ubermik

The problem with a hard shut down is the MBR on the hard drive The MBR is constantly updated as the data on the hard drive is updated and if someone is unlucky and the hard drive is powered down during an update of the MBR it "can" not only corrupt the data on the hard drive but in rare instances brick the hard drive With this in mind I find it quite appalling that DVR manufacturers, especially larger ones like hikvision, Dahua, Samsung and so on haven't built in a Linux interface for standard UPS makes such as APC As for a UPS, they tend to have two values, one is their watt/hour value which is the same as a batterys AH value, how much "power" it can store and a second which is its maximum load current So you could have a 2kw UPC which can only provide a maximum of 500watts, but would supply that amount for "around" 4 hours or alternatively one that is a 2kw UPS that can supply 2kw for 1 hour. So you need to figure out what the value actually is Many APC models state their "capacity" not their maximum load which is often quite a bit less than their capacity But also bear in mind that even if a UPS has 2kw capacity you wont get that full capacity. Partly due to losses in the conversion process and partly because the batteries will reach the lowest voltage that the circuitry can effectively step up to 240v but some of the 2000 watts will still be in the battery as well as bearing in mind that any value stated is only the capacity when brand new, over time the capacity of the batteries, what voltage they charge to and how quickly their voltage drops will all change. So a UPS that is a couple of years old might have a significantly lessened capacity compared to when it was new, so choosing a UPS that allows you to change the batteries (or battery packs) yourself is always the best way to go rather than sealed units that aren't owner serviceable Most APC models either take standard batteries or have a simple lead/connector arrangement you can prise off and stick onto new batteries so I have tended to use APC models partly because of that and partly because their collect and return warranty service is handy as posting a faulty UPS back to the manufacturer is quite expensive and not all manufacturers will cover that cost

I have to admit I havent seen ad hoc modulators but I ruled out OTA modulators or videosenders due to the house having been modified and extended several times and there being a risk that additional metal work and RSJs might interfere with the signal Plus the ones with the ability to also relay remote control information back to the source so they would have some control over the DVR would cost as much if not more than the purely digital approach as it would only cost about £15 for a pair of powerlink adapters @ 200mbps and about £50-60 for a dual core android TV box with remote A cabled modulator would solve the chance of signal loss due to metalwork but there would still be no control over the DVR so as an example someone could make a camera full screen unless they walked upstairs to the DVR and then they would also need an additional screen in the cupboard to be able to see what is happening If they make modulators that also relay the IR remote signal back to source though that would be a good solution assuming the have TV ariel cable fitted and arent just relying on sky or cable which to be honest I hadnt checked

Not wanting anybody to actually tell me how to do this as I feel its something I "should" be able to figure out. But I am about to do my first two CCTV installations and niether look straight forward. The first has the entire upstairs covered with laminate flooring and the TV they want to view the DVR on is in the middle of an internal wall So I was thinking this As there is no neat way to run the cables to the TV I thought that I could put the DVR in a cupboard upstairs where I can easily provide mains. Then to get the picture and lan from there to the TV and the router which is next to the TV use a pair of powerline network adapters which gets the DVR linked to the router and therefore the net For the video display onto the TV I thought the easiest and probably the cheapest way to do that is to then use a HDMI android dongle or TV box with a link saved to the DVR via its LAN IP address which would then allow you to view the DVR on the TV as well as the added bonus of making the REALLY old plasma TV into an all singing all dancing super smart TV too I had considered video senders and wifi dongles but theyre just as expensive and introduce the problems of signal stregnth and interference so the ethernet/mains android approach felt like a good solution but despite not being from barcelona I know nothing lol So, am I missing some (to everyone except me) glaringly obvious flaws in my solution or overlooking a simpler more obvious work around where running cables cant be done easily or neatly Cheers for any input Mike

