Scruit

The DVR at CloseoutCCTV is 30fps/ch at 720/240. If you're happy with realtime at CIF then go for it. I just ordered a CPCam CPD507 which is realtime in CIF and 120fps (16ch) in D1 - I'll be using D1 mode. When a motion event occurs the max framerate is given to the channels that see motion wile the remaining channles stay at the manual record rate (I'll use 1fps per channel). ie on a 16ch 120fps system, if 4 channels see motion at the same time then they will get 27 fps which is close enough to realtime that it won't make a difference. Although the 507 allocate the 120fps in 4 banks of 30 fps - ie channel 1-4 share 30fps, 5-8 share 30fps etc. You have to be careful to assign any cameras that are likely to see motion at the same time to different banks. Ie I have 4 cams on the front of the house - if they were setup at channels 1-4 then they would share 30fps and get 7.5fps each with the remaining 90fps as wasted capacity. Instead I'll assign those 4 cams as channels 1, 5, 9 and 13 so they get 27fps each assuming the other cameras in each bank stay at the non-motion 1fps rate. Even if all cams see motion, that 's still 7.5fps - good enough for what I'm doing. I'm not gonna see motion on all channels unless my house is surroudned by an angry mob. One or two burglars coming to the house shoudl not have more than 4 cams tripped at any moment. If your application requires 30fps at D1 24x7 and all channels are going to see motion at the same time all the time then $1k-1.5k is not the price point you are going to wind up with. Additionally, assume $300 for the 1TB hard drive if you can get a DVR that can accept and initialze a new HD itself and you get hte HD from Microcenter or CompUSA etc. Assume even more if the HD must be pre-initialized by the manufacturer. Having said that, 30fps on 16 channels 24x7 will probably chew through a 1TB hard drive in a couple of days so you'd need an external drive array if you need any decent amount of history.

Did you do all the regular stuff? - Unplug one good camera and one bad camers from the back of the DVR and switch them over. - Connect a small LCD monitor directly to the camera. - Swap a bad camera with a good camera at the camera end - Post a capture of the bad image. Is it possibly interferance from an AC wire running near the video signal? Did they add a new circuit / device?

Well, I'd guess that most of the cost of a budget install is in the wiring... If they're having you run power then it's no extra work to also run video, right? Heck, run cat5e and you've got both in one wire.

I test IR filters with my IR emitter. If it's an IRCut filter then a cmera will not see the emitter (or a TV remote control emitter) through it. If it's an IR pass then you can still see the red glow of the IR emitter through it (and nothing else).

And the image isn't all that great either. I use these Swanns in my RC plane & helicopter for in-flight video. Certainly not for security.

Did SecurityMaster buy the CCTVKings domain from Hermin Sanchez? Only reason I ask is when I looked it up in WHOIS when CCTV_Suppliers firts posted the link I could see that it was registered to a "Hermin Sanchez". The SecurityMaster posted another WHOIS link that listed a diff name, like Robert Santiago or something. Now the WHOIS has no person name that I can see.

I have a couple of Swann Microcams that are 2.4ghz and they will kill my wireless signal. Things like this is why I stuck with wired cameras - no inerfeance with my network, and no risk of folks sitting outside my house seeing my camera images and figuring out how to approach my house undetected. Google "War Driving"

Is the CPCam CPD507 any good for a home user? I like the specs (realtime on all 16 channels in CIF, 120ips in D1) and I've been pretty happy with the CPD576W that I've had for a couple years... My biggest complaints about my current DVR: - Simplex operation, and no easy backup of video in digital format (I playback to video capture card) - The 'software' is just relays the key presses to the DVR and appears to simply relay the screen output to the computer - so there is a loss of quality there. - When I go through the search for motion event list and select and event for playback, I cannot back out to the event list again - have to go back record mode and back into the search again. - 25ips total. 'nuff said. - No pre-event recording - no IR remote control The things I like about my current DVR: - I can replace/upgrade the HD myself - Can record at 1fps per channel when no motion and ramp up to full framerate when there IS motion. I don't like have *nothing* recorded when there is no motion. What I really want from the next DVR: - Much higher frame rate - D1 recording - Ability to download the video in digital form rather than converting back to analog and aback to digital during playback. - 9 or 16 channels It would be nice to have the following features: - Ability to set D1 / CIF per-channel - Ability to set the framerate per-channel in D1 (120ips) mode - 16 channels With a $1k budget, what is the best DVR for me?

