JimS_99

I have a problem with v8.1. System runs fine, dedicated Win XP Pro PC for GV, no problems except with the video logs. What I do every day is to review the video's for the past 24 hours to see if there are any strange occurrences around my house, after I review the video I delete the video log. I find this method easier than having to go through several days worth of video. The problem I started having is lately when I delete the video logs, some entries stay there, there is no video associated with this entry though, just a time & date, and where there is usually a check mark in the box on the left of the log entry there is now a ? mark in the box. Nothing I've tried seems to want to get rid of these empty entries. Any suggestions on how to clear this up?

I have a similiar problem. I would like to email certain Geo video files to some people but they tell me they can't play the video because they get a message saying a codec is missing. Does Geo require their codec to be installed before the video can be played?? This is a major headache!! Is their any way to play Geo video on someone elses PC without having to install the Geo codec?? Here is an example: My GeoVision system recorded a certain person doing something when he should have been working somewhere else. I am a supervisor. I want to send this video via email to his supervisor, who is stationed at a location about 300 miles away from me. I emailed him the video. He called to say he gets an error message saying a codec is missing. What good is this video if I'm the only person who can look at it?? I can't go around including the Geo codec with every email telling people they have to install the codec before they can view the video.

I know this topic has been discussed before, I've searched but can't find anything though. I'm definately not a pro or even a semi-pro, just enjoy working on stuff like this around my house. What is a good & easy method of focusing and adjusting camera's without running up & down ladders & stairs? Would a portable DVD player with a video-in input work? I would like some way of looking at a monitor while adjusting the camera.

I have a GeoVision 1248 system. No problems, does exactly what I want it to do. My question concerns motion detection. I posted this question in the GeoVision subforum also, not really sure where it belongs - sorry for the double post. The main reason for installing video security camera's is to monitor my 2 vehicles when I'm not home, other camera's are installed around the house but are secondary to the car camera. One car sits in my driveway and is app 30' from the camera, the 2nd car is directly in line with the driveway but across the street at app 66'. I installed the car monitoring camera under the eaves directly in line with both vehicles, this is app 16' high. This camera location gives great video of both cars. The problem is that the motion detection works fine for the first vehicle at 30', but for the 2nd vehicle at 66' I can do handstands next to the car and the motion detection doesn't trigger. It will pick up a car going past, but not smaller objects like people. It picks me up when I'm parking the car across the street, but if I sit in the car for a few seconds then exit the car, it doesn't detect any motion until I walk to app 40' from the camera. The camera I'm using at this location is a Nuvico NVCC-HW3895IR36N-A. GeoVision software version is 8.1. The GV motion sensitivity slider is set to 9.6, any higher and it gives lots of falsing. I have the camera image centered and focused at 40'. I focused the camera @ 40' using a video test pattern. I'm very happy with the video quality. Is this about the limit of motion detection for people sized objects? Is motion detection determined by the camera or the software? Would a the best solution be to use 2 camera's, each camera centered and focused on each vehicle? Hope someone can answer this as I've had a lot of vandalism problems with my vehicle across the street. Not being able to detect human movement next to this vehicle is not good.

Thanks. I figured that Extreme would most likely be the way to go, you just confirmed that. I looked at the Extreme lighting but all the variations started to boggle my mind. Guess I have to start learning about IR now, I'll simplify things a bit by only considering Extreme (one less variable). For camera adjustment I purchased a 13" CRT TV. It's nice & light and I made a contraption to easily & safely hang it where ever I want it while focusing. I have a 19" Tatung Hi-Res monitor that's wayyy to heavy to carry around so I just use the TV. At some point I'm going to purchase a 9" Tatung monitor, just can't afford it right now. Jim

I thought about the IR but figured I would get these new camera's going before I tackled that. IR is going to be a whole new adventure!! There's no lighting at all, I do have motion lighting but I'm not crazy about it plus I want video without the motion lights. Half the time I turn the motion lights off, they are real finicky about temperature changes, trees swaying, snow blowing, smalll critters etc... they are always coming on. Gets really annoying so I turn them off a lot. One thing I do have that I like a lot is a dual height Optronics IR outside perimiter motion detection system. That was a fun system to put in plus it works without any problems and never falses. I guess I have to start looking at IR placement, range, beam angles, and coverage area. I know Extreme has excellent IR lighting but the price is crazy!! I'm not discounting Extreme, just going to look at all my options before I purchase anything. Any suggestions on where to start?

Rory: Thanks again! Followed your advise and ordered 2 Panasonic WV-CP484's and 2 Pelco EH3512-2 enclosures with EM1450 arms. Going to power the enclosures (not the camera's) with a 24v, 7amp Meanwell SP-500-24 power supply I have laying around. With your help my home video security system is coming along nicely. Couldn't have done it without your help, not without spending a lot of $$ on trial & error. I would never do this for a living although I do enjoy doing it for myself; really satisfying.

