has anyone else here seen or written any custom software for Kalatel DVRs, or another Brand of DVR? Looking for fellow programmers. Also, i have a Cable Modem and a hub. 1 PC only and the StoreSAfe DVR connected. Using an IP the IP in the StoreSafe and the PC need to have the same IP range eg. 24.244.134.*. However the StoreSafe supports DHCP, and the machine has a name in it which cant be changed. Anyway, i enable it, so I dont have to use the IP feature. When i try to connect it doesnt. On the PC is there anything i need to do to get it to work? Im not familiar with DHCP. The Storesafe will come up with pop up errors saying DHCP could not be renewed, so I switched back to IP. Any ideas?? thanks Rory

i stick to kalatel, makes it all simple and works well. one thing too, with the Kalatel DVRs, you can always add more storage if you want longer recordings, by adding a device called a DVSe, which is digital storage devices. If you only buy a DVSe with a 40GB, then want more, you can add more hard drives, up to 8 total, then you can rack mount as many more of them as you want, each can total 2000GB of storage. Also, the DVMRe (not EZ version) is their top of the line model, and doesnt cost too much more than the EZ, so read up on the specs of both at their web site to make sure which one has the features you will want. The storesafe is just like a mixture of both, in a compact unit, with a built in CD-RW, designed for businesses without computers or networks. But it only has 1 multiple view monitor out, whereas the DVMRe's have 2, and the DVMRe goes up to 1000GB. Check these facts also for more info: http://www.geindustrial.com/ge-interlogix/support/technical/faq/digital_rec.html

#1 - if you are looking for image quality, a DVR is the way to go, VCRs do not compare. Ill give you an example: Kalatel Video Digital Recorder - same price as a Time Lapse VCR: http://www.geindustrial.com/cwc/products/ge-interlogix?pnlid=9&famid=63&catid=1088&id=VDR&lang=en_US You can still record out to a standard VCR tape if you want, or use Compaq Flash to transfer video to a PC. It has a superb 720x484 Resolution. #2 - Motion Detection without a mux? Pelco has a single channel Motion detector, still not that cheap: http://www.pelco.com/products/controlsite/miscellaneous/motiondetectors.aspx Or you could buy a 4 channel multiplxer with motion built in. #3 - do you mean a split 2 way screen? or out to different TVs, aux channel? or using cable TV channel with a RF modulator lie to view on channel 3/4 or other? Rory[/url]

Are you buying from a distributor as a CCTV business, or retail? As far as the Kalatel all in ones, at 5pps, 8 cameras, 160GB DVR, High Res, you can get approx 14 days, this is based on a 24/7 gas station. You can drop it to 2.5pps and still get a good video, not much different, and still plenty, then you will get 28 days, give or take. Less motion, more time. There is no exact time put on DVRs with motion detection recording. Check with your distributor/dealer for: DVMRe-10eZT-160 (60pps) SDVR-10-160 (30pps, built in CD-RW) If you are buying direct then it is under $3000, and non PC/non Linux based. Rory

they normally answer email very quick, so then they will set up an appointment via telephone. They actually have the best suport I have seen yet. You can also contact tech support direct from their web site. Normally they will point end users in the direction of a sales rep in their area for sales questions. Any questions let me know. Rory

yes, you can loop the video out to other muxes, switchers, quads, monitors, etc. just better than using bulky T-connectors, most muxes now come this way. its unprocessed video. however, i havent had a need for a switcher yet. The muxes have switching built in, and id buy a quad / mux before a switcher. I dont like switching, dont see all the cameras at once.