Wait, I though the AVC787 was the same as the CPD507? ie 16ch. I thought the CPD505 was 8ch?

Yeah, gonna replace the 576. It's been giving me some trouble recently with being unable to find teh HD on bootup. If I shut it down (to work on a camera etc) then it will give me a HD failure on startup about 50% of the time amd I have to power cycle it a few times to make it run, or just ignore the HD error and set it recording manually and it works. A couple times it had just flat out quit recording during the day with a "HD NOT FOUND" message on screen. I replaced the HD but that didn't help.

I have a 7" LCD screen I carry around that I use for focusing at the camera - then I go inside and check image on the CRT monitor to verify. On a couple of occasions I have had to take a 13" crt out to the camera and ensure precise focus. Sometimes the 7" ius fine, sometimes I need to use the CRT.

I read that is also can record 120fps max a D1, is that correct? I believe my existing CPD576W records at CIF only, so that's not a problem. Also, you can set the manual record framerate to something low like 1fps per channel, then set the Alarm framerate to 120 so it records channels with motion at full framerate. I have 9 channels, so even if all see motion that's still >13fps. And I read that the 120 is allocated among the 16 channels in blcoks of four... ie channels 1-4 share 30fps, 5-8 share 30 etc. So I need to make sure that cameras that overlap (and likely will see motion at the same time) are spread out acorss these 4 groups. ie there are 4 cams on the front of my house and any motion out there may be seen by all 4 cameras. If I have those a channles 1-4 then they will share 30fps and the remaining 90fps capacity is wasted. So instead I will set them as channels 1, 5, 9 and 13 so that they will all get >25fps each. Well, I read this all from the AVC787 docs - is the CPD507 the same? It is my understanding that AVTech is the manufacturer and CPCam is a retail division that sell rebranded units - and that AVC787 and CPD507 are identical other than branding...

I have purchased a proper camera housing with heater/blower for my license plate camera. The camera itself is 12vdc, and the housing requires 24vac. Would there be any interferance problem with me running the 24vac wire in parallel with the RG59 in the same conduit over a distance of about 50'? Also, for some time now I have planned to grandfather the RG59 wires and do all new or replacement wires in Cat5e. Can I use one wire pair for video, one for 24vac and two wire pairs for 12vdc (need the current for camera plus 12vdc IR emitter) in the same cat5e or will I get interferance? And could I get good video down a 50' wire with passive baluns? Rather than simply install a housing in the existing location (chosen for protection from rain, no longer a requirement) I am moving the whole thing to a location that will allow the car/license plate to remain in shot for a greater amount of time.

I am in the process of documenting the dashcam setup in case I ever need to use it in court. Here's what I got so far.

Thanks! I'm going to take a look at my new mount position and see if it makes more sense to just 'redirect' the last 20' of wire, or pull a whole new wire. I'll likely go with cat5 if I need a new wire.

has anyone else here used the DVD burner or USB backup on the AVTech DVRs?

Understood. Thoguh this was never mean to be an anti-theft measure - just to provide evidence in case of an accident.

Yes for both of your questions... Both? There were 3 questions. I'll be more clear in my questions... 1) If I run 24vac alongside RG59 then will I get interferance? 2) Using Cat5e: If I use I use one wire pair for video, one for 24vac and two wire pairs for 12vdc (need the current for camera plus 12vdc IR emitter) in the same cat5e then will I get good video? 3) Would I get good video down a 50' wire with passive baluns? I know, I need to just ask questions rather tham ramble...

