DinoSteel

I was told by a local vendor / contractor that in order for a contractor to install Video Camera’s that they need to be certified to do so. My question is this, is there really a law requiring a cable / camera installer to be certified to install Video Cameras, and if so what is the certification called? I have a feeling my vendor was blowing smoke but wanted to ask the professionals. I reside in Texas if this would make any difference. Thanks for your response.

Rory The reason it was moving is due to the high winds that day and the poor mounting job of the housing. It is located on the corner of a metal building and there is not enough support. I plan on fixing this when I am in that city again. The funny thing is I have the camera set on motion recording for the drive entrance so if the video was not shaking due to high wind I would not have gotten anything. AK357 The reason for the tight shot was due to specifications. We needed clear license plates as they enter into the facility day or night. We have an additional 17 cameras covering the perimiter. What you don't see in the video is the timestamp. From the time the trailer goes through the fence to the time they have it hooked up and are gone is just about 10 minutes even. They were in a hurry to get out of there before someone noticed. We have great images of the truck & people involved. I thought you guys would get a kick out of it. It made me laugh when I was searching for it.

This was taken with the Arecont AV3130 set to 5 fps. The camera was placed to capture license plates as vehicles enter the front gate. Apparently the truck that was being hauled broke loose from its tow vehicle and went across two lanes of oncoming traffic before coming into camera view. I converted the video to AVI format. The download is about 9 Meg. Click to download AVI Arecont AV3130 Firmware 62425 Resolution 1632x1000 (1.6M, Day) Image Rate: 5 fps Avg Image Size 228245

Not much to add but I hope that it helps a little bit.

Yeah there are a couple of issues with the Arecont Vision cameras that are a bit quirky. For the features that you want to modify and configure you would think that they would be available by going straight to the cameras IP address. But it's not that easy. You have to install their "AV Application Manager V5.0.5.12" and run the "Live Video" option after a successful install. This will allow you to set the motion detection etc. When you are in the Arecont Vision Video System software select Motion Detection on the left. Pick your camera that you want to configure on the drop down list. If you do not see anything on the pop-up box click on the button on the right. It will say one of these three things "enable", "motion only", "disable". Cycle through them until you get a picture and it will allow you to configure per your needs. Be sure to go into the Internet Interface and switch the Day/Night functions to focus both before you install. It has two lenses and you want to make sure to focus both (not that I have made that mistake myself mind you ) Hope this helps you out a little. Good luck, once configured these cameras are rock solid. DinoSteel

I tested the Axis and ACTi dome cameras in my office. I have to say that I really liked the performance of the ACM3411. The price was also right. Below is a link to the image taken with the ACM3411. The guys in the back work for our IT Department. http://www.ryancalhoun.net/Portals/0/ACM3411.jpg Resolution at 1.3M Image Rate: 4 fps Avg Image Size 96450

I agree. How does the consumer even know when an update has been provided for his / her cameras? Arecont Vision do make some great cameras but they need to take lessons from AXIS in their web / customer support arena.

I agree. How does the consumer even know when an update has been provided for his / her cameras? Arecont does make great cameras but they need to take lessons from AXIS in their web / customer support arena.

I e-Mailed Arecont Vision support to gain access to their support section. I was looking for firmware updates, I stated that in the initial e-mail to the company and they did e-mail me the update and installer on the initial response e-mail. I got the response back quickly with a username / password to access this section. The information provided in this area was VERY limited. If Arecont is listening (reading) I would love to see the following added to their software & website; On the Arecont Vision Camera Installer – Would like the ability to scan across subnets. Currently you have to be on the same subnet to get it to see the camera. Even just a place to be able to add a subnet to be scanned would be nice. On their website I would like to see the ability to download the latest firmware releases for their cameras. The tool that they e-Mailed me worked perfectly and the update took just a couple of minutes per camera. I did not see any place on the Customer Service Portal that listed firmware updates for future downloads. Too clarify things a bit I am a end-user and not a installer / dealer. I have purchased a lot of Arecont Vision cameras from the 3mp day / night, to the AV5100M’s. I have recently purchased several AV8180’s as well. I love the cameras and quality of the images that these bring to the table for my organization. I am disappointed in the turn around time for the AV8180’s & housings (currently several months). I hope they can get this straightened out very soon. I love the product they provide but they need work on their Customer Service Portal. Currently there is not much use if you get access to this section.

Securitymaster when you go into search, if you select the "Views" tab (on left), you can select one of your pre-defined views (multi-camera) and start the search. The software will display all cameras defined in that view and play back showing all cameras simultaneously. Hope this helps. .

I am new here guys so don't beat me up too bad on my evaluation of this software. ExacqVision has been a great product so far. I ran into some issues with the new Dell Servers that I was using as my NVR systems in February. I contacted ExacqVision and talked with Rob. They got the problem resolved quickly. They sent me a revised version of the software that day and they implemented a new version release the very next day. I am utilizing the server running both IP and Analog cameras at two of my three locations. My analog cameras are going through a security controller and being converted into an IP stream. Four of the analog cameras are being sent wirelessly. My third location that I am working on now will be strictly IP based. One of the things I really like about the ExacqVision software is that it runs as a Service under Windows. When the system re-boots or bounces for some reason (Thank you IT Department) the NVR starts recording without logging into the server. The multiple monitor view feature kicks butt. I have another video card on order so I can up it to four total on one desktop. I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE FOLLOWING ADDED... Their recorded video comes out as an executable (.EXE) file embedded with their viewing software. This is a nice feature and will give you full PTZ control over the video. The one downside is that you cannot e-Mail that file to another individual. Transporting the document footage becomes an issue. You can zip the file up but most e-Mail systems will run a virus scan on the zip file and think that the file is malicious and not send the attachment. I would like to see a feature added in the next release of the software that will disable the video if it detects tampering on any one frame of the recorded video. Currently CISCO is utilizing this feature and their video is admissible in court. The ability to push the video either live or recorded to only a select group of people where they can view the video but not record or save on their computer would be a big plus. At my business we have a night crew at one of our locations. Letting them see when someone comes into the yard at night from their PC would be great. Limiting them to only that one particular camera and not the entire system would be better. SUMMARY I like the software, the company is quick to respond with any questions or concerns, and I plan on using them for my future projects. It’s great to see a company that responds to their customers in this day in age in a timely, professional, and courteous manner. Thats all I have to say. Thanks for listening and see you guys at ISC West if you are going.

The JPG images loaded well on my BlackBerry Pearl with AT&T as my service provider.

Thanks Lolo Wolf for the quick and accurate reply. I appreciate your time and this forum. DinoSteel