BrightEyes

I'm betting it's a combination of the few professionals on this forum who deal with $2000/per camera installations vs the majority who only shop for sub-$200 cameras You're in that special place where nobody knows

Probably best to start a new thread, this one is looking very dead

Nothing, huh? What's needed is a NVR with a cellular modem. Maybe that's what will get some traction on this forum!

I'm looking for the same sort of answers, but not finding a lot. Thus my reply on an old post Your best choice currently is a Reolink Go PT combo package with solar panel. Comes in just under $300 for a plug & play system that does not require any technical knowledge. I have this rig, and it does work as claimed, though it could be better. The lens cover fogs up in cold weather, the illuminator lights up anything that's on the lens cover, and the sort of installation I'd like to do requires a totally different approach from what a security/hunting camera market analyst will come up with

I live year-round in a 27' Class-C, and would like to know who's been sitting in my lawn chair, eating my porridge while I'm away... What I would like is an IP camera that flush mounts, like a rear-view or back-up camera. But able to be monitored with something like a BlueIris box I've been looking at doorbell cameras, but I don't want anything more than just a lens flush mounted to the exterior of my RV. I prefer running cables on the inside, so wifi is not what I want. I like having night lights located away from a camera, so built-in LED's are not what I want But I can also consider a COTS DVR that accepts any of the hard-wired formats besides ethernet I think I would want a wide-angle fisheye, but I also want a mini dome with a PTZ. Maybe a mix, maybe one of each on each side of the RV? What I really want is my own R-Unit up on the roof armed with a blaster...

I didn't get the DVR I linked to, went with a 16 channel version of that one & documentation is pretty much non-existent. The paperwork that came with it was very minimal, the QR code on the DVR itself does not contain anything but it's model number, and no search engine I've tried has that model indexed. The GUI is a bit buggy, motion detection is very basic and doesn't work well enough. I haven't bothered testing the alarm inputs, as the cameras are so bad I didn't want to commit to drilling holes in my RV just yet. The DVR 'works', you just need to not expect a lot from it. I'm using a 350 Gig SSD on an adapter board for a SATA installation. Been working just fine, so I haven't felt like opening up my Purple terabyte drive just yet Basically, my video system is running in 'test mode', got one camera run up out a skylight hatch and taped to a brick sitting on the roof to get a better idea how it actually works before doing anything permanent I bought the 'golf ball' cameras mentioned earlier, I don't recommend them. The cable isn't very nice to work with. The housing has failed, so there's moisture on the sensor. Every now & then the board shorts out, the color is really weird, the IR illuminators do not cover the entire field of view, this camera does not have BLC, and very poor contrast in bright lighting. When the sun is out, any shaded areas remain pitch black

Which DVR? This thread got a bit 'lost' And, that webcam cover you linked to is not for a security camera. It's too small, plus that's not something anyone would use for a 24/7 security system, kinda defeats the entire purpose of having a camera, if it can't see anything...

That looks very interesting. Even if it's not what I use for the RV, I might get one or two of those for other applications I already understand about the F-series signal format is only going to work with their own control box. It's just the lens and housing I would want, with someone elses image sensor stuffed into it. I've done something like that before. I once found an Ipix camera on ebay, couldn't figure out how to access the image sensor, so I JB Welded the lens to a chinese board camera with a Sony sensor. The Sony image sensor was slightly larger than the Ipix sensor, so I didn't lose any of the image, I was able to watch flies crawling around on the wall to either side of the camera I think a 3.6mm lens wont be wide enough. However, this DVR has eight channels, so I could contemplate having a pair of cameras on each side of the RV. I'll have to ponder that some

Well, guess that 'Birds Eye View' DVR is a DOA Ebay seller asked for some photos of it so they could try figuring out what it is I actually got. Then they decided to just refund me and give up on the thing. So I'm very much still looking for cameras The Axis F-series are basically what I want in the form factor for the camera housing's. But I think this DVR seems to be working out well enough to stick with it, so I'm limiting my camera choices to one of the HD analog formats. That choice is based on live streaming latency. If anyone has any suggestions based on real-world experience having used such a camera, I'd like to know, thanks!

