AVCONSULTING

This is a great source of information and an organization that you should think of joining eventually. They have worldwide affiliates. www.asisonline.org

Yes, sorry about that. I haven't seen any 16 channel audio embedded so far.

That house is just for the help. You should see the main house. I think Rory lives there.

16 Channels of two way audio. One of my customers thinks it is the best DVR he has seen for audio. http://www.silicor.com/

Kalatel Store Safe is the biggest maker of embedded DVRS with CD/RW built in. There is also Telexper. Here are some links for you to check out. http://www.geindustrial.com/cwc/products/ge-interlogix?pnlid=9&famid=63&catid=1088&id=StoreSafe&lang=en_US http://www.telexper.com/telexper-en/index-01.htm

I believe VSSI in Burbank, CA has taken on Geovision as a distributor. They are one of the largest independent CCTV distributors in the Western U.S. so you might want to check with them. Here is the contact information. www.vsscctv.com vic@vsscctv.com Hope this helps.

They are ok to buy from, but the boards that they have are old versions and may not run the latest software. You can order samples first to try them out. The boards are new but they are based on old designs.

Check out this company. The local rep swears that it is the best in the world, but then he says that about every line he carries so judge for yourself. http://www.mavix.com/

VPON's aren't low quality. The dealers who have been using them in my territory are very complimentary about them. I wish they were cheap since they compete with my DVR line. Unfortunately they work and are low cost so the only saving grace is that they aren't well known since they have no local sales reps and their marketing is pretty spotty. The company is just a few miles away from me, so being local doesn't help either.

I haven't seen this before but it looks pretty incredible. Any idea on the pricing? Anixter is actually a major distributor of wire that has been branching out into CCTV lately. AXIS is the leader in IP cameras so you might also want to check what they have to offer. http://www.axis.com/products/video/

Several of my customers have said that they have used the VPON DVR with good success. I'm not sure about pricing but you can find them at this link and they can get you pricing or a list of distributors. http://www.aegismicro.com/home/home.htm

Outside of the shape of the buttons on the RH side I'd say it is a DigiTek, although that doesn't mean it is a great DVR. It looks like a decent unit from the specs. I'd suggest you go over to the place and check it out for yourself to make sure it works ok and the place looks reliable.

First, are you using an auto iris lens or manual iris lens. Second, if using an auto iris lens what model is it and did you set the menu control on the Ikegami to auto iris. Also if it is an auto iris lens you need to focus it at night or by using a neutral density filter so it will open all the way. And also if it is an auto iris lens did you do any adjustment of the video level. It is tough to trouble shoot something remotely, but it doesn't sound so much as a camera problem as a lens problem.

Rated to 140 deg. Has gimbal for wide camera adjustment. One of several domes that Extreme has that would be difficult if not impossible to take off a wall. http://www.extremecctv.com/products/uploads/PDF2/EX48_v15.pdf

Anyone have experience or heard of MACE DVRs and other CCTV products? They have been a heavily traded stock on the NASDAQ recently and the stock has run up and down in price several times. www.mace.com

Never heard of them and I do have reservations about a company that won't even post their location. At least I couldn't find it anywhere on their web site. Sounds like another MACE to me and that company is tanking every day on the market.

Since you are in England the best choice to fit your requirements is Dedicated Micros, and English based DVR company Here is a link for you. http://www.dedicatedmicros.com/

I think I know what is going on with the Ikegami. In my experience with Ikegami they ship their cameras with a 5mm focus ring screwed into the front of the camera which is designed to handle C mount lenses. You are using a CS mount lens. See if on your Ikegami there is a thin ring screwed into the lens barrel, it would be 5mm thick and usually is brass or chrome. If it is on your camera then remove it. Then on the side of the camera are two screws. Above them is the word focus and one screw is a lock screw and the other is adjust. Position the lens' focus ring in the middle of the range and then use the adjust to coarse focus as best as possible. Then use the focus ring on the lens for fine adjustment. Also turn the backlight compensation switch to the off position. Are you using an auto iris lens? If so make sure the Ikegami is switched to the DC video position and you will also have to go into the programming mode to select whether you are using an auto iris lens or manual iris lens. Manual iris would use the AESC setting. This you have to do through the menu options. Hope this help resolves the problem. Ikegami cameras are considered one of the highest quality cameras in our industry. If you don't have the instructions here is a link to a PDF file. http://www.ikegami.com/cb/products/pdf/manual/icd870.pdf

Also he could be using the same lens on two different chip sizes which would make a difference. Need more info to make a good evaluation.

First thing is the Sony camera. What model number is it? Then what is the Ikegami model number. Reason I'm asking is to figure out the chip sizes, etc. When you say focus do you mean sharpness of image or do you mean how well you can see something in a field of view. Can you be a little more specific in what the difference is your seeing between the two cameras.

http://www.chance-i.com/eng/products_board.htm

If you are using an LCD with Kalatel then you'll need it with video input. An adapter can get expensive. You might want to check out the Vitek also. It has composite video input standard. http://www.vitekcctv.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductID=118

Rory, you buy so many GE products that under their new dealer incentive rewards program you might win a trip to the Bahamas. Lucky you.

What DVR are you using? Every PC Based DVR that I have worked with already has VGA outputs which is what your LCD would normally use. Only if you are using a DVR like a Kalatel, DM, Nuvico, etc which is an embedded style would you need a monitor with composite video input. Also as an observation I have yet to find an LCD monitor that can outperform even the lower cost tube color monitors for brightness, sharpness, and most importantly viewing angle. So unless your customer has a space problem he would be better off with a tube monitor.

Standalones are the majority here in the U.S., primarily because of the extraordinarily good marketing effort by DM. They have pretty much convinced everyone that standalones are bullet proof and pc based are diseased ridden poxed pieces of garbage. Unfortunately due to the very poor quality of early pc based machines such as Kodicom the myth wasn't too hard to spread. Sensormatic also didn't help by putting out scores of poorly made Intellex machines that broke down constantly. A couple of virus attacks and the market was very receptive to the DM philosophy that pc based was bad. The proliferation of back yard garage operations putting out pc based junk isn't helping the cause. So for at least the present, embedded rules and no one seems to care that pc based machines give you more features for your dollar. One of my biggest distributors cannot give away their pc based 3R machines, even at $995 for a 16 camera system, yet they sell hundreds of DM and Kalatels with no problems. Even the Nuvico's, essentially rebranded Pinetrons, are flying off the shelf. That is why I want to find an embedded system with built in CD/RW to represent. My pc based DVRs just are not selling. So even though GeoVision may offer tons more features, and when built properly is a better value than the Store Safe, at least here (and I guess the Bahamas) the Store Safe, and equivalent DM products will garner the lions share of the market.