Computer Case: Lian Li PC-70 v2 Full Tower Server Case Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 510 Express / SLI Motherboard: ASUS P5B Deluxe w/BIOS v1004 CPU: Intel E6600 Memory: 2 SIMMs of 1gb Kingston DDR2 for total of 2gb; 1Gx2|KST 240P KHX6400D2K2/2G R Video Card: EVGA 7600GT 256-P2-N554-AX Hard Drive: OS on 74GB WD Maxtor Raptor; Video on 2, 250GB Caviars in RAID 0 Backup: 2, 300gb WD external USB drives installed inside walk-in gun safe. Optical Drive: Plextor PX-708A Cooling: Stock Intel CPU fan; Case uses 6 temp controlled speed fans Monitor: Sharp 20" LCD LL-T2015-B Floppy Drive: Required UPS: Minuteman 1000XRT w/ 1 XRT BP1; provides backup power to computer & cameras Operating System: Win XP Pro Service Pack: SP2 w/all security patches GeoVision Card: GV-1248 GeoVision Software Version: 8.1 Screen Resolution: 1600x1200 Video Size: 720x480 Motion/Continuous: Motion FPS: app 460 Codec: Geo Mpeg4 ASP Environment: Outdoor around house Length of Tested Period: app 2 months running 24/7 No of cams: 4 and growing Notes: System is rock solid and stable. All latest drivers installed. PC is dedicated to GeoVision, but ready to function as secondary PC if main PC ever has problems. Very quiet system. CPU temps average 80F.

Thanks for saving me from wasting my $$ !! I called & cancelled my order for the WZ18's. Caught it just in time. Again THANKS!! I'm going to go with either a Panasonic WV-CP484 or Sony SSC-DC593 in a housing. They both seem basically comparable, any preferences? How about housings? Is any one brand better than others or is a housing a housing? I live in a very cold location so I'm thinking that a heater might be a good idea.

Geze, I just ordered 2 WZ18's - glad I read this!! They are supposed to be shipped today, maybe I should cancel the order. I've been using several Nuvico NVCC-HW3895IR36N-A's for a couple months now and am happy with them. I thought I was upgrading by going with the WZ's. I thought I did my research, their specs look appealing and seem to be exactly what I'm looking for. What would be a comparable camera, without going over app $500???

Thanks for all the info. Just got done adjusting 1 camera following your instructions. Fantastik video!! I thought it was good before, now it's great! 5 more to do now. Again, THANKS!

That's exactly what I'm trying to focus, a varifocal IR camera. You're right about plugging the TV into the Av. Just tried it and it works!

Rory, In your reply above you say to adjust focus in B/W & Color modes seperately. I"m confused. If you get it in focus in BW mode then it's out of focus in color mode and you adjust it there won't it be back out of focus in BW mode again??? Sounds sorta like chasing your tail. Wouldn't the best time to adjust the focus be right when it's getting dark and almost before the camera switches between modes while it's still in color mode? This forum is a wealth of info!! I'm following your advise so far on focusing & adjusting camera's. I went to BestBuy today and bought a cheap 13" tv to use to focus and adjust my camera's. I think I need an RF Modulator to plug the camera directly into the tv, don't I? What I'm doing is using the GV Spot Camera out and running a 100' piece of coax to the TV that I have hanging off the ladder. LOL It works, but sure isn't very professional LOL I ordered a Tatung 19" 1901 Color Hi-res CCTV monitor today. Should be here in a week or so. The TV thing is just to experiment with until the monitor arrives.

I'm new to this stuff and you guys kinda lost me here but I think this thread applies to what I would like to do. I have a GV-1248 card with 5 camera's. Is it possible to have 1 spot monitor for each camera? I know I can output to a second DVI LCD computer monitor using the PC's video card but I like the clarity of a High-Res CCTV monitor.

Rory, great reply!! Thanks! One question, I'm going tp buy a 9" CCTV monitor. Are they pretty much all the same? Or is there one brand that is better than most?

Thanks for the reply ColllinR! I figured it was something like that. I think for my application 2 camera's, one for each vehicle, might be best.