Well, I got that weird 'Birds Eye View' DVR. They sent me a totally different unit from what was shown on that listing. There were no instructions of any sort in the box. Getting a manual was difficult and only resulted in a manual for the unit shown in the listing, not for the one I received. It refuses to turn on, and I'm sending it back The DVR I got seems to work ok. I'm having some issues with getting a monitor to work with it. Seems it handles HDMI just a bit differently. My dashboard 7" monitor wont display the entire screen and doesn't have any way to resize the signal to fit. So the settings are not in view and very difficult to launch. My 17" desktop monitor only randomly will show the signal over HDMI. Nothing on CVBS. There's a VGA connection, I just haven't found a cable to try that out with So far, I only have just a single Lorex CVI camera to test with. That seems to be working fine, from whenever I'm able to see anything! So I guess I'm still looking for cameras. The Lorex is too easy to spot, does not mount flush and has too narrow a FOV to do what I need The DVR GUI isn't quite as nice as a OOSSXX I helped a friend install. But that was a NVR with wifi cameras, so not necessarily a direct comparison. I'll eventually look into updating the firmware, hopefully they improved the GUI, not fix minor issues. None of the camera views have a right-click menu to make on-the-fly changes. Such as deleting camera views. It would be nice to only have the one view on startup seeing as I only have one camera at the moment. I'd add more cameras later when I get them. Trying to find where they hid the camera delete doesn't seem very intuitive. But having monitor issues isn't helping in deciphering this DVR The chassis fan makes noise when I set anything heavy on top of the unit, like my 17" monitor. There's only one USB port, so if the DVR can handle a keyboard, I'll need to get a hub to run both keyboard & mouse. The mouse-based onscreen keyboard is very tiring to use. The cursor moves too fast, too far, so I'm holding the mouse with both hands to keep it on target while choosing letters. I haven't seen any way to change the mouse settings. Maybe I should try getting a better mouse? The one that came with this DVR has a glaring bright red LED I don't need along with a clear window all around the mouse to let that light blind me!

I decided to go with this instead: https://www.ebay.com/itm/174646226869 I couldn't get a definitively clear answer from the ebay seller on why there's only four alarm inputs, as there's four audio inputs - I'm a bit concerned about the DVR not actually using the inputs for video recording. It looks like those might only be to choose from the audio. And besides, if I decide to use all of the video inputs on the ED-8208H5F, I'll want to have the option for an alarm tripped recording for all channels The camera kit is somewhere in south california at the moment, still waiting on that

Well ok then! Nice to know 1st time I've heard of TVT, and if I had run into that name, I wouldn't think much of them as everyone claims they're better than everyone else The manual you linked to is for a DVR without alarm inputs, but maybe I can dig something more up now I know the brand

The kit is still in shipping. Meanwhile, I've been looking at recorders. It's not easy to find one that has both alarm inputs and AHD. I think HD-CVI would be a better choice, just from what I've been finding so far. Motion blur & latency are excellent with a Lorex HD-CVI camera I already own. But haven't seen any in that signal type with a form factor that I want: unobtrusive outdoor fisheye flush mount, preferably under three inch overall visible footprint This is what I've dug up so far for a DVR: https://www.ebay.com/itm/174116994131?hash=item288a2e7c53:g:Q7wAAOSwl2dd5mqB I hope the GUI is decent! Seems like another shot in the dark. They're only charging $40 for a 1TB drive, no info on what the drive is. Got that 'Packaged in the USA' feel to it!

I've never liked video-based motion detection. Maybe I just haven't seen such a thing yet that works correctly? False triggering due to multiple different issues, failure to reset quickly enough, failure to detect, failure to function at night without constant lighting. Sometimes, just configuring the motion detection can take all of my time away from any other projects I've had better luck with a time lapse setup that only records still images, but the post-processing tends to be a bit tedious The Plotwatcher trailcams from Day6 had the best software for doing this, but they went out of business. That's a whole 'nother thread! I'd like to know if there's any current alternative that can do what Day6 did. They stitched still images into a video, adding successive images on the fly. Then used motion detection on playback to perform a kind of 'smart fast forward' where you could just jump to the next instance of a scene disturbance. Or you could review the entire video in high speed Day6 didn't want to develop their Plotwatcher for night time use, but it still worked just fine at night if you added some form of light source, either white visible or IR

I would like a DVR more than a NVR. Remote viewing would complicate what I do elsewhere. A feature I would like to have is having an alarm input for each channel, so I could use a PIR sensor to trigger recording. I might try to use a combo PIR/radar occupancy detector, but those are usually for indoor use I haven't yet looked at DVR's for the RV, but I do know that they are not all the same in recording abilities. The few I've tried before were all pretty bad, so until I see an experienced review on a particular unit, I'm going to look elsewhere

I got the system you linked to, thinking you had some experience with it On re-reading what you wrote, it does sink in that you had only meant to use that as a design example. So I guess I could post a write-up here on what that one is like I think that might not have the sort of recording abilities I'm interested in, but I wouldn't have any problem with changing the cable ends to plug the cameras into a better DVR. Any recommendations for a AHD signal?

Aw darn! I just now bought that...

Thanks! That looks like the sort of thing I would want. Earlier this morning, I was looking at Axis F-series, but not sure if I want to spend that much or not This sorta looks like a china clone of the F-series. Have you used this camera system? It's cheap enough, I might just buy it sight unseen as it were

Ok, so I'm looking at what CVI is. 1st time I've heard of it. Sounds like what I would want. Now I just have to round up some hardware choices that fit my budget. Does Dahua or HIKvision use this signal format?

