Don Stephens

That is an 720p HDCVI DVR. You need a standard definition analog DVR; more specifically, you need a 960H DVR if you want to use that 960H camera.

Of course not, but he's not able to run cable, so that kind of limits things.

System information/settings, GUI, etc...are stored elsewhere. You're good to just swap out the hard drive without losing anything other than the recorded video that may be on that drive. Just replace the drive with something compatible.

Is there any issue with using a simple 1 to 2 power splitter? It would mean needing more amperage but this is done everyday with smaller systems. A T-connector would be my guess for the video but I've only had luck with those over short distances (maybe 30 feet from cameras to DVR).

I'm aware of models from both Avigilon and Messoa. Does anyone know of anyone else that offers an actual IP LPR camera? I know there are lots of workarounds and comparable alternatives, but I'm solely interested in true IP LPR cameras. The specs don't matter, I just want to know what else is out there.

The answer for 1 and 2 are almost the same; personal preference. Other than that, your cameras lens size will dictate your angle of view, so just keep that it mind, and dome cameras might be a little less unsightly, but bullet cameras are generally accepted as the more weather resistant.

I'd like to be able to log the plates.

Google's Two Step Verification process is more than likely required for you. Follow this link: https://www.google.com/settings/security You'll need to click on Setup to enable two step verification. Ultimately, you'll be needing to obtain a password here. It will be 16 digits + spaces. The whole number (including spaces) will become the password you need to enter on your DVR. I believe it is also case sensitive.

Most of the models I'm familiar with stop at 15fps at 2MP. Personally, I think that's plenty. If I had to guess, I'd say your having a hard time finding what you want because the manufacturers seemed to have all abandoned the technology now. The majority just seem to want to dump their stock and move onto the next big thing in HD over coax (AHD, HDCVI, HDTVI).

My biggest concern is obviously the rate of speed at which the vehicle is moving. I've had a lot of luck just using standard IP cameras to capture plates that are only moving as fast as 20MPH, but I'm worried about what happens when they're moving as fast as 60-70MPH and I don't have a long enough runway to test that out in a parking lot somewhere. Anybody have any experience with this? Thanks for all the suggestions guys.

At this point, I wouldn't waste anymore of your time on it and just warranty the unit.

I can't say that I've ever come across one that requires a hard drive to turn on. Are you getting anything showing up on your screen at all while it's trying to turn on? I've also seen firmware cause a similar problem when it gets too far out of date or when it's flashed improperly. Do you know what firmware you were working with or have you done any firmware updates since you've had it? I know you said you just started testing it, but...

Have you tried disconnecting the hard drive and then power it on? In a lot of cases, if the NVR has a problem with the HDD, it'll just repeatedly reboot. Take your pick as to the reason; incompatibility, defective drive, etc...

Almost everyone is going to tell you that IP cameras are the top of the food chain, so I'm not sure where the idea of them being inferior came from. I would need to know what you're looking at in order to make any assessment of the quality, cost, or setup. If I had to guess, I'd say those wireless IP cameras you have/had were more of a novelty than anything else. Wireless is also going to be inferior in all aspects next to wired. IP systems require bandwidth, but if you have a decent router, ISP, and service plan, you shouldn't have any issues. If you're referring to standalone units, IP cameras require Network Video Recorders (NVR). I have never seen one that doesn't support audio. To make another guess, I assume you're just looking at the back of the NVRs for audio inputs. Most NVRs won't have any video or audio inputs as it's all done through your network/router. Audio and video in this case are transmitted through the Cat5e/Cat6 cable back to your router, and then available to stream on whatever device you have setup for it.

You need to back it up in the DAV format and use the DAV player to convert it to the AVI format. That will get you an actual AVI file. As long as it's Dahua, it works; I've done it a hundred times and it's able to be uploaded to something like YouTube.

Because why buy an NVR that's twice the size you need when you don't have to...?

If you feel like he's not holding up his end of the deal, then file a chargeback and report him to eBay so they boot him; that'll get his attention.

Did Q-See not give you any kind of video player program? Normally you're able to use those to convert the file format, especially if it's actually a Dahua manufactured DVR.

Stick with a 16 port PoE switch. I don't like to go any bigger than that unless it's a much larger system. Which one to go with is going to depend largely on bandwidth requirements of your cameras. Do you have cameras picked out or purchased yet that you can link us to?

Don't do it. It's a horrible idea. Spend more money on a more powerful NVR, or wait for technology to catch up with itself; it's happening now as you know, but it's slow. Your other alternative would be to use a PC based NVR with a good CPU and software.

SmartPSS definitely appears cleaner but the original version of PSS still has significantly more features packed into it that SmartPSS at this point; specifically being able to access all of the configuration settings on your DVR. I still don't have a good explanation for you as to why SmartPSS isn't playing nicely for you unless it's a computer issue with the program.

Highly recommend. If you're familiar with CAD, this software is phenomenal.

HDCVI and HDTVI are really the same tech with different manufacturers. You can't go wrong with either. There's one thing that you'll notice right away about HDSDI that differs from the other two, and one thing you may or may not experience: -The image quality with HDSDI is an improvement over HDCVI/HDTVI, but it's pretty unnoticeable unless you're comparing the images side by side. I think most people would say that the image quality of HDSDI is comparable to IP cameras. -What you may experience, and I think most people do now, are very odd and normally intermittent issues with the cameras. I'm not going to go into examples, so to make a long story short, HDSDI has started being looked at as an unreliable option. I would suggest you do a little research into the subject yourself and form your own opinion of it if you decide to proceed any further down this path.

More customized housings with more advanced heating and cooling elements should do the job for you if you can't find a camera which I assume would need to be water cooled.

Transmitter for IP camera = Access Point Receiver for IP camera = Router Just like you'd configure anything else on the network, your access point needs to be configured to send data coming from the camera back to the router/network. As far as hooking it up to your television set or computer monitor is concerned, I think a mini-NVR is probably your easiest/best/cheapest option of making that possible. I don't have a lot of experience with these, but there are big threads on this forum discussing them that should give you all the info you need.