I have a GV 1248 system. No problems, does exactly what I want it to do. My question concerns motion detection. The main reason for installing camera's was to monitor my 2 vehicles when I'm not home, other camera's are installed around the house but are secondary to the car camera. One car sits in my driveway and is app 30' from the camera, the 2nd car is directly in line with the driveway but across the street at app 66'. I installed the car monitoring camera under the eaves directly in line with both vehicles, this is app 16' high. This camera location gives great video of both cars. The problem is that the motion detection works fine for the first vehicle at 30', but for the 2nd vehicle at 66' I can do handstands next to the car and the motion detection doesn't trigger. It will pick up a car going past, but not smaller objects like people. It picks me up when I'm parking the car across the street, but if I sit in the car for a few seconds then exit the car, it doesn't detect any motion until I walk to app 40' from the camera. The GV motion sensitivity slider is set to 9.6, any higher and it gives lots of falsing. The camera I'm using at this location is a Nuvico NVCC-HW3895IR36N-A. GeoVision software version is 8.1 I have the camera image centered and focused at 40'. I focused the camera @ 40' using a video test pattern. Is this about the limit of motion detection for people sized objects? Is motion detection determined by the camera or the software? Would a second camera centered and focused directly on the car at 66' be my best alternative? Hope someone can answer this as I've had a lot of vandalism problems with my vehicle across the street. Not being able to detect human movement next to this vehicle is not good.

Thanks for the reply Rory! If you walk sideways, does it pick you up? Seems the same either sideways walking or straight on. How dark is the area where you are walking? Well lit, no shadows or light obstructions during the day, night is another story, absolutely no light other than the IR. The camera motion does not detect a lady who walks her dog past my car several times a day. The motion detection will detect vehicles going past my car on the street. What I'm going to do is zoom in as best I can onto the car at 66' and see if the motion sensitivity improves. The vehicle in my driveway is behind an IR motion detection array that sounds a siren, so I'm not too worried about this vehicle. Although I do want video of both vehicles at some point in time. You mention motion detection in your program? What program are you refering to??

I also tried to download 8.1 from the GV site. Their server keeps timing out. I called theit tech support line, spoke to a tech, and he said that the server is located in Taiwan and is overloaded. He gave me a password to access the GV FTP server - same results. He asked for my boards s/n, I gave it to him and he is mailing me a genuine GeoVision CD with the complete 8.1 and an install file. Haven't received it yet, I'm expecting it hopefully tomorrow.

Rory, I did a lot of research on Intel chipset MB's. Narrowed it down to the P5B & P5W. After reading several reviews and looking at the manuals I decided on the P5W. Here's a link to a really good review of the P5W P5B and other Intel MB's: http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2797&p=3 Not saying my selection is the best, just had to make a decision and I selected the P5W.

JT: I hear ya on the ATI problems. I've been building systems for years now and started out using ATI video cards. They were always my main problem area. Switched to nVidia and never regretted it! My systems weren't Geo systems though, they were just high-end AMD desktops. I'm at the same point you are right now putting my house Geo system together. I got a 1240-8 Geo board, matter of fact I just got home from work and it was laying next to my door - didn't even open the box yet. I planned on buying the rest of the components tonight from NewEgg. Here's my system: Motherboard: ASUS P5W DH Deluxe #N82E16813131025 $215 Memory: Corsair XMS2 2GB # N82E16820145033 $364 Power Supply: PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad $199 (best power supplies on the market) CPU: Inter Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13Ghz # N82E16819115004 $220 (should easily be able to OC this CPU to 3Ghz). Total $998 almost double the cost of your system!! This system will be a dedicated 24/7 GeoVision video server, but it will be used as a workstation on occassion. My system isn't mission critical so I can afford to experiment with settings, OverClocking and other fun things. I enjoy learning new stuff. Video: Not sure yet, only thing I know is it will be nVidia. Video Hard drives: I have 2, 250GB WD Caviar drives from my last system that I plan on using in a RAID 0 Config. These drives will be just for video. OS Drives: I have 2, 34GB WD Raptors from my last system that I will use in a RAID 0 config. I usually partition these drives into C: Operating System; D:Downloads; E:Programs; F:Data. I have all the other components I need laying around from other systems. If you or anyone is interested in a PC Power & Cooling 510w ATX power supply let me know. I don't need it for this system, I need a 750w so I'm going to sell it. Camera's: 2 - Nuvico NVCC-HW38951R36N-A 2 - Extreme WZ20 1 - Extreme Moondance Metal PowerDome PTZ Camera - IP68

Trying to size my power supply. Anyone know what the amperage and/or wattage rating of the GV-1240-8 board is?

I'm in the process of putting together a PC for use as a dedicated DVR. I'm at the point with the system build of ordering a GeoVision card. I understand the differences between the 2008 and 800 cards. I'm undecided on purchasing a 800 or 2008. I read lots of good about the 650 & 800 cards but almost nothing about the 2004 & 2008 cards. I think onboard hardware compression with the 2004 & 2008 cards is good but I haven't heard much of anything about these cards compared to the 650 & 800. Anybody have any opinions or suggestions (don't let $$$ influence your suggestion)?

The specs for the 2004 & 2008 say software cpmpression MPEG2 & MPEG4 and hardware compression MPEG-2 & MPEG-4 (no idea if the hyphen means anything but it has it in the specs).

Hmm.... Just thinking about this a bit. Maybe onboard compression would be better. This is the direction video board and sound board developers are heading. It frees up the BUSS and CPU for other tasks.