EGG5

opened it up and the hdd is a wd5000avds-63u7b1.( i needed telling to open it up ) So this is a Western Digital Green AV-GP with 32mb cahce and 500gb. Do you think a WD Purple 1TB with 64mb cache will be a good improvement? http://www.amazon.co.uk/3-5-inch-Internal-Surveillance-Storage-Drive/dp/B00IMPO5VU/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1435318987&sr=8-2&keywords=wd+purple Thank you people for your help.

Tibbu, thanks for the reply. I will try your suggestion. Securame, thanks for the reply. I do not know what the HDD is. It was the preinstalled 500gb hdd that swann put in. From the software menu I have looked at the device section and then under the S.M.A.R.T section. The No: WD-WCAV9CY65 is there. I have googled this put not found any exact matches, but it seems that would mean itis some kind of Western Digital hdd,perhaps the green type?

Hello, I have a Swann DVR4-1425 4 channel. Swann equipment not the greatest I know. I decided to actually use all 4 cameras on the system instead of just 1 that I had been using for over a year. However, since adding the multiple cameras I have started having missing recordings on different cameras at different times and the dvr freezes up when I am trying to playback the footage. The cameras are set to record constantly so it is nothign to do with schedule, motion detection etc. When the dvr freezes though it is still recording as I have timed it and looked back at the footage. Must this mean that the whole dvr is not totally jammed, but rather the playback? Do you think this is because the dvr cannot handle multiple cameras? Is this likely to improve by changing anything recording wise, like fps, resolution? Or actually getting a better hard drive like a purple WD? Or is it nothing to do with the HDD but some other component? Any help is appreciated

peaceflwr, thank you for the reply and those links. I shall do some more research on those items. I also like the idea of a hybrid system. Numb-nuts, thank you for the reply. I agree with some of your points. However, I believe that if someone wants to damage your items/property they will do so. Advertising you have CCTV to that kind of people will do little to prevent them from doing it, it will only benefit them as they will be more likely to take measures to conceal their identity or use someone else to do it for them. Random people eg. tipsy youths , naughty kids etc,it is a deterrent, malicious, sly people it is less likely to be so. It is better to have the opportunity, maybe only a small one in some cases, of having the knowledge and evidence of who the people are than to be totally(maybe not totally) in the dark. I don't believe malicious revenge against that type of person is of any use either as it only acts as a catalyst to them. "don't make vengeance your life's work" I also totally agree with you on this point, it should be more of a hobby than your life's work

Hello, I have been researching for quite a bit but need some experienced users help if possible. Scenario: My family have had some property vandalised, we don't know why, and we would like to see who is doing it if it happens again. We currently have a Swann http://www.swann.com/us/swdvr-41425h and http://www.swann.com/us/swpro-535pk2 A friend gave this to my Dad because he wanted to keep an eye on the cars, mainly because local kids/youths can get a bit unruly. I set this system up for him about a year ago, just using the cameras inside the house looking through the upstairs window as otherwise it meant drilling holes through the cavity wall. The cars are parked on the road about 15metres from the house. The house has a canopy on the outside. Because the cars are where they are the cameras have a blindspot. This is an example of the canopy but not my folks' house. We have no garage or drive, just a front garden/lawn. Someone has vandlaised our property by going under the canopy and damaging plants and turf, looks like spraying or pouring something corrosive on them. This has no doubt happened on a night/early hours. I have researched the IP systems but only have about £250/$400 which is peanuts. I am interested in getting an IP System in the future but I reckon I will need at least double my budget for anything decent. I also do not fancy putting expensive IP cameras under the canopy which would mean someone could get to them easily and steal them. I could have one in the window again for better images of the cars though. My idea was to get 2 new analog cameras to add to the exisiting swann DVR. Then try to make them as covert as possible outside under the canopy. I tested the Swann 535 650TVL cams on a night outside and they get some decent images because there is decent street lighting, enough to see if it is anybody coming out of a house in the street and sneeking under the window line of the houses. I can get 2 of these for about £50/$75. However, I was wondering if I could get anything smaller than these cameras but have similar quality images. Do you guys know of any particular cameras that would be suitable? Or can you think of any other ideas? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

well this guy sounds like a cnut quite frankly. 5 weeks and he has not been? says it all really. can't offer much help with the cctv as i'm a newbie, but don't listen to the mrs in future

hello, any help would be most appreciated. I have being doing some reading and research and am trying to narrow down options for the following scenario: My parents have had a new car which is parked in the street about 15metres away from the house.They want it watched because of potential vandals etc. Its mostly at night because my dad at work in the day. I have set up a http://www.swann.com/s/products/view/?product=1601 DVR4-1425 4 Channel D1 Digital Video Recorder & 2 x PRO-535 Cameras My old man got this and I set it up for him. its a decent pacakage but the images are not that sharp. I think 1 cam will be enough. I must say though I have not set it up outside and just faced it out the second floor bedroom window to see what it was like before drilling holes for wires, which will not be great with the dumb siamese cable . The problem with this though is the IR leds are totally useless as it reflects off the window. I "turned these off" though by covering them with white tac so can still get night images. These aint great though and can not see much detail in people. So basically looking for something better. The hd sdi gear seems to be too expensive though, the dvr seems to start off in the £400/$600 range which is basically the whole budget. The IP stuff is also the same, though those do sure look good. The IP setup also seems more technical. Would an upgrade to 960 analogue, perhaps with a IR illuminator placed away from the camera be any better? http://www.swann.com/s/products/view/?product=1545 I don't work for Swann by the way but they seem to be sold in shops a lot here in the UK and also my dad can get stuff a little cheaper from Maplin off some guy he got the dvr4-1425 off Thanks if you read this far, I have droned on