AVCONSULTING

It sounds like you are seeing the effects of reflected IR lighting. Most likely your camera in order to boost sensitivity at night does not have an IR cut filter. You get an abnormal amount of IR light coming off of vegetation and even though you cannot see it with your eye the camera is sensitive to it. Not much you can do unless you can find a camera with an IR filter in place.

Try this link. It has some articles linked that you can look at which might prove interesting. http://www.digitalvideorecorder.net/articles.htm

Are you looking for remote access? If not then best bet is to go with a simple quad/dvr which should suit your needs. They don't have motion detection so record all the time but it is a very low cost way to go. I don't know who the players are in Florida to buy from but here is a link to a good site showing several different DVRs with pricing and it will give you a chance to get some more ideas. http://www.at-fairfax.com/DigitalVideoRecorders.htm

The EA2010 is what you will need. Below is a link for more information. http://www.pelco.com/products/power_comm/videoconditioning/eqamps.aspx

Definitely go with fixed dome cameras with vari-focal lenses. No way you need to spend money on a dome with motorized PTZ. You could buy 16 cameras for the price of two PTZ's. Get some lighting and that will also discourage people. They don't like light, just like ****roaches don't like light.

You are very devious Rory but I like that idea. I will remember that trick in case I ever need to upgrade an embedded DVR. BTW, Oz, it isn't Rory that destroyed the PC based image, at least here in the U.S. (or in SoCal which for most part is the U.S. - I'll get bashed for that one). It is the proliferation of backyard low quality DVR boiler rooms that are pumping out substandard cheap PC based DVRs, having them all crash, and then closing shop and running out on everyone. Dealers who have been burned, and there are many of them, now refuse to use a PC based DVR and Rory never even visited L.A. This area is so embedded in embedded that I can't even carry my PC based line of DVRs into some accounts or they will throw me out.

That DVR looks like the one carried by Mace here. Link below. Also the low cost one looks like the AV Tech. Nice review of the show. Would have liked to have seen it. http://www.mace.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=78

Stick with RG59U copper braid and you won't have to worry about cable runs all the way up to 1000'. It is pretty inexpensive and you can get it from a ton of distributors. I'm sure you must have several alarm and cctv distributors in your area. Pick up 1000' spools and you'll be ready for all your installations. Always use BNC connectors, don't use F connectors and then use an adapter.

Are you going to be home controlling these cameras or from a remote location? You'd have to be in a pretty big and expensive house to use these cameras, especially 9 of them. Perhaps you should look into fixed domes instead, even more of them if needed to cover a large area. PTZ domes are generally a waste of money unless you intend to use them in a guard monitored situation. The quality of the Samsung is very good so you would have no problems with image quality or quality of the motor if you do decide to get them.

Generally speaking with a box type camera you will get a better picture and lower light handling ability. Also you get to choose your own lens so you can match the area to be covered more easily. One other thing to look for that isn't often mentioned, especially when using DVRs, is the signal to noise ratio. A high signal to noise ratio is very important in low light conditions and will also save you a lot of wasted hard drive space. Most people don't realize that DVRs can't really compress random noise so a picture with a higher percentage of random noise will also take up more space than a camera with low noise. Almost all of the box cameras will outperform the bullet cameras. Bullet cameras are good though for space saving reasons or for a more stealthy look. They also generally cost less and that makes a difference. Pretty much the same things can be said regarding dome cameras vs box cameras, except in the case of the higher end domes like the ones from Extreme CCTV. One other thing is that most bullet cameras are 12vdc and box cameras are generally 24vac and it is easier to work with 24vac in installations.

They OEM them from Extreme CCTV and sell it under their name.

What about Sonny? Or Panicsonic?

This is a little higher than your budget but you might want to check it out. http://www.vitekcctv.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductID=113

I don't know of any Florida distributors but here is a recent list of companies that carry it. Also Tri-Ed and Alarmax are distributors. http://www.vitekcctv.com/Distributors.asp

Those remote sites are using the same DVR as Vitek has. What area are you located in? Have you found a Vitek distributor or supplier yet? The DVRs are available now so if you have someone local carrying the line they can get one to demo for you.

Here are some online demo's for you to check out. It will require a small active x type download but it is totally browser based. http://q002f27.dvrhost.com:7777/ http://q0033ac.dvrhost.com/ http://q00238d.dvrhost.com:7777/ http://www.vitekcctv.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductID=181

Make sure the Electronic Iris switch is off, otherwise the lens and the camera will fluctuate as each tries to control the light. EI is for manual iris only. Also the DC/Video switch should be in the Video position which I think you have done. The ALC is primarily to let the lens know whether to look at a wide scene for light information or a narrow scene. This can help if you have a bright light that might be fooling the lens. The video level is the key to balancing the lens so that it opens wide enough at night to see but closes down enough during the day to compensate for the bright light. You'll have to play around with it and that is why having a monitor next to you is a great help. Good luck with it, hope things work out ok.

DVR/OZ Man. If it is Aussie why is a fellow Australian using "Austie" as his location. Did he move to Austin, Texas and couldn't figure out how to spell it?

I'll see if I can find out but you might have a better chance than I would since they view me as a competitor. In fact if you email them and get some pricing please let me know. Thanks.

First, the bullet camera is not from Sony, it uses a Sony chip and that's it. Many dealers misrepresent their cameras as being Sony or Panasonic, etc. but they should really be saying they use a Sony or Panasonic chip. Anyway that being said you probably aren't adjusting something properly since that camera is a fantastic camera and your lens is one of the best around. First to check is to make sure you have the DC/VID switch on the camera set to VID. Next make sure your AES switch on the Sanyo is off so it knows you are using an auto-iris lens. After that you have two pots on the barrel of the lens. Once is the video adjustment and it is the most critical. You need a small screwdriver and a monitor close at hand to do the adjustment. Turn the video level on the lens until the picture becomes balanced lightwise. You may have to make some adjustments at night. Also make sure your "C" mount adapter ring is on the camera, this is the little 5mm spacer ring that comes in a bag (it may already be on the camera if someone else used it before you). Without it you won't be able to get a good focus. Try those first to see what happens. If you still have problems you should contact your nearest Computar lens center. You can get that info from their website. http://www.cbcamerica.com/cctvprod/index.html

Well, not a card, but I just saw this embedded DVR and it has MPEG2. It is from All Digital Security (not the source, but another back yard SoCal DVR guy). www.adsdvr.com The EM-2000 and EM-3000 series.

I'm afraid they are another one of the 50 or so local homegrown board jockeys that infest Southern California. Be happy they aren't out in your territory. Problem with them and places like them out here is they have almost no financial backing so anything you buy be prepared to find out they will be gone sooner or later and you will have no support. I'd stick to getting something from your local distributor that you know will take care of you if you have any problems.

A large system like that calls for something like NiceVision, Loronix, or PIVision. Here are some links. Be prepared to pay big bucks. http://www.nice.com/ http://www.pi-vision.com/ http://www.verint.com/video_solutions/

A lot depends on the distance your dome will be from the Geo. Coax is just fine for most distances up to 750' and is less expensive. Just make sure you use copper braid copper core coax only. Do not use aluminum no matter how fancy it is.

Personally I would get the Everfocus. I've dealt with them for many years and they have had good reliable products in their line plus a long history. The other company is a newcomer to the market and hasn't proven themselves yet in the long haul. I also think the Everfocus has more features. Another nice feature is that you can access it with any browser while the Orbix needs to have proprietary software loaded. Go with the Everfocus.