photys

Is it my imagination, or do some graphics cards give better Deinterlace render than others? If so, what specification should I be looking for? Better still, if you have also noticed this, what cards are you using now

To print it on the recorded video. Click on the Configure icon - Text overlay setting - Tick "print on video file". Not sure about seeing the time stamp on local live view though. I just glance up at the time on the top right hand corner of the GUI. If memory serves, there is a section on it in the 300 page PDF manual on the CD under "Text overlay".

Its karma mate. Loose a pumpkin, gain a fish.

I have a brandname camera that states 0.3lux @f1.2 (also up to 0.002lux using Sens-up but disregard that for this post) An f0.95 lens. AGC has options of off/low/medium/high When I use AGC im very happy with its low light capabilities. However, if I turn AGC off, it appears to be more like a 3 - 5 lux camera. I pretty much have to hold a candle an inch from my face to get an image. To my question...... If AGC is digital post processing, how can they say it is a 0.3lux camera? Or is that 0.3 lux rating the best it can achieve using AGC only?

DMMultiview for viewing. Viewlog for remote playback. Both are sent to the remote computer from the Geovision computer when you connect over the internet. Read some of the PDF files here: http://www.ezcctv.com/knowledgebase.htm This PDF will help you configure your router http://www.ezcctv.com/attributes/cmplx_knwldgbs/filename/GeoVision-WebCam-Setup-Guide.pdf Sorry, too tired to go into any depth, but you will find almost everything you need in those PDF files. Let us know how its working out.

Did you port forward to the DVR's fixed IP address? Which port did you forward to. If 80, try another number. Remember to change it in the DVR too. Locally use: http://192.168.1.13:1300 13 being the DVR 1300 being the port remotely use: http://MyIPaddress:1300 MyIPaddress being your WAN IP address or DDNS server Use this as a rough guide: http://www.cctvforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=10118

Welcome to the forum CameraGimp. Glad to meet you. Those comparative tests sound interesting. Can any of them be made available to us? Regards, photys.

Nice catch gar32. Cheers.

Damn. Good point. No way of syncing those 15fps. Ah well, at least my mind is in motion.

Collin, that clarified the situation a bit The sens-up is an amazing yet useless function in this cam. It lets you up the exposure time by degrees. I pointed the camera in a very dark area where I couldn't see a thing. Full sens-up + AGC showed the area in almost daylight conditions but with extreme noise and 1 frame per 3 seconds. Sens-up is exposure time. Can be used to dodge the noise high AGC adds to an image. Heres where it works: Set the camera on low AGC to keep a low signal noise and add a slightly longer exposure. Gives 15 fps, minimal noise and a bright picture.

Samsung Techwin SDC-415. Not a true day night. Im using it as a baseline camera to learn from. Product page http://www.samsungtechwin.com/product/pro_view_eng.asp?pro_uid=626&cat_uid=14&cat_biz=CTV&cat_lev=AA PDF: http://www.samsungtechwin.com/product/file_data/manual/20060524_0_0602.SDC-415.E.cata.pdf

Hi outrun. I used to help a couple of CCTV guys install the computer side of their systems. They used 12V OEM cameras. They all looked great on day one. Over the past three years: 10 of the 30 cameras have died. 4 are about to die 2 have lost their IR capability. 50% failure rate over 3 years. I think all but 4 lasted a year. In the short term no brand cams are fine. In the long term they are bloody expensive. Brandname cameras bring 3 things, mysterious buttons to fiddle with, power options (12V DC, 24V AC, 120V AC, 240V AC) and warranty's........ A nice long warranty is great.

Cheers CollinR, I always appreciate when yourself and other knowledgeable members take the time to answer my mundane questions Yes, your right, Sens-up is only available with AGC. Ok, so in general, brandname company's sell their cameras by lux level at max gain? But gain causes a deterioration of signal which demands yet another digital process which can blur an image (low pass filter or some signal noise reduction).

RF, Henrys and Provision. All have made that little extra effort when it was needed.