Does the AVTech DVR backup to USB key in the same way as it backs up to DVD? If ig I use a 4gb USB thumb drive then I can still grab a large portion of video data and then use the app to play it back on my computer? I'm just trying to figure out if the DVD is worth the extra >$100 when some USB thumb drives have almost the same capacity?

Two answers: 1) Yes, that would be a nice option, however... Right now I have two channels showing the front view - one with GPS data (time, speed, location and my name) overlay and one without. This means I can either use the video with speed and location overlay, or I can use the video without. Both are just as valid as evidence. There are a couple reasons why I may not want the speed/location/name displayed (ie posting videos to youtube etc). 2) There's a couple things that I will definitely demand for the next DVR. This one has a cold temp cutoff of 0C and you can't set it lower than that, nor can you disable the cold shutoff. It gets colder than that for a couple months during winter around here, so I wanted to buy an automotive hard drive good to -30C, but the DVR won't set to -30c! I'm talking with Aver right now and I have asked for a firmware that allows the cold protect to be settable to a lower temp, or disabled completely. Oh, if the car gets stolen then I have no ability to track it at this time. That is a whole 'nother project. Working on that now, but in the very early research stages. I found at least one commercial product that charges per-track, not a monthly rate, so that sounds pretty good for a in-case-of-theft tracking solution. Now, if the car is stolen and recovered withthe DVR intact then I have interior video to possibly identify the thief. The DVR is hidden and you wouldn't find it unless you are looking for it - although the dashcam is not in the least bit covert.

- It appears the only difference between USB backup and DVD backup is available capacity. If the only videos I'm ever gonna backup and short event-based videos like someone coming the house etc, no more than a couple of minutes, then a 2 or 4GB USB key should be just as good? - If I want the video converted to AVI, how do I do that? Currently I just playback analog into a tv capture card. Can the backup file be exported as an AVI or MPG? - If a video image was recorded at 30fps, does the remote playback software play back at 30fps or is it limited by the network speed? Sorry for all the questions. If I'm gonna upgrade then I need to be sure it's truly an UPgrade.

What is the equivalent AVTech model #? AVC787?

The AverDigi EB1304MOB mobile DVR has a low-temp cutoff of no lower and 0 deg C. It's -8 outside today. This means that the mobile DVR won't record untilt he interior of the car warmed up - that can take up to 10 minutes, and my commute is only 15 - so right now I'm losing 2/3 of the video due to the cold protect. I asked Aver about me using a dedicated mobile Harddrive (endurator?) rated for something like -20c, but the support tech said thay 0C is the lowest setting. I have two options: 1) Request a firmware update that is good for -20c. 2) Heat the DVR (with a camera housing heater?) Does anyone know of a camera housing heater that could be attached to the DVR and would keep it warm without draining the car battery? I found a 13w thermostatically controlled camera housing heater that lists at 9.99 GPB (~$20), but that's within the UK. Anything in the US?

I see where you're going, but... The voltage drop comes from a pair of diodes that I am using for the 'tank battery'. A small 12 battery that is capable of powering the DVR fro just a few minutes. During engine crank this battery bolsters the voltage coming from the car battery so the DVR doesn't crap out. If I used the power controller output just to flip a relay then I'd lose that feature. If I stalled the car at a red light then restarting it would be like yanking the power cable of a DVR right out of the wall socket. See this page for discussion of the tank battery / wiring setup I am using. http://www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/power-supplies/20359-battery-based-tank-circuit-tested.html

What would make a DVR do this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7JQiKAOLHg It's a mobile DVR so it's 12v. The guage of the cable is good for 5 amps, the DVR needs 2. The voltage measure at the power connector is 11.99V AverDigi EB1304MOB. It does this when it's been sitting for a while not running - so first thing in the morning is worst. I'll power cycle it liek 10 or 15 times and then it will start up normally and work the rest of the day (even through more power cycles). Temp is about 50F. I'm going to grab a spare car battery from the workshop and next time it does this I'll hook it directly to the car battery to see if it still does it - that would rule out insufficient voltage or current.