merckx

Hello I purchased this Genie VRD63IR camera on Ebay but the seller didn't say that the cable had been cut so there isn't any 'video out'or 'power in' connectors. Obviously the black & red are for the dc/ac supply and the yellow & ground are video out. But there's also a 'pink salmon wire' & ' white wire' that are in the main cable together with the ones above, they connect inside the camera to another board on the right. All the camera's I've seen only have a cable fitted with video out and power in connectors, would you think these 2 wires would also splice into the power in connector? Thanks

Very good, thank you.

Excellent, thanks Tom. Would the 2 wires in question be connected to their own connector on the cable that exits the camera or can the rs485 signal pass through the video out coaxial and so the 2 wires would be connected this cable? Obviously I don't need them if they're for remote osd.

Thanks for the reply ssnapier. On the underside of the board that the wires go to there is writing which I'm struggling to read with a magnifying glass, it's that small. It's just occured to me what I did last time I couldn't read something on a small switch, I'll take a photo of it and then zoom in to see if I can read it. I may just email Genie and ask them, I wasn't sure if they would help with a secondhand camera but I may as well try. Thanks

What about what was said in post 5. I can view my dvr images externally when port fowarding is enabled for only the tcp port, on my dvr it is port 37777 so that's what's port forwarded in the router settings.

Hello I already have a CCTV system setup at home with some good quality cameras but the old Avtech DVR (AVD715) isn't capable of being accessed via an app on an android tablet and phone so I'm considering replacing it with a cheap QVIS DVR primarily for live viewing and maybe just the recording of the images from one camera. I was surprised at how little I would have to pay for a QVIS DVR, only £89 on Ebay. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321231352974?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 Would one of these do the job, I was a little concerned that the technology might be a little dated and the live images might not be that good when only paying so little? The dvr needs to come with a remote control. Thanks

Hint: Read my post! I said the cheapest possible camera from China, there is a difference as a genuine Qvis camera isn't the cheapest and not all products made in China are of equal quality.

I wouldn't buy any of those because you just don't know what you're getting as anyone can impress with a list of specs but are you actually receiving that camera, it's so easy to stick a QVIS label on the cheapest possible camera from China. You're far better off buying a secondhand/new camera from a manufacturer such as Bosch, Honeywell, Samsung Norbain etc from an auction on Ebay, you can get some bargains - I have. Something like these: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honeywell-HD73X-cctv-cameras-X2-/261492573728?pt=UK_CCTV&hash=item3ce22c0620

I apologise, I thought you wanted to view an actual demo in a shop and not online.

Well recommending a retailer depends on which country you live in never mind which continent. I recently purchased a lower down the range model the DAHUA 5108H and it's great for viewing remotely via a PC and my mobile phone.There're loads of Apps for an android phone, I'm using IP cam Viewer. An advantage with buying from Dahua is that using their Dynamic DNS is free which you need for remote viewing outside your local network.

You need to have ActiveX scripting installed, I had the same problem. In your Internet Explorer security settings the default settings are normally set to disable (Unsigned ActiveX controls), change it to prompt then when you run your cctv viewing software it will ask for permission to install ActiveX and you select OK etc. I can't remember if you need to change anything else in the security settings in IE as it's a while since I got mine running, do a search on Google for ActiveX and CCTV - there's load of information.

I very much doubt there's a problem with the kit if you can get access via lan and not wan. If you have UPnP (universal plug and play) enabled for your dvr and router it will setup port forwarding for you. It looks like UPnP enable is the default setting in your Swann software menu, see if you have the option to enable UPnP in your port forwarding setup in your router settings and it should setup the port fowarding automatically.

I'll ask the obvious, the picture is sharp when capturing a static image?

I'm not sure how you're getting a picture then you're losing it, but. On my Dahua DVR there're 4 ports in the network settings. TCP Port 37777 UDP Port 37778 HTTP Port 80 RTSP Port 554 The Port that is used is dependent on the device that is communicating with the DVR, so it's advisable to port forward all of them in your router settings. The one that is used for the App on my Android phone is the TCP Port, I have setup all 4 in the port fowarding settings in my router. I set them up manually, it's very easy. I just realised that on my dvr and router there is an option to enable UPnP, this is universal plug and play, this does all the port forwarding for you and the port numbers should appear automatically in the router settings. Have a look in your DVR network settings menu, the port numbers may not be the same if you have to enter them manually.

1. You'll either have to pay $25 a year to use the service from (dyndns.org or dyn.com) and enter the details in the settings on your Sky router to set it up for DDNS service. It appears that the Sky router only supports dyndns.org or dyn.com so to use another provider you have option 2. http://www.skyuser.co.uk/forum/content/178-dynamic-dns.html Or 2. Find a free Dynamic DNS provider ( or one that costs less than $25 to use ) and access the menu pages in your dvr software and set it up for a DDNS service.

You do need to use a Dynamic DNS provider, I don't know if there are any free.

Your computer doesn't have to be switched on at all for the dynamic dns provider to monitor your changing IP address. All you need is your dvr connected to your router with an ethernet cable and if they're both switched on you'll be able to access your cctv images externally via WAN at any time you want. I don't think NO-IP is free as I tried a couple of weeks ago to set my system up to be viewed externally like you're trying to do, fortunately I bought a Dahua dvr and they provide a free Dynamic DNS service that I used with our Virgin internet connection.

But couldn't it be even worse for the hard drive only recording when movement is detected as it could potentially be start and stop recording constantly depending on what the camera's are pointing at, obviously the sensitivity can be adjusted?

You could remove the hard drive and plug it into your computer and check for errors. You could also disable recording in your dvr menu and see if the warning light goes out.

★★★★★ This PDF is very good in explaining the use of Cat 5 cable and Baluns. ★★★★★ http://www.systemq.com/PDG_Commerce/TeleSales/pdfs/tips/TechnicalTip-0067.pdf

That's excellent, thanks for your replies.

I'm struggling to find a Dahua 8 ch DVR for sale in the UK, I've been looking all day and I'm not getting anywhere. It must come with a remote control. Obviously I've learnt that they can be branded QVIS, but that's not 100% guaranteed. Is this one a rebranded Dahua? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/321231352974?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 I only found one Dahua 5108h for sale for £142, but I was concerned that maybe it was an old model and wasn't good value. http://www.jmcsecure.co.uk/proddetail.asp?prod=DVR5108H&gclid=CLL8tKXPrr0CFazHtAodYQIARQ Do the Dahua DVR's come with a remote control? A lot of questions but I cannot find any definite answers myself and I've been looking all day. Thanks Andrew

A remote control is essential. You might laugh. Haha We live on a busy main road and our cat has a harness attached to a long chord which keeps him in the back garden, occasionally he gets tangled up and comes out of the harness. I always keep an eye on him when I'm at home, we have 3 camera's because there are blind spots in the garden so I'm constantly having to change camera depending on where he is.

With all this rebranding it's ridiculous trying to compare one dvr with another !!!!! The dvr in my first post is a QVIS model, is that a rebranded Dahua? Neutech, the one you provided the link for is that a rebranded Dahua? It appears to be a Duhua DVR5108. ( It looks good but unfortunately it doesn't come with a remote control). Should I be going for a rebranded Dahua or a QVIS made by themselves?