I want an DVR (not IP) that records the kind of quality you see when you directly plug a CCTV camera into a TV or monitor. For example: I plug in a Samsung Techwin 530 line cam into a standard TV and the image I see is almost broadcast quality. Plug it into a budget DVR, the quality becomes pixelated or compressed. I have tried the Geovision 250's to 1240's and the Avermedia 1304net standalone. I am happy with Axis 207 quality, but I dont want an IP solution at the moment. From low to mid quality I see it as: AVTech standalones. Avermedia standalones. Avemedia PC cards. Geovision PC cards. ... ... ... Whats next up the ladder? Thanks guys.

This may be a better example. Record with a Geovision system at D1 no de-interlace. No jaggys, crisp image, Almost DVD quality. Thats the minimum quality im looking for. Cant though.....cos thieves move Rory, I hear you regarding H.264. I agree its a marketing tool, not a mark of quality. The Avermedia 1304net standalone shows a drop in quality, but I suppose thats to be expected at the budget price. Sorry mate, im not clear on this. The only standalone I have used has a TV / VGE switch for output. Do you mean stand-alones are designed for TV / CCTV monitor output? Therefore, VGA output will show more compression and pixelation? CollinR, After tweaking, the only quality Im happy with from my geo systems is D1 no de-interlace, recording quality 5, Mpeg. A static scene looks great. Not great for catching pesky thieves who tend not to stand still for a photo. Im happy using VGA output, I think my TV analogy confused the issue.

Sorry to hear that Scruit. They try to force Vista on the home user but give the business user options. Dell was the first major brandname to start offering XP again due to customer complaints. Dell went all Vista in Febuary. Come April they had options for XP. Right now Dell offers around 20% of its models with the XP option. This raises to 100% if you have a Premium or Small business account. If you dont have the above accounts, Im told you can call in your order and they will give you the XP option. Or follow the upgrade path to XP.

I agree with your Avermedia points Scruit. Upgrading the firmware sorts out some speed issues. However, By clients request, I have bought more copies of XP this year than previous years combined. Major computer brandnames now offer an XP option on previously Vista only computers. A free Vista to XP upgrade path exists using the same phone line you use to activate your OS. Only OEM Business and Ultimate. Still pushing for OEM home and premium. Check out this .DOC file from Microsoft http://download.microsoft.com/download/d/2/3/d23b9533-169d-4996-b198-7b9d3fe15611/downgrade_chart.doc

Apologies. Didnt know that.

Its not direct connect. The USB connection is for a USB memory stick or powered external hard drive.

Getting following error with a 150kb JPG attachment: So words will have to do for the moment. Recordings are slightly more compressed than a Geovision GV-800 V2 recording with MPEG4. Not even close to DVD quality. Although, I thought it was untill I recorded from the DVD out, then switched between Avermedia playback and DVD playback. This is a unit you would connect to a TV in a home environment. Pretty much same quality as the camera directly connected to the TV, but I will try this again to confirm. When you start viewing full screen on a monitor you start to see the compression and jaggies. It records at near GV-800 V2 quality and has effective remote playback. Nothing in the price range comes close as far as I have seen I need to check out this unit in more detail. I will post the results

Cheers guys. Had a good play. Over the next week I will be taking some shots to compare the following: Avermedia standalone vs Geovision GV-800 OEM IR cam vs Brandname body cam vs Axis 207 IP cam I imagine it will help first time buyers as its all budget gear. Will try to prepare as something worth making into an article.

Good point RickA. Right now, I have everything but the camera and the knowledge. Cheers

Hi markb. Sorry we didnt reply before you bought the equipment. To find out whether the weakest link in the chain is the camera or the DVR, try plugging the output of a DVD player into a camera socket. Record some DVD quality footage and play it back. That will give you the best quality the DVR can record. If your happy with the results, buy some brandname cameras. (Samsung techwin, bosh, panasonic), or even some 600 TVL Black and white cameras. If not, then replace the DVR and the cameras.

Anyone used a good generic Codec Uninstaller? Background: Since playing with a few online demos and installing Avermedia and Geovision systems to my local box, im having audio and video issues. Mainly movies and TV shows. Both using VLC and Windows Media Player. Sometimes half of the video screen has a purple colour cast. Sometimes my audio fades in and out, or sounds underwater. I have reinstalled the major video codecs, AC3 and Xvid. Time to strip out all but the essencial codecs.