Some excellent advice some of which I had considered which was why the Qvis DVR was the "bar" despite having the highest price and the lowest set of features and the middle of the three is sold by a manchester based seller who happily spent 20 minutes discussing the features of their DVR (admittedly "mancunian" is only barely "english" at times though) I have to admit the white label add on is intriguing as is the time out feature which I already use on the alarm panel I install I had looked at a couple of larger distributors including security warehouse but embarassingly most of their offerings just looked too close to the professional end of the market for initial toes in the water having only done a dozen CCTV jobs in 20 years one being my own house and half of the others just being an add on or relocation Locally there is a small CCTV wholesaler that is excellent for support but has such a limited product range and none of his DVRs have P2P on them which is something I did think would make sense But I will go back and have another look for more specialised CCTV wholesalers who will sell one offs and small quantities and see if theres a happy medium as I was kind of lazy to be honest as I just looked around the security and electrical wholesalers I already use, then a couple of larger local suppliers and then went slumdogging it on ebay (hangs head in shame) But the customer I need to quote the two installs for had already been looking on ebay himself which is a bad indication of the kind of budget he wants to spend, so although I might still go with one of these as a test run due to time constraints and pricing I will spend a bit more time exploring for a decent supplier that stocks the lower end of the DVR product range

Hiya, I have been installing alarms for over 20 years but havent done much with CCTV as yet but its something I am trying to do more of I have just had a job come in from an existing customer and need 2x DVRs and thought it would make sense to find one to use that isnt horrendously expensive but has a reasonable spready of features and specs for the domestic low end of the market which is all I would be aiming for being new to CCTV So my "ideal" spec would be an 8 channel full D1 real time DVR with 2 or more audio in channels, VGA and HDMI out, alarm in/out, P2P and a cooling fan The three I am looking at are these unless anybody has a better suggestion http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/QVIS-8-CH-Full-D1-CCTV-DVR-HDMI-H264-Digital-Video-Recorder-500GB-1TB-2TB-HDD-/190992453254?pt=UK_CCTV&var=&hash=item2c78098e86 This is at least some level of "name" and is the "bar" at the moment http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CloudSEE-8Ch-H-264-Network-CCTV-DVR-Full-D1-office-security-Easy-view-on-phone-/191077682815?pt=UK_CCTV&hash=item2c7d1e0e7f This seems ok, but no alarm I/O but not sure if thats even a big deal tbh http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/8CH-H-264-Full-D1-HDMI-1080P-3G-WIFI-P2P-CCTV-Video-Surveillance-DVR-Recorder-/171212782528?pt=UK_CCTV&hash=item27dd13bbc0 This one is the cheapest but seems to have the best set of features out of the three and is the only one with alarm i/o I'm planning to purchase hard drives myself as you get the full 3 year warranty with them that way, and am stuck between the seagate SV35 and the Western digital AV-GP drives. The WD drives are lower power and are cheaper but seagate seem to be considered better quality so is there any real difference that makes one stand out above the other? I thought it would make sense to try and find one DVR to cut my teeth on and then stick to it rather than flitting around randomly trying to find a good one if that makes sense and thought that this would be the place to get some advice on the a good choice if thats a reasonable request I had been trying to find one that worked with cabled cameras as well as IP ones that wasnt so expensive I would have to sell a kidney as that seemed to cover all bases but either they dont exist or I couldnt find one that was being sold in the UK Anyway, thank you in advance for any advice Mike

Hiya, I have an adata DVR which is an apolite8 or apollo lite 8 model (Its the large format DVD + 4x internal 3.5" sata drives) and I wanted to add audio to it I contacted Adata themselves who claimed they didnt have the information anymore and fobbed me off with the phone number of a local installer to see if they had the 25 pin connector to phonos plug All I actually needed was the pin out and I can make the lead myself but I cant find another model on the site that has the same type of connector and a manual I can download Has anybody still got a manual for one of these or a link to it, or failing that just the pin out for the connector which is the same 25 pin type you use to have for parallel printer ports on PCs Cheers