I just bought a Lorex LAB243 thinking that because they said it output NTSC, that meant the usual composite video. I just assumed that this 'A-MPX' was just Lorex-speak for something they thought made their camera better than anyone elses. So I plug it in and get nothing but a blue screen! Tested my monitor with a known good camera, works that way. But the LAB243 is like a DOA. I reviewed what the Lorex site has to say about it. Very frustrating website, very hard to navigate. Then it sinks in, that this MPX thing might mean I bought the wrong camera? I don't need a DVR, I just want a realtime video monitor. Something like a doorbell camera. I also wanted to avoid any appreciable lag in the display, so nothing but analog will do. The LAB243 was claiming to have color night vision, and I would like to know what that looks like. Is there any hardware solution under $100 to convert the signal to work with my existing monitors? I am thinking there probably isn't, short of spending way too much for a DVR that will introduce lag and come with things I have no use for such as more than one channel, hard drive, ect I am open to any suggestions for a sub-$100 camera that outputs composite video, 400~900TVL, low lag, framerate better than 10 Hz, and is starlight rated Just wish I had spent some time on this forum before spending monies on dubious hardware that likely will go straight to dead storage

Going back to analog will be your bad purchase I know analog has lag, but with the analog cameras I have used, it's very minimal. Meanwhile, every IP camera I've had was & is universally well over half a second lag. Usually 1.5 seconds But, I never used a CVI camera. I've heard of DVI, bought one once but couldn't get it working due to not having the right equipment to view the signal. i bought a Blackmagic grabber card, but maybe the cable wasn't right. Or maybe the camera was defective. I had no way to test it as DVI isn't something I deal with I like composite analog as it always works no matter what gear I throw together. No codec issues, no mismatching chip issues. Proprietary analog isn't very appealing to me and that's what this Lorex A-MPX looks to be I tried contacting Lorex for advice. Took them a few days, but just got a reply today that at least 3 of their DVR's should work without hard drives as a 'live view only' solution. So I might try looking for used DVR's on the ebay

Oh no, not giving away a 2 megapixel here! I'm considering giving away a 4 megapixel to the right cause: https://www.lorextechnology.com/downloads/security-cameras/LAB243/LAB243_Series_Spec_R1.pdf DVR's in my price range all introduce lag in the order of seconds. I want a total system lag, measuring from viewed scene camera is aimed at, to displayed image on monitor, around 100 milliseconds. For example, when using a camera on a car to backup safely, if a dog runs out behind me 5 feet away and I don't see that onscreen until 1 second later....not good! Or a surprise shopping cart at night in a crowded parking lot. Better off to just not have any camera and just focus on looking over my shoulder to see what's happening So I guess I'm not really trying to do a CCTV/security sort of thing. But I haven't found any better forums knowledgable about the type of cameras I usually use. I've found that security cameras are great for the kind of projects I come up with. I also have some board cameras, but it's turned out to be a bit of a slowdown to need to install those into housings So far the best camera I've had was a 8 year old Hitachi box camera. It was an IP camera, but it had a analog output for an installer to use. And the signal off of that was very lag free. I adapted an Ipex 190 degree fisheye onto the Hitachi and sold it when I wasn't thinking right. Still keep thinking I should've kept that rig Well anyways, I wouldn't mind being wrong about the lag on a DVR provided there is such a thing as low latency DVR's that work with Lorex A-MPX and don't cost anything But in my experience, anytime there's a digital layer in the signal path, that adds noticeable delays. Maybe if the camera had a faster processor, and the DVR. But that likely doesn't come cheaply Anyways, I was just wondering if there's any sort of field monitoring solutions for this camera I have. Like say a installer is putting in a LAB243, they're up on a ladder and need to verify the camera is aimed right without a lot of time wasted. Be really nice if they had a small battery-powered monitor that accepts the Lorex video signal and just simply displays it without anything else going on. If there is such a thing, that's what I'm interested in for my kind of projects I'm not kidding around about giving the camera away, if someone around my area wants to install a security system and if the Lorex gear that uses A-MPX is decent, then I would throw in this camera as a way to help out. Maybe that's too many if's? Anyone here want to pay cost of shipping and my purchase price to get this particular camera? If so I could post on the classified section here

Application isn't actually for my door. Just that the camera direct to monitor sort of thing is like what I have seen on some questionable chinese door cams. I want to have video windows on my living space, without cutting holes in the walls for physical windows. I also like the idea of augmented vision, for night time. I used to record footage from various security cameras. Using Blue Iris on a old PC. I don't want to spend my time looking at recordings. I do however, give some limited advice to people I know about how to place cameras, hide DVR's, setup decent lighting. Seems like all anyone wants is to get snapshots on their phone All I want is to watch the clouds over the mountains in realtime, even though my place has trees in the way. Camera on a steady-mount in treetop, and such I would also like to do other things. Install rearview cameras on different types of vehicles. Birdhouse cams. Inspection cameras. I might want to actually do some recording on the mailbox however. But I have a game camera to use for that. I like how simple that system works out. Everything in one box Right now, I have a A-MPX camera that I might give away or something. Maybe I can talk someone into installing an HD system where this camera is one of several. Get my money back that way